LISTEN: Family Portrait

Glide Part One (Demo) 

Glide Part Two (Demo) 

 As you might already have noticed, I'm a huge fan of Underwater Peoples Records. I first heard Real Estate last winter, which was my first winter here in Sweden and their debut album will always remind me of the orange tinted snow from the streetlights and the part-time job I had opening up a tent that housed Father Christmas. For most people, Underwater Peoples symbolizes summer and the beach, but for me it's always going to be cosy music for autumn/winter and with winter fast approaching and the upcoming release of Family Portrait's debut, it looks like they may be 2010s cosiness.

 Listen to more here.

LOOK: Alberta, Canada 1975

Old shacks and sheds near the road on farm north of Peers, Alberta. Late autumn 1975

 

 

 

 

 

Hunting on farm north of Peers, Alberta. Late autumn 1975

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Asselin hunting and smoking a pipe on his farm north of Peers, Alberta. Late autumn 1975

 

 

 

Mountain in Jasper Park, Alberta in late 1975.
Seen from the Yellowhead Highway.

 

 

                                  Old farm buildings and fields north of Peers, Alberta. Late autumn 1975

via Canada Good

WATCH: Bert Jansch - L.A. Turnaround videos (1973)

WATCH: More new songs from The Brian Jonestown Massacre

WATCH/LISTEN: Shugo Tokumaru

I haven't listened to Shugo for nearly 5 years. The last time I listened to him, I had both 'Night Piece' and 'L.S.T.' on repeat whilst trying to finish an essay for uni and pulled an all-nighter. Anyway, he's back with a new album called 'Port Entropy' and although I haven't listened to it yet, there are 3 official videos on You Tube and each song sounds like pure joy. Be sure to also check out this live performance of 'Rum Hee.' Japan's Sufjan Stevens?

LISTEN: Brendan Codey

For fans of Nick Drake, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Elliott Smith, Bon Iver and cold winters.

"Recorded throughout January and February, deep into a recent Chicago winter, "a bottle house vernacular," was inspired by certain visionary and outsider artists.

Beneath the healthy smother of reverb, multiple-part lyric-less harmonies stack atop doubled and tripled gut string guitars, percussive implements, and the very occasional bass drum or xylophone.

This marks the first of several eps Brendan Codey plans to self-release on his label, blueeyed boy, as he parses a constantly growing backlog of songs and projects recorded while wood-shedding through different genres during recent years.

Brendan Codey is a foghorn trigger and rapscallion lover of dusk, five o'clock, and shadow. He was born onto the east coast sometime in the late seventies and is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Currently, he abides in Philadelphia, PA, where he labors in labor."

via Brendan Codey (be sure to download the first track for free!) and Yvynyl

LOOK: The John Muir Trail: Along the High, Wild Sierra (Nat Geographic April '89)

The Skygreen Leopards - Jesus Was Californian

I picked up a load of National Geographics at a second hand store not far from Ida's parents house a couple of weekends back and one of the articles that really jumped out at me was this one on The John Muir Trail from the April issue of 1989. I've included a few examples here, but to see the whole article head over to my Flickr page.

LISTEN: The Beach Boys Meets Grateful Dead

Searchin'

Okie From Muskogee

Two of my favourite bands of all-time playing live together at the Fillmore East in 1971. Incredible stuff!

Listen to the full show online here.

On April 27, 1971, The Grateful Dead played the Fillmore East in New York, and put on what I consider to be one of the greatest shows they did that entire year. In fact, the First Set recording of Bertha was the one used on their Skullfuck live album. (Overall, Im generally a 77 man, myself, although 1974 was also a good year.)

But the real keen thing that happened on April 27 was the encore set, where the kings of the three-minute surfpop tune, The Beach Boys, came out and joined with the stoner jamband heroes. The encore set began with the classics Searchin and Riot in Cell Block #9, with the two bands playing together. Then the Dead stepped away and allowed the Beach Boys to play solo, which they did, on their two hits, Good Vibrations and I Get Around. Six minutes must have been just enough time to beam up, because the Dead came back, ready to jam on the Merle Haggard classic, Okie From Muskogee, and finally on the Chuck Berry classic, Johnny B. Goode.

Text via Dead Tix

LISTEN: BLOOD BROS: FIRST BLOOD

A friend just e-mailed a link to this insanely awesome 80s action flick mix and it's a perfect mix for a tired Sunday morning after a late night. 

"Put this mix on when you are training on the beach, hitting the bag, chopping wood, running up/down a mountain, or generally doing anything which requires involves fierce determination and focus to win.  BLOOD BROS!"

Blood Bros: First Blood by maddecent

Read more here.

WATCH: Katmai National Park/Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

Just came across this vintage documentary from 1979 about Katmai National Park whilst checking out some stuff on Google Earth. Some great footage and I can't help but love the soundtrack and dated voiceover. "Come with me. Fly low and forget time..." Also be sure to check out the below documentary about the famed Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes entitled 'The Forge of the Vulcan.'

'Katmai National Park's old film on the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is presented here for your retro-enjoyment. Dated and "quaint", this film is no longer shown in the park.'

LISTEN: Kurt Vile - In My Time

Kurt Vile - In My Time

WATCH: The Matterhorn

One of my favourite websites, The Saunterer, just posted up this awesome video of  The Matterhorn. Be sure to watch it in HD! Original video from Willem van Denhoed

Matterhorn from Willem van den Hoed on Vimeo.

LOOK: More Dick Proenneke Photos

Gene Clark - The American Dreamer

Geoff over at So Sweaty just posted up a load of great pics from Dick's 'One Man's Wilderness', which I am still to read and I thought I'd share a few, as if you're anything like me, you'll proably never get sick of reading/watching/looking at anything related to Dick Proenneke. In fact, I just noticed it's only £7.45 on Amazon, so it's about time I bought it! See the rest here.

LOOK: Neil Young by Henry Diltz

Neil Young - When You Dance You Can Really Love

Neil Young, California 1971

1971

Neil Young Woody, 1970

 

Neil Young & his dog, Harte, Broken Arrow Ranch, Northern California, 1971

Add caption

 

"Neil Young going home to Broken Arrow Ranch, Northern California, 1988."

  

See more here.

Henry Diltz on Wikipedia.

WATCH: J.L. Powell: The sporting life

This might just be one of the greatest adverts I've ever seen. Beautiful stuff.

J.L. Powell

via tons of land

LISTEN: Twin Sister - Meet the Frownies

LOOK/LISTEN: Bob Dylan in 1970

Bob Dylan - Time Passes Slowly

Time passes slowly up here in the mountains
We sit beside bridges and walk beside fountains
Catch the wild fishes that float through the stream
Time passes slowly when you’re lost in a dream

Bob Dylan - Sign in the Window

Built me a cabin in Utah
Marry me a wife, catch a rainbow trout
Have a bunch of kids who call me pa
That must be what it's all about
That must be what it's all about.

Bob Dylan - The Man In Me 

But, oh what a wonderful feeling
Just to know that you are near
It sets my heart a-reeling
From my toes up to my ears.

All three tracks are off his 1970 album, 'New Morning', which is imho one of his most underrated albums and contains some of his best songs.

See more pictures here.

WATCH: Panda Bear - You Can Count On Me

PANDA◊BEAR from Ray Concepcion on Vimeo.

1967: A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

It's been a while since I posted up a Spotify playlist, so I thought I'd follow up the ones I've already posted for 1968-1971 with a playlist for 1967, which is still maybe the most famous year in music history. Home to many of my favourite albums of all-time, the year has much more to offer than just the summer of love. And remember, Spotify doesn't have everything, but if you think I should know about a band or album from '67, then please let me know! Stick it on shuffle, sit back and enjoy. Listen here.

See Rate Your Music's chart for 1967 here.

WATCH: Fjällräven Outdoor Club

Fjallraven Outdoor Club: Breakneck Ridge from Fjällräven on Vimeo.

A couple of months ago, over several glasses of sparkling italian wine and pizza, my friends at Swedish outdoor brand, Fjällräven, and I decided to collaborate on a video project that detailed how you get to popular hiking and camping destinations around New York City without the use of a car. The first of these 8mm videos, Breakneck Ridge, is up and running above. There are many more to come, so keep your eyes and ears out for ‘em.

via Cold Splinters

LISTEN: Wooden Wand - Wither Thou Goest

I'll Start Living

The Fly

The prolific James Toth reissues his super-limited CD-R (which came mounted on a block of woodn and was originally released in April) on slightly less limited (300 copies) vinyl via the Blackest Rainbow label. This might be thought of as a warm-up release for Wooden Wand's forthcoming Young God album ('Death Seat'), due in a few weeks' time. For all Toth's dalliances with bigger indie labels (e.g. career highs like Second Attention on KRS or James & The Quiet on Ecstatic Peace) he always seems ready to turn out a new batch of songs under far more lo-fi and unassuming circumstances, often resulting in some of Toth's most interesting writing. The outsider country and desiccated acoustics of this set reveal a selection of real gems and hopefully the bigger budget of that forthcoming Young God album won't detract from the bareness and openness of songwriting as featured here. Recommended.

(text via. bookmat)

(mp3s via RSTB)

LISTEN: Dead Skeletons - Dead Mantra

Dead Skeletons - Dead Mantra

I've been meaning to post this this for a while and here it is! TURN IT UP LOUD! Listen to more here.

LISTEN: New tracks from The Brian Jonestown Massacre

 

this song and many other are a series of demos...i hate that word...the fact is i make everything up in the studio and figure out what it means at a later date.i don't practice...i just do it.sooner or later you are going to have to come up with an idea anyway.

i am writing/recording 60 tracks to be place on five albums.

enjoy it for what it is.

via antonfjordson (see more vids here too!)

LISTEN: The Third Sound

http://www.myspace.com/thirdsound

The Third Sound gradually formed, slowly took shape. Whilst living in the historical city of Rome, Italy, Hákon Aðalsteinsson (Singapore Sling and formerly Hudson Wayne) started work on new material. It started life high upon the rooftop of the building he was living, ...initially heard only by himself and the birds circling overhead. Eventually introducing the songs to his friend and 6o’s fanatic, Francesco D’Onofrio, the two of them worked out the arrangements then went into a studio and slowly recorded the album. Hákon returned to Iceland where he mixed the album with Hallberg Daði Hallergsson (formerly of Jakobínarína) before relocating to Berlin. The album is ready, the band has grown into a 5 piece live act. The Third Sound is now complete. Definition - The 'Third Sound' (Terzo Suono): Whenever two notes are sounded together loudly, precisely in tune and sustained, the conjunction of resonant waves results in a third note whose pitch geometers and physicists have tried to determine, but so far this question cannot be considered as completely resolved.

via GoGoYoko

LOOK: Classic Yellowstone (National Geographic)

Following on from the previous post, I just came across this photo gallery over on National Geographic of classic Yellowstone pictures from over the years that have featured in the magazine.

WATCH: Scenic National Parks - Yellowstone

Watch the rest here and be sure to watch them in HD! A bit cheesy in places, but I'll never get tired of seeing footage from Yellowstone.

LISTEN: Grateful Dead Live at Roosevelt Stadium on August 1st, 1973

 Phil's Announcements, Promised Land, Sugaree, The Race is On, You Ain't Woman Enough, Bird Song, Mexicali Blues, They Love Each Other, Jack Straw, Stella Blue, Big River, Casey Jones Around & Around, Mississippi Half Step, Me & My Uncle, Row Jimmy, Dark Star-> El Paso-> Eyes Of The World-> Morning Dew, Sugar Magnolia; E: Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > One More Saturday Night

Press the skip button to go to the next song or go to archive.org to listen to it in full without having to do so!

"I looked up this show because out of over 100 shows I saw it was one I will always remember as though it was yesterday. For those of you who rate it highly, you nailed it and Im amazed that that you were able to from the quality of these tapes. Some memories: at the end of Casey Jones for the cresendo, the roadcrew released about a dozen fire estinguishers that sent a slow rolling clous of co2 over the crowed and air conditioned the stadium on a ver hot night. Then during the break little 3x5 pieces of paper were sent throught the crowd (alledegedly from the road crew and alledgedly Owsleys finest ) with the verbal instructions to "rip off a piece you thin you can handle" . All I can say is that by the time intermission was over my friends and I were in orbit on the cleanest trip I ever had. Then the second set opened up and fireworks were set off behind the stage and Happy Birthday Jerry fireworks were lit off around the upper deck of the stadium. Jerry's birthday party was on and thats what you all hear in this music. A VERY special show indeed, I just wish you all could have been there."

AUTUMN

“Summer passes into autumn
    in some unimaginable point of time,
       like the turning of a leaf.”

— Henry David Thoreau


Quote take from Kuyper

WATCH: Never Cry Wolf (1983)

Incredible photography. Beautifully melancholy film. Watch the remaining parts here.

'Never Cry Wolf' on IMDB

FREE DOWNLOAD: White Denim - Last Days of Summer (2010)

If You're Changing

Light Light Light

Our Get

September 23rd, 2010 › 

 

howdy folks,

we hope that you are doing well today. the band has been straight up busy in the studio this summer with a fairly large collection of songs. we are pleased to share a handful of them with you right now. this record is something we made as a little summer retreat from our ongoing work on the third full length. many of these tunes have been bouncing around since the formation of the band back in 06. we were super pumped to utilize a few fresh and casual musical approaches on this record. we hope that you find something that satisfies you within this body of work. if you enjoy the music and feel compelled to support the group, please notice the support button beneath the download link and the image. we are going to be heading out on the roads this october and would greatly appreciate anything that you would feel comfortable contributing.

i would also like to add that we are still hard at work on the as yet untitled third lp. we expect to be wrapping that record at the end of the month. we can’t wait to play loads of this new material for you folks this winter and next year. at the moment i am writing all of the album info on a limited run of cd copies of ‘last day of summer’ that will be lovingly hand packaged and available at our fall shows. can’t wait to see you soon!

all the best,
james

Download the album here.

LOOK: Alaska 79 Kenai to Denali

 

 

See more here.

LISTEN: The Byrds - Ballad of Easy Rider (1969)

Oil in My Lamp

There Must Be Someone (I Can Turn To)

Gunga Din

'Ballad of Easy Rider' on Rate Your Music