Featured – Page 54 – Austin Town Hall

FT5: Songs That Make You Dance

February 5, 2010 -1893llzws 9 comments

It’s Friday night. Whether or not you are the host of a party, en route to a social gathering, or made sure to pack a few extra bucks to load up the bar jukebox; you have a few songs in mind that are gonna be played. Everyone has their own fist pumping, head rocking, “make up your own dance moves” go-to tracks that you know everyone will dance to without shame. The following are a few songs that will make you dance your pants off, with or without liquid courage. Follow the jump for the full list (in no particular order).
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FTC: Dr. Octagon

February 4, 2010 nathan.lankford One comment

Usually we don’t do a lot of write-ups on hip-hop, but that’s mostly because we don’t know too much about it, but we do know about this guy. Kool Keith has been all over the place for years, sometimes as KK, sometimes as Black Elvis, but his most prominent persona for me is Dr. Octagon. His rhmyes are odd, and quite vulgar, but not in a “I just want to cuss a lot way,” more in a disturbed MC sort of way. I used to listen to the first record, Dr. Octagonecolgyst (the best in my opinion), all the time in college. For some reason, I just felt like travleing down memory lane with this record today. Blue Flowers!

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Half-Shark-Alligator-Half-Man.mp3]

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SXSW Watchlist: Jets Overhead

February 2, 2010 RayRay One comment

Whaaaa?!? It’s barely February and you guys are already talking SXSW? You bet your ass we are! Now still a little over a month or so away, we wanted to kick off our SXSW watchlist bands this year with Victoria, BC band Jets Overhead. Hailing from the great white north, you can hear the obvious Stars/Metric/Broken Social Scene influences that run deep in the sounds of this band. Of course the ATH loves those sounds! Not to write them off as just another Canadian atmospheric rock band, Jets Overhead also show some 70s psych rock parts similar to elements of Velvet Underground (anyone else agree on that?). Now touring behind their second full length LP No Nations, the Canadians will be making their way into Austin during SXSW week and we think you should give them a go. Being as early as it is, we can’t find much information about when and where the band is actually playing. We’ll keep ya posted.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/04-No-Nations-1.mp3]

Download: Jets Overhead – No Nations [MP3]

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1/29 Girls @ The Parish

February 1, 2010 -1893llzws Leave a comment

Girls brought the stoned out and sunny, but never too sunny, sounds of their debut Album to life at the Parish last Friday. With support by The Smith Westerns and Magic Kids it was a night of bright shards of pop bouncing off the Parish’s newly re-decorated walls. A great night for a reverb drenched acid trip lead by the eccentric weirdness of Christopher Owens and his mighty side kick Chet White. Follow the jump.

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FT5: Songs Stuck In My Head

January 29, 2010 jon.wagner 7 comments

We all have that feeling. You have a crucial presentation or test the next morning and you just need some damn sleep. Then it hits you. Out of nowhere, the chorus to ‘Rocky Mountain High’ (or some equally random song) decides to lodge itself deep within your subconscious. “What the hell John Denver, I don’t even listen to your music and can’t possibly even remember the last time I hear that song!” This kind of thing happens to me more often than I would like to admit, but here goes. The ear-bug phenomenon may be an inevitable curse to the music junkie. I can’t go through the day without listening to some sort of music and therefore, some rhythm or theme, or even a random lyric gets stuck, leaving me with nowhere to run. The only thing to do is to listen to music as a guard against this from happening, from my own personal theme music infiltrating my deepest thoughts. And thus, the cycle begins anew. Over the years, I find myself humming the tunes of many songs in the short-term, but a few have never left. It’s a living nightmare. Damn you Hippocampus! Follow the jump for full list.

A2W: The Sour Notes

January 27, 2010 RayRay Leave a comment

The Sour Notes are an Austin band who have arguably released more material in the last couple of years than any other local band. What makes the large discography for such a new band (3 LPs and a 7″ to be exact) even more impressive is that each release was put out on the band’s dime. Anyone who has been involved with a band currently shopping a label knows how hard releasing material on your own can be. Don’t tell that to leading man Jared Boulanger. He Originally started The Sour Notes in Houston, TX as a moniker for what was essentially a solo project. Shortly after his debut in 2008, Boulanger began bringing some friends on board to a form a new band that could tour and play live shows together locally and nationally. 2010 has seen the band release a new LP It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty with a follow up already planned for later this year. Now, recently returning from another east coast tour, the band has a welcome home show planned for Thursday night at Mohawk. The up and coming locals will be playing along with Zest of Yore and The Demigs. Check out this latest single “Do-ers & Say-ers” from the band below and find out why we think you needs ta know about these locals.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/02_DOERS_SAYERS.mp3]

Download: The Sour Notes – Do-ers & Say-ers [MP3]

FT5: Songs About Cars

January 22, 2010 jon.goodrich 6 comments

There are few song subjects that lend themselves to expressions of pure happiness. Songs about automobiles seem to be an exception. The sense of freedom that comes from driving a car always seems be a joyful experience in songs. Whether you’re talking about The Beach Boys or The Geto Boys, exalting the virtues of the automobile seems to be a peculiarly American phenomenon. Most songs seem to be about American cars too as, to my knowledge, no one yet has written a great pop song about a Honda Civic. Maybe some day. In the mean time, follow the jump for five great songs about (American) cars.
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FTC: Sly & The Family Stone

January 21, 2010 RayRay One comment

A From the Closet featuring the great Sly & The Family Stone band seems appropriate this week since ATH took the day off on Monday for the great MLK Jr. Sly and his band, while doing it a bit more aggressively than the late Dr. King, also promoted the ideals of a world without racism and discrimination. I mean this band was integrated wayyyy before being integrated was cool. White boys in a funk band? No way! Don’t tell that to Sly Stone. With such a huge discography of music a choice could be hard, but not when a band has such a huge hit like “Everyday People”. Appearing on the groups biggest album Stand! of 1968, this hit sums up the style of Sly: heavy psych-funk beats with a simple message of peace. I’ve also got to admit that this was one of the first songs I ever really fell head over heals for. My mom had the Sly & The Family Stone greatest hits on vinyl and I jammed the shit out of this song on my Fisher Price record player. This is easily one of my top 10 songs of all time.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/EverydayPeople.mp3]

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A2W: Yellow Fever

January 20, 2010 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

At the end of the year, we had a hard time keeping our heads above water, trying to grasp our end of the year lists and what not. In doing so, we missed the chance to alert you to the duo that is Yellow Fever. Sure, they’ve been running around Austin for several years, but recently, they’ve seen their star rising in their musical horoscope. Vivian Girls opted to release the groups self-titled debut album on their label Wild World. It’s an album full of simple ditty’s a la early K Records groups such as the Beat Happening, but instead of Calvin as the front man, you have the wonderful Jennifer Moore. It’s got enough hooks to grab the casual listener, and enough depth to instill true adoration from Austin fans. You’ll want to keep an eye on this group in 2010, especially on February 19th when they take the stage with Chain and the Gang and The Strange Boys. Sounds like a line-up of classic indie rock, and by that, I mean the stuff pre-Pitchfork. Do yourself a favor and head on out to grab a copy of Yellow Fever so you’ll know all the songs in time for the show.

FT5: Modern Rock Stars

January 15, 2010 RayRay 3 comments

We really live in a day and age when the idea of being a rock star is just about gone. Gone are the days of the lead singer who gets mobbed by fans everywhere they go or sleeps in hotel rooms full of strange women. We don’t even get a lot of musicians with drug and alcohol problems anymore or who quite obviously don’t give a shit what anyone thinks. You know, those people who were just way cooler than you ever hoped to be? Dylan, Jagger, Plant, etc. We all know the names. That’s what makes them rock stars. So today I wanted to create a list of those “modern rock stars” who have carried the torch of debauchery and coolness into a new age. These guys (and gals) represent all the great things about being a rock star: alcohol/drug rehab stints, celebrity girlfriends, trend setting, don’t give a shit attitude, members of popular bands, and decent music all earn you a place on this list. As a disclaimer I’ll say that all these artists rose to fame in the last decade so this means you won’t see a Dave Grohl or Eddie Vedder on this list because they have long been in the halls of the greats. I’ll also make an attempt to compare each artist to who they most closely resemble from years past. Please don’t assume that I’m comparing anyone artistically, I just wanted to give you a frame of reference. Follow the jump for the full list.

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