Uncharted Radio

Goodwill Hunting, Disc 1: It’s Not That Far If You Measure In Centimetres…

Alistair Barnett — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:37:50 +0000

My brother and I decided to visit one of the Goodwill stores in Brooklyn last weekend. He wanted to check out a bunch of things but I (of course) went straight for the CDs. Man, there was quite a selection! Shelves and shelves of CDs, and after spending a little over an hour scrupulously going through them (hey, they’re $1.99 a pop), I hear my brother call from a short distance, “Oh wait, there’s even more.” Yup, there sure was.

This time they were bins of CDs from well-known artists. Rush (pretty much every album by them), Yes, The Beatles (Abbey Road — can you believe it?), Nirvana, the list goes on. I spent about another hour going through those!

Anyway, back to the first stop — the shelves. As you know, I love to hear all kinds of music. There was a homemade mix CD that caught my eye, which is the reason for this post (others will follow). Luckily for you I created a Spotify playlist, all except track 19 by Whitey Houston — at first I thought it may have been a typo in the name, but that wouldn’t go at all with the rest of the tracks. Without further ado…

01. Chixdiggit: Geocities Kitty
02. The Weakerthans: Plea From A Cat Named Virtue
03. Pavement: Cut Your Hair
04. The Cure: Just Like Heaven
05. Echo & The Bunnymen: Heads Will Roll
07. Nine Inch Nails: We’re In This Together
08. New Order: Bizarre Love Triangle
09. The Exploding Hearts: Throwaway Style
10. Guided By Voices: Buzzards and Dreadful Crows
11. Paul Westerberg: Eyes Like Sparks
12. Sloan: The Rest of My Life
13. The Greenhornes with Holly Golightly: There Is An End
14. The Raveonettes: Love In A Trashcan
15. Rocket From The Crypt: Your Touch
16. The Dickies: Manny, Moe & Jack
17. Fugazi: Full Disclosure
18. Gang of Four: To Hell With Poverty
~~19. Whitey Houston: Liarbird~~
20. The Levellers: Make You Happy
21. K-Os: Crucial
22. Josh Ritter: Kathleen
23. Stars: Elevator Love Letter

Free Energy: “Hope Child” | Hockey Night: “For Guys’ Eyes Only” [Songs]

Alistair Barnett — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:01:06 +0000

I’m listening to the full Stuck on Nothing album thanks to Grooveshark right now, but I don’t think there’s any song on there that will be as good as the one I’d like to feature in this post, “Hope Child”. It surprises me that two completely different songs can be on the same album (“Bang Pop” is the other one) considering that they are written by the same band but don’t seem that way. Too much talking, I know. Here’s my quick review of “Hope Child“:

Equal parts Indie Rock, Classic Rock, Arena Rock, and Garage Rock. All parts Awesome.

I’m really surprised that the AMG review doesn’t have “Hope Child” as one of their AMG Track Picks. It definitely should be.

Free Energy was formed after Hockey Night broke up. Very different sounds I think, but equally as good (or close to it). Here’s a song from the precursor band so you can hear for yourself:

And here’s the AMG review if you want to read why they gave Keep Guessin’ an AMG Album Pick. Hey, looks like they gave “For Guys’ Eyes Only” an AMG Track Pick, cool.

Rhapsody vs. Napster vs. Bandcamp.com [Thoughts]

Alistair Barnett — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:24:28 +0000

When there were the wars between Rhapsody and the Yahoo! Music service, I switched to Yahoo! and loved it so much more. There was better selection, the interface was cleaner and easier to use, and the ability to create fine-tuned playlists was outstanding.

When the Yahoo! Music service decided to shut its doors, an official notice was sent to subscribers letting them know that they would need to transfer their accounts to Rhapsody to continue listening. Since I tried Rhapsody before and didn’t necessarily like it, I looked for another option…

Napster fit the bill. At only $5 a month, I was able to listen to so many tracks from major and indie labels (seemed to be more than Yahoo! or Rhapsody) and even get 5 free MP3 downloads a month. So, basically, at $0.99 a pop you’re only paying $0.05 for the unlimited music streaming.

But then I found Bandcamp.com. Being such an indie music lover, this is exactly what I want. I’m able to listen to whatever I want for free, and if I like it I can choose to download either for no charge or for a nominal fee (this is determined by the artist).

What are your thoughts? Do you love Rhapsody, Napster, Bandcamp.com, or something else? Let me know in the comments…

The Paper Scissors

Alistair Barnett — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:13:11 +0000

This is going to be short and sweet. After listening to 20+ bands on musicSUBMIT.com yesterday, I finally heard something that is worthy of your ears. If you like The Airborne Toxic Event, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Interpol, The National, Of Montreal, and Vampire Weekend, you’re going to love this band.


	Music Promotion via MusicSubmit.com

Webpage: http://www.thepaperscissors.com
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Description: Indie alternative rock
Biography: In the age of 3:30 digital singles, The Paper Scissors are cutting against the grain with their new album “ In Loving Memory”. A creation for lovers of long-form albums that flow from start to finish, the record brings together a range of influences and topics to create a truly incisive soundscape. The songs were written during the band’s travels; from home in Sydney to as far away as Queens, New York, in various studios and via email through numerous long sessions. Jai Pyne has written lyrics about a range of topics from family, love, drunkenness, alcoholism, death, sex, the ocean, weather, isolation and more, bringing a disparate collection of musings into one of the most coherent and focused collections of songs from an Australian band this year. “We’ve shed any insecurities and have pieced together an album that embodies us as a band,” explains Jai. “The way our sound has evolved and the fact that it reflects our learning and growth explains why it’s taken so long to make this album.” Discovered by underground radio including FBI and Triple J, the band’s very first single “We Don’t Walk” captured the playfulness and self-assured outlook of youth, seeing the band develop a loyal fan base which was cemented with national touring. The first taste of this new album showed a remarkable growth in the band with the single “Lung Sum” released in late 2010. With a deeper outlook, but a solid basis in pop melody, the track took the listener on a journey, preparing for what was to come on “In Loving Memory”. Mixed by UK producer Tom McFall (REM, Weezer, Snow Patrol), the album is a clear artistic statement. Part UK, part US, but with its feet firmly in Australia, “In Loving Memory” is a reflection of urban Sydney and the influences, contradictions, loves and pressures inherent in a complex life.

Guerilla Poubelle vs Charly Fiasco [Album Stream]

Alistair Barnett — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:10:31 +0000

If you’ve heard French punk before and think this is going to be the same, think again. Granted I haven’t actually translated the lyrics, but Guerilla Poubelle and Charly Fiasco do it with such sneer and authority that it’s how punk should be — loud, crunchy guitars and in-your-face vocals. Cool stuff.

Guerilla Poubelle vs Charly Fiasco

Brixton Robbers: “Fuck the Shit” [Song]

Alistair Barnett — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:00:11 +0000

After hearing the Do You Remember When Punk Rock Was for Fun? compilation on Bandcamp released by Big Wheel Records, there were some bands that I wanted to hear more of — Brixton Robbers was one of them, and here is my favorite track of theirs by far. If you like tongue-in-cheek lyrics with awesome music, I think you’ll dig it.

Brixton Robbers – Fuck the Shit

Do You Remember When Punk Rock Was for Fun? [Song Picks]

Alistair Barnett — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:00:47 +0000

I came across Big Wheel Records when I was searching for “punk” on Bandcamp. I’m glad I did, since the Do You Remember When Punk Rock Was for Fun? has a bunch of good tracks. Here are my picks…

Permanent Bastards – Those Forgotten Pioneers

The Snips – Tired Tires

Bon Vivant – La 236

Jingle Punx [Song Picks]

Alistair Barnett — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:00:10 +0000

Below are some of my song picks from the cover band (or most of the time), Jingle Punx. Enjoy!

Jingle Punx – Beer Run

Jingle Punx – Drink It Up Men

Jingle Punx – Peter Cottontail

Jingle Punx – Scooby Doo

ROAR – I Can’t Handle Change [Album Stream]

Alistair Barnett — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 01:59:03 +0000

I never heard of ROAR before Quote Unquote Records, which is surprising because they’re very good. With art on the album cover that looks like one of the Three Stooges with Amy Winehouse you might expect a mixture of the two sounds (wait, that doesn’t really make sense). Anyway, if you’re a fan of Built to Spill, Of Montreal, Pinback, or Beulah (or all four) you’ll probably like this band’s music.

Click to visit Quote Unquote Records to download the album as a ZIP and donate whatever you think is fair (if you feel like contributing).

I Can’t Handle Change
Duck or Ape
Heart for Brains
Baby Bride Rag
Christmas Kids
Just a Fan

The Cheaters: “Angela Marie” [Song]

Alistair Barnett — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:57:09 +0000

It’s been way too long since I posted something, I know. Recently I came across “Angela Marie” by The Cheaters when listening to 500 Miles to Memphis radio on Pandora. Speaking of which, that band’s song “The Regret” is another amazing one — which I’ll write a post about soon.

Anyway, usually I don’t like a song like “Angela Marie” because the lyrics are very pop-oriented, but it doesn’t matter. Here’s the YouTube comment I just submitted (maybe it’ll get approved):

I looked for this song on Napster but couldn’t find it. Luckily it’s on YouTube — thanks to you.

There’s something about it that makes me unable to get it stuck out of my head! Usually I mind when this happens, but not for a song like this. The melody, guitar twanging (is that a word?), drum beat, and pretty much everything else is awesome. It essentially repeats throughout the song, but I don’t care. It’s that good.

Do you love it? Hate it? Think there’s another song like it (it would be great if that were the case.) Post a comment below…