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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can now be heard twice, every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

SIRIUS 213: Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane ++ Nirvana - Son Of A Gun (Vaselines Cover) ++ Wilco - Art of Almost ++ Talkdemonic - Revival ++ Luna - 23 Minutes In Brussels ++ Deerhunter - Cover Me (Slowly) ++ Deerhunter - Agoraphobia ++ My Bloody Valentine - Lose My Breath ++ The Cure - Prayers For Rain ++ Pure X - Twisted Mirror ++ Fugazi - Cashout ++ Women - Eyesore ++ Abe Vigoda . . .

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Maffitt/Davies :: The Rise And Fall of Honesty

Maffitt/Davies was a short lived duo who released one album via Capitol Records in 1968. Judging by the cover you'd expect psychedelic fireworks but The Rise and Fall of Honesty is really an Ameriana folk-rock record. This is another good one that never saw release in the CD era. I found a vinyl copy in the Boston area for only $15 though lately this lp has been somewhat hard to come by. While labelmate lps by the Common People . . .

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Warren Zevon :: First We Take Manhattan (Leonard Cohen)

Warren Zevon doing Leonard Cohen...the old masters at work. While the two auteurs approach to their craft is obviously different, Cohen and Zevon were far from diametric; working the same seam, exorcising tales of the human condition -- not to mention their own demons -- through song. Not surprisingly, the similarities and contrasts of Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman immediately come to mind.

An inspired cover, Zevon's live reworking of "First We Take Manhattan" injects a bitter bite into the Cohen original . . .

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Peter Gabriel :: Discography Giveaway

In anticipation of the October 11th release of New Blood, we're giving away the entire almost the entirety of Peter Gabriel's discography to an Aquarium Drunkard reader. The package will be a mix of vinyl and CD. I rarely do these types of things on the blog, but the enormity of Gabriel's work speaks for itself. To enter, leave a comment with your favorite Gabriel 'era.' I'll let you all decide how . . .

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Clifton’s Corner :: Volume Four / From Soul Jazz to Jazz Funk pt.1

(Welcome to the fourth installment of Clifton’s Corner. Every other week on the blog Clifton Weaver, aka DJ Soft Touch, will be sharing some of his favorite spins, old and new, in the worlds of soul, r&b, funk, psych and beyond. — AD)

One of the great things about doing these 'Clifton's Corner' installments is the motivation and opportunity to dig deeper into my record collection . . .

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Wilco :: The Whole Love

It used to be possible to think about a new Wilco record simply by noting how much enjoyment it yielded. AM, Being There, Summerteeth–these are all interesting records that are technically challenging and ambitious in their own ways, but they’re also primarily pop records, written and performed for our entertainment. That all changed with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, of course, when the Chicago group–of whom only Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, and Glenn Kotche remain, joined now by Nels Cline, Mikael Jorgensen . . .

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AD Presents :: AA Bondy at The Bootleg Theater / Thursday

Thursday night Aquarium Drunkard presents AA Bondy at The Bootleg Theater. Couldn't be more excited for this gig. We're giving away three pairs to AD readers. Hit up the comments below with your name, email address and fave Bondy and/or Verbena song to enter. Winners notified Wednesday, tickets held at will-call night of show.

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Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band :: Stay Away

Yup, kids, that's Charles Bradley covering Nirvana's "Stay Away."   To say I had reservations about this pairing would be an understatement, thankfully my friend Matt would have none of it and threw it on a couple of weeks back while playing records at his house one night. In the hands of Bradley and the Menahan Street Band, "Stay Away" morphs into a swampy psychedelic . . .

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Real Estate :: Green Aisles

New track unveiled today from Real Estate, a band whose music has only grown in my estimation over the past few years. "Green Aisles" is culled from the band's forthcoming album, Days, out October 18th via Domino Records.

MP3: Real Estate :: Green Aisles
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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can now be heard twice, every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

During the second of of today's show, Megafaun will be guest DJ'ing.

SIRIUS 212: Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane ++ Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane ++ REM - Moral Kiosk ++ Richard Swift - Whitman ++ Cass McCombs - The Same Thing ++ The Walkmen - Paper ++ The Strokes - I'll . . .

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The Lagniappe Sessions :: Strand Of Oaks / Michael Hurley, Moby

Lagniappe (la ·gniappe) noun ‘lan-ˌyap,’ — 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus.

Welcome to the third installment of the Lagniappe Sessions in which we invite some of our favorite artists to cut exclusive covers paying tribute to some of their favorite artists. This week we're joined by Strand of Oaks, the nom de tune of Timothy Showalter whose album from last year, Pope Killdragon, exemplified some of the finest in contemporary, imaginative, folk music happening today.

Below, highlighting the malleability of his muse, Showalter takes on two disparate artists. The first is a relatively straightforward take on Michael Hurley's "Tea Song," culled from Hurley's 1965 debut. Next, juxtaposing Hurley's innate outsider folk yarn, is Moby's haunting, synth driven, "When It's Cold I'd Like To Die" off his 1995 LP, Everything Is Wrong.

Strand Of Oaks :: Tea Song (Michael Hurley)
Strand Of Oaks :: When It's Cold I'd like to Die (Moby)

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Ian Dury :: New Boots And Panties

In the wake of pop’s rediscovery of itself, prompted by the blitzkrieg success of punk, 1977 proved to be a banner year for debut albums. Most of the artists concerned were promising newcomers, but a fair number were veterans in new guises. In the UK, musicians who had cut their teeth in the back-to-basics pub-rock bands of 1973-75 recombined into new units or declared themselves solo artists and, riding on the New Wave of energy generated by punk, sought to combine their established chops with its novelty, brevity and audacity. While the younger hardline . . .

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AA Bondy :: The AD Interview

If there's one thing I've learned about talking to A.A. Bondy over the years, it's that conversations can take unexpected turns - sometimes fruitful, sometimes dead ends - but you also never quite end up where you expected. It's a similar spirit to what seems to occupy his work as a songwriter. AD talked with Bondy this past week about his new album, Believers, experiences since his first solo records, discomfort with his own work, liminal states and how, whether autumn or summer, it's all about perspective.

Aquarium Drunkard: It's been a couple of years since your last record, When The Devil's Loose. How have things been going for you after these first two albums?

A.A. Bondy: Well, you know, I've had so much experience crammed into the first four years [since the release of his debut, American Hearts - ed.], that it seems like a lot longer. Prior to that album coming out, there was this dead zone in terms of touring or anything like that. It came out in 2007. The last time I'd toured with a band was 2003. 2008, 2009 - I've never toured that much in my life. Even more so when the second record came out. So, I guess in some ways, everything sped up. Which was cool in a lot of ways. I guess if I look back at it - it's just a weird little trip. There's never been this situation where you walk outside your door one day and things have changed entirely. You go outside and a brick has been moved six inches to the left, but over time, a whole building moves. So it's tricky. It's kind of changed slowly in front of our faces. I don't know who this 'we' is I'm talking about. [laughs.]

AD: The royal 'we.' [laughs]

AAB: Exactly. Back when we wrote [Believers], we were very tired from all the touring we'd been doing. [laughs] The whole idea of getting older is kind of psychedelic in its own way. Not actually psychedelic. But you actually think about time as a construct and the way you perceive things and just the mindset you carry forward and the things you discard. It's just a weird job that I have. [laughs] I look at two years gone by, or three years, or record to record, some things change not a bit and other things do a lot.

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The Walkmen :: Paper House

Last week at the Greek theater, just prior to the Walkmen taking the stage, I overheard a man trying to explain the band's sound to his date. A number of adjectives and descriptors were tossed about -- 'torchy,' 'indie rock,' 'crooner,' 'jazz' -- which is fitting for a group that continues to defy easy genre construction, inhabiting their own space in contemporary music. When I got back that night I put this one on, "Paper House" --- a b-side from last year's become a member or log in.

My Bloody Valentine :: Isn’t Anything

On no other record before it’s time does anything sound so out of this world, odd and disorienting than My Bloody Valentine’s 1988 landmark album Isn’t Anything. It’s a raw, visceral, and surreal experience rooted in punk and layered with texture and distortion. Most importantly, it features Kevin Shields’ signature tremolo-bended guitar and expansive use of . . .

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