PLEASE VISIT WWW.INDIEMUSE.COM TO CHECK OUT MY NEW SITE.

as returning visitors may be able to tell, indiespensablemusic has gone under construction the last few days and has come out looking pretty, pretty good, if i may say so myself. i am leaving early tomorrow morning for costa rica and will be gone until july 14. depending on how the trip goes, i may need a day or two to recuperate, but very shortly after, i plan on starting this blog up and keeping it up. the plan is consistent posts, and a sampling of great music in each post. “so what do i do while you are gone,” you ask? well. um. i would suggest that you read through my other posts, and click on the links to listen to the music. if you like it, download it by right clicking “save link as”. the music i post later will be very similar, with hopefully lots of obscure bands that you haven’t heard of. besides that, i think that you should check back shortly after july 14, to see if the posts have started yet, because just as the pringles dude says, “once you pop, the fun don’t stop.” i still plan on making the site look as good as it possibly can, but for not having the slightest idea how to use blogsome, i think i am doing a darn good job. i hope everyones having a great summer!… i know i am.

before i go, i want to leave you with a song for your listening pleasure. i still have some packing to do so i don’t really have time to get into details about the artist, but here is the song. enjoy, and as they like to say in costa rica, adios amigos. hasta luego!

    Gus Black- Don’t Go Tellin’ The Whole World 

By the way, I will have to put this statment up on my site when i get back, but all music on this site is for sampling purposes only. Delete after 24 hour period. If you like the music, support the artist.

In my previous post today, I said that one of my goals was to make it so you guys can listen to songs before downloading them, so you don’t have to go through the hassle of downloading through yousendit, just to find out that it’s not a song that you particularly care for. Well in that regard, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. My very kind friend is willing to host my songs, and make it so you can preview them to your hearts content. Now you won’t have to deal with anymore expired links. I plan on uploading all of the songs again that expired, and right now I am going to put up three songs just to test out this new improvement to Indiespensablemusic. There are still many changes that I would like to make to the site, but this was a great start. Thanks for the help Nate.

Here are 3 classic Cat Stevens songs. A few days ago, a Cat Stevens song started to play, and I haven’t stopped listening to his music since. There’s so much new music out there, that sometimes I forget to listen to my older favorites. Chances are you haven’t listened to him for a while either, so if you want to, just hit the songs to hear some amazing music. If for some reason you don’t know one of these songs, I cordially demand you to listen to it. You won’t regret that you listened to me, but more importantly him.  

Cat Stevens-Father and Son

Cat Stevens-Sad Lisa

Cat Stevens-Where Do the Children Play?

Funny story. Today I decided I was going to try to figure out how to actually use Blogsome, so i can make my blog into something, that if I were you, I would want to read. That is when I found out that I had made a huge mistake. While it would be nice to hook as many people as I can to the music that I enjoy, I would be perfectly happy if I could just introduce one person to new music. It’s never been about the hits. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t talking to a wall. So today, I found out that I had a default on my site that made it so I had to approve comments. I had no idea about this, and therefore, didn’t approve, and kept on believing that my blog either sucked, or I just didn’t have any readers. Now, I know that I did have a small readership, and I probably blew it because, for the most part, I stopped blogging. SO HERE’S THE PLAN. Now that I know that it is possible to get a readership, I am going to really strive to learn how to use Blogsome completely. I had good intentions in trying to start a blog, but I am a bit challenged when it comes to computers . The good news is that though I haven’t been posting, I have been finding more music than ever before. I would really like to start this blog up again and this time, I want to make sure that I know exactly what I am doing. One thing that I noticed when using Yousendit, is that the links expired pretty quickly. I’m hoping that there is a way that I can make it so you can listen to the song prior to downloading. I’ve got one problem though. In a couple of days, I am going to Costa Rica for 3 weeks. So soon after I get back, I plan to  cut the red ribbon. Folks… Be prepared for some INDIEspensable music. By the way, here is a picture of a hamster singing to make it up to you.

 

I never got around to thanking Ahkil over at just pretend for his kind words about my blog. Thanks for the props man. If you haven’t checked out his site yet, I encourage you to. It’s Ahkil’s site that motivated me to start Indiespensablemusic.

 At this time, I would also like to give a big thanks to harmoniummusic and youaintnopicasso for introducing me to The Minders. I’m not familiar with very much of their music, but after hearing two songs off their yet to be released album, I am hooked. If you would like more info about the band/album, go to the sites listed above. You can download the two songs below (thanks to harmoniummusic).

The Minders-Savour All The Days (ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITES)

The Minders-Don’t You Stop

Here in Chicago, it is a beautiful, sunday spring day. The birds are chirping. The squirrels are squirreling. Life is feeling good– even though i have a little cold:( So this morning, I was scrolling through my itunes songs and came across Sondre Lerche. I have always been a fan of his, but haven’t listened to much of him recently. I’m going to give you guys the second track off his album "two way monologue". If you like it, I will post other songs. I think you’ll like it.

    Sondre Lerche- Track You Down 

 

 While it is true that this site is open to everyone, NOT just anyone can find their way to this blog. If you are on this blog, you most likely:

Listen to Music

Enjoy listening to Music (big difference)

Want to find New Music that you enjoy

So to summarize: you enjoy listening to music and take time out of your day to discover what is out there, instead of listening to mainstream garbage. 

 For that reason, I am going to assume that you know Modest Mouse– The modestest mouse of them all. The first assumption when it comes to journalism, is to not assume that the reader knows anything. But good news! I’m not a journalist. The reason I would be surprised if you didn’t know modest mouse, is because they hit mainstream not too long ago with their hit Float On. (You don’t have to know the song title to know if you know the song or not… if they keep saying float on over and over again, then that is probably your song.) Float on is on Modest Mouse’s latest album "Good News For People Who Love Bad News." While I wouldn’t be surprised if you have heard of modest mouse, I would be impressed if you know all of their earlier albums…  Talking to a lot of indie fans, I discovered that many are not familiar with them.  Float on, which is the only song mainstreamers know, definitely isn’t a bad song, but is far from being Modest Mouse’s best song.  Check out these songs, if you haven’t heard them yet.

 

 

Uhhh. Yeah. I am starting to be under the impression that I am the only person reading this brand new blog. Please, give me a shout out if you are there. It will only take a second, and then I will know that I am not just talking to a wall. It kinda reminds me of the kid in "Wet Hot American Summer" who was in charge of the camp radio station, and kept talking and talking as if he were on air, even though the microphone wasn’t connected to anything. I do not want to be that kid. Please, do not make me that kid. Am I that kid? But yeah, just drop a line telling me what you think so far. If my blog sucks massive wrinkly balls, just tell me. It is constructive feedback, and at least I won’t have to be in denial any longer.

Why is there always an even number, or common number, when it comes to reviews? You will always see a number like 10… "Top 10 albums of 2005,"etc. What makes 10 such a good number? What’s wrong with 9? I like 9. But 8 1/2 seems more appropriate for proving my point. I know what you’re thinking: "How can you have half of a song? Are you just going to cut it off half way through the song?" Nope. I am going to take the song "silence" off Guster’s Keep It Together album. It is technically a song–you can buy it for .99 cents on itunes. However, if somebody actually pays .99 cents for a 30 second song of dead silence, I think I am going to have to kill them. Or better yet, myself. The funny thing is, I am sure people have purchased it on itunes. That is what our world has come to! We are dealing with a war in Iraq, and people downloading songs that contain musical talent, only to those bands that suck so badly that people applaud when the band finally stops playing.  I truly hope that the silence song, isn’t your favorite song out of all 8 1/2. If it is, I am not doing my job. These songs are not my all time favorites, but songs that I do enjoy listening to.

 

 

 
1.   Fruit Bats- Rainbow Sign

Okay, I lied. This song is one of my all time favorites. #2, on my itunes "Top 25 Most Played."(25, another common number. why not "Top 23 Most Played"?) The Fruit Bats, are from Chicago. I live in Chicago. Already, points for them. But besides them being from Chicago…(btw, go CUBBIES)… they are actually good. Fun Facts- This band formed in 1999 and with in that time, there have been 25 different band members. Also, Brian Deck produced their second CD, Mouthfuls. (produced Red Red Meat, Modest Mouse, Ugly Casanova, Souled American, etc…) In case you were wondering, fruit bats are the world’s largest bats, and eat fruit, and are only active during the daytime.

 

 

 2. Andrew Bird- Measuring Cups

Another Chicago native. Whoa! Seriously, that will be it. No more Chicagoans after this. Andrew Bird plays a mad violin. Fun Fact- Each song on the Bird Man’s new cd, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, has artwork that goes with it by Chicago’s very own Jay Ryan. You should check out his work .(http://thebirdmachine.com/gallery.html). The Andrew Bird posters are under Jay Ryan, 2005, Page 2. I’m still trying to figure out what some of the artwork has to do with the actual songs. All of the posters are limited edition, and most are sold out.

 

 

 3.  The Guild League- Citronella

At the time, this song was a royal pain in the ass to get my hands on. Now all you have to do is download it. I’m jealous. If you like it, I will post Animals, another song on the same CD. I would post it now, but then I would have to change the title of this entry, which I am not prepared to do.

Current president of the Guild League is Mr. Tali White. Members include Marty Brown, Craig Pilkington, Rodrigo Pintos Lopez, Pete Cohen, Clare Bowditch, Richard Easton, Dan Luscombe, Alicia Vanden Heuvel, Jaime Knight, Ernie Gruner, Cressida Griffith, Brent Kenji, Rebecca Barron, Ilka White, and Karl Smith. That is 16 People. Count for yourself.

Break: Alright. I changed my mind. I am making this 4 1/2 songs. This is A) way too big of a post and taking way too long and B) I need to learn how to make this into a mix, so you don’t have to download 9 individual songs… it will be one download instead of 9. But hey, you still get 4 1/2 great songs. I will post more soon.

 

4. Goldspot- Guard

Good Song. pretty chill. If you would like more info on Goldspot click here. Just playing with you. CLICK HERE!

 

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Place: Battery Park, New York City. Date: August 5, 2004. Time: 7 PM. Price: Free. However, the real question is, "was it priceless?" I would have to imagine the answer to that would have to be yes. Chances are you don’t remember what you were doing on that Thursday… Unless you were at that last Beulah concert before they called it quits. I am far from being a diehard Beulah fan, however, I do think that they deserve to be recognized. For far too long, people have been asked if they know Beulah, and their only response is "Boowho?". I am not that into reviewing songs or albums, due to the fact that listening to music is such a personal experience. If I am putting it on here, I think that it is worth your time to listen to it. This band came a far way from starting out with two guys, Miles Kurosky and Bill Swan, who worked together in a mail room at a security firm. I put my personal favorites below. "Sunday Under Glass" comes from one of Beulah’s earlier albums, When Your Heartstrings Break, and is more of a Indie Rock/ Pop song. "You’re Only King Once", comes from their last album, Yoko, which is considered to be their most successful album. This album is darker than their other works and has been compared a lot to Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

 

Album: When Your Heartstrings Break

Beulah- Sunday Under Glass

Album: Yoko

Beulah- You’re Only King Once