Thursday July 31st 2008, 9:10 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Melanie
Okay, okay. So it’s a tricky name. “Backsell, backsell, blah, blah, blah.” But just think of all the bands whose names once sounded strange and eventually rolled off the tongue. (Make a comment below if you have a favorite.) What matters is that the Airborne Toxic Event is a great band. A real rock band who can write. Listen to the podcast. We have proof.
The Airborne Toxic Event has honed their craft regionally, and LA absolutely loves them. We can’t wait until we get a chance to check them out live. Google them. You’ll be amazed at the reviews you come across.
Canadian singer-songwriter Basia Bulat has made a wonderful record in her debut full-length, Oh, My Darling. You can catch her on her first headlining tour of the U.S. next month, but for now, get a taste of her sweet, memorable sound in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
In her Daytrotter session, Basia performed Sam Cooke’s masterful “Touch the Hem of His Garment” and the Daniel Johnston underground classic “True Love Will Find You in the End.” You can hear them, as well as an unreleased new song, here.
Now that the All-Star Game is behind us and the Major League Baseball season is officially into its second half, we thought it would be a good time to go back and reveal your predictions that we culled in a survey back in April.
It’s no surprise that most people who responded ranked the AL East in this way:
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Blue Jays
4. Rays
5. Orioles
Only one person predicted the greatness of the Tampa Bay Rays, who are currently in first. Time will tell whether their storybook season will continue, in this tough division where the spotlight is mostly cast on the mega-markets of New York and Boston and the historic Yankees/Sox rivalry.
Our predictions for the AL Central averaged out this way:
1. Indians
2. Tigers
3. White Sox
4. Twins
5. Royals
A whopping 33% of respondents chose the Indians for first place, but we all know this was just to make Sean happy. There have been nothing but surprises in this division, with Chicago returning to 2005 form, Cleveland disappointing mightily, and Detroit streaking in both directions. And, as Kyle, Dan, Shawn and Kevin will tell you - never underestimate the Twinkies.
In the AL West, the vast majority of us correctly (at least so far) guessed that the Angels would end up on top, trailed by the Mariners, A’s and Rangers, in that order. Only one respondent guessed that the Mariners — currently the worst team in baseball — would finish last in their division.
We hypothesized, on average, that the NL East would be looking like this at the end of the season:
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Nationals
5. Marlins
Again, we were too quick to dismiss that baseball hotbed of Florida, because the Marlins have been playing pretty darn great, despite their pitifully lackluster “fans.” They’re sitting a game behind Philly who are a game behind the first place Mets. (On a side note, I can’t tell you how much fun it is to have constant access to Manhattan sports bars when the Red Sox and Yankees are neck-and-neck in one division, and the Mets and Phils in another. Good times.)
Despite the curse and that awfully fat-looking number for “years without winning a World Series” looming, 66% of us were gutsy enough to choose the Cubs to win the NL Central. Then the Brew Crew traded for CC Sabathia and have to be considered very dangerous. Here’s what our picks for that division looked like:
1. Cubs
2. Brewers
3. Reds
4. Cardinals
5. Astros
6. Pirates
To all of you who are fans of the top 5 teams in this division, this Pittsburgher says “You’re welcome.” I’m happy to have blown all those games against you for the last 16 years. If you want to return the favor, the least you could do is plan a trip to Pittsburgh to see your team beat us. We’ve got the most beautiful ballpark in America. And you can try one of those Primanti’s sandwiches you’re always seeing on TV. I’ll send you to bars where you can drop my name and get free shots.
Lastly, we come to the NL West. We expected it to lay out like this:
1. Dodgers
2. Diamondbacks
3. Rockies
4. Padres
5. Giants
Sheesh. .500? Anyone? Anyone? Don’t you at least play EACH OTHER enough for someone to be doing more than treading water?
As for the other questions on the poll…
92% of us correctly guessed that the AL would win the All-Star Game. But who knew it would be that great an end an inning away from both managers having to use position players (JD Drew/David Wright) to pitch the 16th inning? (Yankees fans booing Red Sox players was an embarrassing low point.)
23% of us thought Detroit would be the AL Wild Card, after which the Yankees and the Red Sox tied with exactly 12.82% of the vote.
On the NL side, 20% of us thought Milwaukee would do the Wild Card honors, with the Cubs, Phillies and Angels tying in second place.
Red Sox vs. Cubs is the most commonly-predicted World Series.
We are avid fans and gamegoers: 36% of us have been to the Hall of Fame, and on average, we’ve visited three to eight Major League ballparks. (Three of us have been to 14 or more!) And we’re traditionalists, as hot dogs, peanuts and Crackerjacks top our list of ballpark snacks. Vin Scully is our favorite play-by-play man in a landslide, but when it comes to color commentator, there would be arguments. Joe Morgan tops the list, but “anyone but Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver” was also a popular response.
Check back at the end of October for the final wrap.
Oh…and we’ll be back in about a month to ask for your NFL predictions!
The journey of Fleet Foxes began with the childhood friendship of Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset. The two wrote and composed songs for eight years before adding the instrumentation of Nicholas Peterson (drums), Casey Wescott (Keyboards), and Bryn Lumsden (bass). Armed with a full lineup, Fleet Foxes took their baroque pop stylings to Sub Pop, who earlier this year released the Sun Giant EP, followed by their more recent self-titled full-length. They’ll do a stint opening for Wilco later this month. Check out their sound in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
Critical praise for this album has been overwhelming, highlighted by four stars from Rolling Stone and a whopping 9.0 from Pitchfork. Pitchfork is (in)famous for giving nearly everything a mediocre score, as was hilariously accentuated by The Onion last fall.
When Feist was recording “1, 2, 3, 4″ she probably didn’t dare to dream of the wild success it would bring her. But even if she did, I’m sure she never guessed that one sunny day, she’d be sweeping the clouds away with Elmo and Zoe:
The Watson Twins grew up in Louisville and have spent the past ten years out in LA, working with lots of the musicians in the vibrant Silver Lake scene. They first became familiar to most music fans when they backed up Jenny Lewis on her solo project Rabbit Fur Coat. You can hear their stand-alone sound in this Songlines podcast, which features tracks from their debut full-length Fire Songs.
Friday July 11th 2008, 11:20 am
Filed under: Podcasts
Posted by: Melanie
In their fittingly-titled debut Ode to Sunshine, San Diego’s Delta Spirit channels the energy of the Southern California sunshine, as well as some of the grit of its deserts. It’s a great, literate record that’s a pure joy to listen to. Sample its tracks in this edition of the Songlines podcast.
It’s been just over a week since Alejandro Escovedo’s career-defining record, Real Animal, hit stores, and what a week it’s been! Alejandro and his band performed on the Today Show, Conan O’Brien, and on Sirius, WFUV, WRLT, and CW11. He did two packed CD release parties at Austin’s famed Continental Club that were broadcast by KUT and KGSR, as well as in-stores at Waterloo and Grimey’s. Tomorrow, he plays Milwaukee’s SummerFest, and for Independence Day, he’ll be in Chicago alongside Gomez and the Old 97’s for WXRT’s 4th of July Concert. The man is working hard! Sample some of the album’s tracks in this Songlines podcast.
Back in April, Alejandro and his wife were on their way to see a Bruce Springsteen show in Houston when he got a phone call from his manager. She had some news: The Boss wanted to perform Alejandro’s new single, “Always a Friend,” that night. By the time Alejandro arrived backstage, Springsteen had already arranged the tune for the E Street Band and taught it to them. And so, in front of 18,000 people, they got to perform the song together:
