Posted December 30, 2009 by Matt at 12:50 pm · Filed under General
Celebrate with us by checking out this traditional New Year’s song that The Points North just recorded at the Grinding Tapes House!
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Posted November 26, 2009 by Matt at 11:48 am · Filed under General
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I would have said “Roundabout” by Yes, but that was too big to fit.
Posted November 6, 2009 by Matt at 2:29 pm · Filed under General, Promising Artists
Here is an excellent unreleased cover of the Magnetic Fields’ “Come Back from San Francisco” by Grinding Tapes artist The Points North:
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And for those of you looking to compare, here is the original by Stephin Merritt & co. from 1999’s 69 Love Songs:
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Posted October 3, 2009 by Matt at 8:14 pm · Filed under General, Music News (general), Promising Artists
Unfortunately, I didn’t know about this earlier, or believe me I would have made haste to share the information with all of you. But me and my girlfriend, in search of a movie, stumbled across this treasure of a concert going experience the other night. If you live in one of the cities yet to be hit on this tour, I implore you to go and see it. Andrew provided a positive environment as always, and his passion for music was showcased in a way I had never seen before.
The Calder Quartet are an extremely talented group of young gentlemen who have embarked on what Andrew repeatedly referred to as an “experiment of sorts.” In this experiment they certainly allowed us, the audience, to take part in a number of ways. There were performances from composers Phillip Glass and John Cage on the bill, not to mention solo improvisations on piano from Andrew (a sight to behold), and inclusive retelling of a few “I Get Wet” classics. His solos were riveting acts of a rock-and-roll mind bent out of control and intent on delivering a piano-style vengeance on the ‘classical’ style. The Calder quartets performances were impossibly vivid displays of what us rock and roll fans miss when we look over the classical section of our record stores. Andrew’s more rock based music and presence provided the glue of hilarity and joy and unity that fans have come to expect, and onlookers were made to love.
If you have never experienced Andrew W.K. in concert (or even recorded) I suggest you spare no expense to do so at your next possible chance. But if you have seen Andrew, I suggest you do whatever is in your power to attend this unique concert-going experience. The dates are few, but hopefully he will extend or return to performing in this fashion again soon.
Here is Andrew’s album of Piano Improvisation, “Cadillac ‘55″, in it’s entirety:
Posted September 17, 2009 by Jason at 7:20 am · Filed under General
Friends! We have two new releases available in our store! Please check them out and enjoy!
The Points North: I Saw Across the Sound vinyl and mp3
The Points North’s debut full-length is their most mature musical statement yet. This provocative and engaging album captures perfectly the stunning precision and thoughtful understatement of their live performances during 2008 and 2009. These quiet New England anthems are perhaps more at home in 1909 than 2009, but you won’t find a better folk album this year.
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Slowest Runner: The Flophouse Session CD
Slowest Runner’s debut album is a live performance from their Band in Boston session on May 23rd, 2009. Named after the Band in Boston podcast itself, The Flophouse Session delivers on the abundant promise of the band’s jaw-dropping live performance. On The Flophouse Session, Slowest Runner combine guitar, bass, drums, piano, violin, cello, tape loops, and heavily-distorted vocals to create beautifully-dramatic movie score music that frequently reaches blistering intensity.
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We are also pleased to offer a new product in our store called the Grinding Tapes Subscription! For just $10 you will get three rare and exclusive mp3s from Grinding Tapes-related artists each month starting in October 2009 and ending in March 2010. That’s six months and 18 total songs! At the end of the six months, you’ll receive a special exclusive CD with all 18 songs in classic Grinding Tapes packaging. Check it out!
Hi everyone! Sorry that we had so few updates these past several days. I was taking a bit of a lazy vacation, but we’re back on track now! Thanks to Matt for keeping the content rolling in my absence!
Oh, and here’s a remix that I did last week of Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown”.
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Posted April 14, 2009 by Matt at 12:39 pm · Filed under General
Ok, so maybe it’s a few days late, but in honor of Easter, here is a tasty Johnny Cash hymn off of his “My Mother’s Hymn Book” disc in the Unearthed box set from 2003:
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This song was later popularized by T Bone Burnett and Alison Krausse on the “O, Brother Where Art Thou” Soundtrack.
Posted April 3, 2009 by Jason at 6:28 pm · Filed under General, Live Recordings
Damiera treated fans to a blistering 40-minute set at the Middle East last night. It was amazing to see them expertly reproduce every single note of their dizzying guitar lines in a live setting. One very pleasant surprise was the inclusion of “Heartbeat” from their obscure and out-of-print debut EP as the encore. Below, you can check out the recording of “Heartbeat” from last night’s show.
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Posted March 27, 2009 by Jason at 7:38 am · Filed under General
Here’s another quick post to share some progress on Elijah’s new EP. In this video, the choir members rehearse their vocal responsibilities, as described by Elijah.
Posted March 10, 2009 by Jason at 7:40 am · Filed under General
Hi everyone!
We are proud to unveil our new blog! We’re going to use this space to tell you all about what events we’re going to, what we’re listening to, what we’re making, and what we love.
