Comsat Angels...Still Sounding Great.

I was at the excellent SESAC CMJ showcase last night at Cake Shop, and got in a conversation about songs that "just sound great". Not because of brilliant songwriting, great production, or amazing playing...but because they just have that "magic". The woman I was talking to is a huge student of '80s pop & new wave, and used the example of Comsat Angels' "Stay Tonight" as such a song. As soon as she mentioned that song, which I hadn't heard or thought about in years, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

Check it here. The video is crazy boring, but the song "just sounds great"!



And a bonus great-sounder from Comsat Angels, "Independence Day":

Zune @ CMJ...Crazy Good Shows @ Bowery

Regular readers of extrawack! know that we dig our Zune, our all-you-can-eat subscription to the Zune Pass, and all things Zune-y. So we were pleased to see the Zunetastic stuff they are doing this week at CMJ. Dig it, straight from the press release:


CMJ ACTIVATION INCLUDES EXCLUSIVE MIX TAPES AND LIVE PERFORMANCES BY JAY REATARD, LYKKE LI, A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS AND OVER 30 MORE


As one of the title sponsors of this year's CMJ Music Marathon, Zune continues its focus on discovery of new artists. In addition to partnering with Xbox Live and Doritos to present showcases at the Bowery Ballroom from artists like Lykke Li, Jay Reatard and A Place to Bury Strangers, Zune is launching CMJ-themed pages on Zune Marketplace and Zune.net to give fans access to mix tapes and CMJ features.

Starting today, Zune Marketplace will feature custom CMJ mix tapes from the Zune DJs and partner music blogs like Rock Insider, Rock Sellout, Culture Bully and The Music Slut. Music fans can download the "CMJ 2008 Collection" to hear music from this year's bands or the "CMJ Rewind" for a taste of past CMJ artists, as well as subscribe to custom Channels programmed by CMJ and KEXP to get new music automatically pushed to their collection each week.

All of this content is currently available for free by downloading the Zune software. To access it, music lovers can sign up for a free 14-day Zune Pass subscription at http://www.zune.net/free, which gives fans unlimited access to millions of tracks available on Zune, including featured full-length albums by CMJ artists.

Zune will also syndicate content from several partner music blogs at www.zune.net/cmj where fans can then be linked to special blog-produced CMJ mix tapes in Zune Marketplace. In addition, Zune will launch its first ever Zune Zine, a magazine about music discovery showcasing twelve up & coming CMJ artists including Janelle Monae and Chester French. The zine will be distributed at over 300 venues in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia in addition to official CMJ venues, newsstands, and exhibition spaces. A PDF version will be available to all music fans at www.zune.net/cmj.

Check it all out at the Zune Marketplace here.

Zune will be presenting showcases at the Bowery Ballroom all week long, featuring live performances by over 30 CMJ artists.

Tuesday Oct 21
8:00 Micachu
9:00 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
10:00 Friendly Fires
11:00 Lykke Li

Wednesday Oct 22
7:00 Cory Chisel & the Wandering Souls
8:00 Shugo Tokumaru
9:00 Audrye Sessions
10:00 Love As Laughter
11:00 Wild Sweet Orange
12:00 Margot & the Nuclear So And Sos

Thursday Oct 23
7:00 Company of Thieves
8:00 Janelle Monae
9:00 Chester French
10:00 Black Joe Lewis
11:00 Scouting For Girls
12:00 Delays

Friday Oct 24
8:00 Sweet Water
9:00 Japanese Motors
10:00 Violens
11:00 White Lies
12:00 Longwave
1:00 Jay Reatard

Saturday Oct 25
7:00 Lord T & Eloise
7:45 Little Jackie
10:00 All the Saints
11:00 Marnie Stern
12:00 Vivian Girls
1:00 Crystal Antlers
2:00 A Place to Bury Strangers



Lykke Li - "Dance Dance Dance" mp3

On The Moon Music showcase on Thursday w/Cheesebuger, Dirty on Purpose, Neckbeard Telecaster & More

Our friend Jinners runs On The Moon Music, a management company loaded with great artists, and she's throwing an unoffical CMJ showcase Thursday night at Death By Audio in Crooklyn. Did I mention free beer?



I'll be getting there early to catch Purse Snatchers, featuring Doug Marvin from Dirty on Purpose and Annie Hart of Au Revoir Simone. And chances are some of that free beer will be airborne once Cheeseburger hits the stage...

Purse Snatchers - "Tongue Twister" mp3

Neckbeard Telecaster - "One More Night Like This" mp3

If Killing Joke Were 20 Years Younger And Trying For A Radio Hit...

they'd sound like Pendulum.

Pendulum is massive in Europe, and are chock full of hooks, riffs, and beats. I hear them constantly on the Boombox and BBC One channels on Sirius, and more often than not end up replaying the tunes in my head long after I switch the radio off.

Here's their "Propane Nightmares":



I've got no idea if their huge studio sound translates to the live stage, but I think I want to check it out when they arrive in the States next month for their first US tour, including a stop in NYC for CMJ:

PENDULUM NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
OCTOBER '09:
1 Boston, MA Middle East
3 Chicago, IL House of Blues
4 Toronto, ONT Kool Haus
5 Detroit, MI I Rock
7 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
9 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
11 Salt Lake City, UT Murray Theatre
13 Los Angeles, CA The Mayan
14 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
18 Mexico City, MEX Motorkr Festival
19 Guadalajara, MEX Motorkr Festival
22 Atlanta, GA The Loft
24 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
25 New York, NY Webster Hall
26 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom


Pendulum - "Violet Hill (Coldplay cover from BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge)" mp3

Bidding Farewell to CMJ with Peter, Bjorn &...Doug!

Check this crazy jam from Galapagos in Williamsburg early this morning at an end-of-CMJ Party featuring Peter, Bjorn, and Doug Marvin from Dirty on Purpose:




Dirty on Purpose - "Mind Blindness" mp3

Peter, Bjorn and John - "Let's Call It Off (Acoustic)" mp3

PB&J track courtesy of Thepunkguy.

CMJ Day 2...Thurston & Roddy & More.

Check my CMJ action from yesterday at imeem, including Imperial Teen, Thurston Moore @ Apple, Ponytail, MGMT, and more.

Imperial Teen - "Shim Sham" mp3

I saw Dylan and Takka Takka in the same day...

Check our reviews of the eccentric new Bob Dylan bio "I'm Not There", the documentary about the bass player from New Wavers OXO, and a few shows we liked last night at CMJ at imeem.

Takka Takka on the Day Stage at The Puck Building yesterday:


Takka Takka - "Draw A Map" mp3

Easily The Most Badass Looking CMJ Party Invite This Year.

RSVP here.

Deerhunter - "Heatherwood" mp3