The Ruckus

Flickr Love for Saturday, 30 May

1. rain is grace, 2. Covered. But Not Hidden., 3. drizzle, 4. Love and Paris Rain, 5. spring rain., 6. Untitled, 7. "10 rainy moments while I had a Starbucks coffee", 8. rain man, 9. Brolly, 10. Couple, 11. Raindrops keep Falling on my....Head ?????, 12. Déluge, 13. rainbow umbrella #5, 14. days of rain in San Francisco, 15. -, 16. rainy, 17. {121} May Shower, 18. Untitled, 19. Ella ella ella, 20. forecast, 21. Ce matin aux Abbesses, 22. Untitled, 23. Leaving Times Square, 24. rainy day, 25. It's raining hearts (365/351)

Etsy Picks: Mods vs Rockers

Authentic Rolling Stones 1989 Concert T-Shirt from Ramblin' Vintage

KISS Tee Shirt from Black Market Baby

1960's Mod Colorblock Minidress Trench from Juicy Lewcie

'70s Brown Leather Jacket from Ramblin' Vintage

1970s Faded Levi's Bell Bottoms from Like A Rolling Stone

Punk rock studded leather belt from This Could Be You

1970s - 1980s Union Jack Scarf from Vintage in Bohemia

Steel Toe Doc Martens from Recycled Vintage

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS MELANIE

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to our fearless leader, Melanie. Without Mel, our lives would be devoid of American Indie. We love you! Loyal followers, have a drink or three in Mel's honor today and listen to some kick ass music.

Album Review: Jenny Owen Youngs Makes a Clean Break

Sweet, lovely Jenny Owen Youngs has officially rocked my socks, and it's hard not to adore her when every song she sings reads like a diary entry of my personal life.

After her sweet single Fuck was I, an emotional roller coaster of hindsight being the best sight, the Russian infused rock of Clean Break, a tale of sex instead of love (“Don't bother with the table / We can do it on the floor”), may come as a bit of a shocker. However, fans of emotionally confused crooning can rejoice – there's plenty of mind candy on her latest album, Transmitter Failure, which officially hit stores on Tuesday.

Jenny continues her mixture of guitar effects and string ensembles to continue the sweet feel of her tunes, even when she's delivering devastating lines like in Led to the Sea, where she pointedly states “There's nothing in you for the life to hear / Pound it into the dirt / To try and make it work. / You won't be happy till we've drowned in it. / We're never gonna fit.” The Beats Within features an assembly of flutes, making it a melancholy classical-feeling anthem a troupe of ballerinas could easily interpret.

Not every song has a poppy beat, though. Nighty Night is a soulful, sad lullaby for romances that were never meant to be, complete with bittersweet minor tones and a promise that life will go on, even in the waking hours.

Here is a Heart is an almost sappy sweet work until the lyrics fully sink in, and the desperate desire to be loved, and being willing to sacrifice everything for it, is fun and serious at the same time. Not a bad sentiment for Youngs, who gives thanks to Perez Hilton for placing some of her videos on his famous blog back in 2007. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Youngs said “The idea was to make a record that would be more fun to play live because 'Batten the Hatches' was a little low-key [... ] I've been listening a little more to what I'd call rock-pop records. I was listening to a lot of Strokes and a lot of Motion City Soundtrack and Ludacris while I was writing and while we were recording."

In Last Person she skips the pop and sings straight to the soul, explaining “Cause all that stares back at you is bloodless zombie eyes / Why don't you come home with me tonight, alright? / I'm not trying to make you think that this is some kind of great big deal / I just know exactly how you feel.”

And she does.

More from Jenny Owen Youngs:
Buy Transmitter Failure on iTunes
jennyowenyoungs.com
Jenny on MySpace

Gig Review: Travis

Travis // Denver, Colorado // April 15, 2009



The Scottish band Travis had not been to Denver since 1997. Following the release of their sixth studio album Ode To J Smith, a US tour was announced, including the Gothic Theater. There was much rejoicing in Denver.



The twenty-four song set began with 3 Times And You Lose into Chinese Blues. In between songs, charismatic front man Fran Healy shard anecdotes of the stories told in the songs. The stage featured a giant gong as a back drop which was used in a chillingly beautiful version of Before You Were Young. Though heavy with tracks from Ode To J Smith, Travis’s set included tunes spanning back to their first album. During Falling Down, Healy climbed off the stage and into the audience. The jazzed up crowd parted to allow him to slow dance with a lucky admirer. The rest of the band got a break while Fran played an unplugged version of 20 from the edge of the stage. His distinctively smooth vocals were as flawless as ever. While playing Why Does It Always Rain On Me?, probably their best known song in this country, the band led the audience in a jump along.



The band played their hearts out for the entire sizeable set including dancing around and minor acrobatics from Mr. Healy on the bass drum and Andy Dunlop on a stack of amplifiers. Through all this, they still found time to have fun and share jokes amongst themselves and the audience. The bond of friendship between the band mates was obvious between the way they played in sync to coming together at the end of the show to perform Flowers In the Window arm in arm. Dougie Payne shown on the bass, keeping the rhythm precise. The amazing skill and showmanship was obvious from lead guitarist Andy Dunlop. Drummer Neil Primrose and was hidden in the back, but his contributions to the sound were certainly prevalent.



Overall, this was a fantastic gig from a fantastic band. It is shows like these that spoil me for all the others. See Travis if you ever get the chance. Also, if you’ve never heard this band, you are seriously missing out.





I found this video that the band's photographer took of Fran Healy performing 20. You can see yours truly in the pit taking pictures the entire time.

UNDER THE COVERS WITH TIFFINY

I believe that a cover can never be better than the original, because without the original, the cover would not exist. This does not mean that I do not love a good cover. I enjoy the different interpretation and style that the new artist brings to the piece. I especially like it when the performer does something dramatically different. Many of my favorite covers are by Julia Nunes. The beautiful and talented Ms. Nunes performs unique versions of a variety of songs on YouTube, which has lead to her releasing two albums of her own material and touring with Ben Folds. You can watch and listen to Julia's covers as well as her original material on her YouTube Channel. Here is one of my favorite songs a la JuNu:

Julia Nunes First Day of My Life originally by Bright Eyes

Here is a list of ten of my all time favorite cover songs in no particular order. Please feel free to share your own in the comments.

1. Frank Turner The District Sleeps Alone Tonight originally by The Postal Service

Frank Turner, beloved musician and friend of American Indie, performs the electronic Postal Service song as an acoustic ballad.

2. Tegan and Sara Dancing In the Dark originally by Bruce Springsteen

Tegan and Sara's take on Bruce Springsteen's dark pop song.

3. The White Stripes Jolene originally by Dolly Parton

The White Stripes wail Dolly Parton's country ballad.

What are you listening to?

Let's talk about music. Aside from the obvious (Metric - which I suspect isn't gong to end any time soon), I've been listening to The Streets' new joint, Where My Heart Has Been, and a lot of the stuff that the kids at 8tracks are mixing up lately.

But enough about me. We always like to ask the artists that we interview what's on their playlist, and now I'm asking you. What's on your playlist? What are your most recent discoveries and how did you find them?

Tell us about it in the comments, you taste makers.

(Oh, hey - we're thinking about making reader playlists a regular feature. What do you think? Would you be interested in knowing what your fellow American Indie readers are listening to?)