The latest spinning at Outlandos HQ…
1. Mike Gent, Mike Gent
A pop masterpiece. Seriously. It’s easy, it’s smart, it’s fun, AND it has balls. Speaking of, Mike’s other band, The Figgs, has long been one of my favorite live outfits. Read more here. Hear it here. Buy it here
2. Found, Let Fidelity Break
Scottish outfit. Couldn’t get enough of them in Austin. This is off their new EP, The Fidelities EP. Quirky, catchy, techno psychedelia. And funnily/sadly, occasionally relatable. Hear it here. Buy it here.
3. The Guggenheim Grotto, Fee Da Da Dee & Her Beautiful Ideas
Irish guys, their 1st
4. Jeff Buckley, Grace
After reading A Pure Drop (which I don’t necessarily recommend as the writing is terrible, however the subject matter is obviously fascinating), it made sense to hang with Grace
5. Kyle Andrews, Sushi
Kyle has a new
xo
4/27/09 | Comments (0)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, David Byrne, Found, Jeff Buckley, KATE BRADLEY, Kyle Andrews, Mike Gent, NOW PLAYING, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, The Figgs, The Guggenheim Grotto —
As always, the idea is that what unites us is more than music, an axiology that extends from the music to our music-lover lifestyles: how we vote, what we drive, what we eat, what we wear, etc. The point is, we’re a tribe connected by vibe… hence, this month’s economic self-stimulus compendium:
1. Razor Saver
No kidding. I bought mine about 3 years ago and I think I’ve purchased a total of 20 blades since… and I mean individual blades, like a couple of 10 packs. It’s totally awesome and it’s $12. And razor blades are freaking EXPENSIVE, those whores.
2. Cheap Thrills
While we’re at it, here’s something my mom used to do when we were livin’ on the cheap: test-drive a fancy car. Seriously. I remember driving a Lexus one day, learning stick on it, LOL! But it does make you feel ritzy. So if the economy’s got you down, stimulate your inner-Rockefeller and go test-drive a Mercedes. Or just ask your friend if you can drive his new Miata.
3. Look the Part
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Taking a tip from my dad here: if you are going for that test-drive, you might as well go whole-hog. Consider donning a film-star-producer-in-a-tracksuit look. Totally Hollyweird.
4. Read the Part
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Up in the wee hours again last night finishing out Danny Goldberg’s bio, Bumping Into Geniuses
5. The Cloud
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New technological toys make everyone feel rich. I for one have officially gone fully space-aged: not only do I actually TALK to my computer (I use voice-activated software instead of typing!) but now all my computing magically lives up there in the Ether. It’s incredibly liberating. And while it didn’t exactly save me money ($99 a year for Mobile Me + 400 bucks for the iPhone) it is saving me plenty of time and sanity. All my stuff is in one place; change a contact on my phone, it changes it on my computer… delete an e-mail from my phone, it deletes it from my computer. Who says money can’t buy happiness? Now if only I could get the Millennium Falcon working.
xo
4/20/09 | Comments (3)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, Danny Goldberg, IN SHORT, KATE BRADLEY, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Razor Saver —
The biggest idea I came out of SxSW with this year was that free is dead. Over. Overdone. We killed it. Because so much is free online, we expect it; where’s the value in that? It seems to me that the folks in Austin weren’t quite on this one yet… even SxSWi keynote speakers Guy Kawasaki and Chris Anderson seemed slow to the punch (Guy’s big bright idea for Chris’s new book “Free,” out this July, was to give it away for free. HELLO? Been there. Done that. Have they NOT notice that the music industry has already beaten this model into the ground?)
Sure, giving stuff away for free is nice. People like it. And these days, you have to do it just to keep up with the Joneses. But keeping up doesn’t get you ahead. And obviously free doesn’t exactly pay the bills unless you’re Trent Reznor or Radiohead, i.e. established. So what about the little guy? Good question.
Things to think about:
1. What’s the effectiveness of your free? To lure in new fans? To solidify current fans?
2. What’s the strategy of your free? Is your free creative? Why do I want it over someone else’s?
3. What’s the bottom line of your free? To get me to pay for something else?
Free can’t be JUST free anymore. And how the hell can you beat free? So that’s my question:
What’s the new free?
Thinking that the answer is in fact the opposite of free. The complete opposite. Fucking expensive.
Take the new food for example (thanks Erik!). $5 Kashi anyone? $4 local, farm-raised, cage-free eggs? $8 Pom Wonderful? $5 rice milk? Are we (me included) out of our minds? Perhaps. But clearly, somehow those foodies did it. We’re willing to pay ridiculously high prices for incredible quality. What’s more is we often drive way out of our way to get it (for most of us, Whole Foods, etc. isn’t usually down the road). Why? We value life for one, fueling our bodies with the best we can to feel healthy, younger, whatever. But also it’s just plain delicious, so there’s definitely an aesthetic association. And for sure, it’s COOL. I love walking into Whole Foods with my eco-conscious shopping basket and looking at all the pretty colors and all the pretty people. I do. It’s a group I want to be long to. But the best part is getting home, unpacking everything, unwrapping and putting it away. I love touching it. I love how it looks in the refrigerator and on the shelves. It looks nice.
Hmmmmm…. what else makes you feel good, feeds the senses, makes you willing to make an effort to get it, makes you feel cool and the need for inclusion? YOUR FAVORITE BAND.
So what’s missing? Well, if it’s digital, you can’t TOUCH it. And that’s a bummer. There’s a lot of pleasure out of simply owning something, holding it. Is that the missing element? Making music TACTILE again?
I think so. And apparently Tim Easton does as well. Bless him.
xo
4/13/09 | Comments (57)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, KATE BRADLEY, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Radiohead, Tim Easton, Trent Reznor —
Guest post this week from an astounding singer-songwriter who mysteriously remains relatively unknown (working on fixing that!), my friend Michael Miller.
Dear Hearts,
I have a friend who constantly asks me how to be happy. We talk about it all the time. Happiness.
I’ve told her, my secret is…. singing.
What makes someone happy? Why are some people happier than others? Some folks are completely miserable, despite their financial circumstances (rich or poor) or social standing (famous or homeless), while others are extra happy regardless of their life hardships or pain or suffering. I do believe that some people are just born lucky and predisposed to being happy, born with the “happy gene.” For others, no matter where circumstances or experiences take them in their lives, it seems to be a choice to be happy or not.
There are several secrets to happiness: living in a state of constant gratitude, faith, daily exercise, charity…. but a big one that I am certain has not been mentioned much, is singing.
Before I was born, my mother used to sing with her sisters professionally, touring and performing on tv and radio shows. Not surprisingly, there was always singing in the house and all around me… campfire choruses at 4H Summer Camp (led by my grandmother). A cappella hymns every Sunday morning at church. Bedtime lullabies. Back seat sing-alongs on long vacation road trips.
It was just natural and normal, like breathing or a second language, simply because my mother sang around the house all the time. While cleaning, doing chores, making dinner, working in the garden, walking us to school, ANYwhere and anytime… she would sing… if there was something on the radio or tv or any live performance, she would sing along, in harmony.
My aunt tells a story of when they were younger, growing up on their farm, a local neighbor farmhand would often visit and ask, bewildered, “What IS it with your family?? You are always so happy! There’s always singing going on. Singing!!”
I realize that I have done the same thing all through my life… I hear melodies in my head and just sing, regardless of where or what hour it is… or I’ll suddenly remember a favorite song and sing it out… I’ve sung through heartbreak pains, sung while traveling and getting lost (literally) in other countries. I’ll sing to ease boredom or to trigger the gushing buzz of a sweet memory… I’ll sing a prayer out loud… or a childhood TV theme song….
Perhaps this is not a huge revelation… it probably goes back to the beginning of time. Before language with words, there was humming and melody… the slaves in Egypt likely sang the blues to help pass the time…..
There are even studies about how singing makes you live longer.
I believe there is a spiritual soul revival that occurs or a magic eraser effect anytime you sing…… the more you sing, the happier you will be…. going through a firecrash breakup? Sing. Just lost your job? Sing. Walking down a dark, scary alley in the middle of the night? Sing.
Sing in the shower. Sing at the grocery store. Sing in your car. Sing in the elevator. It’s like free therapy or a free drug. It’s a light that pushes away the dark. Sing often and loud and proud. Just sing. It will make you happy.
M
Michael’s new record, I Made You Up (coming out this June and easily my favorite record of this year so far) can be heard here.
xo
4/6/09 | Comments (3)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, KATE BRADLEY, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, Michael Miller, OUTLANDOS MUSIC —
