Computer issues=no posting

Hey all,
My computer is down right now with motherboard issues. I can only access the web at work, meaning I have no music to share.

I’m working on a remedy for this problem right now and regular posting will resume shortly

Cheers,
Caleb

Nashville News

First off, it pleasures me beyond compare to announce that the oh-so-wonderful Sleeptalker (Ex – Airline, Cool Hand Luke, Imaginary Baseball League) has announced that their new EP, or “Mini-album” as they are calling it, Simplify, Simplify is done and in the process of being manufactured. Hopefully it will be at the Cool Hand Luke album release party at The Exit/In on February 21.

The Guys and the gal will post a song a week from the EP until it’s release. These can be heard at their myspace. The first is the album version of Great Wall of China. The demo has been up for awhile this one is alot better though.

“I don’t wanna love with broken bones, I don’t wanna be a ghost trapped in the sky, I don’t wanna live in funeral homes where everybody has a graveyard with a white picket fence and flower bed”

And finally, here are some mp3’s from the wonderful bands whose ashes produced this wonderful band.

[mp3] Aireline – Winter Song
[mp3] Imaginary Baseball League – Alot to Say
[mp3] Cool Hand Luke – Sky Dive

On that note, the incredible Imaginary Baseball League who is sadly no mroe posted a free zip file of the progress they made on their final album, which was never released. You may find it here. I miss those guys, alot.

Songs of the Month – January

Starting this month, I will be posting my favorite new tracks of the month each month of 2007. I will also throw in a random classic that has been popping up on alot of my playlists this month.

[mp3] Menomena – Muscle n’ flo | SONG OF THE MONTH
OH THE DRUMS! My God I haven’t heard a song that made me hit repeat so many time in years! The thundering fragmented drums, the church organ, the slide guitar. I swear this song was written for me. From the newly released Friend and Foe.

[mp3] The Shins – Sleeping Lessons
The album opener is truly a lost art. In the 99 cent a song age, album sequencing doesn’t matter anymore to most. To me however a good album opener is the key to a good album. It sets the tone and effects the way you hear the rest of the songs. This is the best one I’ve heard in a long time. From the newly released Wincing the Night Away.

[mp3] Deerhoof – The Perfect me
I’ll admit, I never really gave Deerhoof much of a chance, until David Bazan praised them. I had a few songs of theirs, sure, but I wasn’t a fan. Once I listened, I was very glad I did. From the newly released Friend Oppurtunity.

[mp3] David Vandervelde – Nothin No
Very few songs can so effortlessly sum up being young both in sound and lyrical content. This is one of them. From the newly released Moonstation House Band

[mp3] The Earlies – No Love in Your Heart
Indie rock sounds like this when you live here. From the newly released The Enemy Chorus.

Random Classic:
[mp3] John Vanderslice – Me and my 424
My favorite song he’s ever written. Brilliant. Pop perfection. An ode to 4 trackers that sounds better than what most could do with 32. Listen, then and only then will you understand the genius that is Me and my 424.

New Bright Eyes

Well friends there is a new leak from Oberst and co. newest effort the Four Winds EP. Unlike “Endless Entertainment”, the first single floating around, this one has not been heard before. M. Ward’s influence is realllly heavy here. Whistling in the vein of Lullaby and Exile, COnor’s vocals are reverb drenched at moments, and the whole thing would be right at home on Transistor Radio. Derivative ? Maybe, but who cares it’s good. Catch Oberst, Mogis, Walcott and their ever revolving cast of backing musicians on the road this spring.

[mp3] Bright Eyes – Tourist Trap
[mp3] Bright Eyes – Seashell Tale (M. Ward Cover)
[mp3] Bright Eyes – Endless Entertainment (Live)
[mp3] Bright Eyes – Hell is Coming, Hell is Here (Live)
[mp3]Bright Eyes, Jim James, M. Ward -Girl From the North Country (Live Dylan Cover)

Buy Bright Eyes Records

How We Handle our Midnights

Hello Friends,

If you are in the Nashville area, I strongly encourage you to head over to Grimey’s at midnight tonight. I realize this is the second time in as many days I’ve suggested a trip to Grimey’s but once again I have a great reason.

The fine folks at the best record store in the world, will be having their first ever midnight sale. There are a crap load of ne releases from The Shins, Of Montreal, Clinic, Deerhoof, Kristin Hersh, Menomena, and a few others and they’ll be giving away alot of free music.

I’ll be there at midnight to buy Wincing the Night Away on vinyl and Memnomena’s new one for sure. But Seeing as though I have never spent less than 40 dollars and bought AT LEAST two things I didn’t intend to buy at Grimey’s, I’m sure I’ll end up leaving with more than that.

[mp3] The Shins – Phantom Limb

[mp3] Menomena – Wet and Rusting

Complete or Completing?

I just sort of assume everyone has heard Annuals excellent new album Be He Me by now. If that is not the case though, you should immediately go here and buy it. If you’re not sold on these two tracks, you should head over to Grimey’s next Sunday the 28th, where they will be playing a free in-store! Seriously, seeing an amazing show for free while doing some shopping at the best record store on the planet? I beg you to find me something better to do with my Sunday Evening.

[mp3] Annuals – Complete or Completing
Bouncy. Multiple drumsets + Keyboards and loops + overdone vocals = Good times.

[mp3] Annuals – Brother
Beautiful. Some of the most pleasing chords you’ve heard in a pop song, chopped up strings, and what sounds like a vaccum cleaner eating crickets in the background. No seriously, it works, trust me.

Do your dreams ever come true…?

Sasha Dobson is a 26 year old New Yorker, whose latest project Modern Romance is pretty brilliant. It’s the perfect soundtrack to a lazy weekend, some sort of jazz/folk/world hybrid. Whatever you wish to call it, Dobson’s voice is wonderful and the songs are all great. From jazz standards to Yeah Yeah Yeah covers, there’s not a track I don’t enjoy. I strongly suggest you download these two and buy this thing at your earliest convenience.

I have a real weakness for immensely talented female vocalists: Jolie Holland, Madeline Peyroux, Camera Obscura, Jenny Lewis, Rosie Thomas, the list goes on. That being said, this record beats them all.

[mp3] Sasha Dobson – Without You
“Do your dreams ever come true? I don’t want to stay without you”

[mp3] Sasha Dobson – Crescent.mp3
“The radio played a song but didn’t know that we sang along”

Hard to Find a Friend : Who we are

This is Caleb. He started Hard to Find a Friend. He is the one who does all the writing and selecting of music ’round these parts. He stays up much later than he should working on minor site tweaks no one ever notices, watching documentaries, listening to music, and catching up on DVR’d Cable News programming. Caleb enjoys music, film, debate, politics, and sarcasm.

Caleb is in charge of the Video department for all Backstage Sessions, as well as being the one who does all the contacting, begging, and and pleading with bands and/or their representation.

Caleb loves you very much.

This is Jeff (the guy) he is the one who does all the tracking, editing, and mixing of all audio for The Backstage Sessions. Jeff is Irish, but he doesn’t have red hair. Jeff is horrible at making fried rice, but always a gracious host.

Jeff spends unhealthy amounts of time in a dark, windowless, cave-like studio, and listens to a lot of audiobooks.

This is Ethan. Ethan is a lot like Gob Bluth, if you’re familiar with Arrested Development. Ethan & Caleb are, and have been, the closest of friends for most of their lives. They met in a sign language class (though neither is deaf, or can speak sign language), and can communicate through non-verbal and non-physical means (sniffs, eye gestures, facial expressions that no one else notices, telepathy, and the like).

Ethan is a general member of the Backstage Sessions team providing assistance with load-in and load-out, lighting, providing comic relief, and serving as a social leazion (read: extreme extrovert). When we get to a club and there’s a scary looking dude blocking the door and the tour manager won’t answer his phone – we send Ethan to do the talking.

This is Savannah. Savannah has been my special lady-friend for over three years now. She is the cheese to my macaroni as Ellen Page once said. Savannah provides priceless moral support when I am having bad days, inspiration for all things in life, and lots of comic relief. She is quite attractive as well, yes? That’s her sleeping.

Not Pictured: Bob Andrews : Expert in the field of indie rock dudes, rackets, vinyl, advice, iced mocha’s, & conspiracy.

Throw my ticket out the window, throw my suitcase out there too

***Edit: As per the comments, you can find an EXCELLENT post containing Dylan’s famous/infamous set from the ’65 Newport Folk Festival, Here.

Bob Dylan changed my life. The first time I heard The Freewheelin Bob Dylan in the ninth grade, I came to a new realization of the emotional response a piece of music could produce. I longed for nothing more than to find a time machine and switch places with my parents to be a teenager when Dylan was making his rounds in Greenwhich. I battled myself on making this post because anything you say about Dylan is white noise. There is no adjective that has not been used to describe him. I guess that speaks alot about just how much of an impact he had on modern music.

All this being said I’m in a very Dylan mood today and I feel like I should just go ahead and get it over with now, just in case there’s some kid reading this who has not had the pleasure of falling in love with Dylan. I’ll let the music speak for itself, below are some of my favorite tracks from various Dylan albums, along with a few outtakes.

[mp3] Bob Dylan – In My Time of Dyin
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Sally Gal (Freewheelin Outtake)
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Tonight I’ll be Stayin Here With You
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Maggies Farm
[mp3] Bob Dylan – One More Cup of Coffee
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Buckets of Rain
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Girl From the North Country
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright
[mp3] Bob Dylan – The Man in Me
[mp3] Bob Dylan – Spirit on the Water

The rain falls harder than it’s supposed to

Ron Sexsmith is rolling into town on Friday for a show at the Belcourt. I strongly encourage every Nashvillian reading this to attend. The tickets are a mere 15 dollars and Ron’s new album Time Being (out in the U.S. a week ago today and available wherever fine records are sold) is insanely good. Think Golden era McCartney with a more diverse array of sounds.

Sexsmith is praised by everyone from Lightfoot, Bono, and Cohen to Kathleen Edwards, Paul McCartney and Steve Earle. Seriously kids, he must be doing something right.

Tickets are on sale now at the Belcourt and should still be available on Friday (Shows at the Belcourt rarely sell out before the day of the show)

[mp3] Ron Sexsmith – The Grim Trucker
[mp3] Ron Sexsmith – I Think We’re Lost

Sorry for the lame sendspace links, I’m at work and can’t access my server. There still mp3’s though people!

Elsewhere:
Josh Rouse will be at the Becourt on Thursday
Keifer Sutherland has a record label?