You have two full days to learn and memorize these songs, so that you can come and hum along at the show on Saturday. All 192kbps of glory packaged within.
Download the Hooves on the Turf Northside Sampler (49.8mb).
It includes a song each from all bands playing our showcase, in the order of appearance.
1. “Karate” by Afuche
2. “Hatari” by tUnE-yArDs
3. “As April Is to May” by Luke Winslow-King
4. “Song that Grows Like a Vine (Live)” by Gracious Calamity
5. “Sosey & Dosey” by Drink Up Buttercup
6. “Mechanical Life” by Glass Ghost
7. “For You” by Sharon Van Etten
8. “Ain’t No Grave” by Adam Arcuragi
9. “Woolgathering” by Vandaveer
10. a song by our special guests :)

Since I wasn’t overawed by the Grizzly Bear show at the Town Hall, it probably means something terrible is up, like my expectations of new music is suffering from unreasonable pickiness, or something in my diet is having its toll on taste cells, or my brain is continuing down its degradation path; or maybe New York is once again appearing insignificant compared to the rest of world (woah). In short, it’s been a while since I heard anything new and exciting. I haven’t even managed to get through the St. Vincent album. Maybe it’s all the PR emails and the indie rock bubble overwhelming my senses. Maybe that album just isn’t all that. Maybe now is the time to not give a crap about St. Vincent. So for a change of scenery, here are three previously un-posted songs that I like. Is it troubling, though, that the first two are highly repetitious and catchy? Brain degradation!
Download “Harper” by What’s Up? (pictured above)
Download “Madame Shocking” by The Silent Years
Download “A Mobile Over Your Bed” by Lullatone
(use the gray arrows to switch between songs)
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Have you witnessed the furor over L Magazine’s “8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear” list on Brooklyn Vegan? Spare yourself, I guess! With much love to all the bands who made it, especially The Beets, here’s my own the list. My exciting eight have been picked with much less consideration for obscurity, but all these bands are still in a position where they could gladly use more hype/love/praises.
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While we’re on the topic of The Tallest Man on Earth, I’ve gathered a few other Swedish delights, plus more good stuff. But first, here’s another gem from Kristian Matsson, as performed live last night. I took the picture above after a Secret Garden shoot with him yesterday, so watch out for that loveliness.
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Download “The Wild Hunt (Live at Bowery Ballroom)“
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Farzad Houshiarnejad is from another band, and I wouldn’t call Captain Dum Dum his “solo project”—it’s more of a non-self-important moniker he’s adopted for a sketchbook of recordings he’s been keeping since he was 18, he thinks; something of a playground. I immediately liked the four songs he’s posted on his myspace, and asked him for a copy of his “debut album”, which he’s calling Escargot. It’s a collection of eight songs, and I shouldn’t even be surprised that I really love it; not just because a lot of it is whacky and funny, which it is, but because it’s filled with quality stuff: great melodies and singing, thoughtful piano lines, distinct and fully-realized mood for each song, and there’s nothing here that rings of self-conscious prodding; everything has a great, natural flow and ends up being a record of a thoughtful and sincere exploration of music. (More music after the jump).
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Download “Bee Hive“
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Admittedly, I’m not familiar with every single band involved in this year’s SXSW festivities, officially or unofficially, though I did listen to well over two hundred bands I don’t care to listen to ever again. Unlike them, the list compiled here includes twenty performers I think are most worth seeing, and for free, no less; as far as I know, all of them are either playing unofficial shows, or plan to play whatever last-minute gatherings that come their way.
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hooves on the turf is a mostly-music blog based out of brooklyn. i can be reached at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com - please send me your lovely music as an attached mp3 or an mp3 link. if i like what you send, i'll be sure to ask for more.