The Faint
Wednesday, July 27, 2005, 10:17 PM - , ,
A lot has changed since 2001, the year The Faint released Danse Macabre.
They were one of the better-kept secrets of the underground, playing to packed basements and popping up in the occasional fanzine. But in the months following Danse Macabre’s release, the murmur surrounding The Faint grew louder. Shows swelled out of the basements and into the clubs. DJ’s started voluntarily playing tracks on commercial stations like KROQ. Word of mouth pricked the ears of the press, and their name fell from the tips of pens everywhere from the New York Times to Time Magazine. Suddenly, The Faint found themselves touring with No Doubt and being tirelessly pursued by major labels. Systematically knocking showgoers flat city by city, The Faint left Danse Macabre everywhere they went, to be heard bleeding out of car windows, leaking through cracked doors of after-hours bars, and drifting from city apartment windows.
It’s been three years, hundreds of shows, and thousands of miles. Fans have been clamoring for new music since last year’s Danse Macabre remix album from Astralwerks. And after a year of sequestering themselves inside a rented warehouse full of stacked up, broken down washing machines, The Faint have finally reemerged with their most feverish and intense work to date, Wet From Birth.
Meticulously produced by The Faint and Presto! Studios’ Mike Mogis, the sounds of Wet From Birth stretch beyond the boundaries of genre. From the addictive opening gambit of “Desperate Guys,” to the frantic, dark masterpiece “I Disappear,” to the closing anthem “Birth,” Wet From Birth is The Faint sounding resolute in a brave new world, poised to change the face of music…complete with a raccoon penis bone-on-muffler solo.
From their beginnings as a low-fi pop band releasing cassettes to the release of their highly anticipated, electronically charged new Wet From Birth album, The Faint have always been a band which is in constant evolution.
Artist - The Faint
Song - Birth
Album - Wet From Birth
Genre - Synth Pop (moving away from that though)
Artist Page - thefaint.com
Game - dropkickthefaint.com
3 comments 
Saint Etienne
Tuesday, July 26, 2005, 03:03 PM - , ,
Like most bands formed by former music journalists, Saint Etienne was a highly conceptual group. The trio's concept was to fuse the British pop sounds of '60s London with the dance club rhythms and productions that defined the post-acid house England of the early '90s. Led by songwriters Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, and fronted by vocalist Sarah Cracknell, the group managed to carry out their concept, and, in the process, they helped make indie dance a viable genre within the U.K. Throughout the early '90s, Saint Etienne racked up a string of indie hit singles that were driven by deep club beats -- encompassing anything from house and techno to hip-hop and disco -- and layered with light melodies, detailed productions, clever lyrics, and Cracknell's breathy vocals. They revived the sounds of swinging London, as well as the concept of the three-minute pop single being a catchy, ephemeral piece of ear candy, in post-acid house Britain, thereby setting the stage for Brit-pop. Though most Brit-pop bands rejected the dance inclinations of Saint Etienne, they nevertheless adopted the trio's aesthetic, which celebrated the sound and style of classic '60s pop.
If you like this song, don't go buy Foxbase Alpha. This is 1998. That is 1993. 5 years makes a big difference.
Artist - Saint Etienne
Song - Lose That Girl
Album - Unreleased (Travel Edition 1990-2005)
Genre - Brit Pop
Artist Page - saintetienne.com
I Am Jen
Monday, July 25, 2005, 11:46 PM -
This one is an exclusive to this site, so get it while you can. I found this girl on one of my podcasts and pulled the full audio from it. She only distributes samples on her website.
"It seems that I am jen is a bit of a dark horse. There is virtually no information about her, so all that I have gathered is that she is New Yorkan and her real name is Jen Scaturro. Yet she has been essential to the music scene and has programmed and lent her beats to many artists."
"Jen’s music is a cross between Massive Attack and sometimes the glitchier bits of Aphex Twin. One website says that she is similar to Suzanne Vega as well - this is true, especially vocally. I would throw in a bit of early Bjork too."
Artist - I Am Jen
Song - At The Same Time
Album - Broken EP
Genre - Electronic/Herpes Simplex 2
Artist Page - iamjen.com
Sufjan Stevens
Sunday, July 24, 2005, 10:45 AM -
Sufjan Stevens is an acoustic/folk writer with a very American/midwestern feel. He is attempting to release an album for every state in the union, his latest being Illinois.
This song is a live recording from a NPR interview he did a few weeks ago. He was actually at Taylor last year, but I, being stupid for some reason, never went. Maybe it's because I had no idea who he was...
You can buy Illinois at Amazon (I have to laugh because I own every CD in the "other listeners bought" area :)
Artist - Sufjan Stevens
Song - The Lord God Bird
Album - Likely the one to be about Arkansas
Genre - Folk
Artist Page - sufjan.com
Diane Cluck
Sunday, July 24, 2005, 12:33 AM - , ,
My first artist for this new music blog is Diane Cluck. Proof that wonderful things happen when stumbling around the internet at work...
Artist - Diane Cluck
Song - Easy to Be Around
Album - Unknown
Genre - Folk/Acoustic
Artist Page - unicornsounds.com
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