Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams

Throw Me The Statue
Moonbeams
Secretly Canadian / SC Dist.

8.6



What is an inspired album?

There are those rare times when you listen to an album for the first time and realize that you are experiencing something special. An inspired album usually isn't one that has to grow on you with repeat listening. It's true that sometimes you just don't realize it. Most often however, it occurs to you that the people who recorded these works had so much more in mind. The see the future of music. The choose the other paths. Change all our directs. Especially your ears. It brings about the moment that you say to yourself "this is exactly what I want to hear, at this exact moment in time".

Thus brings us to Moonbeams, the debut album by Throw Me The Statue. The album is a sweeping effort by Scott Reitherman, a virtually unknown until this point in time. Moonbeams presents a montage of sound. Driving guitar hooks, raw drum beats, synth, horns, bells, full background vocals, and almost everyother sound you can imagine. When broken down track by track, each song almost falls into a different genre. From raw and simple punk sounds, to island vibes, to acoustic guitars and synthesizers. Somehow it all comes together without being overwhelming or confusing. Reitherman's vocals are soft spoken and flow smoothly through each track, never missing a lo-fi beat.

The songs offer mostly a positive feeling of young love. The lyrics are clear and uncomplicated. In some ways, the album offers a perfect experience for the listener in the fact that it takes you on a complete journey. Its a rare gem in a mostly sloppy indie scene. Where most artist are trying too hard to be different, many don't take the time to simply just make something special.

Download it from eMusic.

Review by | Dave Payne | 02.19.08

Bud Light Jackie Moon TV Commercial

So this was by far my favorite Super Bowl commercial. I love Will Ferrell. I can't wait to see Semi-Pro and I can't wait to see Step Brothers. My favorite line in this is "it refreshes the palate and the loins". I feel the same way about Blue Moon.

Radar Bros. - Auditorium

So, before about 3 days ago I had never heard of Radar Bros. I wouldn't had really taken a second look but I noticed that they were signed Merge Records. As we all know Merge Records is home to some pretty fantastic bands including Spoon and Arcade Fire. So, with this in mind, I threw 12 emusic downloads in their general direction. I must say, I'm pretty impressed. Apparently these guys have made 5 albums and have been around for a decade. Of course, we all have those bands that we've just never happened to notice before. So anyway, this is a chill little very enjoyable record. It's not mind blowing. I would probably compare it to Wilco's Sky Blue Sky with a little Pink Floyd vibe thrown in there. This is the only video I could find for them and it's kinda odd but the song is good. It's called "When Cold Air Goes To Sleep" and it pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the album. So if you want mellow album that doesn't rock out but doesn't lull you to sleep either then I would definitely recommend Radar Bros. new album Auditorium.

Why?

So I'm a subscriber to emusic and have been for quite some time. I like it, I've found a lot of great music on there and love that most indie labels are on there. As a matter of fact, if Subpop Records and Barsuk were on there life may be complete. I do have issues with it though. I logged on there today and find that Rambo: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the top download for the day. Why is this? These must be the same people who've made Taylor Swift and an obscure, well past his prime, James Taylor the top downloads for the past few months. I guess these people don't care about the fact that the entire catalogues for Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, Explosions In The Sky, pre-Crane Wife Decemberists, Stars, The New Pornographers, etc. are all on there. If you're looking for something new I recommend Black Mountain or the highly unnoticed Besnard Lakes. Maybe I'm just weird. I think of emusic subscribers as being indie hipster kids or wannabe indie hipster kids like me that don't listen to Taylor Swift or post early 80's James Taylor or T. Pain... What do I know anyways? I just used 8 to get the new Do Make Say Think. Who are they? Obviously not Taylor Swift or The Rambo Soundtrack... I can't miss those...

The Spinto Band at Johnny Brendas

Delaware's finest, The Spinto Band will be making a local stop on Saturday night. The band has finished recording their 2nd album, which is currently in production and set to be released in the Spring.

The intimate Johnny Brendas in Philly plays host to Spinto, and openers The Whigs and Plants & Animals. I rung in the New Year with The Spinto Band at Johnny Brendas in 2007. It was a fantastic show. The band hardly fits on the tiny stage, but it doesnt seem to bother them one bit. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. With a huge local following, I would most certainly predict a sell-out.

Up until now I have seen The Spinto Band twice. The first time being at The Black Cat in DC. Both times they played every song from their stunning first album Nice and Nicely Done. I expect to hear the majority of the songs on that record, blended "nicely" with a batch of new songs that im sure they are road testing.

See you there!

Ah, the things you find on youtube

So, one of the best parts of Wes Anderson movies is his soundtracks. Now I unfortunately haven't seen The Darjeeling Limited yet, which will be released via DVD on February 26. Nicely enough though, he did release a nice little short starring Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman for free on iTunes called "Hotel Chevalier". There was one song which played throughout the short. Now I've had it for months and was cleaning out my iPod when I caught the short again and forgot how great and enjoyable the song was that was playing in the background. Anyways, it's called "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt and it was released in 1969 and it's fantastic.

Burial - "Untrue"

So I've been scouring around the internet the past few days and looking at other's top albums lists and most them include a lot of the same stuff. There was the worthy stuff (Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Band Of Horses, Iron & Wine, Of Montreal), there was the overrated (Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, LCD Soundsystem) and the underrated (The National, Bloc Party, Eluvium, The Besnard Lakes, Okkervil River). Aside from this there was also the stuff I missed completely. One of those artists was "Untrue" by Burial. It's actually the best reviewed album of the year on megacritic. I'll admit that I have a guilty pleasure electronic music. I love Daft Punk, Boards Of Canada, and Junior Boys. I'm not overly knowledged in the genre so I've missed a lot. Lucky for me, Burial is available for download on emusic. I must say this is a pleasant surprise. Obviously, this is an album you'll either love or hate. It's very much an album meant to be experienced either in you're vehicle or in headphones. Also, it is slightly creepy. It's not as alien as say something by Sigur Ros or as beautiful but it's definitely more of a soundtrack to some weird story going on you're head. This music requires imagination and an open mind. My friends at work won't get it and most people will complain if I play it aloud and personally I like it that way. "Untrue" is an album impossible to describe song by song, it's very fluid throughout and it supported by lo-fi beats and tribal sounding vocals which take a few listens to absorb and really enjoy. It has the nice crackle of a vinyl playing with I appreciate and it has some very ethereal noises that you here when people are in dark alleys in movies. So if you're ready for something a little different and what to imagine you're music in you're head then I recommend giving "Untrue" a try.

Ripped to Shreds at New York Magazine

There's an interesting article in New York Magazine about the effects of illegally downloading music. But, unlike most articles, this one focuses on the fact that every day people are the ones who get in the most trouble for swapping illegal files, but the reason that those files get out in the first place is because someone in the industry itself is leaking it. Its something that has been obvious for a long time, but never has been much of a topic.

It also goes into detail about albums that leak early cause more damage to the label and the artists themselves. It mentions Wincing The Night Away and Weekend In The City, which I am guilty of downloading early, BUT i purchased Wincing on vinyl and Weekend on CD...TWICE.

Read it for yourself.

Happy New Year!

Drink too much and enjoy the overhyped commerce. I don't know what you did but I watched The Bucket List and then turned on NBC just in time to watch Ryan Seacrest and one million idiots, it was a good time. I'm sure my daughter will wake up way too early tomorrow and I'll drink way too much coffee. Oh yeah, Captain Morgan goes well with Dr. Pepper too.

M. Night makes an R-rated film...

On friday, June 13, 2008, 20th Century Fox will release The Happening. For those of you that were disappointed by The Village and Lady In The Water, I think you should change you're expectations. I believe that M. Night's forte is character development. I find myself very emotionally attached to the characters in his films and felt that Lady In The Water did a fantastic job with that. Anyways, The Happening will be M. Night's first R-rated film and stars Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo. It supposedly focuses on the struggles of one family amidst a natural disaster.

What I Missed in '06

So Cheesy yet so good

So I'm watching Three Men And A Little Lady when this song comes on. I scoured the web looking for this song. If only popular music sounded like this. How could you not like this song? Seriously... (I do admit, music videos have come a long way)

Always Free at Daytrotter

Last week I noticed that the Daytrotter Sessions Volume 2 was a Top 10 download on eMusic. The main reason for that being that the album was a free download. Seeing that reminded me that there is much more to be downloaded for FREE from Daytrotter, so I headed over to their site and had a field day.

I surfed through 767 songs and downloaded everything I could from my favorite artists, and artists I have been curious about. At least 4 mp3s from each band, all Daytrotter Acoustic sessions. I downloaded 141 songs total...for FREE!

Here is a list of the bands I downloaded...

Aloha, Andrew Bird, AuRevior Simone, Broken West, Cold War Kids, David Bazan, Deerhunter, Dr. Dog, Elvis Perkins, French Kicks, Get Him Eat Him, Grizzly Bear, Honorary Title, Limbeck, Mates of State, Menomena, My Brightest Diamond, Of Montreal, Okkervil River, Owen, Page France, The Rentals, Robbers On High Street, Sea Wolf, Shearwater, Spinto Band, Sunset Rubdown, The Elected, The National, The Ponys, The Slip, Tilly & The Wall, Vampire Weekend, Voxtrot, William Elliott Whitmore, Yeasayer

Yes, all of this and more can be your for FREE. So do your ears a favor and head over to Daytrotter.

Because I Hate You, Tony Romo

I hope the Cowboys make it to the big game and are smacked around by the Patriots. And I don't even like the Patriots. Then I hope the demon seed of Jessica Simpson rises from the ashes of Tony Romo and lives a life of suffering.

Happy Thursday!

Merry Christmas!!!

Non-Music Post

So Jack Nicholson played The Joker and is fantastic at everything but Mr. Brokeback himself, Heath Ledger, is The Joker. I cannot wait to see this. Batman Begins is my favorite comic book movie to this point.

When hence you are surfing the interweb, spend some time over at the website for Arcade Fire (not The Arcade Fire). It's quite splendid.

http://www.arcadefire.com/flash.html

Menomena - Rotten Hell

I realize it's not Tuesday, but really, who cares?

This is the video for the song Rotten Hell, a solid stand-out from this years wonderful album Friend And Foe by Menomena.

Enjoy.

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