SOTD 1.14.10

In these winter doldrums, we all need a pick-me-up. Miniature Tigers offer some bright, sunny indie pop with their debut LP, Tell It to the Volcano. Having played under Ben Folds as an opening act on a leg of his 2009 tour, the band is on their way up in popularity, and their easily accessible variety of indie will likely precipitate their inevitable rise. While the Charlie Brand's voice is undeniably uplifting with its boyish timbre, Miniature Tigers' happy-go-lucky schtick can get a bit tired and grating, even over the course of the unusually short 30-minute record. Nonetheless, the Phoenix quartet certainly embrace their niche in the indieverse and crank out summery vibes like no other. Enjoy.

Miniature Tigers: "Cannibal Queen"
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NOTD 1.13.10 Iran

Iran.
Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the antiquity and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia. Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural context; however, Iran is the name used officially in political context. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans".
Population: 74,196,000
Major Exports: petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets

Music.
127 is a fusion of traditional Iranian music with the modern leanings of punk, jazz, and Western psychedelic rock. 127 is at the forefront of musical acts trying to lead social change in Iran. For more, check out their MySpace page.

127: "Coming Around" [Buy]

SOTD 1.13.10

In Muzjiks' continued support of our inaugural "Holy Ish!" artist, we present to you a phenomenal track off of Local Natives' debut LP, Gorilla Manor. Allow the soaring vocals to envelop you, and I suspect you will feel the rush as I do when I listen to this song. And although Local Natives actively transcend categorization with their unique blend of genres and styles, they do draw elements from Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, and Band of Horses, which I suppose isn't too shabby of company to share either. Let "Airplanes" tide you over until the full album is released on February 16 by Frenchkiss Records. Enjoy.

Local Natives: "Airplanes"
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Reminder

Just a reminder that tonight will mark the return of Muzjiks! Tune in live from 8 PM to 9 PM by clicking on the "Listen live" link to your left, or check back here or your iTunes feed tomorrow for the podcast.

EDIT @ 8:49 PM: Due to technical difficulties, tonight's show never got off the ground, so hang in there until next Tuesday. We apologize.

SOTD 1.12.10

I always find it interesting to hear the original samples of songs that I've come to know and love in their recontextualized and popularized form. Often, I don't even realize until that eureka moment on a blog or YouTube or another happenstance occurrence that the song even has a sample; for whatever reason, I guess my knee-jerk inclination is to assume that a given beat is original to the artist. When you get the chance to hear the original song, though, it's insightful to consider that song's subject matter and compare it to and perhaps draw parallels with the new song.

Since this particular song and its accompanying sample were the inspiration for this post, I will provide you them both below. Enjoy.

Madvillain: "Accordion"
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Daedelus: "Experience"
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SOTD 1.11.10

The first day back to the grind for many college students, today has all the makings to be a dreary 24 hours. Allow Muzjiks to help you cope with the pain; consider it sonic penicillin. This dosage will consist of a mellow, melodic folk tune by Port O'Brien, whose album Threadbare appeared on many year-end best-of charts. If you like Bowerbirds, Woodpigeon, or Blind Pilot, then these three Californians will be right up your alley. Relax, Muzjiks is here to take care of you one indielicious song at a time.

Port O'Brien: "My Will is Good"
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NOTD 1.10.10 Cuba

I am going to keep Cuba short. You should know a little bit about our relationship with our neighbors to the south already.

Cuba.
The Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city.
Population: 11,451,652
Major Crop Exports: sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee

Music.
"Chan Chan" is a result of the magical reforming of Buena Vista Social Club. Previously in a period of diaspora, BVSC was reassembled and directed by musical renaissance man, Ry Cooder. The result was the self-titled Buena Vista Social Club. "Chan Chan" goes down like a dark coffee liqueur. It's tones are dark but its melody and musicianship is languid and entrancing.

Buena Vista Social Club: "Chan Chan" [Buy]

MuzjiksTV +

Here's a little treat to go along with this week's installment of MuzjiksTV. One of the saving graces of Jimmy Fallon's tenure as a late night host is that we get to here The Roots every night. As a precursor to their upcoming How I Got Over LP, The Roots have released a compilation of their best late night artist collaborations. Dwnld Late Night With The Roots.

SOTD 1.10.10

Putting a Justice-esque spin on a classical music piece. Consider this banger by Austin, TX-based Wolfgang Gartner a contender for the playlist of the forthcoming indie court party.

Wolfgang Gartner: Wolfgang's 5th Symphony
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MuzjiksTV 1.4-1.10

Tuesday, January 5: Vampire Weekend performs "Cousins" on the Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)

Let Vampire Weekend's takeover of 2010 begin...

Wedneday, January 6: Julian Casablancas performs "Out of the Blue" on the Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)

I wish he would just get back to The Strokes already...

Friday, January 8: Metric perform "Help, I'm Alive" on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC) [re-run]

Emily Haines. 'Nuff said.

Vampire Weekend performs assorted tracks on MTV Unplugged

Watch the entire performance here.

SOTD 1.9.10

A local band of the Carolinas, Slow Runner comes from Charleston, SC, and plays polished multi-instrumentalist indie pop that occasionally dabbles in the synth-pop subgenre. Although I personally prefer their most recent album, 2008's Mermaids, which injects this indie pop with a brooding quality, this song comes from 2006's No Disassemble, which is far sunnier and more jangly. Like the majority of Slow Runner's work, "You're in Luck" is a piano-driven number that features Michael Flynn's lovely falsetto. Although the band has been rather scarce since around mid-2009, according to a recent post on their MySpace blog, they are, in fact, still alive. Hopefully this means that another Slow Runner LP is on the horizon, as their refreshing brand of more traditional indie is always welcome to my ears.

Slow Runner: "You're in Luck"
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Buy [No Disassemble is not available on iTunes, but SR's other two albums are]

Loose Ends

I first got XM Radio in high school and let me tell you, its pretty remarkable. XMU (43) changed my life. Hearing constantly random sequences of challenging, interesting music made my rides to school so much more interesting. To that end, a kept a pen and pad of paper in the car at all times to mark down any song that truly blew me away. Then I graduated to the iPhone and a handy little app called Shazam. As many of you know Shazam basically listens to the song playing and has the ungodly ability to tell you the name of the song and the artist. I have been collecting "tagged" songs for well over a year now and I am finally getting around to forming a Greatest Hits collection. This is what I have for you today. These are 6 songs that have little to nothing to do with each other but each of them sparked an interest in a great artist--it goes without saying, I am better for it.
The Parlor Mob: "Can't Keep No Good Boy Down" [Buy]

Thao: "Know Better Learn Faster" [Buy]

The Heavy: "That Kind of Man" [Buy]

Musiq Soulchild: "Money Right" [Buy]

White Denim: "Regina Holding Hands" [Buy]

The Antlers: "Two" [Buy]

SOTD 1.8.10

Featuring the shoegazey vocals of Olga Goreas backed by Beach Boys-esque harmonies, The Besnard Lakes' "Albatross" is like getting your head stuck in a fishbowl a la "No Surprises" and then being suspended for four minutes and forty-two seconds in that moment of euphoria straddling asphyxiation and unconsciousness. It's the auditory handshake of My Bloody Valentine and Yeasayer. Be sure to check out the band's third LP, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, when it's released by Jagjaguwar on March 9.

The Besnard Lakes: "Albatross"
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NOTD Algeria 1.8.10

Algeria .
Officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Algeria is located in Nort Africa. Algeria is bordered by Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the southeast, Mali and Mauritania in the southwest, a few kilometers of the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara in the southwest, Morocco in the west and northwest, and the Mediterranean Sea in the north.
Population: 34,895,000
Major Exports: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle

Music.
The music of Algeria is synonymous with the 20th century folk song form, Raï. Raï is a song form created for the purpose of both social protest and cultural affirmation. It is a song of celebration but also of a way to express the frustration of the supressed Algerian lower class. Later in the 20th century, Raï became the topic of great scrutiny and even hostility from fundamental religious groups in Algeria. This is pop music influenced by the tones of traditional Bedouin music with the sound of a faint world beat. Tonight's selection comes from Algeria's "king of raï," Bellemou Messamoud. Messamoud became immensly popular in the 1970's and 80s as he pioneered the "pop-Raï" genre. "Lala h'bib" is from the Algerian compilation The
Essential Titles of Raï.

Bellemou Messaoud: "lala h'bib" [Buy]

NOTD: Afghanistan 1.7.10

If you are not aware...
"The Travel Security Administration says air travel to the United States through "state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest" will trigger enhanced screening. A senior government official says 14 countries fall under that label." <via cnn.com>

Afghanistan
Algeria
Cuba
Iran
Iraq
Lebanon
Libya
Nigeria
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Syria
Somalia
Yemen

Put aside your political leaning for a minute. This piece of news creates a quite startling dichotomy, a dichotomy that juxtaposes a global cultural community (for the most part as a result of the internet) with a world, that at the same time, is becoming more fragmented--a puzzling dilemma indeed. Now begins a new two week Muzjiks series. This is a series that, each day, will look at a piece of music from one of the countries on the TSA's "countries of interest" list. Think of this a kind of cultural cliff notes. Though brief, NOTD (Nation) will at least provide you with something tangible and familiar...an mp3. Expand your mind and impress your friends--it's a big, big world.

Afghan King Zahir Shah with JFK

Afghanistan.
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South-Central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. <via Wiki, this is a blog not a research paper>
2009 EST Population: 28,150,000
Major Crop Exports: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins

Music.
Today's selection comes via a live public concert in the winter of 1974. Performing this November evening was renowned rabab player, Ustad Mohammad Omar, accompanied on tabla by Zakiir Hussain. The concert was part of Mohammad Omar's teaching tenure at the University of Washington as the first Afghan music professor to teach at a major US university--serious shit indeed. This improvisational excercise is headphone worthy, Zakiir Hussain's hand strike is piercing and impressive. This is far away stuff but it might be closer than you think.


Ustad Mohammad Omar: "Tabla Solo In the Rhythmic Cycle of Jhaptal (10-beat Cycle)"
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Radiohead: "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box"
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