New Beginnings - We've Moved!

This post is to direct anyone coming to this website that fork/knife has moved! The new URL is forkknifemusic.com. We started fork/knife 9 months ago today with literally zero aspirations of ever having it continue into... well, anything really, but we're proud to announce that we've acquired a URL so that we can add exciting things we never thought we'd be able to. Much thanks to everyone who made this possible, and if you were one of those people, you know who you are already, so thanks a ton for your help, we wouldn't be anywhere without you.

fork/knife's new website

-f/k

Whoa. Dirty Projectors.

Hey there everyone!! Fork/knife has moved to http://forkknifemusic.com

This particular post can be found at http://forkknifemusic.com/?p=532
Thanks!!

-f/k

Song o' the Week #28

Donovan and I took an impromptu drive up to Cornell to visit Bishop, as well as to see some bands including The Rural Alberta Advantage, Deer Tick and Hold Steady tomorrow. On the drive up, we played every Radiohead album from The Bends to In Rainbows. I felt like I needed to post this song because it was right when our excitement was at the peak, before it slowly formed into frustration.

Radiohead- A Punch Up At A Wedding (No No No No No No No No)
iTunes / amazon

-Chandler

Mix: Goodbye Summer

Here's a short and sweet mix to mark the end of what has been a great summer. Goodbye humid weather, hello.....schoolwork. I'm headed back to Minnesota on Saturday for another year of midwestern education - along with months of bone-chilling, teeth-rattling, snot-freezing cold. You won't hear from me until I'm settled in - until then, enjoy!

Haikuesque (When She Laughs) - Bibio

Eat Street - People Under the Stairs

In The Summertime - The Rural Alberta Advantage

Evelyn - Dabrye

I'm Not (Phaseone Remix) - Panda Bear

-Chris

Norm Kills on Conan

The best thing in this world is when Norm appears on Conan. Such a spectacle occurred last night when Norm told a joke about a moth that was an instant classic. It sent our room into a laughing frenzy, so I hope it has the same effect on you.



-Chandler

Forgotten Album of '08

These past few weeks I've been obsessed with Blitzen Trapper's underrated 2008 release Furr. Now I know that this got pretty significant attention, but I still feel that it deserved as much attention as Fleet Foxes or Bon Iver.

The simple, old-fashioned sextet from Oregon plays "experimental folk music" like no other. Whatever "experimental folk music" is, they play it like no other...

Anyway, all that people need to know is that with Furr, the band let the world know that they can be a Sub Pop band, and that is a big deal.

I won't say anymore. Simply, listen to it.

Blitzen Trapper - Lady On The Water
iTunes/Amazon
Band's myspace

-Bishop-

Perusing iTunes

Well Donovan and I are back at school, which can only mean one thing: it's time to sift through our neighbors iTunes connected to the same network. This is the standout so far.


Les Miserables- Master of the House

-Chandler

How About Some Men At Work?

I'm of the opinion that the 1980s were, musically speaking, forgettable. Unfortunately, the first images I have of the era involve the hair-metal glam of groups like Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, and Twisted Sister. Bleh. Frequently, though, music from groups like Talking Heads and The Beastie Boys reminds me that there was indeed good music quietly circulating through the decade. Like today, when a friend played a cool version of "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men At Work. It's an acoustic version by frontman Colin Hay, who has gone on to have a moderately successful solo career. I think I might even like this stripped down version a little more than original, which featured a jazzy saxophone playing the main melody that you'll most likely recognize. The mp3 is downloadable below, and to boot, another another acoustic version of a classic Men At Work tune. Enjoy!

Colin Hay - Who Can It Be Now?

Colin Hay - Overkill

Amazon / iTunes

-Chris

A Little Pop

I took a trip to New York the other day, and on the way my friend requested this song by Matt & Kim. Shockingly, they have indeed made songs other than "Daylight." This one has been a frequent choice lately simply because it's so irresistible, so I thought I'd post it before I went to bed in hopes that it may have the same effect on you. A little poppy? Yes. But a little pop here and there never hurt anyone.

Matt & Kim- Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare
iTunes / amazon
Matt & Kim MySpace

-Chandler

Them Crooked Vultures

Prepare yourself for October 23rd. That's the release date for the album called Never Deserved The Future, from supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. The band consists of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters/Nirvana), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age/Eagles of Death Metal), and John Paul Jones (f-ing Led Zeppelin). I'm still trying to figure out how these three guys got together, and how it must feel for Grohl and Homme to be playing with Jones. Given the quality of the members' collective albums, there's little doubt in my mind that this will be one of the most notable releases of '09.

Here are the two seizure-inducing teaser videos released to date. Ohhhh mama.

Them Crooked Vultures Official Website

-Chris

I ♥ the Decemberists

Below is a video of the Decemberists covering "Crazy on You" by Heart a few months ago, featuring Shara Worden and Becky Stark on vocals. To say that Shara killed it on vocals would be an understatement, she was god-like.



PS. Fellow blogger Chandler found this and was kind enough to inform me!

-Donovan

He's A Genius

**Correction: Sorry, I embedded the wrong video. Now, watch it!

The title really says it all.

As I was doing my daily scanning of the blogosphere I came upon a new Pitchfork.tv video - Andrew Bird playing a few selections at the Cemetery Gates. All I ask is that you watch.

-Bishop-

BLK JKS Debut Due Out Soon!

BLK JKS (Black Jacks) are set to release their debut LP After Robots Sept. 8th, which is drawing closer. Hailing from Johannesburg, BLK JKS are creating fresh sounding music that's hard to pin down in one genre. In addition, they have a pretty awesome album cover for their debut:
Anyway, you can hear a few songs from this anticipated release at their Daytrotter session, pre-order the release from Secretly Canadian, and hear a song from their EP below.

BLK JKS- Lakeside
iTunes / amazon
BLK JKS Myspace

-Chandler

Birds Mimicking Birds

A while back I ran across this band, Mimicking Birds, and was immediately hooked. It's nothing groundbreaking, just the home recordings of a man by the name of Nate Lacy.

Hailing from Portland Lacy attracted the attention of another local band that has gotten a little bit more attention, Modest Mouse. Isaac Brock and his band mates even brought Mr. Lacy out on tour, having him open for the band.

Since then Lacy has recruited some help for his live shows, Tim Skellenger on guitar and Aaron Hanson on drums. According to their myspace page, we should be expecting their first LP sometime in the near future. I look forward to it.

Mimicking Birds - Home and Somewhere Else
Modest Mouse - The World At Large
iTunes/Amazon
Mimicking Birds - Rivers, Veins and Roots

**Also, be sure to go here for more songs/free downloads.

-Bishop-

Just A Song Before I Go

I'm headed off to work, but before I go I'll leave you with a wonderful song from 1973. I only found this song a couple years ago, but every once and a while the lyrics hit the spot and it ends up on repeat for a week or so. This is one of those times.

Faces - Ooh La La

Amazon / iTunes

-Chris

Ah, Weezer...

Weezer has seen better days. Led by frontman Rivers Cuomo, they've taken a turn towards painfully simple melodramatic pop ever since the fateful Make Believe album of 2005. Over the past couple days, I've been reading about their upcoming album, entitled Ratitude. The album (which was named by Rainn Wilson of The Office) will be released October 27 and will include two songs called "I"m Your Daddy" and "The Girl Got Hot," which have both gotten lukewarm reviews. With song titles like that, I'm not holding out much hope but I'll definitely give the album a listen.

Anyways, I've been listening to Alone, Cuomo's 2007 release of home demos. It features a few early versions of songs like "Buddy Holly" and "I Was Made For You," but largely the demos are self-indulgent ventures that range from bubble-gum pop to straight up hip-hop. Keeping this in mind, I think it's still worth your time. Sifting through Cuomo's erratic demos, it's easy to see how Weezer's albums have taken the turn they have. And it's not as if the songs are all terrible. Here's a notable standout, "Lover In The Snow."

Rivers Cuomo - Lover In The Snow
Amazon / iTunes

-Chris

80 Minutes for Life

So I've been absent from blogging for a little while, mostly out of laziness (and I can shamefully admit a little bit because of Madden 10...), but over the past few days I stumbled upon a cool site with an even cooler concept, called 80 Minutes for Life (courtesy of our blog buddy Liz at the Blisslist, who gave it some love). The website makes an 80 minute long mixtape for you of a particular band, in an attempt to introduce you to said band if you're not already a fan. The Wilco post is my favorite, but there are a lot of good 80 minute mixes to start off the site, and the best thing is that there are going to be many, many more to come in the future. So it's a site where paradoxically, the less you know about music, the more use you can get out of it. And even if you do know the band, it still gives you a pretty awesome mix for you to give other people. So check it out, and keep checking in because I'm sure a lot of new stuff is in on the way soon

80 Minutes for Life
The Blisslist

-Donovan

The Music of Bibio

Having spent a full week away from the world in Maine, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. To be honest, blogging has started to feel like a pesky job lately. When I start to worry about how often we post or whether or not we're staying up to date on the latest music, all the fun gets sucked out of fork/knife. I've got to remember that it's really just about sharing the music we love with the wonderful people that read along (i.e. you). After nine months of nurturing and growth, our little blog fetus is just getting going (I'll avoid any questionable birth metaphors). And so, this post is a much a note-to-self as it is a thank you for reading. Whether you simply stumbled onto f/k, or if you're a dedicated reader (slightly preferred), I hope you like what we're doing. If it wasn't for your comments and emails, I'm sure we would've quit long ago.

I can think of no better music to wrap up this novella than that of Bibio. A friend recommended him to me just yesterday, and already I'm in love with his acoustic/electronic vibe. NOTE: make sure you make it to the 1:29 mark in "Lovers' Carvings."

Bibio - Lovers' Carvings
Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
Amazon / iTunes

Bibio's MySpace Page

-Chris

Song o' the Week #27

I've had this song stuck in my head for a while now, and I don't really know why. I haven't listened to it in a long time, yet somehow it continues to pleasantly plague me many times throughout the day. Maybe it'll help those who are experiencing the heat like I am with it's wintry lyrics. Or maybe not.

Animal Collective- Winters Love
iTunes / amazon



As an added bonus, I was getting all Tarantino'd out to prepare for his latest film Inglourious Basterds by watching a few of his past endeavors, and I decided to help you do the same. To get you in the mood I figured I'd post the theme from True Romance and "Little Green Bags," the song that plays during the opening credits of Reservoir Dogs. Hopefully you'll enjoy both and go to see his new film, which I can't give enough praise for.

Hans Zimmer- You're So Cool (True Romance)

George Baker Selection- Little Green Bags
iTunes

-Chandler

Re-Release of Hospice

Yesterday The Antlers re-released their stunning debut Hospice through Frenchkiss records, which also made it available on vinyl. When I first heard it, I wasn't blown away. There were many people and publications saying that it was one of the finer releases of the year, and I just didn't see it. Yet, with more listens it has indeed won me over and proven why it has gotten all the accolades it has received. I strongly suggest picking up a copy of this haunting album and discover why there's so much buzz about it. In addition, they released a video of the best stand alone song from the album "Two" which is embedded below. And finally, feel free to check out all that the blog has done with The Antlers in the past, including Bishop's interview with the band and review of Hospice.



iTunes / amazon / Insound

-Chandler