The Story of… Ben Lee - 2016

http://www.ben-lee.com

DISCOGRAPHY

2016 Freedom, Love & the Recuperation of the Human Mind
2015 Love Is The Great Rebellion
2015 A mixtape from Ben Lee
2013 Ayahuasca: Welcome To The Work
2011 Deeper Into Dream
2010 Noise Addict – It Was Never About The Audience
2009 The Rebirth of Venus
2008 The Square (Motion Picture Soundtrack w/ Jessica Chapnik)
2007 Ripe
2005 Awake Is The New Sleep
2004 The Bens – The Bens
2002 Hey You, Yes You
1999 Breathing Tornados
1997 Something To Remember Me By
1996 Noise Addict – Meet The Real You
1995 Grandpaw Would
1995 Noise Addict – Young & Jaded
1993 DEF

Most often what we're seeking in music is inspiration -- that spark of being brought to life by a sound, a lyric, a song... The music makes you believe the challenge can be met, the goal can be attained, the battle can be won, whatever it is. It makes you feel inspired. ND

The Story so far

The Story of... Neutral Milk Hotel

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"Two-Headed Boy" is a disturbing puzzle that never quite coalesces into more than a collection of disquieting images equating sex, death, sideshow freaks, and the emotional release of dancing to the radio, "catching signals that sound in the dark." Unlike the rest of the album, which sets Jeff Mangum's vocals and acoustic guitar to neo-psychedelic blends of odd instrumentation, "Two-Headed Boy" is a live-sounding solo recording that sounds as if it was recorded to a cheap cassette deck -- the volume audibly pegs into distortion in a couple of spots as Mangum hits emotional climaxes -- and is all the more immediately powerful for it. - All Music Guide

“Soft silly music is meaningful, magical.” 

― Jeff Mangum

“And one day we will die and our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea, but for now we are young, let us lay in the sun, and count every beautiful thing we can see... Can't believe how strange it is to be anything at all.” 

― Jeff Mangum

Neutral Milk Hotel, composed of Mangum, Julian Koster, Jeremy Barnes and Scott Spillane, had already accumulated a large following by the time In the Aeroplane over the Sea , their second album, was released in late 1997. But Aeroplane elicited a response from listeners that made a palpable wave in the music world. The album inspired a profound emotional response in people; many a cynical music critic wrote of being moved to tears by its baroque beauty and raw honesty.

Mangum's reclusiveness was legendary: Slate descibed him as indie rock's Salinger.

we have this album and another very good one, and that to me is serious riches. Amazing to think how it started, how at the core of it all was guts. I keep thinking of "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding," and one of Dylan's truest lines: "If my thought-dreams could be seen/ They'd probably put my head in a guillotine." Aeroplane is what happens when you have that knowledge and still take the risk. Pfork

I get another opportunity to see NMH in Montreal. The excitement is crazy!

Montreal Show in association with POP Montreal!

NMH Sampler

The Story of... Moldy Kimya & Adam - 2013

Been a fan of these two for many many years. It was the first music I'd heard that had the perfect blend of irony, folk sensibility and unique delivery. I fell in love with The Moldy Peaches' self-tiled album from the first listen... What were they saying?!:... How could they make that rhyme ??!!! It's only two chords??!!!?

 Once they parted ways they when through their own personal inner transformation to find their true musical calling. The funny thing, they only keep evolving into interesting musicians, covering the gamete of genres while all the while staying close to their personalities. 

The Uncluded is a perfect example for Kimya, introducing urban hip-hop into her mix, which works so well. And Adam's new collaboration with No Joy, creating compelling, melodic indie pop.

Have a listen to evolution...

Papa M Playlist - 2013

As one of the Kentucky demi-gods who made Slint's 'Spiderland' - an album so

emotionally taxing that the band was, allegedly, subsequently admitted to a local mental

asylum - Dave Pajo's place at the pinnacle of lo-fi's Mount Olympus is

already guaranteed.

Dave Pajo has recently discovered a desire to sing - something he'd managed

to avoid for 1999's dreamlike 'Live From A Shark Cage' - and on 'Whatever,

Mortal', his deadpan tones make Leonard Cohen sound like Mariah Carey.

That Pajo barely sings only brings out the sly unease that lies beneath the

surface of his songs. There's something unnervingly fragile about the naïve

melodies of 'Many Splendoured Thing' and the dour 'Sabotage' - like Syd

Barrett, Roky Eriksson or Skip Spence, Pajo's is a brilliance that teeters

on the brink of genuine illness.

In Papa M's strange internal world, men stand guard over gravestones,

vultures circle and love is forever two steps out of reach. This is country

music to a degree, but undermined by a strange psychedelic undercurrent

absent in the likes of Bonnie Prince Billy and Smog.

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It's wild an uneven stuff and as Pajo dips his finger into the darker

corners of folk music, he's leaving the normal world far behind. For the

few, the brave and the geeky, a thing of monstrous beauty. nme

On tour with YYY

The Story Of... Clem Snide - 2013

Many exciting Clem Snide/Eef Barzelay things await you in 2013 like…

* The new record “Songs for Mary” will see its official release in spring!

* An original song, called “The Woods”, is featured in the “Senses” episode of the new BBC show “The Wonders of Life” with our man Brian Cox.

* Also: “God Answers Back” from the “End of Love” album will be used in the new Diablo Cody movie (end credits yo!).

* Keep an ear out for Eef on NPR’s All Things Considered.

* But most exciting is the launching of a subscription service called “Eldorado”

Since forming in the early '90s, Clem Snide has undergone numerous lineup changes, moved to three different cities and left record labels big and small in its wake. Even though singer-songwriter Eef Barzelay has long been the band's only constant, Clem Snide still managed to break up after recording a long-unreleased 2006 album. Now, after two terrific solo records, Barzelay has re-formed Clem Snide — and marked the occasion by finally unveiling Hungry Bird, an inventive prog-pop curveball with a post-apocalyptic storyline and many moments of dazzling beauty.

Clem Snide HoME

Latest Release on BandCamp (name your price)

Discography

Made for TV Movie Live

Eef Barzelay (Clem Snide) and Chris Otepka (The Heligoats) perform at the 30th Anniversary Party for Kim & Carla and Jim & Mary.

The Story Of - Billy Bragg - 1983 - 2013

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Billy Bragg releases his first new studio album in five years, Tooth & Nail, on March 18 2013

Tooth & Nail Tracklist:

01. January Song

02. No One Knows Nothing Anymore

03. Handyman Blues

04. I Ain’t Got No Home (Woody Guthrie)

05. Swallow My Pride

06. Do Unto Others

07. Over You (Bragg/Henry)

08. Goodbye, Goodbye

09. There Will Be A Reckoning

10. Chasing Rainbows

11. Your Name On My Tongue (Bragg/Henry)

12. Tomorrow’s Going To Be A Better

Billy Bragg 2013 Tour Dates:

03/23 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre

03/24 -Albuquerque, NM @ KiMo Theatre

03/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom

03/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre

03/29 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall

03/30 – Petaluma, CA @ McNear’s Mystic Theatre

04/02 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater

04/03 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune’s

04/04 – Victoria, BC @ Alix Goolden Hall

04/05 – Vancouver, BC @ Vouge Theater

04/06 – Nelson, BC @ Live at the Royal

04/08 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall

04/09 – Regina, SK @ Orr Centre

04/10 – Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick Centre

04/12 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery

04/13 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery

04/15 – Iowa City, IA @ The Englert Theatre

04/17 – Nashville, TN @ The Belcourt Theatre

04/19 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle

04/20 – Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre

04/21 – Morgantown, WV @ WVU Creative Arts Center

04/22 – Annapolis, VA @ Rams Head On Stage

04/24 – Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere’

04/26 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre

04/27 – New York, NY @ Town Hall Theatre

04/28 – Cincinatti, OH @ The Southgate House Revival

05/01 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark

The Story of David Lowery [2012]

David Lowery lead Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker and a solo album released last year. This compilation plots his voyage from indie ska band, indie pop band, alt-country band to finally a rootsy solo album.

Official Video of "Take the Skinheads Bowling"



Interview 1992...

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Enjoy!

The Story of Cat Power [2012]

Chan Marshall stops time. She sits at a piano or lays her guitar across her lap, and whether it’s a noisy club overflowing with drunks or a coffee house full of laptoppers, Chan Marshall draws all the attention in the room and makes the world stop spinning. As Cat Power, Marshall’s music seems to rise from nowhere, envelop the room, then vanish; listeners know they’ve been hit by something but they’re not sure what... Matador

The Greatest

Following the release of 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra Lee -- both recorded on the same day -- Cat Power signed to Matador for 1996's What Would the Community Think?, which won acclaim for Marshall's unsettling, emotional songs and cathartic vocals.
The superb Moon Pix followed two years later, and in the spring of 2000 Cat Power resurfaced with The Covers Record. Released in 2003, You Are Free featured a lusher, more polished sound as well as cameos by Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder; 2006's The Greatest was recorded in Memphis, TN, with legendary soul players including guitarist/songwriter Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, bassist Leroy "Flick" Hodges, and drummer Steve Potts. Another set of covers, Jukebox, was released two years later.

Cat Home

Cat Power Mixtape

Tracklist:

1. Maybe Not
2. Speak For Me
3. I Don't Blame You
4. The Greatest
5. Willie
6. After It All
7. I Found a Reason
8. Naked if I Want To
9. Cross Bones Style
10. American Flag
11. Dark End Of The Street
12. Paths Of Victory
13. Bonus Track
14. Rockets
15. They Tell Me
16. Taking People

The Story of Yo La Tengo [2012]

Yo La Tengo - A Take Away Show - 
Part 1
Part 2
The name "Yo La Tengo," when translated into Spanish means "extra mayo, please."


There is no musical category called "drone rock," trust us. If you go into Sam Goody or Musicland and ask where the drone rock records are you might get beaten up or laughed at.


". . . a Bergman film set in a Hoboken record store: abstract and intimate, sweetly whispering, raging like a distant thunderstorm." -- Chris Norris, SPIN Magazine



 Yo La Tengo’s live shows are electrifying events, never the same as the last, and it’s onstage that their dynamism is most visceral.


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iibyw: Tengo Mix 2012

The Story of Sparklehorse [2012]

It is the first year anniversary of the passing of Mark Linkous.  I wanted to mark it with a brief look back on this man's incredible musical contributions to the world.

We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you." - March 6, 2010

The Sad & Beautiful World of Sparklehorse (Trailer) 

Watch it Here: Bo-Ho Films

Linkous' dramatic, lush music often came from a place of pain. In 1996, Linkous actually died for two minutes after ingesting a dangerous mix of Valium and antidepressants while on tour in the U.K. behind Sparklehorse's 1995 debut Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. He recovered, but the incident left him crippled — he laid unconscious for 14 hours, cutting off circulation to his legs. He suffered a heart attack when medics attempted to straighten his legs, and underwent seven surgeries to save his damaged limbs. But after the incident, he recorded 1999's Good Morning Spider, 2001's It's A Wonderful Life and 2006's Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. "For a while there, I was really scared that when I technically died — which I guess I did for a few minutes — that the part of my brain that allowed me my ability to write songs would be damaged," he told Rolling Stone in 1999.

if it be your will Sparklehorse Mix

The Story of Camera Obscura [2012]

From We Have Signal

Camera Obscura formed in Glasgow in 1996, releasing a slew of singles leading up to their debut CD Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (2001, UK). The band slowly built up a loyal following in their native land, including the likes of legendary BBC DJ John Peel, who championed the band early on. Merge Records released Camera Obscura's U.S. debut, Under Achievers Please Try Harder in the winter of 2004. Indie pop fans across North America quickly became hooked on Camera Obscura's lovely, enchanting melodies and undeniable hooks...

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Camera Obscura Songs

Perfect Music for the arrival of Spring. 

Happy St-Pat's