Hip To Be Square

As some of you may know, Boston holds a new music festival once a year in accordance with the Boston Music Awards. That festival is called NEMO Music Festival. This is a time to learn about new music in our area and around the country. There are some really great acts like Ashley Simpson that are playing this year.

O.K., so hopefully most of you reading this blog know me by now and know that I was just joking about the previous artist (if you can call her that). But seriously, she is playing and it's quite embarrasing for the city of Boston. Go to www.nemoboston.com and learn about all the other bands that I'm not going to be posting about and find out how you can purchase a bracelet to see all the shows you want from tonight until Sunday.

Now on to the good stuff...

Thursday, September 29th:

Upstairs at the Middle East

Black mountain: From Vancouver, BC, this group has a really great raw sound to them. If you like a group that attacks their guitars with force, go see Black mountain. This will be my first stop tonight. Download "Druganaut" here and "Heart of Snow" here.

Blood Meridian: Also from Vancouver, this group shares a member with Black Mountain, Stephen McBean. This groups sound is more subdued then Black Mountain. At times, Stephen sings in a mono tone manner, with very little inflections. Could be a good band to have a beer during. Download "Wrong Turns" here.

Downstairs at the Middle East

Diamond Nights: Just another great band coming out of New York City. This group has fun written all over them. They no how to party and they show on stage. And the best part, their nice guys. Doesn't happen that quite often with indy rockers. Listen to the entire EP, "Destination Diamonds", here.

Electric Six: If you thought Ween was crazy, wait till you get a load of these guys. These guys came on the scene about two years ago with their album, Fire and their single, High Voltage. Let me just put it this way, one of their songs is called, "I've got something to put in you / At the gay bar".

TT and the Bear's

King of France: Once again another NYC band. This group just came off a great run down in the big apple during the CMJ festival. A good buzz is going around about this group and I am going to really try to get down to TT;s for these guys. They have a really playful side to them, sort of like The Boy Least Likely To...(if you've heard them before). Here, listen to The Boy Least Likely To...download "Be Gentle With Me" (right click and save) and then listen to King of France here, and tell me what you think.

Keep your eye out for more posts as the days go on.

P.S. Jeff, Amanda, Taylor and (not sure if they got rid of) extra ticket guy... have a great time at Beck. I will be very upset if he jams out "Devils Haircut". But I hope he plays it for you guys and blows the stage away.

Best known for his work with Little Brother vocalist, Phonte, on the album The Foreign Exchange, Nicolay is an astounding producer that is, if not already, going to get serious praise from the likes of underground hip-hop fans and indy freaks alike.

Nicolay dwells in the Netherlands. His beats are straight up hip-hop and his melodies are rooted in soul, R&B and jazz. What I just described isn't unique. In fact the description above sums up about 80% of the euro dj population if not the whole dj universe. But it's not the ingredients of the music that makes this producer unique. We'll leave that category to Diplo and MIA. What makes his grooves stand out is the attention to detail in each little sound within the production. Every beat, melody, tempo change and vocal sample has a purpose and they make sense.

This album is called "City Lights". If you live in a city and you walk to work, to the gym, to go out or to just walk, this album is for you. Put it on, listen and walk down the sidewalk. You'll find more joy in walking in your city then you thought imaginable.

I'm going to shut up now and provide you with some tracks to ponder:

(To download songs, click on the link and you will be sent to iHud. On this page, scroll down to the bottom and you will find a link to download the song.)
City Sounds
Inidan Summer
There's No Guaranty

Buy the "City Lights Volume 1.5" from Amazon here.

Visit www.nicolaymusic.com for more music produced by Nicolay and if you want to pick up the critically acclaimed, Foreign Exchange album, go here.

If you're not a fan of Andy Dick, don't worry, neither am I. But this is hilarious.

See why our President insists on screwing up his speeches here.

This is an interesting rendition of the classic kid song, Puff The Magic Dragon, by Bonnie "Prince" Billy.


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They just released a five song EP, "Sleep Late for a Better Tomorrow", and it does what an EP should do, create anticpation for the full album release.

Dirty On Purpose is based out of Brooklyn, NY, made up of four guys and one girl from Brooklyn, NY (Doug Marvin - Drummer, lead vocals - Erika Forster, keyboard and vocals - Joe Jurewicz, guitar - George Wilson, guitar and vocals - DJ Boudreau, bass). They are able to create extremely catchy tunes with their short eighties like riffs and quick changes in tempo. Their vocals are a treat as well. The lead vocalist, Doug Marvin, is also their drummer. His voice is very soft and easy to listen to and it's backed up by another great voice, Erika Forster.

They also have potential to be a great live act. Just take a look at the hipsters getting down in this video for Mind Blindness. Looking forward to catching them up here in Boston during the NEMO festival. Yeah, we've got a indy music festival too. Catch them at the Lizard Lounge on Saturday, October 1st.

The only song I have problems with is Cheat Death. I hate to skip songs but I sometimes have to when I get to this one no the EP. Not because of a lack of beauty, it's a very beautiful song, the problem for me is its length. A song like this, I feel, should be about 3 minutes or less, especially if it's the third song on an album. But again, this is an EP and their first at that. I think, in the end, they'll find a place for this song. I would recommend throwing it towards the end if they keep it at 5 minutes. The Sigur Ros like echoes in the backround are great and again the vocals are perfect.

But I think they have all the ingredients for success. And after viewing their video, an important ingredient came to view that is sure to capture many of the male populations interest, she's already captured mine.

You can download Mind Blindness and All New Friends from the bands website here.

Oh, and I can't forgett, DOP is on North Street Records, a great label that is sure to generate more bands like Dirty On Purpose in the near future. Keep your eye on both the band and the label.

So I did it. I went to see them live. I searched craiglist all day today and found a face value ticket, thanks Adam.

I have been listening and wondering about their mysterious noises for three years now. Some say it sounds like whales talking to each other or baby's crying. Actually, it's a little of both I think. But the real mystery is not really the music per say but the humans behind these sounds. I learned that first hand earlier tonight. From the moment they got on stage to the moment they left, they kept me enthralled in their music yet not letting me get too close. It's like an insecure teenage boy trying to grab the attention of a girl only to shy away when she comes near. They lift us up and then turn us away. Only it's like a drug, once you've been there you want to go back. And so we begin again, starting from the high piercing registration of Birgisson's guitar bowing skills all the way until they engulf us with every sound imaginable.

I guess you could say it was a good show (extreme sarcasm). The lights worked perfectly with the songs. Birgisson's voice was on point and the band was uplifting as ever. And the best part, I still can't figure them out. I think its a great accomplishment to leave your fans wondering - who are you? How does he make that sound? I wonder what they do when their not playing music that sounds like whales.

Really quick review of Takk - Pretty good. Not their best. I find ( ) to be my favorite album of theirs. Takk is a very energetic album with lots of crescendos, more than normal. Some say that it is their least depressing album. But depressing music to me is different than psychological depression. I think depressing music can actually be quite uplifting.

Here are a couple tracks that I really like from the new album:

Download Gong
Download Glosoli

Download videos, images, songs and learn more about Sigur Ros at their official site

Little Barrie, a trio from London England, is bringing back the mod guitar sound from the 60's and adding a tinge of punk to the vocals. This group blows me away. Forget Kings of Leon, these guys are the' rough around the edges' rock group that we have been looking for since we lost most of the great rock n' rollers around the mid-seventies. And that's coming from a kid born in 1980.

The band is named after the lead guitarist and lead vocalist, Barrie Codogan. And rightly so. His guitar is a force to be reckoned with. His riffs are dirty and sound is raw. They come right out of the gates on their first album, "We are Little Barrie", with a smooth groovin tune, Free Salute. Every time I listen to it walking down the street I feel like I'm Shaft, with my pimp leather coat and dark shades, knowing I'm the pimpest cat in town. The rest of the album pretty much follows the same ingredients of blues, funk and rock n' roll. This full length album was released on Artemis Records, same guys that released the Warren Zevon album, "The Wind".

Now, they may not blow up on the scene like Arcade Fire or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but you take my word for it, they'll be around. But if you don't want to trust me, just here what Barrie has to say,

So, I still need to sit down and do a thorough review of a band. Just got the Internet last weekend. Now I need to focus. Ok, enough about me and my lack of motivation. Now for the music.

I have been listening to Dios for a few weeks now. They are from Hawthorne, California. I have found them to be a band that I can put on in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. They are an "everyday" band. There aren't many out there. For example, Sigur Ros does not go on when the party is getting started or when the party is getting down and dirty. But Dios, hey, you can throw them on and get down, if you turn the volume up. They use a lot of floating melodies (must be that Cali sunshine that keeps them afloat).

They also seem like a strange group of individuals that have some obsession for monkeys. Which is a good thing because monkeys are cool.

Check out the caption at the bottom...couldn't have said it better my self.  

Check out this really awsome video by this really awsome new band. Watch their video here.

Read their review on Pitchork. Visit their webiste at www.serena-maneesh.com

- Pimps of Biddeford Pool, Maine - Picture taken by our good friend Syrah (more to come).

You can't ask for a better weekend. This post will be short but sweet. Still don't have the Internet at home so posts are being put up at work. Don't have much time.

Went up to Biddeford Pool, Maine on Saturday. Went to our friend Alex's (pimp in the middle of picture) pad rignt on the Maine coast to party and party we did. Won't describe it all but I'll sum it up in a few words - BBQ, dancing, body surfing, beautiful girls, watched sun come up, good times, great friends, end of the summer.

And I'll cap it off with a great classic rock tune for you to download. At the dance they may not have played this song but they may as well have because I don't remember much (too busy focusing attention on beautiful girl(s) ) - download "Don't Stop Beleivin" by Journey here.

Hope everyone had as great a Labor Day weekend as we did.

I'm not one to keep secrets. And it may be obvious to those out there but I thought it would be appropriate that one of my first posts should talk about the name of this blog. For those of you not familiar, "Hip To Be Square" is a song by one of the greatest hit makers in town, Mr. Huey Lewis.

I was five years old when Back to the Future came out in the movies. As I was sitting there watching one of my all time favorite actors, Michael J. Fox, go back in time, an infectious song came screaming in to the theatre, "Back in Time" by Huey Lewis and the News. I left that theatre knowing that the movie I just saw rocked and that the main song was something I had to go out and find. And find I did. I bought the soundtrack to Back To the Future. But that wasn't enough for me. I played "Back in Time" over and over again and I thought that it was time to find out more about this Huey Lewis guy. So I purchased his 1983 classic, Sports. Such hits as "The Heart of Rock and Roll" and "I want a New Drug" were seeping in to my innocent brain. Huey helped me to see the lighter side of music and he taught me how to be "Hip to Be Square".

And now, 20 years later, Huey has found his way back in to my life. My friends and I have started an annual Huey Lewis event where we go to see him in Atlantic City, NJ at the end of the summer. He has played there for the past two years and we are looking forward to the third.

Listen to "Hip to Be Square" here
Download "Power of Love" here

This may not be my favorite right now, but I find Husky Rescue to be a great listen. They are from Helsinki, Finland. Got introduced to them by Scenestars and haven't looked back since. Their hit, "Summertime Cowboy" has to be one of the coolest songs around. There are little sounds, for example a whipping sound made by a keyboard that makes this track very interesting. Download(right click and save) here

But the track that really gets me is "City Lights". There is a flow to this song that I can't seem to get out of my head for at least an hour after I listen to it. You can also watch the video (quite possibly the sexiest video ever) here. Download a live version of "City Lights" here.

Hey baby...Huey!!!!! you're the man. ha ha ha 

That's right 

Lets see... it's go time.

Hip to Be Square is just another place where you can go to read someone else's opinion about music, movies, politics and random crap. We'll see what happens. It could be all down hill from here. But going down hill can be fun, especially when rolling down in a trash barrel.

Looking forward to writing up terrible reviews on music, movies and spitting out philosophical bull that at times, I don't even understand.