Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Musical Pairings: Seth Augustus - To The Pouring Rain (paired w/ shrimp and grits)

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Shrimp and cheesy grits. This is one of those dishes that holds a very specific geographic connotation for me. The first time I ever tried a dish similar to the one Kasey prepared and is featuring on eating/sf today, I was in Louisiana. And as a result, I can't help but to associate this dish with Louisiana, the South, and Cajun cuisine. This is despite the fact that my San Francisco-based foodie wife's version of the recipe actually surpassed the version I tried in New Orleans. Anyways, with that in mind, I think today's pairing makes perfect sense. Seth Augustus is a San Francisco-based musician and on his debut album, To The Pouring Rain, his guttural, throaty vocals are accented by skeletal, spooky atmospheric backing instrumentation steeped in heavy doses of voodoo and ghostly blues. Indeed, this is an album that is stitched together in such a way that is sounds like it would make the perfect soundtrack to skulking around in dark, foreboding alleyways in the heart of New Orleans or stomping around in menacing, alligator-filled Louisiana swamps.

To The Pouring Rain calls to mind the later works of artists such as Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. The album opens with the title track "To The Pouring Rain", a swampy tango featuring a blustering bass line, ringing guitar, and clanking, sparse percussion. Razor-frayed acoustic guitar and simple, hushed drums form the basis for the guttural blues of "Trickeries of the Great Emptiness." The rest of the album is similarly sinistral, and based around primitive, roughly-hewn folk, blues and jazz melodies. Its a great addition to your collection. Check out a couple samples from the album below, and buy it on Amazon.

Seth Augustus - Trickeries of the Great Emptiness
Seth Augustus - Tiny Little Head

Head back to eating/sf to read the recipe for shrimp and grits!

Single Serving: Woods - "I Was Gone" single ('At Echo Lake' Preview)

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Brooklyn-based Woods have announced the details of their fifth full-length due out May 11, 2010 on Woodsist titled At Echo Lake. I described last year's Songs of Shame as "a homespun master blend of lo-fi, psychedelica, pop and folk-rock that you'll want to play over and over until to you wear the grooves on your LP thin." That is just another way of saying that it was an awesome record, and that, if given a few listens, you'd probably love it as much as I do. Check out At Echo Lake's first single:

Woods - I Was Gone

Don't forget to "heart" our songs on hypem if you like what you hear!

Single Serving: White Fence - "The Love Between" single

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White Fence is the solo project of L.A. based musician Tim Presley (who also fronts Darker My Love and is a member of The Strange Boys). His solo debut is available now from Make a Mess Records who had first dibs on the record, but is also scheduled for an April 27, 2010 release on the Woodsist label. So why are two different labels competing for this debut? Maybe its because it is so damn good. This initial single,"The Love Between", is a hypnotic stretch of lo-fi psychedelia featuring a spidery, ringing guitar and pulsating keys. Like the rest of the excellent debut album, it sounds like it could have been found on the lost demo tape for some undiscovered, acid-drenched late 1960s or early 1970s era pop music savant. Its a collection of hazy, concise experimental pop tunes, and another example of the excellent use of lo-fi recording as an aesthetic. Its been one of my go-to record for the last couple weeks. Check it out:

White Fence - The Love Between


Don't forget to "heart" our songs on hypem if you like what you hear!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Single Serving: The Hood Internet - Decalogue (the Hood Internet vs. the 2000s)

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I've thrown up some great mash-ups by the Hood Internet in the past, but this is probably my favorite track I've heard by them yet. Titled "Decalogue" the guys from the Hood Internet mix some of the best rock and hip hop tracks from each year through the 2000's. This track nudges up into Girl Talk territory mixing in 20 artists in under 6 minutes. In all it features:

2000 - Dr. Dre vs Radiohead, 2001 - Missy Elliott vs Daft Punk, 2002 - Ludacris vs The New Pornographers, 2003 - Kelis vs The Rapture, 2004 - Twista f/ Kanye West vs Arcade Fire, 2005 - Three 6 Mafia vs Sufjan Stevens, 2006 - T.I. vs Peter Bjorn and John, 2007 - Rich Boy vs LCD Soundsystem, 2008 - Lil Wayne vs Hot Chip, 2009 - Jay Sean vs Phoenix

Check it out:

The Hood Internet - The Decalogue


Don't forget to "heart" our songs on hypem if you like what you hear!