Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Looking for New Tunes? We Got 'Em! (The Retro Edition)

It's been nearly a month and I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the amazing bands I saw while down in good ol' Texas for SXSW. (Read about some more here and here)

I'm apparently feeling a little retro today, so let's cut to the chase and check out the music, shall we?

Mr. Lewis and the Funeral 5


Mr. Lewis and the Funeral 5 pack a big punch with their live cabaret-esque set and I was thankful to hear that went ditto for the CD. Dark and rich, a little sexy and slightly more bizarre, Mr. Lewis and the Funeral 5 weave great stories accompanied by an even greater amount of instruments. It's big band meets swing meets... punk, rock, polka and then some more.

We stumbled into the venue where these fellows played and had never even heard of them before. Needless to say, their powerful performance made me fall in love with them.


Nick Waterhouse and the Tarots


There is always something really amazing about listening to "new" old music. It's just the slight little nuances that inevitably occur when a group adopts a style that's been around for quite some time that make it that much more interesting.

Admittedly, R&B and soul aren't genres of music I tend to listen to on a regular basis. It comes up on the iPod, I like whatever song is playing, and then I carry on.

Nick Waterhouse and the Tarots changed that for me. With his Buddy Holly-esque glasses, great talent and charisma, Nick Waterhouse had the crowd captivated. The backup singers had extraordinary range and the entire set was just very lively and very tight.


So there you have it! As always, feel free to leave your own recommendations/two cents in the comments!

10 comments:

  1. Amazon has two albums of music from SXSW 2012 available for free download. I don't know if it's a 1-day special, or exactly how long they will be available for free. Just thought I'd put out the word.
    Now I'n go back & listen to your recs. Thanks!

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  2. JJ, LKW, Myg, TK & VitaminR - You are all officially on notice that if these recs keep coming, you are going to need to get me a bigger iPod (don't blame me! talk to JJ - sheesh...).

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  3. MyHeartGoesPitterPattinsonApril 4, 2012 at 6:03 PM

    Love your music recs. Curious, do you know any of these bands? This is the third year for this music festival and I usually know way more bands attending than the two I recognized from this list (Flaming Lips and Girl Talk). I got a two day pass as an Xmas gift and the line up was just released yesterday. http://www.loufest.com/lineup.php

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    1. You should go! Dinosaur Jr. is a great band from the 90's. Dr. Dog is good, Cults are super cute and poppy and I'm pretty sure I like Someone Still Love You, Boris Yeltsin. :)

      If you're interested in checking out bands, a lot of times there will be samples on Amazon.com or Soundcloud or something

      Hope you have a fabulous time!!

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  4. Your taste in music never ceases to amaze me! I'm not sure I've ever known someone with such a broad range of likes. I could write a whole post on how compared to you, I'm a music beginner, a rookie... a complete novice.

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  5. http://pleated-jeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ryan-kattner-honus-honus.jpeg

    Ryan Kattner of Man Man as a child.

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    1. Oh anonymous, you know me way too well. :)

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    2. I saw it and I just had to show it to you.
      I love you guys, you always keep me laughing.

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  6. Thanks for posting these guys Jen, haven't heard of them here in Oz. Great sound. You're so lucky to be able to get out and see all this cool live music!

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