BitchyVeganSoundtrack

Today was a rough one… I was in literally the WORST pain of my life yesterday after having a little medical procedure on Saturday that they SAID wouldn’t hurt at all. Psh! It was death. Luckily… and I say this knowing EXACTLY how badly I want to punch myself for saying so… while I say it… I had my boyfriend. That was my first time EVER being taken care of by someone and it’s almost adorable enough to trump the pain… almost.

Either way, it means I stayed home today and even attempted some outside time… which included a Korean International baseball game. Spoke some of my Korean and some players just started passing a ball around and signed it all for us. Fucking adoraballs. Made me miss Korea, A LOT!

The music selection is another random mixed bag… the B’s seem to be throwing some random stuff at me. It’s a lot more difficult to dig through than the A’s. Either way, today is not any less delicious than those prior with Bloodgroup and The Boat People.

Bloodgroup are a crazy popular band… in Iceland. Well let’s prove that they can be awesome here too! They show that electronic doesn’t have to be a big wall of sound, it’s graceful and delicious. Enjoy!

The Boat People are super yummerful. I knew I would like them based on the name. I know it’s a superficial way to judge a band… but 3 years ago, I downloaded a band called Frightened Rabbit based on only seeing their name and boom, they changed my life.

Who knows if The Boat People will change my life, but I am willing to let them try.

Oh and if you hate them, just put it on mute and watch hipsters hang out being cooler than you.

Also, because this is awesome and my sister is named, “Rhiannon”… watch them do an amazing cover!

Happy case of the Mondays, folks.

Slow start to the day as I felt the need to call in sick again and my next mission is to consume an ungodly amount of vegan foods at Trangs. Hands down the best vegan place in the penis state.

If your Friday is going to get rowdy, I recommend starting the day mellow with The Black Atlantic… defined as acoustic pop, I find them more likened to Bon Iver on uppers. I likey.

And if your Friday is going to be a total bummer… might as well rock the fuck out in the AM… for that, I give you, Blackbird Blackbird. If they don’t get you dancing in your cubicle, or at least tapping your feet, well then you clearly can’t be brought up from down and should just off yourself.

HAPPY FUCKING FANTASTIC FRIDAY!!!

Today is a weird flashback. Both of these bands make me feel like I am watching a Wes Anderson flick and hitting myself for not knowing whatever classic band is playing in the background. Only neither are old… not even one dead band member. They make music like this… right now.

Birds & Batteries offer up the vocal quality that instantly reminds me of what I love about Okkervil River. Most people compare them to the times of Tom Petty… but that makes me think I stole an LP from my mom’s bedroom, which is weird. Anyway, they are fun and not classic to the point of trite. They steer far clear of any coverbandness and prove you can take your moms music and your own and play them at the same time. whoa.

The Black. Man, their name is so fucking cool. I REFUSE to pretend I wasn’t instantly drawn. Not, “The Black “something-something”" … just THE BLACK. Fierce.

Oh, and they sound awesome and stuff too. Now we get into the music your grandma and grandpa probably jammed too. Oh yeah, this is assuming you are around my age/not old as fuck. Anyway, they are jamtastic and make me want to go buy super vintage knee length, no cleavage dresses and a pair of black mary janes. Yeah, this song is THAT good… makes me want to decade jump. whoa.

Sadly, there is no video that I could find for these guys so you will have to just rock the track and I dunno… picture your grandparents having sex to it. Boom.

The Black- Throwing Away

Oh yeah, and tomorrow is Friday! Oh yeah, and I called in sick today! Oh yeah, and I am not really sick! Oh. Yeah.

Today’s post is late mostly because I am so full of PMS rage that I was afraid I would hate any and ALL music simply because my angry vagina told me to. … So all the guys have stopped reading now, eh? If you’re still around, there is hope for all in the form of two more B-bands who do not disappoint.

Today feels like a mixed bag, much like my emotions. We go into the electronic world with Bikini, a band that trying to find a youtube video for is annoying as turdsticks. Listen up bands, let’s all agree to google the band name idea BEFORE you “go for it”. Stay away from common objects and brand names, ok? Jeez.

I am about 500% positive that my little brother is going to eat this band up. It has a vibe that at first makes you want to play it alongside watching Breakfast Club and then the vocals are so lo-fi that you get thrown for a loop right before being scooped up in a world of super fun dance-able reverb. These guys deserve a handshake from me, without them, a middle school student might have died today… ya know, because I almost killed one. Just to clarify.

Now a little something that even shocked my students when they heard it quietly creeping out from my teacher speakers, Binary Star. “Teacher… you like RAP?!”. Why yes, yes little Billy, I do. Now I make NO claims to be a bad ass who listens to Little Wayne or that Gucci guy who loves ice cream. I listen to the kind of rap that makes my boyfriend think, “awwww look at you listening to Blackalicious, aren’t you cute?”

Yes, yes I am.

Binary Star have a weird history dating back to the 90′s and honestly, I don’t care. I don’t care about most music history stuff (other than the day Gucci guy got the ice cream tattoo) if good music exists, I don’t care to know how… I just wants it. Yes, WANTS it.

Enjoy this guy, talent is an understatement.

Totally distracted today by stupid amounts of awesome. To start the awesome day my Biology class asked if they could listen to their music while we did a worksheet and I said that was fine. Sam the resident “oldie” lover puts on Grover Washington Jr. and within moments I am singing along with my 5 other students who have forgotten for the moment how cool they are supposed to “act” all the time. It was definitely in my top 5 awesome teacher moments. Then a student comes in during my planning period with an oreo and is ecstatically stating, “I can give you this because it’s veeeeegan!”.

Of course… all of this good moodness might have something to do with catching onto the goods of this whole “relationship” thing. Whoa… regular sex? I am never leaving. Glassy eyed and happy is how everyone should be at work. Fuck, I think I haven’t even raised my voice at a kid today. Even when one of my autistic students who suffers from a repetitive disorder got, “Let the bodies hit the floor!” stuck in her head… I just smiled.

Fuck, relationships make people SO LAME. I sound like a gross Hallmark card. But ok, after 28 years, I get it… the hype, anyway. This shit is pretty delicious, even if it does turn me into a little bitch.

Ok on to other more important things… music love making.

Today we conquer The Belle Brigade, a brother and sister duo who mostly sing about shutting up the part of your brain that kind of picks on yourself. I can’t blame them as they are both redheaded, seems like a lot of those types get angry at themselves for their DNA from time to time. Anyway, it’s good stuffs. Mellow, which after yesterday’s beat party, might not be a bad thing. Listen and let me know if I am just in love with the whole, “self esteem” theme….

Ben Sollee…. ok, I have to admit, this is NOT something I would probably have given more than 30 seconds worth of listening… but when you see what this guy can do to a fucking cello?! RIDICULOUS. His voice sometimes wins me over and other times makes me cringe… I was left completely perplexed by my admiration for his crazy talent and my own feelings towards the styling. This is another one you might have to listen to and then either encourage or slap me out of my “serious like” filled trance

And this one is just for the kiddos… should they one day google their slightly cool teacher, I want them to find this… aw.

ps- how is it only Tuesday?! Total crap.

Mondays are always in need of a pick me up. Friday we explored the awesomeness of the ever-expanding popularity of “bears” and today we take it back to the realm of names relating directly to music with bands who prefer to use, “beats” in their names.

A bold move as I think using, “beats” in your name better indicate that you know what you are doing when you mess with them. Luckily the following two bands do.

Beat Connection come from a place I hardly associate with solid dance-ability, Seattle. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure about half of my iPod is filled with the joyous sounds of that fair city, but I doubt any of them make me want to shake it like these boys. They use every random clinking clanking noise they can find to make dance music that does more than make you think, it makes your feet tap and your butt jiggle. (yes, jiggle) Listen and love… and maybe do some butt jigglin’ in your office chair. I am.

Next up, Beats Antique. I am not going to lie, looking at even a picture of this band makes me kind of sketched about liking them. The chick looks like she just dropped out of Evanescence and the two guys would make me fear for my life in an alley. But good music can’t be denied by looks (here’s looking at you, Thom Yorke). They are doing something funky. Sure, I might not be able to listen to it 24 hours a day, but new ways of making good music are wholly appreciated on this blog-o. They are arty in a way that could probably fill a coffee shop (including belly dancing, yikes) but also in a way that makes even the worst critic go, “well, it’s weird… but I like it.” The attention they are getting is definitely for a reason other than exposed hot lady belly. Try not to look at them, and just listen.

Enjoy your Monday kiddos… If you start to feel crazy at some point, just watch the new Radiohead video and remember, you aren’t THAT crazy yet. Here he is dancing to Beyonce instead, I like it MUCH better.

So it seems my earlier predictions about the evolution of indie band names were way off. What I thought was a progression from Wolf to Coast to Club is actually a whole different beast. Yes, I do believe there is the animal to geography to location trend but it seems EACH ONE evolves! Whoa kids, stop the blog-presses.

For instance “club” could next transition to “bar” or “outhouse”. Just as such, “Coast” could become the new “Lake” or “River” (which I think might have already come and gone?). Now we see the evolution of animals from “wolf” to “bear”! First with the lovable Grizzly Bears and now with a SXSW double dare final showdown-esque of… Bear Driver and Bear Hands.

I promised at the beginning of this project to only post bands that I like, without regard to their names, awesome outfits or what anyone else thinks, at all. I hold true to that trend even though this seems suspiciously serendipitous. They are both THAT good.

Bear Driver offers up the fun new trend of having 500 (or six, whatever) people in a band who all join in on that super fun singing stuff from time to time. They have been described as a more playful variety of Arcade Fire but other than a fuck ton of people, I fail to see the resemblance in sound. They are joyous without being too pop for the indie world and the fact that they have, “bear” in their name… well let’s just see how long it takes before no one remembers which band they are talking about after a few PBR’s. (yes, PBR’s… because when you have a discussion about Bear bands… you are a trite indie kid and you better behave as such) This song is delightful and so are they. So yay for bears and yay for Fridays.

Oh yeah… and the Bear Drivers track is called, “WOLVES”. Whoa. Somewhere a 7″ vinyl limited addition copy of something obscure, exploded.

Next up, Bear HANDS. We have the band that drives the bears somewhere and now the band that is in charge of…. well, either cutting their hands off or simply, handling them?

Either way, this band is delicious. Super fun experimental indie rock goodness that have MGMT to plug as their friends (which they do often, which gets old) but they are still super fun nonetheless. It should be noted that I have a deep new found hatred for MGMT after seeing them live and watching what looked to be a still photo of a band for an hour. Ewwies.

These guys seem like they might be able to take it a step above by having energy above that of a corpse AND playing good music. Also, it should be noted that the minute I accidentally stumbled on this unofficial video awhile back, I was in love. BEARS!!! BEARS!!! BEARS!!!

Technically, these are teddy bears, but fuck you because they are way cooler.

If I could live in this video all day, my Friday would be sublime. Unfortunately, I have a room full of learning disabled middle school students who need to complete a science fair project WITHOUT burning the school down… guess that means I better go take that blowtorch from little Cody over there…. HAPPY FRIDAY! YAY YAY YAY!!!

AND THIS!

I don’t know how fast we are going to be able to get through the mega beast that is the SXSW “B” section. If I keep coming across gems like these, I won’t mind in the slightest. In fact, I might just erase my entire hard drive and allow only bands that start with the letter B, seriously, this stuff is good.

To start we have The Barr Brothers, and just like the similar name suggests, they are folk-y loveness comparable to the Avett Brothers. I tend to feel these Montreal boys have a leg up as they are a more slowed down version that forces more attention to detail. Not that the Avett Brothers aren’t stunning in their own right, I just gravitate to the more simplistic when it comes to the folk category. This is quiet and loud all at the same time. A sound that makes you want to drive around a lake repeatedly with your windows down.

Yum yums.

For a smidge of a pick-me-up, we turn now to Beach Fossils. Ok, so this isn’t going to make you peel out from that lake and start cardio car dancing like mo’. It is nonetheless a summer sounding lo-fi band that is deliciously raw. The album entitled, “Daydream” will make you want to do just that…. which is less than productive for my full day of teaching ahead. Oh well.

Listen. Love. And wish you were part of a super cool band in Brooklyn too.

Happy, happy Thursday kids! If you are anything like me, this is pretty much the weekend because I refuse to do anything that remotely resembles work on Friday… I just… sit there. Education of the future generation be damned on Fridays.

I am beginning to LOVE everything about the B-section of the SXSW list. Today does not disappoint with two location-named bands… locations of course that have no affiliation with either band. How indie rock of them?!

One from Seattle and one from Toronto, it seems these boys are itching for some warmth. They will not be disappointed with what they find in Austin I would imagine… yummy sun, no beach, but it’ll do.

Bahamas instantly fed into my current disgusting mood of being in “like” with a new boy. That wispy trail of singer/songwriter vocals that are instantly read as sincere and adorable. He pitter pats on the drums and makes your heart do the same. He exists solely to, “make music about sunsets, love affairs, and making out with crooked smiles.”

I love him.

Barcelona with it’s exotic loveliness is nothing like the lumberjack tundra that is Seattle. The band itself doesn’t exactly stray from the sounds of Seattle either, a band that to me sounds like Death Cab had very awkward nerd sex with The Fray and made a baby.

The first 25 seconds of this track I could have sworn I was listening to DCFC’s Transatlanticism. It has the dripping pianos that make you want to slow down everything. It’s delightful, albeit heard before, but what in music is truly anything in its own right? I will take their delightful recreations and words about lovey dovey grossness and enjoy every second. His voice is angelic and when he states, “Please don’t go”… I don’t want to.

And look! Fishies!

For the first time since starting this blog a few months ago, this post will include all points. Music. Sex. Vegan.

Last night was the first time I have had a valentine since middle school… and you can scoff about your hallmark holiday all you want, I liked it and I don’t care how severely uncool I am because of that. Sure, I have had “guys” on valentines day before… but none that I like enough and none that were cute enough to make surprise reservations at a vegan place on the beach (I know, it’s so cute I just threw up in my mouth a little writing it).

The place turned out to be a RAW place which, even as a vegan, I will attest to being the most disgusting food movement EVER. The food tasted like gray. Yes, the food tasted like a COLOR. Horrific. We laughed the whole time which made it completely worth the $60 price tag to be able to say you consumed gray sand.

The sex part I will leave out for the most part suffice to say that there was no other option but to pay him back for pretending to enjoy the worlds worst meal.

This nonetheless has left me tired and happy and in a mood to listen to these next two bands who are the first of the, “B bands”! That’s right kids, we made it to the next letter in the alphabet… and I am hardly halfway exploring it and can tell you that the letter B does not disappoint.

Babeshadow is a first listen for me and although it is tirelessly happy, I am ok with that. Normally I need a little mix of mellow, but fuck it, today is a good day and I am going to blare these boys in my classroom whether my students like it or not. The music is about love-y dove-y grossness and until this new thing ends in ultimate heart break, I am going to listen and be giddy and enjoy the shit out of this crack love stuff everyone else has been enjoying for so long (if only for brief moments in time). They are a non apologetic band who sing songs because they are fun to sing… shouldn’t that always be the case?

I give you, Babeshadow.

Next up, a band that really needs no introduction… ok, so they aren’t The Beatles, but in the indie world, their blowing up might have likened to them on a smaller scale. Give them a listen and you will instantly understand as they are likable to any ears. The vocals brought me to The Bravery references (at least in this song) but I am ok with it… it’s delightful. They are an unclassifiable band as far as genres go and I think it’s better that they stay that way… more bands should try to break this many boundaries, it’s yummy.