TMI

A few years ago I was trolling the internet looking to stream the new Cass Mccombs single (which, at the time, was "That's That") and I stumbled upon an internet "arts & culture website made by an ever-growing gang of rascally, intrepid personalities engaged in an ongoing dialogue about the world around us" called Take The Handle. It's a great looking, interactive periodical with some truly interesting content. It also seems like it might be made by well-intentioned, privileged young people from NYC with an unwitting singular world view. I had to remove myself from their mailing list because most of their announcements were not for the interesting cultural stuff but were for alcohol drinking parties. They're trying, though, and there really is some fantastic stuff in the magazine. But, I digress...

Within each issue they include a "mixtape" (which included "That's That" which is how I found it) that is essentially a playlist of mp3s of known and unknown bands that the editors like. On that same playlist with Cass Mccombs was a song by a band called Glass Ghost. The song was called "Like A Diamond", and I loved it as soon as I heard it. I couldn't find much info on Glass Ghost on the internet, but somehow I came up with an email address and contacted them, and bought some mp3s from them. All the songs were good.

Soon after that, I somehow found out that Glass Ghost had worked out a deal with Western Vinyl, who is a great little record label from Texas, to release their debut LP. I was already a fan of WV, and of Glass Ghost, so I was excited to see and hear what they came up with. What they came up with was Idol Omen, and groovy, catchy, weird record that has become one of my favorites to listen to.

Fast forward to 2011, and I'm on a spring tour with husband&wife. The best show of the entire tour was at Brooklyn's "The Rock Shop". The room was full of friends, the other bands were all buddies of ours (not to mention super-talented and engaging and GOOD)...AND Glass Ghost was headlining the show! Ultimately, I'm not really sure who was responsible for putting that show together, but I have my suspects...Anyway, Glass Ghost was great that night, and as it turns out they're also very friendly and fun to hang and chat with. The experience solidified my love for their music and I really hope I get to cross paths with them again soon.

All this to say, Western Vinyl had this callabo-version of "Like A Diamond" on their website recently, and it's really nice. I don't know who Sharon Von Etten is, but her voice is pretty and suits the song well.
Like A Diamond sung by Sharon Van Etten by western.vinyl

Also, if you go snooping around Take The Handle, check out the Becca Mann paintings in the Romantic issue.

Old Dog, New Terrors

New Terrors - "Seagulls" from Stephen Dorman on Vimeo.

Here's a video of my half-brother (same mom, different dads) Burke doing his thang on television. He's a super talented guy, and I'm very proud of him and into the music he's been making lately. We chat a lot about, and frequently share, music and ideas we like, and it's always great to see his creativity coming to life.

speaking of which, he recently released a single as a part of the new Flannelgraph Records (he and I are also label mates...) monthly single project. There're three out so far, Burke's is "New Terrors", but be sure to also check out Doug Enas and his brother and the one and only Jared Bane in action as well.

let me make this easy on you...

Food For Thought

Disclaimers:
I have been a fairweather fan of David Bazan's ever since I heard the "Whole EP" way back in high school. I haven't always liked his stuff, but when he does something new I typically do check it out and see what he's up to. (I like "Control" and the first four tracks on "Fewer Moving Parts" the most, fyi)

I have been a hardcore fan of Starflyer 59 ever since I heard "Gold" (dubbed for me on the same cassette as the "Whole EP", incidentally) way back in high school. I have always loved their stuff, even when it wasn't as good as their other stuff. (i like "Leave Here A Stranger", "Everybody Makes Mistakes" and "Fell in Love At 22" the most, though that's a very hard decision to make)

SAME SONG THREE TIMES ////
EXHIBIT A:
Starflyer 59 (featuring David Bazan) /// BROKEN ARM /// Ghosts Of The Future (BTV, 2007)
MP3

EXHIBIT B:
David Bazan /// LOST MY SHAPE /// Curse Your Branches (Barsuk, 2009) [track 7]
MP3

EXHIBIT C:
David Bazan /// MESSES /// Strange Negotiations (Barsuk, 2011) [track 7]
MP3

There you have it.

Also, one time my friend Jordan H. sent me this message on December 14, 2009 :
"Hey Mike,

Hope things are going well.
I had something to tell you that you might find pretty cool.
The other night, two of my friends hosted a David Bazan show in their living room, and it was pretty amazing. However, after the show we were standing around talking to him. We had iTunes on shuffle in the background, and during one song he actually left the conversation to check the computer and see what song was playing. The song was "Don't Change" and he said he loved it. So we gave him you guys' MySpace address and so on.

To recap, Dave Bazan totally dug Husband & Wife.

Take care !

-Jordan"

Not too interesting...until you realize that the name of the eighth track on David Bazan's new record "Strange Negotiations" is titled.....DON'T CHANGE!

We report, you decide....

Story Problem

NEW RELEASE NEWS!!

ok, so, have you heard of Starflyer 59? They're America's greatest rock band of all-time, ever. Just ask these nerds.

Also, have you heard of Candy Claws? They're a fantastic, synthy, dreamy, space-nature band from Fort Collins, CO. Is their music good? Yes. Don't believe me? Ask these nerds.

And, have you heard of Deerhunter? They're a currently famous band from Atlanta who plays on late night TV shows. I first heard them on a stereo at a Starflyer 59 show in Illinois. Here are some nerds.

Finally, as well, have you heard of Flannelgraph Records? They're nerds.

The reason I ask is, if you know about or are interested in any of those things, then maybe you'll care about this....

Sometime in the next few months (release date TBD) Mike Adams At His Honest Weight (that's me) will be releasing a split 10" with Candy Claws on Flannelgraph Records! The music on the 10" will be of each band covering one Starflyer 59 song that they love! The "B" or "Mike Adams at His Honest Weight" side was mastered by none other than Drew Vandenberg, who I met once on St. Patrick's day in Athens, GA. He also worked (and played on) the last two Deerhunter albums.

There you have it.

Candy Claws did the cover art, and it's really great. Kinda like if Scooby-Doo went to Hawaii instead of the Brady Bunch. Hopefully we can show you that, and let you know the release date before too long. In the mean time, feel free to venture any guesses as to which Starflyer songs you think we covered. I know the answer, but I'm just not telling here out of pure meanness.

Call It A Night

Antony & The Johnsons
Live at the John Waldron Arts Center
Bloomington, Indiana
2/22/2005

My Lady Story
For Today I Am A Boy
Cripple And The Starfish
The Lake
Dirt Will Crack Again
Daylight And The Sun
Afraid
You Are My Sister
Man Is The Baby
I Fell In Love With A Dead Boy
Hope There's Someone

Here's a live recording of Antony & The Johnsons i found in a box today, around the time of I Am A Bird Now. That's the Antony record I'm most familiar with, so this live set is right up my alley. I think his voice is great, and this kind of live bootleg is a cool testament to what a guy like this is capable of, performance-wise. Really beautiful. Long live concert bootlegs!!

By the way, there's no real reason I haven't kept up with his recordings post SC105 (nerd alert!), so any Antony-listening suggestions would be appreciated!