April 1, 2008

Here’s a quick pop quiz for ya:

Are you a current high school senior?

Are you on your way to full-time enrollment at an accredited university or college?

Are you involved and/or interested in music and/or the creative arts?

Do you reside in Washington or Oregon?

If you answered a resounding yes to all of those questions you are officially eligible to apply for one of three scholarships that are being offered by the legendary indie-rock label from the Pacific Northwest – Sub Pop.

Fantastic idea, good luck to all that apply. We’re going to get to work on the Hidden Track scholarship, and our application process is rigorous. So be sure to get your Top Five Headiest Jams and favorite gooball recipe together in order to qualify.

Read on for the full details of Sub Pop’s generous offer:

Last week’s edition is still currently too close to call. If you haven’t voted, you gotta help us declare a winner. I wish I could congratulate last weeks winner, that’s what I like to do at the beginning, but I can’t – it’s just too close!

One of the things I love about writing this column, besides the chicks, is the cool things you learn along the way of researching an edition. For example, I was not aware that the guitar solo was recorded with a Telecaster going through a Leslie Speaker. You can learn all sorts of cool shit from this song’s wikipedia page. I’m not going to copy and paste all of them but it’s got some good stuff: Recording techniques, quotes from band members about it, etc.

Though there are is no shortage of cover versions, I’m going to do a few less than the past few weeks. Here’s my six favorite versions of Good Times, Bad Times:

If Imeem is only giving you 30 second clips of the songs, you must register or login to Imeem to hear the full tracks – it’s easy and free.

Read on for the tale of the tape on this week’s competitors…

It’s no secret Yo La Tengo’s front man Ira Kaplan has quite an affinity for the New York Metropolitans – we previously reported on the connection to the origin of

No, that headline isn’t an April Fools Day joke. The folks at Pitchfork have indeed heaped some praise on Dave Matthews after news surfaced yesterday that his label ATO Records

For most of 2008, Howlin Rain’s sophomore release Magnificent Fiend has completely dominated my listening. For those of you who don’t know, Howlin Rain is Ethan Miller of Comets on Fire’s other band. The record came out at the beginning of March, but I’d received an advance copy early in the year and took to it immediately.

Howlin Rain’s 2006 eponymous debut was damn good, but in retrospect laid the groundwork that was undeniably built upon with this release. Where the debut was cautiously and deceptively unadorned, MF is full of vintage goodness, sounding like a lost gem from the golden era of album-rock. It brings us back to an age when organic chemistry and clever arrangements lead to an album sounding like a complete, cohesive thought. Ethan Miller’s marathon vocals lie atop a rich tapestry of organs, pianos, horns, and overdriven guitars set against a rock-solid rhythm section. Long story short – Magnificent Fiend kicks serious ass.

After 2+ months of immersing in the record, I was ready to see those tunes live. I finally got my chance March 27 at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. I’d spent so much time with the studio output that I’d conveniently forgotten about how the songs might play out differently live. From the opening moments of Death Prayer in Heaven’s Orchard off the debut, I was quickly reminded that Howlin Rain is a living, breathing organism just beginning to find its legs and navigate through life. Throughout the course of their hour set (which was WAY too short), there were moments of absolute brilliance and moments where the whole thing was hanging on by a thread. The biggest thing I noticed watching Ethan and company navigate through the set was how real it all was. Read on for more…