December 2011
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Left of the Dial Radio Show: 6-8 PM on WNHU →
Tune in now!
On tonight’s live broadcast of Left of the Dial on WNHU, I’m going to be airing the audio from my interview with The Guru, High Pop, and Jake Shaker. After the interview ends, I’ll be playing fifteen tracks from my Top 25 Songs of 2011 in reverse order and talking about each track and why it was special to me. This is the last broadcast of Left of the Dial this...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-25) →
Kanye West (47)
Rivers Cuomo (31)
Boards of Canada (31)
Chris Cappello (30)
Andrew Jackson Jihad (29)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
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Interview: The Guru/High Pop/Jake Shaker...
From left to right: Sean Posila, Daniel George, Jordan Caulfield, Jake Shaker, Kyle McEvoy, and yr host, Chris Cappello.
Five of Connecticut’s most hopeful young musicians stopped by my house on Wednesday night for an interview. Representing The Guru and High Pop, along with a number of other musical projects, solo acts, and other bands, these five gentlemen were kind enough to speak to...
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roavl asked: What are your favorite songs about love (or the lack thereof)?
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Anonymous asked: you make me melt
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Stream & Download My New Christmas Single Now!
chris-cappello:
<a href=”http://chriscappello.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-single-2011” _mce_href=”http://chriscappello.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-single-2011”>Christmas Single 2011 by Chris Cappello</a>
Hey guys! My new, three song Christmas...
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cashcrab:
We regret to inform you that your application to Yale University has been declined. Your GPA and SAT scores are excellent; however, your essay about your love of music clearly demonstrates that you don’t even know what real emo is. I mean, it’s like you’ve never even heard of Sunny Day Real Estate.
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Left of the Dial "A Very Indie Rock Christmas"...
Last night’s special Christmas broadcast of Left of the Dial on WNHU definitely got me in the Christmas spirit. A big thanks to everyone who suggested Christmas-themed or seasonal songs, and thanks to everyone who listened in. The playlist from last night’s show is below, complete with youtube links when I could find them. Merry Christmas!
ALSO, For those of you who may be...
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1 Hour Left of the Left of the Dial "A Very Indie... →
So far we’ve heard sort-of-Christmas-y songs from the likes of Titus Andronicus, Real Estate, Low, The Magnetic Fields and more. In the next hour of the Left of the Dial “A Very Indie Rock Christmas” special, I’ll be playing songs by Sufjan Stevens, Animal Collective, and Tom Waits, as well as getting to some listener requests. Grab a cup of nog, gather ‘round the...
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Listen: Left of the Dial "A Very Indie Rock... →
Tune in now!
My radio show’s Christmas special live broadcast begins now on WNHU! Tune in at the link above for the next two hours to hear the best Christmas indie rock jams and seasonal songs by all yr favorite Left of the Dial artists! We’re kicking things off with a track requested by snow-riot: “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future” by Titus Andronicus. All I...
ahleuchatista asked: Which Sufjan song will you be using during the podcast?
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24thoughtspersecond asked: I'd like to request nothing from She & Him for the entire show.
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slow-riot asked: I want to request Yule Shoot Your Eye Out by The Fall Out Boys
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Left of the Dial "A Very Indie Rock Christmas"...
Even though I’m not religious by any means, I’m a pretty big fan of Christmas. In order to get in the spirit, I’m putting together the playlist for my radio show Left of the Dial’s “A Very Indie Rock Christmas” special right now. The show will air live tonight from 6 to 8 PM Eastern and will feature two hours’ worth of seasonal and holiday-themed songs...
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Stream/Download Andrew Jackson Jihad's Daytrotter...
Andrew Jackson Jihad recently did a Daytrotter session. They performed a track from this year’s Knife Man, in addition to a Neil Young cover featuring Frank Turner and “Heartilation” from 2009’s Can’t Maintain. Check out the session HERE and read the band’s commentary below:
andrewjacksonjihad:
In October, while we were on tour with Frank Turner, we were...
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WESS MEETS WEST live at BAR. New Haven CT....
Last night, Connecticut post-rock collective Wess Meets West took over downtown New Haven’s pizza place-turned alcohol depository-turned music venue BAR for a spectacular release show for their new record Chevaliers. When it was released online last month, Chevaliers won me over with its powerful sound and unexpected rawness, and quickly took the number 13 spot on my Top Albums of 2011...
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Anonymous asked: merry krimble, rick allison here...james velvet and i will be spending january reviewing the best of 2011 on thelocalbandsshow . if you generate any sort of official top(whatever) best, local, original list would you permit us to reference your on-line or tree based ruminations?
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Top 10 Shows of 2011
Here we are at the very end of my extensive 2011 year end coverage. Among many other things, I saw more live shows in 2011 than ever before. Naming just ten of my favorites was painfully difficult for me, as I’ve seen so many fantastic shows this year, so I’ve included an honorable mention section at the bottom. The top ten are in descending order of preference. Special thanks to...
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Low's First Two LPs To Be Reissued On Vinyl →
I Could Live In Hope, the 1994 debut record from the long-running slowcore band Low, is being reissued on vinyl, according to the band’s facebook page. This is the first time that the record has ever been pressed to vinyl, as it was originally issued on 2xCD. To this day, I Could Live In Hope stands as one of the very best records from the Duluth, MI band — A fragile, spacious, and...
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Anonymous asked: hey what'd you think of tunnel blanket
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Anonymous asked: hey what'd you think of the new giles corey album
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-18) →
Julianna Barwick (28)
Serengeti & Polyphonic (25)
Quasimoto (23)
Erik Satie (17)
William Basinski (15)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
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15 Great Connecticut Albums From 2011
I know I promised to do a top ten list of my favorite Connecticut albums from this year back when I made my original list schedule, but it was too hard to narrow the list down to just 10. I simply heard too many good albums from my home state this year to pick so few as my favorites. I also found it too difficult to order them properly, so I just put them in alphabetical order. So, with that...
blackfoliage asked: To Tundra is the only song from Hello Sadness that should be in any Top 25!
cafe-eitelkeit-deactivated20120 asked: Neither of the last two tracks from Hello Sadness? Complete lack of Gay Thoughts by The Growlers? Yr list is invalid, son. No just kidding I super love basically every song on this list bro. Still, yeah.
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WatchStream: Lewis and his Blog Top 25 Songs of 2011 8tracks mix
In case you didn’t see earlier, I recently posted a list of my top 25 songs of the year with commentary and links to each song. In addition, I made an 8tracks playlist of the 25 songs in descending order, which you can stream above while reading the list HERE! Thanks for following me everybody. I hope you’re all enjoying...
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jmir replied to your post: Top 25 Songs of 2011
I still can’t believe Pitchfork gave The Antlers crap about “Putting the Dog to Sleep”. It’s impossible not to feel something when listening to it. Songs like that are why ‘Burst Apart’ is my favorite album of the year.
I totally agree. They gave the record a decent review, but I was rather upset that they criticized “Putting The Dog To...
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Top 25 Songs of 2011
The second installment in my 2011 Year End lists series is a list of what I view to be the top 25 songs of 2011. Songs were judged for personal appeal, cultural significance, and musical memorability, and have been ordered from great to greatest. I assembled an 8-tracks playlist of all 25 songs in order which you can stream below, and listen to while you read. Youtube links to each song have...
bonesettersmusicsociety asked: Do you take music submissions for review?
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whammyburger asked: when are you going to notice me??? i'm here!! look
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Anonymous asked: No love for The King of Limbs? I remember you gave it a decent review, but it's nowhere to be found of your best of or biggest disappointments lists.
the-trillness-unto-deleted asked: Where is the shock value in Death Grips? I mean, it is harsh sounding, but not any more lyrically harsh than nearly all hip hop. I respect not liking it, but I don't understand how it has shock value.
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threecreation asked: Any reason you disliked Death Grips? I dont really understand why it was incredibly praised either, but I get the shock value of it. Thats probably why it was so high up on peoples top 10 lists, but regardless, UR OPINIONZ! TELL ME EM!
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WHY? live at Wadsworth Atheneum. Hartford CT -...
I’ve been waiting almost four years to see the band WHY? perform live, and last night I finally got my chance. I first started listening to the indie hip-hop group in 2009, almost immediately after WHY? played their last full-band show in Connecticut, and got hooked really quickly on their nearly indescribable mix of psychedelic folk, indie pop, and abstract hip-hop. The fact that I missed...
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wearefinallysuper replied to your post: Why is New Brigade disappointing to you
If I can add on, people were saying New Brigade was saving punk rock. Punk rock didnt really need saving, and New Brigade was a bit of a bore.
Yeah, that’s exactly what I was trying to get at.
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Anonymous asked: I respect your opinion, but if you don't mind me asking what other relatively new punk releases have you listened to? Most of the newer punk records I listen to are Teenage Lobotomy-esque, ie. hardcore european punk, and American pop sounding punk, eg. Joyce Manor and Emily's Army. I think Ice Age have a very distinct and unique 80's punk and gothic sound.
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Anonymous asked: Why is New Brigade disappointing to you?
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Anonymous asked: What were your biggest musical disappointments/upsets this year?
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Anonymous asked: So I visited your blog a couple months back and saw the review for Giles Corey. I was thinking recently, "Wow. I wonder if it'll hit Chris's top 20." Imagine my surprise (or dare I say, happiness) when it got number 1. It deserves it. This is a must listen-to album, in my humble, anonymous opinion. Anyway, Chris, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Peace.
