Song of the day: Sciflyer/"The Same Thing Goes for Christmas"

Sciflyer are another of the new wave of shoegaze bands championed by labels like Clairecords and sites like Somewhere Cold. The band released a new EP, The Age of Lovely Intimate Things, earlier this month, and over the past few days I've found myself continually going back for more whenever I'm feeling mellow. While my friends over at The Covalent Bond are ga-ga over the song "The Nation" (which I like as well), I've been loving "The Same Thing Goes For Christmas" -- six and a half minutes of dreamy bliss. Enjoy.

Song of the day: Mazarin/"I'm with You and the Constellations"

One of the best songs that my best friend Hill has turned me onto in the past few years is Mazarin's "Chasing the Girl" (available as a free stream here, via Epitonic.com). After falling deeply in love with that epic pop single, I eagerly picked up what ended up being a rather disappointing album by Mazarin in the dollar bins at Amoeba. After that, I largely wrote the band off.



Until today, that is. This morning, I saw that my friend Robert over at Music Radish had blogged favorably about the new Mazarin album, We're Already There. I respect Robert's taste immensely, and decided to give the band a second chance. And I'm glad I did. While I like the album, I *LOVE* the song "I'm with You And The Constellations." But don't trust me -- check it out for yourselves. Enjoy.

The Double Life: a Rainer Maria retrospective

When I was in Washington, DC last week, I saw NYC indie rock trio Rainer Maria kick off their East coast tour at the Black Cat. It was a great show, full of good music and energy.

Rainer Maria have been banging around on their guitars (and drums) since the mid-1990s, making angry, loud, emo(tional) rock music that, personally speaking, gives me the chills (and I mean that in a good way). The band is gearing up to release a new album this fall on Polyvinyl Records; the as-yet-untitled album is their fifth full-length (not counting last year's live Anyone In Love with You).



This is a sampler of my favorite Rainer Maria songs, for the uninitiated. If you like this stuff and are looking for a taste of the new album, the band is offering "Burn," a song from the new album, as a free stream via www.rainermaria.com. Enjoy.

Song of the day: KaitO/"Driving Manual Auto"

We added a bunch of releases from SpinART Records to Rhapsody today, including the Pixies' "purple album" of 1987-era demos as well as Band Red, the 2003 album from UK noise rockers KaitO. KaitO, whose live show is a stunning, glorious mess, is criminally unknown in this country, and SpinART's tepid promotion of this album (the band's second) certainly didn't help.

Click here to check out my favorite tune from Band Red, the squall-icious "Driving Manual Auto." Enjoy the music.

Song of the day: The Cat's Miaow/"Hollow Inside"

I've had a crazy couple of weeks, involving two trips to New York and a side-trip to Washington, D.C. in the span of just 10 days, so forgive me for ignoring the blog more than usual (a lot more than usual). In that time, we've added a bunch of fun stuff to Rhapsody, including several albums and comps by Australian indiepop band The Cat's Miaow (as my friend Meighan pointed out to me this week).

I first discovered The Cat's Miaow on a now out-of-print compilation called Going Againt Maz's Advice, put out in 1995 by tiny SF indie label Four Letter Words. That compilation included the song Hollow Inside, a 3-minute piece of low-fi pop perfection whose simple changes and dreamy guitar made my popster heart flutter. It was one of one of my favorite songs then, and I still love it today. Enjoy.

R.I.P., Bob Moog

Bob Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizer, died yesterday at his home in Asheville, North Carolina, at the age of 71. Moog's analog synthesizer has played a starring role in rock for nearly forty years, adding texture to works from everyone from the Beatles (whose "Octopus' Garden" featured extensive use of the Moog) to prog-rockers like Yes.

I'm working on a longer playlist of songs featuring prominent use of the Moog, but for now, suggest you click here to check out a unique, Moog-tastic take on David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" by devotees The Moog Cookbook. Enjoy!