Work + Blog

I am an auditor for a CPA firm. What I love about the current state of my job is the fact that I am still relatively new, which means I still know relatively nothing about my field of work. That said, it is interim time, which means I conduct a lot of interviews with clients. Point being, half of the time I don't know what the hell I am talking about when conducting these interviews - I am simply following procedures from the prior year's audit, yet the interviewee does not see it that way. So, essentially, I can screw up and somehow manage to not make myself look like an ass...unless my in-charge happens to sit in on an interview, which happens from time to time. This just happened, which is what sparked the blog entry.

Anyway, music...

Julianna Barwick - "Florine" EP

- One of my favorite releases of the year thus far. Tons of layered vocal tracks that pretty much act as instrumentation, backed with piano on occasion. Brooklyn has played home to some great acts this year.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?l0yinmzzddg


Dead Mellotron - "Ghost Light Constellation" EP

- I love this guy's stuff. Shoegazey at times...a lot of ambient stuff. Before my house's garage was shut down as a DC venue, I had spoken with him about booking and he said he was in the process of putting together a live band. So..look out for any sort of Dead Mellotron east coast tour (if it hasn't happened already). Anyway, essential listening, right here.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?gnjhczofjtm

Cold Blood - "Cold Blood"

- Lydia Pense's voice is incredible. Enough said. Listen to the track "If You Will"....again and again and again. This album was released in '68 or '69. I was fortunate enough to find the LP pretty easily (thanks, Crooked Beat). Sort of a psychedelic/rock/funk, who, with the addition of Pense, added an element of soul...which is why I love them so much. They sort of remind me of Smith, who I will be posting later. Anyway, enjoy...

DOWNLOAD: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1HPD3VUY

Roof Every Night

So my night has devolved from plans of going to a show at Velvet Lounge, to plans of cleaning my apartment, to eating dinner, drinking beers, and writing this blog entry on my building's roof. I can't complain...as always, great breeze, not a soul up here, comfortable chair, and the beer buzz that makes working an 830 to 6p day not seem as bad it may sound.

Anyway, here is the soundtrack to my rooftop dinner. Enjoy.

Majority Rule - "Interviews with David Frost"

- probably my favorite Virginia band of, maybe, all time. They've put on some of the most fun, intense shows I've ever seen. Whether it be at the UMD radio station, random churches in DC, or, oddly enough, the Black Cat...the intensity never dwindled. I'm not one for reunion shows, but this is one band I'd love to see reunite for one final show.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?tngmtd2tzyw

Marine Girls - "On My Mind" 45

- One of the few songs I can listen to over and over and over again. This is Tracy Thorn's old group that existed from 1980 to 1983. She later went on to form Everything But The Girl...who covered On My Mind.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?8digqlfwrzd

Pocahaunted - "Goldminers' Daughters"

- Probably my favorite of the many, many releases from this group. Sadly, Bethany has left the group to form Best Coast (incredibly catchy smoked-up, surf pop). But Diva from blackblack has taken over Bethany's spot in the band. According to Brit/Amanda at NNF, the last Pocahaunted release (the live cassette) will be the last release under the name Pocahaunted. Bummer. But their new stuff sounds like some crucial, jam-band psychedelic stuff...so it's all good, I 'spose.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?dznjzybzezy

The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - "Pigment"

- Their earlier releases (ie this one) were really great shoegaze. The opening track to this EP, "What", is too catchy for words. To top it off, they're a Czech band. Female vocals...great stuff.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?ktxjndhd2mn

125 rue Monmartre - "S/T 7 inch"

- Incredible record. Great German, female fronted emo band. They broke up in 2000 or so. This is a must have 7" for anyone into bands like Dahlia Seed and the like.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?mz3gzjuzyte

Oscillating Innards - "Droneseas 3"

- Great ambient/noise. Intense stuff. I wish I could actually track down the releases rather than just downloading. Anyway, enjoy.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?qnymm1tz2xn

Noise fans, check out http://cassettetapesuperstar.blogspot.com for some great, tough to find cassettes. Probably one of my favorite blogs out there.

Oh, God, I'm Back...

So, after 2 entire posts, and numerous months off, I've decided to come back to this blog that is frequented by less people than I have fingers. For those who do read this thing (I guess 'did' would be the operative word), you have Marita to thank. Though my writing and topics won't be nearly as eloquent as hers, it'll be...something...and that's better than nothing...I suppose.

Anyway, more music to come, along with stories and pictures that have nothing to do with said music but moreso my life and the people around me.

If I'm able to get through more than 2 posts this time around, I'll consider this a success.

Singer / Songwriters

Shannon Wright - "Let The Light In" - 2007



http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=81ece6d688c1c62ad2db6fb9a8902bda

Dark, brooding pop music is what I suppose you could call this album. Easily my #1 active musician. Aside from her great song writing, she pretty much epitomizes all that a live performance should be. Too many bands forget that a live show is a performance and not just an opportunity to sell t-shirts.



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Emmy The Great - "We Almost Had A Baby" + Demos - 2008



http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=81ece6d688c1c62ad2db6fb9a8902bda

Indie-pop. Her full length comes out Feb '09 and she'll probably blow up. Very catchy.

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Gemma Hayes - "Night On My Side" - 2003



http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=81ece6d688c1c62ad2db6fb9a8902bda

Part pop, part My Bloody Valentine. Right behind Shannon Wright for my favorite active singer/song writer. She definitely deserves more recognition than she's gotten over the course of her 3 full lengths.

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Lisa Hannigan - "Sea Sew" - 2008



http://uploaded.to/?id=us38kw

Irish folk-pop. I can't stop listening to the first track.

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Frank Turner - "Love, Ire, and Song" - 2008



http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=81ece6d688c1c62ad2db6fb9a8902bda

Some compare him to Billy Bragg, and I see that. Photosynthesis, To Take You Home, A Love Worth Keeping are all really, really good tracks.

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Billy Bragg - "Workers Playtime" - 1988



http://rapidshare.com/files/15874268/BG_W.rar

Classic album. Little Time Bomb is one of my top 10 songs of all time.

Music!

The newest Coffins album, released this year, "Buried Death".



http://www.mediafire.com/?jlnodbyrnfn

So heavy. The tracks Under The Stench and Altars In Gore are pretty much

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Cheap Girls - "Find Me A Drink Home" - 2008



http://www.mediafire.com/?au1r3ohhh5y

Alt rock that is comparable to the Lemonheads, I guess, and pretty much college radio from the early 90s.

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Espers - "ii" - 2006



http://rapidshare.com/files/146792719/Espers_II.rar

Psych-folk. You need this album.

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Thou - "Peasants"



http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=875bb7e93ae87bb5d2db6fb9a8902bda

Crucial doom from NOLA. If not more members, I know the singer was in Dear Diary I Seem To Be Dead (McCarthyism) and Eat A Bag of Dicks. The main riff in the song Burning Black Coals... is one of the coolest I've heard in a long time.

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Crowsdell - "Dreamette" - 1995



http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=81ece6d688c1c62ad2db6fb9a8902bda

An early band from Shannon Wright, whom I worship. Sort of Pavement-ish and was produced by Stephen Malkmus, so there ya go. Solid album all the way through but Down and Waltz are my favorite tracks.

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The Dickies - "Dawn of The Dickies" - 1979



http://rapidshare.com/files/104855157/The_Dickies_-_Dawn_Of_The_Dickies.rar

One of my favorite punk albums of all time that features one of my favorite songs of all time, Infidel Zombie.

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Max Richter - "The Blue Notebooks" - 2004



http://www.mediafire.com/?ol2zlyphix4

His best release, in my opinion. Neo-classical, self described "post-classical". He was classically trained on violin and piano, both of which play large roles in his music. He often times blends those instruments with minimalist electronic.

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Slowdive - "Slowdive" EP - 1990



http://www.mediafire.com/?f5mxuyiz8xi

Doesn't really need a description. Shoegaze. Pretty sure this was their debut.

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Yaphet Kotto - "Syncopated Synthetic Laments For Love" - 2001



http://www.megadownload.net/download/mu/wrbryrfh/yaphet-kotto-syncopated-synthet..rar

One of my favorite emo releases from the early '00s / late '90s era.

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Much more additions tomorrow when I've actually got a bit of free time.