To begin with a broad shot of dubious hyperbole, I declare that things have never been better than they were 1973. By things I mean popular art: art that was neither conventionally entertaining by modern tastes nor particularly coherent yet existed in some sort of hazy, avocado mainstream rather than the academy or the crevices of marginelia (sorry, Jazz). The early 1970′s, thanks to the persistent adolescent myopia of Baby Boomers and their now five decades of self-lionization, are often derided as being a hazy bummer – a depressing, cruel comedown from the halcyon days of Wavy Gravy and the war against the squares. In idealized retrospect, it doesn’t seem like there were any squares left by 1973. 1972 saw both Deep Throat and “Walk on the Wildside” become huge hits, signaling either a total collapse of traditional mores in the popular conscience or just a fashionable interest in lasciviousness. Either year, all bets were off by the following year.

1973 is the year that gave us John Cale’s baroque pop masterpiece Paris 1919 and Pink Floyd’s ubiquitous Dark Side of the Moon. After the breakout success of the previous year’s Transformer, Lou Reed decided to bum out the whole world with Berlin, an exceedingly depressing album about depravity and loss that featured not only producer Bob Ezrin’s crying children on the track “The Kids” but also the keyboard styling of Rick Wakemen. David Bowie closed out his Spiders from Mars period with Alladin Sane and the odd, oft-forgotten Pin-Ups cover record then, after one last glam rock spurt with Diamond Dogs, proceeded to invent the 1980′s from broadcloth starting with Young Americans through the Eno records. 1973 also saw the release of Tanx, the last essential T. Rex album before Marc Bolan fell prey to bloat and ill-conceived R&B affectations. Painfully British glam act Slade released their first compilation of proto-bubblegum metal (Sladest) in 1973, providing not only a repertoire for Quiet Riot (“Mama Weer All Crazee Now” and “Cum on Feel The Noize”) but also establishing a fun, goofy counterpoint to America’s sleazy New York Dolls. Slade were lads and they wore rhinestones and make-up. The New York Dolls were decidedly not lads and they wore rhinestones and make-up. This, apparently, was 1973.

1973 brought plenty of heady, yet amazingly popular, weirdness to the cinema as well. While it’s easy to dismiss the obscure, quasi-religious freakout The Holy Mountain as an artifact of the times, one can’t ignore the massive success of both The Exorcist and Last Tango in Paris. Demonic possession and anonymous sex were big that year apparently. Films like Mean Streets, The Wicker Man, Don’t Look Now and The Last Detail are, by today’s standards, slow, unwieldy and often conceptually vague. Yet, in 1973, they were par for the course for the type of auteur-driven films that made their way to the theaters.

Havelock Ellis, in his 1903 introduction to J.K. Huysmans’ degenerate classic a Rebours (Against the Grain), describes decadence in literature as “simply a further development of a classic style, a further specialization …the first is beautiful because the parts are subordinated to the whole; the second is beautiful because the whole is subordinated to the parts” (p. xiv). Ellis claims decadent art “depreciates the importance of the whole for the benefit of its parts, and strives after the virtues of individualism” (ibid). From this point we can begin to survey 1973. These albums, songs, and films perhaps had more depth than breadth, hinging more on obsession than comprehensiveness. The work of these auteurs can be accused of being indulgent, overripe and self-involved, but they certainly can’t be scorned as pandering or formulaic. It’s both convenient and plausible to argue that, in 1973, popular art was briefly clear of the demands for broad identification or even appeal through familiar constructs of narrative or format. Somehow things not overtly entertaining (certainly by today’s standards) yet decidedly ambitious were popular for a crazy window of however many months and years before Big came back.

The closing of that window ushered in an age of cultural unity which has led to a sort of popular art of submission and awe that, in many ways, still reigns to this day. The later 70′s, perhaps in an attempt to shake off the fog of 1973′s weirdness, introduced Jaws and Star Wars, Rumours and disco. Popular art returned to some pretext of populism and went all in on a brand of overwhelming escapism that has yet to ever really recede. Which isn’t to say that tons of great stuff hasn’t come out in the almost 40 years since an aging Marlon Brando sex film raked in the cash at the box office, it just hasn’t seemed like there was ever a time when that was not only the norm, but the celebrated norm. The early 90′s sort of felt that way a little (Sonic Youth on MTV! Tarantino!) but alterna-culture was far too easily co-opted by the merchants of desire and wholly crippled by the dual plagues of irony and self-consciousness to make a legitimate claim. Screw the Boomers, long live 1973.

Here’s an exclusive track recorded by Virgin Of The Birds. “Stroke It, Noel” is a Big Star original that can be found from their 3rd/Sister Lovers LP. It has been reworked by Rooney in his signature classic folk-inspired genius.

Download: “Stroke It, Noel (Big Star Cover)” by Virgin Of The Birds

FensePost is excited to bring to you an exclusive premiere of the new Vaus video for “San Francisco” off The Floating Celebration, out today on Night World Records.

Lyn Vaus is a worldly man, having originated in Denmark, grown up in Los Angeles, and attended high school in Tehran, Iran. A Santa Cruz (UCSC?) drop-out, Vaus migrated to Connecticut to live on a farm and work on his songs before picking up and again moving, this time to Boston. He ultimately found his way back to Los Angeles, doing odd jobs much cooler than milking cows (independent movie stuff, writing and editing for a movie house, etc.). Somewhere along the way The Floating Celebration found a home on Night World Records, based in Washington DC.

There’s reason for the journey into Vaus’s past; his travels have brought forth various influences. Most obvious are the psychedelic nature of his songwriting and the travel-worthy folk styling keen to his wanderings. “San Francisco”, both in song and video, reminisces on a different time — one of peace, love, and political unrest, and how it all came apart. Hippies, high society, Charles Manson, our cultures true foray into mass capitalist spending, politics for personal gain; they’re all here.

Brad Anderson, with whom Vaus worked closely in his LA film days, directed “San Francisco”. It’s the perfect fit for Vaus, who, through his travels, lives a somewhat beatnik-like lifestyle. And it comes across in his music, which screams 60s psychedelic folk revival. Vaus releases The Floating Celebration today on Night World.

Download: “Teraphim” by Vaus

Vaus “San Francisco” from planetary group on Vimeo.

The latest artist to enter Viva Radio’s Me+You studio is Glass Rock and, as usual, we’ve got a sneak peek for you of their session. Their aptly titled debut, Tall Firs Meet Soft Location, defines the band’s make-up. Tall Firs coaxed Kathy Leisen, as the band puts it on MySpace, “out of retirement” to collaborate and create the band Glass Rock. And like those by Tall Firs, this album finds a home on Ecstatic Peace.

I think I’ll let Ted Shumaker, mastermind and radio personality behind Me+You, take it from here:

I think Kathy from Glass Rock put it best in the interview when she said, “It’s always weird to get emotional at noon on a Sunday.” We did get emotional on that Sunday bloody Sunday as I invited one of the more striking groups of the last year, Glass Rock, into the Viva Studios for Pt. 68 of Me + You. They performed what was their second official set as a band ever in our studio. The first set being an incredible Sunday performance just a month before at Union Pool. Glass Rock is the melding of two different musical acts. The first being Soft Location featuring Kathy Lieson and Matt Kantor originally from Detroit. The second is the Brooklyn group Tall Firs with Aaron Mullen, David Mies, and Ryan Sawyer. I highly recommend treating yourself to a day massage and a hot listening sesh to both of these bands over a steamy weekend.

I wouldn’t go so far to say that this was the most informative interview ever, but it certainly was a good lesson on social behaviors when slightly inebriated. I knew Kathy from Detroit, when she dated Dr. Z back in 2005, but I knew little about her musical offerings. The wonderful Kerry Davis from Viva tipped me off on Soft Location and said we need to get Kathy in the studio at some point. I was determined to make yet another Detroit connection here with Viva Radio! I was determined to get the real story. Even as bassist Matthew Kantor exclaimed during the interview,”I’m not feeling this at all, this is so serious, let’s just go to another song.” But being the serious music journalist that I am, I wanted to get the full story! Kathy then exclaimed, “you know you got to sing all the time, sometimes you don’t want to talk afterwards.”

Moreover, what started out with five songs Kathy had written for a possible split with Tall Firs became a sweet green light for their full release entitled “Tall Firs meet Soft Location” on Ecstatic Peace. Needless to say there is a warm and fuzzy side to the band and yes that day Glass Rock were definitely frothing up and spilling over the brim! It’s the perfect kick to a nice Winter Me + You session!

It’s pretty ironic that I’m also writing this from Detroit right now. Not to dwell on the comparison too much but I’ll leave you with a quote from Kathy when asked about the comparison of Detroit and New York. “In New York there’s an insane world existing around you all the time, but in Detroit there’s an insane world existing in each and every one of us inside all the time, and that’s the difference. You just have to take that crazy world and make it inside of yourself.” Happy New Year and Much Love to everyone! Tune in to Me + You today at Noon!

Here’s an intimate and exclusive sneak peek at the Glass Rock session:

Glass Rock: Lion Dance (Live on Viva Radio’s Me+You) [mp3]

Please do not rehost this mp3, but do feel free to link to this page, to Viva Radio’s Me+You site, and to the Viva Radio Blog.

Viva-Radio’s Me+You has done it again, in more ways than one. They’ve brought back Andrew W.K. for a second Me+You session, and they’ve created something absolutely worth hearing: an Andrew W.K. Christmas Holiday Special. This is one session you definitely do not want to miss.

States the Viva-Blog about Andrew W.K. stopping by for the holidays:

Coming off like a cross between Newman and Nilsson (a little more the former), A.W.K. weaves conversation and composition pretty seamlessly and quite humorously. Tedward really has to take the backseat here but is definitely along for the ride, giving our man the direction in which you ultimately want him to go.

The Special airs at noon (wherever you may be) but should be available for stream afterward at the Me+You Viva-Radio contributor page.

Below you’ll find Andrew W.K. doing “High Holidays”, but first a clip from the interview, including a little impromptu song called “Dov’s Doves”:

Andrew W.K. – Dov’s Doves [mp3]

Andrew W.K. – High Holidays [mp3]

Please do not rehost this, but feel free to link here and to the Me+You Blog/Contributor Page.

FensePost is excited to provide you with an exclusive sneak peek off the new Yarn Owl EP, Stay Warm, scheduled for release early next year. “Bicycle” is the name of the song, and it’s their catchiest track since “Yarn Blues”. Yarn Owl’s jangly guitars and dreamy folk-pop is emphasized by harmony vocals that echo in the band’s foreground.

This song comes with Yarn Owl’s first music video, featuring stop-motion photography. The concept is simple, mimicking blinking lights or spinning wheels. I like to think of it as a construction paper version of lights during a live performance. With it, Yarn Owl remains Pullman’s best kept musical secret.

Yarn Owl: Bicycle [mp3]

Seattle is known for a few things. Fish is one, salmon in particular. Grunge in another. And then there’s rain. Salmon Thrasher, the latest (literally) garage band from The Emerald City, is a moniker that fulfills two out of three of those items. Apt title. So this news has is twofold: an introduction to the newest Seattle band, and the announcement of their first ever show.

It’s currently 8:13PM on Sunday, November 22 and the band has logged a total of two days on the wonderful online world known as MySpace. Likewise, they have a total of two friends. And two songs have been uploaded to their music player. Both have that Seattle garage sound, and both have the ability to rock your face.

The band has an interesting make-up. Evan and Justin are house sound engineers for Seattle’s hot indie venue Neumos, and Tara is a band-described “bad ass photographer” and also drums in the band What What Now (channeling a 90s indie rock sound).

So now you know a little about this brand new band, and you can go out and tell your friends that they’re pretty cool. If they’re cool too, bring them out to a show… Below the exclusive, never before heard track are the first ever Salmon Thrasher shows. Check them out, and grab “In A Balloon” exclusively here:

Salmon Thrasher: In A Balloon [mp3]

Salmon Thrasher’s First Ever Live Shows:

12/11: Cafe Racer in Seattle
12/20: Neumos in Seattle

An online tour: what a great concept. It allows a band with no means of world exploration (i.e. minimal cash, unacceptable transport, no Samsonite baggage, etc.) to tour the world through the eyes of blogs. FensePost is excited to premiere (for Bellingham and the rest of the world) the Candy Claws video for “Island Grows”. So come one, come all; see the wondrous Candy Claws, one of 2009′s hottest new acts, perform their songs acoustically in videos premiered on sites that span the world.

Candy Claws’ style of experimental electronic folk is, as I noted in my review of their excellent 2009 LP In The Dream Of The Sea Life, somewhere around the likes of Panda Bear. But as the videos in their Online World Tour demonstrate, they don’t have the constraints of expectation which allows them to be truly unique. “Island Grows” is just that; the band, clad in masked attire, gives us a dizzying acoustic performance of the song.

As ‘live’ performances go, they’ve got some pre-show banter they’d like to share…

Hi Bellingham and the surrounding area! We loved Washington so much when we came through last week, now we’re here again. This is Day 7 of our Online World Tour for In the Dream of the Sea Life. We’re doing acoustic versions of each track off the album, for you to hear the Songs Beneath the Sparkle. Today we walked on a cold mountainside to play a warm island song for you. It’s called “Island Grows”, a name forever. This is also the day that our Band of Eight Band Members is complete, with Riley joining on Marty’s Plastic Tambourine, and Marty switching to Tiny Hand Drums. Tori came all the way from New York to operate a camera, and Loren came all the way from the Deep Future-Past Higgs Field Loop to operate the other camera. Good thing this song is easy to play on guitar because our hands were the hands of frozen ice people. Let’s go back inside after this one!

We just came from Sea Star Nest in Fort Collins. Tomorrow we’re taking a day off to rest. Visit our blog for a full list of tour dates, with links.

You can stream the entire album, read reviews, and pick up a copy (digital or physical) at Indiecater.

Thanks for watching! See you so soon.

The band has been generous enough to allow us to post “Island Grows” from In The Dream Of The Sea Life so you can hear the song in its original state, as well as the live acoustic version. Enjoy!

Candy Claws: Island Grows [mp3]

Island Grows (acoustic) – Candy Claws Online World Tour – Day 7 from Candy Claws on Vimeo.

This week we bring you another, by way of Viva Radio’s Me + You, exclusive track. This time from Brooklyn tropical punk group The So So Glos. The song “Island Loops” is given somewhat of an acoustic makeover, dropping out a small amount of the percussion and the more ferocious aspects of the electric guitars. These brothers (yes, a band of brothers) take the tropical sound that seems to have defined early 2008 and then some, and give it a punk twist that is much more their own. You can hear it on “Island Loops”; it’s intrepid and nonchalant, relaxed and carefree.

About the interview, Viva Radio writes:

The interview was somewhat revelatory, and while a few years younger than Tedward, they offered a nice gritty and regional contrast to Ted’s ironically non-homosexual gay transplant vibe. Starting off with a family history, it is explained that two of these guys are brothers and one is a half-brother since age 3. Hint: it’s not Matt. Then – a reverb-soaked “1-2-3-4″ leads right into “Throw Your Hands Up”, a song that shits all over national radio and Clear Channel mindlessness. How appropriate!

“Island Loops” and the above-mentioned “Throw Your Hands Up” are off The So So Glos’ new LP, Tourism/Terrorism, out now on Green Owl Press.

Me + You airs Mondays at noon.

Please do not re-host this mp3, but do feel free to link to this feature and/or the Me + You site.

The So So Glos: Island Loops (Me + You Pt. 63) [mp3]

Here’s a sneak peek for you who love rarities, exclusives and original material. And a bonus for those of you who dig radio in all its forms. The Raveonettes recently visited the Me + You studios for a Viva Radio spot and below you can hear the band performing their song “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)”. The session is Pt. 62 of Me + You, a live series that includes often funny and telling interviews with some of today’s hottest artists, conducted by host Ted Shumaker. The Raveonettes’ session airs at noon today on Viva Radio.

Here’s a snippet from the Viva Radio Me + You blog:

its been established that The Rave’s are damn well suited to be doing what they’re doing and several consistent recorded efforts would justify that. Which is why Album #4, In And Out Of Control, is widely welcomed. It pleased us immensely to have the group up up in here here to talk about feelin’ at ease in NYC, boys who rape, and constantly being on the rise to being the NEXT BIG THING.

Once Pt. 62 of Me + You airs, you can check it out at your leisure by visiting Viva Radio: Me + You. And you can read and see more from the Viva Radio blog post on Me + You 62: The Raveonettes.

“Boys Who Rape Should All Be Destroyed” is off The Raveonettes new album, In And Out Of Control, available now on Vice Records.

The Raveonettes: Boys Who Rape Should All Be Destroyed [From Viva Radio's Me + You]

Please do not re-host this mp3, but do feel free to link to this page and/or Viva Radio Me + You.

We’re excited to exclusively premiere the sixth track of Virgin Of The Birds’ latest EP, Dear Furies, available only here on FensePost. The song features Jon Rooney’s growing focus of meshing his love for folk-pop with the obsession with classic underground films, like the classic works of Christopher Lee circa the 60s and 70s.

The progression Rooney has made since donning the moniker Virgin Of The Birds is quite astounding. Early on, VOTB possessed a Bejarian quality, but with his most recent EPs, Rooney is downplaying those sounds for one much more his own. And it shows throughout his latest EP, Dear Furies.

I know the guy; he’s the proprietor of Abandoned Love Records and he’s a mutual film buff — he’s opened my eyes to the extensive world of classic vampire movies (predating the modern craze). And these are traits you can hear in his songs. “Ilona, You Should Still Be My Vampire Attendant”, off Virgin of the Birds’ last EP, Every Rival, hit the mark in the literal sense. On Dear Furies, available for download today, the influence is subtle, quaint even, but entirely present.

“Spanish Accusations” has an old-time-y pop sound that would be the perfect accompaniment for an avant garde vampire flick from the 70s. Likewise could be said about “You Love It Loud” and “Here Comes The Summer”. The masterful sixth track on the EP, the one provided here exclusively, “Magic And Sincere” features plenty of acoustic and electric guitar, as well as an 80′s synth channeling a Hammond B3 and transistor organs. You can also hear clavinet and an analog synth.

Adding these instruments have birthed Virgin Of The Birds’ new sound, fleshed out the songs with unique depth and insight into Rooney’s world, one clever entirely its own. Download “Magic And Serene” exclusively below, and get the other five tracks from Dear Furies at Abandoned Love Records.

Virgin Of The Birds: Magic And Sincere [mp3]

Abandoned Love Records [Digital EP, 2009]

1. Spanish Accusations
2. You Love It Loud
3. Baby Let Me Trace You
4. Here Comes Summer Again
5. The Serpent Plume
6. Magic And Sincere

Today, a few blogs have joined together to exclusively premiere demos off Kasey Anderson’s upcoming LP, Nowhere Lights. The new album doesn’t hit until February of next year via Red River Records, but thanks to this post and the other participating blogs, you now have a chance to win it early. As a massive bonus, these early copies will not only be on vinyl, they’ll be hand numbered and signed by Anderson himself.

Each participating blog will debut a demo version of a song off Anderson’s forthcoming LP. These demos come from the Nowhere Nights Demo Sessions. Now here’s where you, the reader comes in: be among the first to use the clues from these various blogs to form a phrase, which will guide you to your signed, hand-numbered, vinyl copy of Nowhere Nights.

FensePost’s clue is written on the album art below the exclusive mp3 of “Nowhere Nights”. Now head over to Kasey Anderson’s Blog for the next step. And if you missed the previous one, backtrack it over to My Aimz Is True.

Kasey Anderson: Nowhere Nights (Demo) [mp3]

FensePost is proud to conclude The Summer of Golden Bloom, in which nine blogs came together to exclusively premiere various tracks off Golden Bloom‘s debut LP Fan The Flames, out August 18. Our exclusive track is “Theme For An Adventure At Sea” and it is easily one of my favorite songs on Fan The Flames, and certainly my favorite new track.

“Doomsday Devices” and “The Fight at the End of the Tunnel” had already become regular additions to my playlist prior to receiving Fan The Flames in the mail. But “Theme For An Adventure At Sea” is unique in comparison to the other tracks on Fan The Flames, and different from prior releases by Golden Bloom front-man Shawn Fogel. While it maintains key Golden Bloom traits — all feature very dance-appropriate, upbeat pop that is highly infectious — the song builds from soft beginnings into an epic climactic pop jam.

The song begins humbly, with a simple guitar strum and harmonica before Fogel enters with his cool, smooth vocals. These soft beginnings grow as an organ is added, but it’s not until percussion joins shortly after the one-third mark that the song truly begins to build and blossom into greatness. That greatness opens into an instrumental bridge jam with a focus on swirling keys and guitars that explodes into the climactic conclusion. It’s the perfect way to end an album like Fan The Flames; Fogel and Golden Bloom finish Fan The Flames with a big bang.

Golden Bloom: Theme For An Adventure At Sea [mp3]

For those interested in checking out the other premiers from the summer, here you go:

1. “E.H.M” on Magnet Magazine
2. “Doomsday Devices (Ruby Isle Remix)” on Under The Radar
3. “Fan The Flames” on Tuneraker
4. “She Leaves Me Poetry” on Bag Of Songs
5. “The Flight At The End Of The Tunnel” on Consequence of Sound
6. “Dead Petals” on Ryan’s Smashing Life
7. “If You Believe” on SPIN
8. “The Mountainside Says” on Popwreckoning

Railcars is Aria Jalali and his music is heavily influences by that of Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu. Stewart, in fact, mixed Jalali’s debut single, Cities Vs. Submarines, a fact we noted in the FensePost feature of Railcars. Railcars’ latest release appears to continue in a similar vein with noise-ridden instrumentation and wild, piercing yelps.

Even as unmastered versions, “Passion Of St. Edmund (Rebirth)” and “Castles” show true progression for Railcars and Jalali. The songs are seemingly more cohesive and filled with additional hooks then were found on Cities Vs. Submarines. Moreover, these would be great songs to experience no matter what the setting — through headphones or in a live venue. Not that the prior release wasn’t, mind you, as there was plenty of greatness there as well.

Both these tracks will appear on Railcars’ upcoming release Cathedral With No Eyes. And we here at FensePost are pretty excited to have the exclusive debut of “Passion Of St. Edmund (Rebirth)”. Keep an eye on this guy; Aria Jalali is sure to continue making waves as Cathedral approaches its release date…

Railcars: Passion Of St. Edmund [mp3]

Railcars: Castles [mp3]

World Premier. You could call Hermas Zopoula, a West African musician whose songs reminisce of Seu Jorge, a premier world artist. There’s a double meaning here; this is also the World Premier of Zopoula’s video for the outstanding “Alpha Et Omega” off his upcoming double LP Espoir.

Sung in various languages, Espoir features a diverse assortment of songs. The first disc finds Zopoula sticking close to his roots while the second is a lower-fi collection filled with primarily solo-acoustic tracks. Espoir will be released on May 19 via Asthmatic Kitty Records.

If, in “Alpha Et Omega”, Hermas appears quite at home on a moped, he is — Zopoula is a self-described Moped Enthusiast. The song features tweeting birds and background female accompaniment on vocals. “Alpha Et Omega” may be a simple video, but it effectively conveys the greatness of Zopoula’s ability to write a catchy tune, no matter in what language he decides sings.

Hermas Zopoula: Alpha Et Omega [mp3]

Alpha et Omega from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo.