Pele... uhm... the band

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, nicknamed Pelé, is a former Brazilian football player and thought by many to be the finest player of all time. Often considered the complete attacking player, he was completely two-footed, a prolific finisher, exceptional at dribbling and passing, and was a remarkably good tackler for a forward. He was also famed for his speed and kicking strength. Over the course of his career, Pelé scored over a thousand goals and won three World Cups. Since his full retirement in 1977 he has served as an ambassador for the sport. *Note: Wikipedia, as always; click here to read more.

Looky here:



Amazing footballer. On another note, Milwaukee's Pele create perfect instrumental vignettes as expressed by soulful and literate ex-punk rockers, or so says their record label, Poly Vinyl Records, and I would be tempted to agree. Not a famous football player then? Hmm... I guess not.



Pele

Egg
Crisis Win
Black Socks

Also of note: Scott Schoenbeck who was a founding member of Pele. Scott Beschta [of The Promise Ring] joined Pele in order to play keyboards and his addition to the band helped define their meandering sound. Scott Schoenbeck then joined The Promise Ring to take over Beschta's bass duties, as he was leaving both bands in order to pursue solo work. Pele's two remaining members then recruited Matt Tennassen of Paris, Texas to play bass. They split up around the start of 2005 as far as I know. Don't quote me on that one, however.

*Note: [information culled from this page, courtesy of Epitonic]

...more Maritime

Download new Maritime courtesy of their label, Flame Shovel. These songs are off their new album, We, the Vehicles.

Calm
Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts

Since I've already filled you in on who Maritime are, that's it. Post done. Hope you like the music.

The Promise Ring

As I write this [which is a day earlier than you will have a first chance to see this, due to my use of drafts] I'm listening to the new Drowned in Sound Podcast... go here to see the sub-site dedicated to it, where you can subscribe to it and perhaps get old episodes? If not, then download it directly simply by clicking on this link right here. It's a tad good. Featuring Stars, Broken Social Scene, and Múm - bands of which I am a big fan. But anyway, today I'll post on... hmm... The Promise Ring. In their time they were among the forerunners of the "emo" style [I dread saying that word when I blog. I expect backlash]... But yea, they were. I know next to nothing about them, other than...



...they look like that... and...

"After signing with Jade Tree in 1996, The Promise Ring went on to release a slew of EPs and full-length albums that have seen accolades everywhere from the well-respected pages of The New York Times to the uber-groovy Teen People" - courtesy of Jade Tree Records

"The Promise Ring were one of the most popular emo bands of the '90s, epitomizing the poppier, more accessible wing of the style. Along with Sunny Day Real Estate, the Get Up Kids, Braid, and Jimmy Eat World, they helped bring emo from the punk underground to a wider indie rock audience in the latter half of the decade... The Promise Ring were formed in Milwaukee in early 1995 from the remnants of several other Midwestern emo outfits. Guitarist/singer Davey vonBohlen was still a member of the acclaimed cult band Cap'n Jazz when he started jamming with guitarist Jason Gnewikow (ex-None Left Standing), drummer Dan Didier (ex-Ceilishrine), and bassist Scott Beschta" - courtesy of VH1; click here to read more

and rather irrelevantly:



"A promise ring is a small, inexpensive ring given to a boyfriend or girlfriend, to promise not to court a rival" - courtesy of Wikipedia; read that here

Also of note, as I mentioned before is that both Dan and Davey from The Promise Ring are now in the band Maritime...



The Promise Ring

Electric Pink
The Deep South
Best Looking Boys
Why Did We Ever Meet?
I Never Trusted The Russians
Red Paint
Texas Avenue
A Picture Postcard

Bonus:

Drowned in Sound Podcast #6

Enjoy. Expect a post linking all these bands [The Dismemberment Plan, The Promise Ring, Maritime, Travis Morrison, etc] together...

Maritime

I said that one of the former members of The Dismemberment Plan was in Maritime. Turns out, Eric Axelson is now a former member of that band too:

"After a little more than two years of playing in the band, I decided it was time for me to call it a day on touring. I've been on the road a ton in the past 7 years of my life and wanted to stay closer to home. It's been nothing but fun playing with Maritime and we're all on good terms, I just wanted them to be able to tour as much as they felt necessary without me holding them back. Our good friend Justin Klug is taking over the bass duties. You may know him from the band Decibully. Great guy and a great bass player. As for me, I've been playing with friends randomly in D.C. but not trying to start a band, just making noise and enjoying being home."

His involvement in the band is what first piqued my interest in them, but oh well. They're still a very good very soft nice little acoustic-orientated band. Need your interest piqued due to that dull, drab description? Maritime consists of Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier of The Promise Ring, as well as the new guy.


*Note: Click image for full-size

Maritime

I Used To Be A Singer
Future Is Wired
A Night Like This
Sleep Around

As always: enjoy. Maybe even go buy their albums? - Glass Floor, and We, the Vehicles. You know you should... go visit their website and then go to the shop.

Travis Morrison [and his absolutely Ludacris cover]

I love Google. Like I said, I did have that Travis Morrison cover of What's Your Fantasy? before. Now I can proudly say I have it again. Turns out it's still featured on the website, despite it no longer being linked to. Here you go. Also, since I like him, I'll link to more MP3's from his album Travistan, out on Barsuk Records and described as "a rewarding art-pop risk" [alternative press].



Travis Morrison

What's Your Fantasy? (Ludacris Cover)
Born In 72
People Die
*Note: right-click and save target as on the latter two. Barsuk have done something funny to their links.. I think.

I think you should all download these tracks and then see what you think. After that you can read the Pitchfork review which tore this album apart. To do that go here. Turns out it was indeed less than 1/10. It was zero - 0.0/10.00... impressive. I haven't actually checked out the album myself, but the MP3's I posted are good-listening. Born in 72 reminds me of Josh Rouse... just because of the title, I guess. As well as the very first vocal-line.

The Dismemberment Plan

*Note: Click on image for full-size

The Dismemberment Plan are a bit of a hard band to pin down. An amazingly tight rhythm-section, experimenting with new beats. They sound like a dance band. Are they? Probably not. The vocals change often; sometimes Travis Morrison is emotional, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes sad, sometimes upbeat, sometimes going with the beat and rapping. He even covers Ludacris', "What's Your Fantasy?"... I would upload that MP3 but I lost it in a computer crash ages ago. They have a genuine funk side, reminscent of early stuff by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Maybe that will encourage people to download them. Maybe it will put you off. Don't let it.

The band are often picked as the one band who perfectly defined University life and the aftermath in the same way that the novels Rules of Attraction [by Bret Easton Ellis] or Generation X [by Douglas Coupland] did. This is fairly accurate, in my opinion. The lyrics are super-sharp, super-smart and reflect geniune emotions in a way that new-age-"emo" music can only pretend to. Listen to The City [an ode to a lost-love and the questioning of one's inner flaws] and then you'll understand. Their third album, Emergency and I, is the only one I own of theirs but personally I think it's amazing, so go buy it.


*Note: Click on image for full-size

What do other people say about the band?

"The Dismemberment Plan, the D.C. art-rock quartet that made hip-hop, R&B, samplers, and having fun safe for the basement-show punk set" - Barsuk Records

"[They were] the finest band to come out of Springfield, Va. Often considered a DC band by dint of their proximity to the Nation's Capital - and owing to the fact that in its heyday, the band all lived in town - there was something about the fact that they were spawned in a suburban basement that contributed unique flavors to their sound" - DeSoto Records

"Sometime in 1999, between the recording of Emergency & I and now, this odd little platypus of a band, hopelessly stuck between categories, suddenly became everything to everyone. This was before nearly 20,000 copies of Emergency & I were sold; before the band started selling out clubs everywhere they went; before said album appeared on innumerable best-of-year (and quite a few best-of-decade) lists; before Pearl Jam asked them to open for them in 14 European cities; and before the Dismemberment Plan's name became a constant reference point in underground-rock reviews of all kinds... The melancholy, landmark Emergency & I showed everyone there are roads left to travel for indie rock and one of the widest goes surprisingly close to Mary J. Blige's existentially haunted house of R&B" - Their press kit, from their site

"The Dismemberment Plan [are] truly, unequivocally, the new new wave... 9.6/10" - Pitchfork



The Dismemberment Plan

What Do You Want Me To Say?
The City
Time Bomb
The Face of the Earth
Ellen and Ben
Superpowers
Pay For The Piano [fan remix]

They made such interesting music; there's something for everyone to appreciate. The funk, the dance, the rap, the indie, the rock, the geek-lyrics, the chic-style. Pay for the Piano reminds me of Bloc Party at the very first break-down sort of bit, when he sings "Everyone here, I need your ears". Ellen and Ben reminds me of early Chilis. The sound is entirely their own however, and that is a truly unique thing.

In case you didn't know, the band have split up, and have been split up for ages, and Travis Morrison's solo album got a rating of less than 1/10 [i think, going on vague recollection] from Pitchfork. But I think they'll be a band I will listen to for a very long time. I discovered them a few years ago and still find them fascinating to listen to. Also, one of the ex-members is in Maritime. Who're good. Discover all about them soon. And check out those novels I mentioned earlier... they are the Zeitgeist...

Click here to read an old tour diary by Travis Morrison [during his time with The Dismemberment Plan].

Oh Snow! Oh My!

So it's snowing. Real, honest, here-to-stay [at least for a day - or two], proper snow. Not even that crappy slushy fade-away-in-five-seconds-so-you-really-should-look-at-it-now snow. Oh No! This is good snow and it's been here for a day and should be here for another day if the news is to believed. Oh My! I'm sitting in the library and though I was listening to Dismemberment Plan, I've now changed and I'm now listening to Jack Johnson and watching the snow-fall. It's a good job I can touch-type. This feels right. This is how life should be. It would be perfect, if only I had more caffeine and more sleep. Anyway...


*Note: A view of snow through the corporate window of opportunity. Or some such bollocks.

Formerly The Jolly Rogers, Oh No! Oh My! are a fantastic band, and perfect - and I mean perfect - for mixtapes. Honestly, I've made like 6 mixtapes in the past while and they've been on about 3 of them, which goes against my own rule that (recent) past artists should not be featured on new mixtapes. The songs are short, and sweet. Although "I Have No Sister" is kind of creepy. Alot of the bloggers feature the songs that I'm not as fond of, so I'm going to feature my favourite songs, ie the one's I put on the mixtape.

Oh No! Oh My!

Oh Be One
The Bike, Sir
The Party Punch
Walk in the Park

If "it's a lovely day for a walk in the park", then you should leave your car at home. It's probably snowed over anyway.



Hope you enjoyed the happy music. Here's a little information from their FAQ:

Q: Will you be playing a show near me anytime soon?

A: The short answer is no, probably not. Greg and Daniel (me) are currently residing in Nashville attending an Audio Engineering school through September, while Joel is still currently located in Austin. We are considering a small tour in October when our schooling is over though. We might possibly take that tour as an opportunity to scout out a new place to live...Seattle is currently winning right now. But send us an email and tell us where you'd like us to play and where you think we should move to!

...slowness of posts.

Last update was the 23rd of February? that's craziness. Well, I do apologise... but. Well. I have no excuse. I'm just lazy... I'll sort it out soon and let you all enjoy the brilliant music I've been listening to lately. Which is... uhm... I don't even know, although today I listened to The Dismemberment Plan. They're class. I also finished a fantastic book just today... check it out:



Yep, go here. So I'll post some music when I get the chance to make a proper post.

No Lies, Just Love.