This weekend up in Huntsvegas, there is some action popping off in the 256.

Performers of all kinds will be filling the bill for the Big Spring Jam. Yes, it’s October. I don’t know either, guys. Don’t ask me. ANYWAY, I packed a Wednesday playlist full of work & internet surfing suitable music to get you through ANOTHER rainy day.

It comes complete with tracks from Big Spring Jam artists that dont make me queasy, like Silversun Pickups,  Cage the Elephant and John Anderson. There are alot of “maybes” on the lineup, so I picked my favorite song by bands/artists I’m still undecided on.

(Take a special listen to “Back Against the Wall” by Cage the Elephant. The song’s almost good enough to help you forget that Manchester Orchestra backed outta playing this weekend.)

Also, because I’m that way, I included songs from bands I WISH Big Spring Jam would pull in. Folks like Mindy Smith, Dwight Yoakam, The Kills, MUSE, The Cinematics and Paolo Nutini. All those are completely doable (err, bookable) in my opinion.

And so, enjoy this playlist… your second Wednesday WHOAS soundtrack courtesy of BHAM.FM.

For those wanting to see how the whole shindig turns out, follow @bhamdotfm and @apollorockit (our resident Huntsville writer, Austin) on Twitter all weekend for witty remarks about Huey Lewis and Akon. You can also see my Big Spring Jam recap next week on al.com.

There was a period where I didn’t listen to anything new.  By new, I mean contemporary.  For a few years,  there were no good things happening in my musical sphere.  It could be related to finding the punk scene completely monotonous and really wanting something else, something new.  I digressed to my safety, classic rock.  I got into some b-sides of my favorite classic rock artists and then started following their influences.  It was only maybe three years ago that I started listening to contemporary music again.  It felt strange to be asked to do this whole playlist thing because of that reason.  The state of independent music is reminiscent of  my mid nineties coming of musical age.  This meaning that there are a lot of very cool, very different sounds developing and there are artists really exploring their individual musical paths.  My friend Bryant Saxon put it best a few weeks ago when he said, “I’m hearing music that is so different, it’s like when I heard weird music for the first time and it was good.  Like when I first heard the Smashing Pumpkins and was like ‘this is cool.”  I’m not saying the nadir of independent music occurred between the nineties and now, I’m just saying that some of my favorite music encountered in my adult life – not just a good track or too, but albums -  well crafted, thoughtful albums, have occurred within the past couple years.  And they’re all so diverse.  This is a playlist of some of my favorite songs from music that is new to me right now.  That does not mean it is all new music.  It is also not representative of everything I’m listening to.  I’m unfortunately conscious of what flows and cuts well together, perhaps it has something to do with editing video all day, but I had a hard time including some noise acts I like, and really didn’t find a way to incorporate any hip-hop.  I hate to say that because I love hip-hop and it is NOT mutually exclusive.  But I said I would get this done.  If I don’t throw the towel in, I’ll just keep editing.  I have to give a shameless plug to my friend Brian Ratigan over at Final Broadcast (ratigan.tv) for drowning me in good music for the past year or more.  These are mellower times.  I hope you enjoy.

This weekend’s gonna be a doozy. Whether you’re headed to City Stages, our blowout at Speakeasy or just to the lake to soak up some cancerous rays, I’ve got all kindsa good news.

Firstly, we’ve teamed up with a sister (or brother?) Birmingham food blog, The Vulcan Review, to set somebody up to be a baller this weekend. How so? Well, they’re throwing in a free dinner for two (up to 50 bucks!) at the Village Tavern at the Summit and we’re throwing in the date: 2 passes to join us free at Speakeasy on Saturday night. w00t!

How can you win? Get on your Twitterz and follow @bhamdotfm and @TheVulcanReview. Then, read the latter and repost their message about the giveaway. SIMPLE! Winners will be chosen in a few hours on Friday (to-day), so get after it.

ALSO, we all know I stay within my headphones 24/7, so here’s your weekend party playlist.

Listen to it all summer, or thaw it out in a couple of months when you wish it was 95 degrees.

Party Playlist

BHAM.FM is co-sponsoring a showcase of 8 Alabama artists, put together by Skybucket Records + Tenner11 Management. This is a playlist of all the great music our city is shipping out there. If you’re 

   

South By Deep South: A Birmingham Goes to Austin Playlist

Here’s another look at the flyer just to refresh you on the lineup: 

I’ve been all about Taylor Hollingsworth‘s “Like A Cave” today. Hopefully that uplifted mood will get me through the deathly earaches and impending cough/cold that will ensue after my flight to Austin tomorrow morning.

I included Art in Manila and Remy Zero because both Orenda & Cedric (of both bands respectively) are performing as O + S. Couldn’t find any Grenadines, Duquette or Kate Taylor on imeem. All the more reason to check them out live. 

Remember: We’re the only ones with a comprehensive streaming audio player of all the local bands/artists we can gather. YAY! Check near the bham.fm logo, to the right of the browser window. Sam even implemented a pop-out feature so you can listen to the station in a seperate window while you’re at work or something… without having to keep our maximized site window open.

The Black Lips are fresh off their totally awesome & illegal (no, really) tour of India and are playing Bottletree tomoooorrow! We’ve got two tracks available for download on the new album:

BLACK LIPS – Short Fuse.mp3 Short Fuse.mp3

BLACK LIPS -Starting Over.mp3 Starting Over.mp3

and you can listen to the ENTIRE ALBUM here.

Hat tip to David over at LHB.

With lines like “I’ve waited with a glacier’s patience” and “I’m a man-man-man-maneater, yet you’re surprised when I eat ya”, I must say that the wait since Fox Confessor to Middle Cyclone was worth it. That’s hard for me to say since I’ve been prostrate in wait since 2004.

My life’s mantra is also represented very well in the 3rd track with the lyrics “just because you don’t believe it, doesn’t mean I don’t mean it” followed by an anthem about teenage marriage, alimony AND cancer. Tres times the fun.

Why is Neko Case so perfect? I’m sorry, let’s focus on being objective. Hmm. Why is she so incredible and amazing and original? AND coming to Birmingham (holy @#$%) on April 4?

April is a good solid month away, but I just might know a certain website hosting the official Neko pre-party. I’m not saying Henry Dunkle is playing for all the guests pre-Neko and we’re giving away tickets (news coming soon), I’m just saying that I’m temporarily suspending reality that week to rejoice in the fact that the beautiful ginger with “one of the most memorable and seductive voices in music” (NPR’s words) from the great Northwest will be playing just for me. And all the those other chumps who think they’re going to have enough room to breathe in the wake of my enthusiasm.

If you’re a fan of feeling complete ecstasy, you should really check out the streaming audio of Neko’s newest over at NPR’s site.

You can also go ahead get your Neko tickets at workplay.com.

Since I’m a fan of Valentines Day (and not just because I’ve got this double x chromosome situation), I decided to give all you slackers, err boys,  a heads up on some mood music. Now with the background ambience set,  you still have a few days left to buy candles and a gift. YES you have to do that. I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t make it up!

You see, I’ve come up with a few songs that would make a nice background for say, baking cookies, or holding hands. That’s all. You know,  arts & crafts. And whatnot.

I got a little carried away with taking suggestions (4 or 5 of them) as well and somehow ended up with 67 songs. First person to get classy and say I needed two more gets a free murder.

Anyway, to spice up the whatnot, here are some GOOD songs about love. Such a tough task with only 98% of my source material (i.e. modern music) being love-related. Someone’s gotta do it. I MEAN HOLD HANDS!

Happy Valentines’ Day!

V-DAY HOO-RAY

I need to do this more often, so as not to accidentally leave anything out.

First off, best downloading service I’ve run into yet: eMusic. I don’t know what their pricing scheme is these days, but I got grandfathered in on a great deal early on. Basically the way it works is you get a certain number of “downloads” (e.g. songs) each month. They don’t carry over so you have to keep up. The selection is not going to be as broad as iTunes, especially with the major label stuff. But in terms of selection of smaller label music from the past 20 years of so, Emusic can’t be beaten. Plus, it’s all DRM-free mp3 format, so you don’t have to bother with all of Apple’s AAC copyright racket. I recommend it.

Okay, lets get to it. Hover over the “sample track” note and you should find a hyperlink to listen to the music (wordpress wants to charge me to upload mp3s … ugh, i refuse to pay for that). I’m going to keep the descriptions short, since listening is worth way more than my enthusiastic descriptions. Here’s the best of what I’ve heard lately, in no particular order.

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Earth – The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (Southern Lord, 2008 )

sample track: Rise to Glory

Repetitive, slow and sexy. Earth played Bottletree last year and I somehow missed the show … can’t wait for their return. Check out this great performance here on APT’s We have Signal. Incredible.

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Sleep – Jerusalem (Music Cartel, 1999)

sample track: Jerusalem Pt 4

Sleep made sludgy doom metal through the 90’s. This is not the kind of music that I ever expected to enjoy, but I really have come to love this album. “Jerusalem” is actually a slightly modified version of an earlier album “Dopesmoker”, which was rejected by the bands new big-shot label, London Records, in the mid-90’s. Apparently Sleep took almost all of the six figures that the label fronted them, and spent it on two things: pot and studio time (mostly the former). What they produced was a mystical tribute to weed consumption, consisting largely of variants of the same riff for an hour. The label was not pleased. Eventually a smaller label released the album, this time called “Jerusalem” and broken in to 6 pieces. Oh man, this stuff is soo soo good. It took me a while to get into it, but once I got it, it became so enjoyable. Slow, distorted guitars and drums. Highly hipnotic. Check it out–it might surprise you. I picked up “Dopesmoker” on vinyl the other day … it was finally released in 2003. Strangely enough, I prefer the second incarnation to the original.

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Swervedriver – Mezcal Head (A&M, 1993)

sample track: For Seeking Heat

These guys are considered shoegaze pioneers, although I don’t really hear it in this album. This is just great rock music.

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Dead Meadow – Feathers (Matador, 2005)

sample track: At Her Open Door

Layered. Pychodelic. Melodic. Heavy. On recommendation from my good friend Pat over at the prison ship. Totally delivers beginning to end.

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The New Year – The New Year (Touch and Go, 2008 )

Sample Track: Folios

I thought about passing this album on to my grandparents because they love music and although this is “rock” music, it’s gotta be some of the most palatable, well-crafted guitar music I’ve heard in a while. The Kadane brothers et al have done it again (their two previous albums in this outfit are also outstanding). If you like this stuff, make sure to check out their previous band, Bedhead. This was my favorite album of last year.

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Lil Wayne & DJ Drama – Dedication 2 Gangta Grillz

Sample Track: This is What I Call Her

Wayne claims to be the best rapper alive … he’s definitely way up there. Can’t say I’m too excited about his new rock album, which is supposed to drop in the next few months … the first release, “prom queen,” is undeniably bad. But, whatever, I still support the dude. This mix tape came out in 2006 and really showcases his skill since it lacks the requisite club-hoppers found on his major releases (see Carter III).

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Shellac – At Action Park (Touch and Go, 1994)

Sample Track: My Black Ass

Simply the best punk-rock band out there. This was the band’s first album, but they’ve made plenty more great music over the past 15 years. The latest, Excellent Italian Greyhound, is effin’ brilliant and a little less abrasive than this early stuff.

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That’s all I got for now. Any music recommendations? Love to hear ‘em…

You can catch our magnificent photog George in all his blogging glory at his personal blog, On Email.

So, I’ve got two new mixtapes today. Maybe because I’m so wired for tomorrow’s site relaunch and Saturday’s show  that I can barely sit stiiiill.

The first is for Candace, Chris’s officemate at work, who let’s just say has gotten her fill of Skeletal Lamping by Of Montreal on repeat. What a good sport! Anyway, here is Candace’s “Bring it back to high school” mix featuring some of my old school faves from David Banner, Dru Hill, Juvenile, Lil Flip and Missy Elliot.

Consider this your intro into 90s-now radio-friendly hip-hop if you’re a hater!

BHAM.FM MIXTAPE #3: Candace

And secondly, one of our Twitter folks, Jarrod Morgan, was having such a great day (I know, right?!) that he asked us if we could give him something “amped up” to listen to. YES, PLEASE! So here is his “I’m sitting at the office having a cool ass day” mix:

BHAM.FM MIXTAPE #4: Jarrod