I’m feeling much love for a couple of new releases from New Amsterdam Records today and I’m inspired to write a rare text post on the site to tell you about them.

Chamber sextet yMusic‘s Beautiful Mechanical features debut concert works from Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), alongside new pieces from Son Lux (Ryan Lott), Judd Greenstein, Gabriel Kahane, and Sarah Kirkland Snider. It’s the perfect representation for me what new Amsterdam does so well in combining classical and indie rock styles with great success.

The violin/guitar duo itsnotyouitsme released everybody’s pain is magnificent this week as well. This album reminds me of why I’m not a music critic. I don’t have enough words. Just listen. It’s really breathtaking.

Both albums can be streamed from the New Amsterdam site. You can thank me later.

songs:

Debut/E.F.L. – The Art of Noise
Be Brave – My Brightest Diamond
Dance. Dance. Dance. – Lykke Li
I’m In Your Church At Night – Active Child
Puce Woman (for Kenneth Anger) – Misty Roses
There Is No Way There Is No Way – Uniform Motion
Halocene – Bon Iver
Like The Tide – Mike Acerbo
The Days – Patrick Wolf
Fishnet Sailor – Robert German
Forever And A Day – Stephin Merritt
The World (Is Going Up In Flames) – Charles Bradley feat. Menahan Street Band
Proven Badlands (Annie Clark aka St. Vincent) – yMusic

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songs:
See The Child – Jane Siberry
Fairlight – Com Truise
Too Much – Sufjan Stevens
Date of Execution May 13 2010 – Corey Dargel
Home – Sarah Kirkland Snider
Choir – Sin Fang
Unplug – Robert German
Sheena Easton – William Brittelle
Sugarfuel – David Sylvian
You Are Always Surrounded by Stars – Christopher Willits
Fly (The Soldier Dreams Mix) – Burn The Maps

note: I encoded this at a high bit rate so the file size is kinda large. Let me know if this gives you agita.

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songs:
Sun Demon – Stereolab
Are You Brave? – Gavin Castleton
Why Does The Wind? – Tracey Thorn
Close Watch – Agnes Obel
Structural Integrity feat: Danielle Ate The Sandwich – Otem Rellik
Warped – Big Spider’s Back
Just Say So Girl – Daniel Lee James
At Night – Flowers And Sea Creatures
Don and Sherri – Matthew Dear
Bullet In The Rain – Division Day
In The Red – Ryuichi Sakamoto
Half Asleep (Lusine Remix) – School of Seven Bells
Love Is A Loaded Pistol – Thomas Dolby

Note: The name of Ben Watt’s label is buzzinfly records. Somehow I couldn’t think of that while recording. Thanks also to Ghostly International, Dangerbird Records, KAB America, Circle Into Square, RCRD LBL and all the artists who have given me permission to play their music.  If you like it, please support the artists by buying their music!

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I haven’t vanished, friends! Well, sort of…

I’ve been diligently working on an original piece for Come As You Are: Houston which I will be performing this week. The following week I will be performing at Ovations (also in H-Town) with my dear friend Erin Stallings.

All this is to say, if you want some MikeyPod action, come to one (or both) of those shows. Otherwise, I’ll be back in NYC with time to spare for podcasting in October.

Also: keep an eye out for my new artist site currently under construction.

Thanks for dropping by, and I’ll see you soon!

Corey Dargel’s latest album,  Someone Will Take Care of Me, deals with somewhat unusual disturbances in the human psyche with an abundance of empathy and compassion. He joins me on this episode to talk about his process with writing this music and why he is drawn to write the way he does.

Music:
Everybody Says I’m Beautiful
Impotent Teeth
Castration
Sincerely Yours
Everybody Wannabe

Links:
Corey Dargel
New Amsterdam Records
Andy Melton, my personal Lord and savior.
Gavin Castleton’s Kickstarter Page

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I’m joined on this (fifth anniversary) episode of MikeyPod by Lee Hall, who is the Vice President of Legal Affairs for Friends of Animals and the author of several books, most recently On Their Own Terms: Bringing Animal Rights Philosophy Down To Earth

Thanks, as always, for listening to the show – especially to those of you who have been listening since the very beginning!

Music:
Stars and Stripes Forever – Matmos
The Sexual Politics Of Meat – Consolidated
Someone You Need – Howard Jones

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00:09 Spanish Sahara – Foals
08:51 Everybody Says I’m Beautiful – Corey Dargel
11:57 Sun Body – Christopher Willits
15:33 Morning (feat. Micachu) – Ghostpoet
19:21 I Feel Bonnie (feat. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) – Hot Chip
26:27 Odessa – Caribou
31:37 AM/FM – !!!
37:38 Cosmic Love (Short Club Remix) – Florence + The Machine
43:56 Midday Refuge – In The Cinema
48:54 We Don’t Want Your Body – Stars
52:47 Dark Horse – Bella Rouse

edit: I am an idiot. I said “Jonathan” instead of “Joseph” Tranvan when talking about how I discovered the band Foals. I said it has been years since I have seen him…. add that to my ridiculous memory for even what I had for breakfast and…well….
Sorry, Joseph.

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Music. It is good.

(00:00) Like A Prayer – John Wesley Harding
(04:48) Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
(09:47) Ambling Alp – Yeasayer
(13:38) Mudra – Stereolab
(21:42) Claustrophobia – Choir of Young Believers
(26:34) The Carpathians – Ben Frost
(29:27) Paradise Circus – Massive Attack
(38:16) The Book of Love – The Magnetic Fields
(40:55) Bliss – Kristin Hersh
(44:30) Roll Over- Uniform Motion
(49:26) Oh, The Divorces! – Tracey Thorn
(55:09) Taxi Cabs & Country Roads – Zia Hassan

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In this episode, I sit in New York City’s Christopher Park with Robert Conroy of the duo Misty Roses. Have a notepad on hand while listening to this show, so many references and influences to check out! My netflix queue got a solid work out ofter talking to Robert.

The songs:
Dreaming of Delphine from the album Villainess
Starry Wisdom from the album Villainess
Innsmouth Jewelry from the album Monster Zero
Nicht Plus Ultra from the album Villainess

Buy music from Misty Roses on emusic, iTunes, or your favorite music seller!

Also, I’m curious about how you guys like this type of interview show as opposed to the regular musiconly type shows. Does the sound of the city add a nice ambiance or do the honking horns make you want to chew ground glass. I would love some feedback! Thanks!

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