The IXth Key

Tomorrow kicks off my favorite month of the year and 31 days of horror movies, TV shows, and spooky jams.  So, let's start a little early with some spooky dungeon synth from French artist The IXth Key.  Listen to "Walking Through Empty Halls" below, an eerie melody that sounds like entering a labyrinth in an old 8-bit (or older) video game, and get the "October Moon" album here from Secret Corridor Records.

Hooray Halloween!

Daily Jam - The Golden Pipes Trilogy: 1. The Golden Pipes

Doing this whole Daily Jam thing, it was really only going to be a matter of time until i got to something from The Fucking Champs.  So, without further delay, here's the glorious electric guitars of "The Golden Pipes Trilogy: 1. The Golden Pipes," our Daily Jam.

Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron

Mount Eerie is back with a new record in November, this time around with singer/songwriter Julie Doiron in tow.  Listen to the hushed and wistful "Love without Possession" below and pre-order the upcoming "Lost Wisdom pt. 2" LP here from P.W. Elverum and Sun.

Daily Jam - You Don't Love Me

Here's some "girls in the garage" vibes to close out our weekend to.  Check out Kim and Grim's "You Don't Love Me" below, our Daily Jam.

Sault

Mysterious UK act Sault released one of my favorite album's of the year with this summer's "5," a wonderful mesh of soul and groove and krautrock.  And now they're already following it up with their sophomore effort "7."  If they keep pace, maybe we'll get a third LP to kick off 2020.  Anyway, check out "Tip Toe" below and pre-order the record here via Forever Living Originals.

Daily Jam - It's a Man's Man's Man's World

"It's a Man's Man's Man's World," probably my favorite James Brown song, and our Daily Jam.  Check it out below.

Daily Jam - When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up

Later in their career, Scottish band Snow Patrol drew a lot of comparisons to Coldplay.  It wasn't meant to be complimentary, but it was warranted, as the band had certainly moved into that mold.  But their earlier records were a little bit quirkier, still playing off of that post-Britpop sound, but not quite as polished.  Listen to "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up" from their sophomore album of the same name below, our Daily Jam.

Friday Horror Trailer - Night of the Creeps

Eyesore & The Jinx

Here's a little quirky post punk cut with a smidge of psychobilly rock from Liverpool trio Eyesore & The Jinx to get us moving this morning.  Listen to "Leisure Time" below and grab the track here from the band.

Daily Jam - Sex and Mayhem

Australian group Devastations only gave us a couple of albums before disbanding a decade ago, but man were those albums good.  Harnessing a somber, solemn, kind of Southern Gothic lament, the band traded in dark pop that sticks to your ribs and hums in your ears.  Listen to "Sex and Mayhem" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - En ton av Tystnad (The Sound of Silence)

We stan for ABBA around these parts, and i guess that means solo careers as well.  Anni-Frid Lyngstad released her first solo outing "Frida" in 1971, and it included a lovely, though kind of maudlin, cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" sung in her native Swedish.  I heard this for the first time a couple of years ago, and it's kind of been stuck in my head ever since.  Listen to "En ton av Tystnad" below, our Daily Jam.

Cate Le Bon & Bradford Cox

The annual Marfa Myths music and art festival in Marfa, Texas is something i have not had the benefit of attending yet (much to my dismay), but at least i get to hear some of the fruits of labor every year when Mexican Summer releases the previous fest's collaborative residency.  These are generally pretty awesome, and last year's featured Cate Le Bon and Deerhunter front man Bradford Cox.  Check out "Secretary" from the duo below and get the "Myths 004" record in November.

Daily Jam - The Booklovers

You might not think that a very British chamber pop song where the singer lists off a bunch of literary authors along with accompanying sound bites would be one of my favorite songs, and yet here we are.  Listen to "The Booklovers" by The Divine Comedy below, our Daily Jam.

Pearly

Cleveland duo Pearly make slinky, dreamy pop music that wouldn't feel out of place in a David Lynch jam.  Cooing, eerie, and beautiful vocals atop down tempo pop, old guitars and humming synths, like playing to smoke filled room.  Listen to "To Me" below and get the band's debut EP, "prettydarksexymusic" here.

Amar Lal

Here's a little ambient, new age, meditation music from LA artist Amar Lal.  Like me, let it try to put you in a more relaxed state as you go about your hectic morning.  Listen to "Privilege (2015)" below and get the upcoming "Gardening" cassette here from Never Content.

RIP Sid Haig

I woke up this morning to learn that horror and B-movie icon Sid Haig had passed away at the age of 80.  I love so many movies that he's in spanning decades.  His presence will certainly be missed.

RIP Sid Haig.

Daily Jam - Guy Who Got a Headache and Accidentally Saves the World

Quite possibly my favorite title for a song ever and taken from the end of my favorite era of one of my favorite bands, "Guy Who Got a Headache and Accidentally Saves the World" is such a quintessentially sounding Flaming Lips tune, that it's one i would definitely go to if attempting to explain what the band's sound is to me.  Noisy, off-kilter, and a little silly, it's how i'm going to start this week out.  Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Elegia

Penned in tribute to their former band mate and friend Ian Curtis, New Order's "Elegia" serves as kind of synth dirge, hearkening back to their Joy Division days.  It's sweet and sad and beautiful.  Check out the original album version below, our Daily Jam.

Buried Feather

Here's some fuzzy and noisy psych rock with tinges of Britpop, shoegaze, and stoner metal running through its DNA from Aussie band Buried Feather.  Listen to the reverb-drench, sunglazed, album opener "Melt Together" below and get the band's new "Cloudberry Dreamshake" LP here from Cobra Snake Necktie Records.

Jonathan Bree

Here's a new string-laden jam from New Zealand psych pop artist Jonathan Bree.  "Waiting on the Moment" sways and swoons.  Listen below and get it here courtesy of Lil' Chief Records.

Daily Jam - New World

"New World" is one of those songs i can listen to endlessly.  Björk has actually give me a few of those over the years, buy maybe none of them move me quite like this one does.  That orchestra at the end.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

M83 - Feelings

M83 has a new album of instrumental tracks out today called "DSVII," the sequel to 2007's "Digital Shades Vol. 1."  I've always been able to dig on M83's music, soaring or otherwise, so this is a pleasant surprise (i just found out about this yesterday).  Check out the video for "Feelings" below, but maybe don't watch this one at work.  There's a lot of phallic stuff going on is what i'm saying.  Then look for the record on Mute.

Daily Jam - I Get Wet

I pretty much blew Andrew WK off as a joke when he first came on the scene 18(!) years ago, and man that was a big mistake on my part.  Once i finally tapped into that vibe, i've never gone back.  Here's "I Get Wet," our Daily Jam.

Friday Horror Trailer - The House by the Cemetery

Daily Jam - I Saw an X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas

It will never cease to amaze me that in the '90s, a band called Butthole Surfers had a hit single.  Just amazing.  And the thing of it is, that hit single is really, really low on the totem pole in relation to the rest of the band's output.  Case in point: every song on 1988's "Hairway to Steven."  So, here's the cheeky and demented "I Saw an X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas," our Daily Jam.

Sadness

Illinois experimental black metal act Sadness released their latest effort, "I Want to Be There," back in April digitally, but the album gets its physical release at the end of the month.  A mix of ambient, droney atmospherics, shoegaze reverb, post rock grandiosity, and black metal din, the record is equal parts frenetic beast and soothing balm, a sound that's both epic and intimate.  Listen to "You Dance like the June Sky" below and order the record here from Flowing Downward.

Shana Falana

New York artist Shana Falana makes dreamy, slightly shoegaze-tinged psych folk, best played at twilight, the sky fading from hazy pink to dark blue and black.  Listen to the stripped down "Come and Find Me" below, a sweet and haunting melancholy lament, and pre-order the upcoming "Darkest Light" LP here from Arrowhawk Records.

YĪN YĪN

Man, i'm glad i stumbled upon these guys this morning.  Hailing from The Netherlands, YĪN YĪN make a fusion of pop, psychedelia, and funk with occasional flurries of prog and disco.  It's a booty shaking, mind expanding mix of sound and i am here for it.  Check out the groove of "One Inch Punch" below and pre-order the band's upcoming "The Rabbit that Hunts Tigers" LP here from Les Disques Bong Joe.

Possible Humans

Melbourne, Australia's Possible Humans make a jangly kind of psych pop that sounds like all the best parts of mid/late '80s college radio.  Check out the dark, slightly off-kilter, and haunting (and also excellently titled) "Aspiring to Be a Bloke" below and get the "Everybody Split" LP here from Trouble In Mind.

Daily Jam - Saudade

I love me some Bauhaus, but, and this is probably sacrilegious to say, i've always been a little more into Bauhaus offshoot Love And Rockets.  I know, i know.  Anyway, here's the airy and dreamy instrumental "Saudade" from the band's 1985 album "Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Hold Up

Something is wrong with Youtube right now, and it won't seem to let me embed any videos.  But that's okay, because fortunately, Bandcamp came to the rescue with a working embed of some 40 year old French mutant disco from Micky & Joyce.  Produced by perennial weirdo Jean-Pierre Massiera, "Hold Up" is bouncy, frenetic, and dancey mayhem for our Tuesday morning.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Tindersticks

November brings us a new record from the indispensable Tindersticks, their brand of melancholy guitar pop being just the thing to soothe the soul.  Listen to "The Amputee" below and pre-order the upcoming "No Treasure but Hope" LP here from City Slang.

Swervedriver - Reflections

Long running (or formerly broken up and now reformed for awhile) shoegaze band Swervedriver have a new 12" single out of a couple of covers, the B-side of which is pretty hip version of The Supremes' "Reflections."  Check it out below and get it here from the band.

RIP Ric Ocasek

I didn't get to post this last night when i heard the news, but i remember when i was a little kid, The Cars were one of those bands that made me feel kind of cool to like.  And even long after they split up, Ric Ocasek continued to inform some of my musical tastes behind the boards for acts like Weezer and Guided by Voices and more.  He was a quirky and cool guy, and the world is lesser without him.  RIP Ric Ocasek.

Daily Jam - Symbols and Maps

Olivia Tremor Control were one of my favorite bands of the '90s, and i was certainly bummed when they broke up, but at least i had Circulatory System to pick and run with the ball for a little while.  Here's the melancholy, lo-fi sunshine psych pop of "Symbols and Maps" from the band's 2001 self-titled debut, our Daily Jam.

Men I Trust

Montreal's Men I Trust have been putting out a string of singles over the last couple of years, dreamy little nuggets of pop.  And i made a note to myself to keep a lookout for a proper new full length from the group.  Then i saw that they had one coming our way.  Then i forgot.  But now it's here.  The band's new double album, "Oncle Jazz," compiles many of those previously released singles, though re-recorded for the album, as well as a whole slew of new ones.  Check out the new album version of "Numb" below, a hummy, hazy mix of bedroom dreampop, yacht rock, and R&B, and order the record from the band here.

Daily Jam - Barber's Adagio for Strings

Probably most recognizable from its usage in the film "Platoon," Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" is equal parts beautiful and mournful and brings with it a certain kind of cinematic flair.  Electronic producer William Orbit recorded his own version of it in the '90s using synthesizers instead of a strings.  Still beautiful.  Still mournful.  Still cinematic.  And when i was in my early 20's, i remember this one weekend partying with some old friends in Houston where we all went at it a little too hard and ended up in various stages of hungover agony on Saturday morning.  My friend put on "Barber's Adagio for Strings," and it suited our mood perfectly.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Federale

November brings us a new album of Spaghetti Western psych rock from Federale.  Check out new jam "Aim for the Heart" below and get the upcoming "No Justice" LP here from Jealous Butcher Records.  And then ride.

Ghostface Killah

Gonna keep with the Wu-Tang vibe this morning and check out Ghostface Killah's new album, "Ghostface Killahs."  Yesterday, a friend of mine noted that the rapper samples a track from "Phantom of the Paradise," and i really hope that becomes a thing now.  Check out "Burner to Burner" below and look for the album stream all over.

Daily Jam - C.R.E.A.M.

I feels like a Wu-Tang kind of morning, so here's a classic.  "C.R.E.A.M.," our Daily Jam.

Consumer

Here's a darkened mix of post punk, post rock, industrial metal, and noise from Consumer, the Boston project featuring one half of experimental post punk band Have A Nice Life.  New album "In Computers" is out in October and sounds like chaotic analog mayhem.  Listen to the ritualistic "Massive Subsidies" below and pre-order the record here from The Flenser.

Friday Horror Trailer - Friday the 13th

Daily Jam - We Know Where You Sleep

It's Friday the 13th, so i figured i go with something a little creepier or a little more menacing today.  So, here's a song that's both creepy and menacing from producer John Congleton's defunct but cherished experimental, noisy, emo-ish band The Paper Chase.  Check out "We Know Where You Sleep" below, our Daily Jam.

The Oilies

The Oilies is a project from Mantles member Carly Putnam, and she has a new track out this week called "Biting the Sky."  It's airy and shimmering, albeit a little hazy, and i feel like i'm going to be humming its melancholy melody for the rest of the day.  Check it out below and get it here from the artist.

Daily Jam - Asshole

Lo-fi, anti-folk Beck has probably always been my favorite Beck.  I wish he'd make music like that again.  So, from "One Foot in the Grave," here's "Asshole," our Daily Jam.

RIP Daniel Johnston

Before leaving work today i got a couple of texts with the terrible news that Austin icon Daniel Johnston had passed away today from a heart attack at the age of 58.  I've long been a fan of the artist, which i guess is kind of expected when you live in Austin, and was fortunate enough to get to see him perform 10 years ago.  And i remember when i moved here in 1997, you could still get his old handmade cassettes at Sound Exchange, a now defunct record store by the UT campus and home of the Jeremiah The Innocent graffiti art.  He will definitely be missed.  In picking out a Johnston track to play, i decided against my favorite song of his, "True Love Will Find You in the End," and against "Story of an Artist," a track that can move me to tears when in the right mood, and instead chose something that's maybe a little more uplifting but still melancholy.  Listen to "The Sun Shines Down on Me" below and check out any and all of Johnston's music.

Oh, and definitely watch Jeff Feuerzeig's 2006 documentary, "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," if you've never seen it.  It's heartbreaking and wonderful.

RIP Daniel Johnston

Gross Net

Gross Net is the project of Girls Names member Philip Quinn, stripping back a little bit of the former's moodier post punk aesthetic for something more in line with a darkwave synth pop aesthetic instead.  Still moody though.  Check out the track "Gentrification" below and get the "Gross Net Means Gross Net" LP here from Felte.

Daily Jam - River Song

A little over 10 years ago, i finally got around to listening to Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's 1977 solo album "Pacific Ocean Blue" when it received the deluxe reissue treatment.  It soon became one of my favorite records.  And still is.  I even wrote about it once.  Anyway, here's the wonderful album opener "River Song," our Daily Jam.

Olivia Neutron-John

I remember seeing the (admittedly wonderful) name Olivia Neutron-John all around Austin during SXSW last March, but for whatever reason never caught a performance.  And then i kind of forgot about her until seeing that she's opening for Boy Harsher on their current tour.  Cool.  Anyway, the Washington DC area artist blends subdued post punk with lo-fi cold wave that sounds like it came out of East Berlin 40 years ago.  Listen to "March" below and grab the self-titled record here from Sister Polygon.

Daily Jam - Below the Sliding Doors

Here's a little late '90s, space rock indebted alt-rock from Blinker the Star featuring an assist from Failure's Ken Andrews on backing vocals.  Check out "Below the Sliding Doors" below, our Daily Jam.