The Long Winters are long overdue for an overhaul on the ‘hive. They were one of the first five original posts, back when we were just so excited to be live, sharing music that we loved, we’d post a micro-review of the band, and move on to the next one. So more background on The Long Winters: it’s the brainchild of John Roderick along with a revolving cast of musicians. Roderick’s an Alaskan native living in Seattle, so there’s lots of talent to tap up there. Producer Chris Walla and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) are among the many who have put up with Roderick who’s a self-proclaimed “little grouchy Napoleon” (and I don’t think he means of the Dynamite variety). Says a lot about his strength as a songcrafter—that he attracts that caliber of musician. Musically he’s a little bit folk, a little bit psychedelic, like Apples In Stereo caught up in A Mighty Wind. You’ll get caught up in the music and the charming earnestness of his vocals and lyrics.
*Note: Go to The Long Winters site to get hi-fi versions of the 48kbps MP3s. He asks nicely not to link directly to the files, so we won’t. He’s got Merlin Mann running his site, and you straight up don’t want to mess with that guy. He’ll get you done.
From Putting the Days to Bed (Coming July 25, 2006)
Pushover [MP3, 2.4MB, 128kbps]
From When I Pretend to Fall
Blue Diamonds [MP3, 1.3MB, 48kbps]
Stupid [MP3, 1.4MB, 48kbps]
From The Worst You Can Do is Harm
Carparts [MP3, 1.4MB, 48kbps]
Scent of Lime [MP3, 1.4MB, 48kbps]
Original post: 02/17/04
A sampling of favorites from 2003. That ’60s album.
Self-pigeonholed as “romanticore,” L.A.’s Bedroom Walls are equal parts dreamy and playful. Raised in the suburbs, guitarist and songcrafter, Adam Goldman says the band tries to recreate the schizophrenia of his high school mix tapes. “You just love what you love without thinking too hard about classifications or sub-genres…I wanted to get all of that—the anglo-pop of Squeeze, the mythic pre-tensions of Led Zeppelin, the druggy bombast of Floyd, the teenage narcissism of the Smiths.” That should peak your interest. Busy making your summer mixtapes? We love a good summer song and “Your Idea of a Holiday” is just a gem.
Ever since I came across their compilation 
The following post is courtesy of my co-desk jockey, 
Never timid on the mic, The Gray Kid (born Steve Cooper) unleashes the sexy falsetto and back-pocket rhymes over some giant beats. Kinda like a Pharrell for the Silverlake set. Like that means anything to most of you…don’t worry, Ann Arbor, you’ll like him, too. As CD Baby customer reviewer Tim Bones says: “Joint is flavorful. Makes you want to impregnate your local librarian.” And for the Sunday afternoon version, go to The Gray Kid’s 
Victoria is a charming London in miniature (even the police sirens have that European wail rather than the standard North American whistle) carved into the brilliant and wet wilds on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The subtexts for the city, if you’re into that kind of thing, abound: a bite-sized cosmopolis carved into the heart of darkness, a town with the will of a city, a beachhead in the Garden of Eden. Shapes and Sizes are fantastic at finding that subtext, whether they’re trying or not. They hit rhythms and mimic styles like urbane pros, but they experiment like small-town kids with only themselves as inspiration. “Wilderness†lumbers along like a pessimistic comedian, hinging itself on a medley of downer horns, a charmingly amateur chorus of whistles, and the line “Susan, you can’t be tribal leader ‘coz your personality’s wrong.†It provides the perfect segueway to the melancholy opening (but not so down that it can’t hold a few handclaps!) to “Island’s Gone Bad,†but halfway through a party breaks out to the exuberant shout “I like eating fruit off of trees when I’m with you!†Aw shucks, guys, the feeling’s mutual.
Ok, so, let’s not talk about band names. Instead, let’s talk about yesterday being the first day of summer and how, as we drive I-75 tomorrow headed Up North, “Jimmy Down the Well” will match our sunshiney moods (if not the rainy weather). Thanks, from the north of Michigan, to Paul, who sent us this suggestion from the north of England.
I must be losing it. I swear I’ve posted about Mighty Six Ninety before, but I can’t find any trace of them on the site. Feeling in a particularly ’80s mood today? Then queue up some John Hughes on Netflix and get Mighty Six Ninety rockin’ on the hi-fi. Mighty Six Ninety, an L.A. five-piece, is named after the great San Diego AM station—a Top 40 channel that dabbled early on in New Wave and post-Punk. This Mighty Six Ninety would make its namesake proud. Check the New Order bassline in “Northern Border,” and the soaring vocals complete with ’80s Alphaville-esque affectation. “Leave This World” reassembles a Freuer guitar riff and runs it head on into a more shimmering moment of The Cure. Throw in a bit of attitude from The Smiths and Ultravox synths and you’d think you’re listening to a cassette recording of Richard Blade’s show twenty years ago. Fittingly, they’re making their 
The bouncy organ riffs sold me immediately on The 1900’s. Lines like “wrap them in licorice and tie them to stones” and the strings and french horn that close out the song complete the psychedelic smorgasbord from this Chicago sextet. Speaking of sex, it sounds like there’s a few love triangles between band members. Keep those relationships in check kids! We wouldn’t want to spoil the party before things get going. Their debut “mini-album” Plume Delivery has been out less than a month. They’d make good summer mix tape neighbors with The Zombies, Stereolab, and the ol’ Elephant 6 crew.
I love the first line of description regarding this guy on the Trust Me I’m a Thief website: “Si Schroeder is a six-foot hairy male who makes ‘music’.” To how many people in this world does that sentence apply, I wonder. And is it the hairiness or his height that matters the most (or the combination of the two)? Anyway, with all of the above you get Irish psychedelic electronica in a cool ambient vibe, and if you find yourself wanting it more, Si Schroeder’s debut album Coping Mechanisms will be released in fall 2006.