Check out the Rosebuds interview over at Tiny Mix Tapes.

So many of the songs on Birds Make Good Neighbors seem happy when you first listen to them, but there’s always something about the melodies, or about Ivan’s voice, that seems sad, and full of longing. Is everything alright between you two? And if it is, how were you able to channel such sadness? Or, am I just reading things that aren’t there?

IH: I guess that is the way the songs just come out. Not trying to channel sadness into songs on purpose. I wish I would never write a sad song. That would mean that life was perfect for me I guess.

Stylus Magazine offers their Top Ten Worst Stylus Albums Of The Week.

06. Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow
Look, it isn’t just me that thinks that if much-loved internet child molestation icon Brian Peppers was to roll up into the studio and lay down some tracks, it would bear an uncanny resemblance to the recorded output of Devendra to date, right?

Frank at Chromewaves has a very interesting look into a recent Best Buy advertisement that is offering a variety of indie music for $7.99. Go here to check it out.

Veritas Lux Mea has a video from the Feist show that took place over the weekend at the High Noon Saloon here in Madison.

Have you heard The Watson Twins new EP? It’s really really good. I listened to it a couple times this weekend. You can buy it here, but if you want to preview a few tracks head over the their Myspace site.

I was lucky enough to have a ticket to the sold out Jason Collett and Feist show at the High Noon Saloon last night. The night was all the better because I got to hang out with the great Goose from Veritas Lux Mea. You can check out his review, with much better pictures right here.
Nothing beats a great bill of artists and a packed venue. It was nice to see such a great turn out. I took a few pictures that I’ve posted below. One of my favorite parts of the evening was when Feist took the stage during Jason Collett’s set for a fantastic performance of “Hangover Days” off of Jason Collett’s new album Idols of Exile, which I am listening to right now, and I think it’s fantastic.

Jason and Feist later collaborated on the Broken Social Scene song Major Label Debut, which is about the closest thing to actually seeing Broken Social Scene since they’ve never played here. I’m hopefull the crowd last night will get that changed. I was informed that Broken Social Scene will be playing Conan O’Brien on Tuesday, the 31st. According to Jason they are planning on playing 7/4 (Shoreline). So make sure to set your VCR, Tivo, or just tune in.

Follow this link to see if the tour will be making a stop near you. I would highly recommend checking them out on this tour, both bands are a lot of fun live.

Jason Collett w/Emily Haines- Hangover Days (MP3)

You can purchase albums by Jason Collett and Feist from the Arts & Crafts website.

UPDATE (1/30/05) – Just Make It Nice and Neat has a couple of MP3′s from the show!
BONUS:

I was able to talk with some of the guys from Jason Collett’s band, and they hooked me up with their new album. They are called Paso Mino, and I’m happy to provide an MP3 of my favorite track at the moment. Checking out their website, I couldn’t help but laugh when I read that, “The title of recording is Good People and some of the song ideas are: brothers, beer, factories, mothers, lovers and auto’s.” Yep, that sums up the album pretty well. That should get you interested enough to download the track below.

Paso Mino – Sports Car (MP3)

I received my copy of The Watson Twins Southern Manners, it’s fantastic just like I expected. You too can order a copy of this beautiful disc for only $8, which is a steal at twice the price. The Watson Twins are hitting the road in support of Jenny Lewis‘ Rabbitt Fur Coat. Follow this link to see if they’ll be at a theatre/club near you.
Head over to Myspace to be The Watson Twins friend.

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Last night I was sitting in the Minneapolis airport and I got an e-mail from Sean Hayes. I had ordered Alabama Chicken and Lunar Lust from CD Baby a few years back, and Sean was writing to inform me of the release of his new album, Big Black Hole and the Little Baby Star.

I was first introduced to Sean Hayes music through his contribution to Mark Farina’s Air Farina. The song that was included on that album was called Dream Machine, and it’s one of my favorite songs. After hearing the Mark Farina album, and the vocals of the unknown Sean Hayes, I searched him out and was able to pick up two of his albums. I’m sorry I don’t have any MP3′s to share, but follow this link and check out the samples of songs off the new album. I can’t say enough good things about this guy.

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I’ve been traveling a lot lately, which has allowed me the luxury of reading more. I decided to head to Largehearted Boy to get some recommendations of books that I should pick up. If you’re not familiar, Largehearted Boy each year sets out to read 52 books, and is sponsored by Atomic Books in Baltimore.

After looking at his reviews, I made a short list of books I wanted to read, and just today received my copy of Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s The Push Man and Other Stories as well as McSweeney’s Issue No. 16.

I’m looking forward to checking them out, and thanks to Largehearted Boy for his 52 Books In 52 Weeks feature.

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Big thanks to Pete for letting me know that Centro-Matic/Great Lake Swimmers/Goat Radio will play the King Club in Madison on Sunday, April 9th. The Great Lake Swimmers are absolutely perfect live, and I’ve really been digging Centro-Matic lately. This is a great show for only $8.

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Make sure to head over and see Dodge at My Old Kentucky Blog, he’s got a new design and it is sharp!

My day is full of meetings today, so I won’t be able to post.

You can check back this weekend for reviews of the Freshwater Collins show I’m going to on Friday night with my friend Mullins.  On Saturday, I am heading to the High Noon Saloon to catch Feist and Jason Collett.  I will be meeting up with Goose from Veritas Lux Mea.

Stay tuned for photos, reviews, and interviews from both shows.

In the meantime, you can check out Jake’s new blog side project right here, it’s called Cute Overload.