long overdue...

seeing as Jay Reatard died a few weeks ago. Just when my musical tastes were starting to be blasted by minute-thirty flashes of punk rock greatness. Even though eleven times out of ten Jay is singing about death, greed, despair and crap relationships (girls, dads, himself) the music always makes me crack a huge grin and jam out on air guitar all day long. I can't imagine how his live shows would have been if they were even half as rabble-rousing as what he laid down in the studio. All I know is if you meet Jay Reatard in heaven playing his white V guitar, you best not interrupt his solo or you're getting a heavenly boot from the legend himself.

Nothing new being said here to anyone who is a fan, but for those who are not, please convert after listening to favorite album (blood visions) here and the matador singles here!

in case you didn't know...

Real Estate from New Jersey are a gem of a band. They have had their self-titled album out for a few months and have received awesome reviews from a multitude of publications. Reverb drapes over the vocals and guitars giving weight to the lyrics that tell beautiful stories of syrupy suburban summers, treasure hunts ("what you find ain't what you had in mind"), and the soothing effect that nature can have on our psyche. All the while guitar strings dance and blend behind the melody, as if in rhythm with the flickering flames on the wick of that old tiki torch you bought at World Market some odd years ago and never used. Now's the time to bring it out, light it up, and call some friends over to enjoy life before it starts to get hectic again. Real Estate's self-titled album...

sounds like the comforting nostalgia that comes with putting your ear up to a sea shell,

tastes like ice-cold soda on the beach after playing in the surf for hours (salty yet quenching),

feels like wet sand on a hot day,

smells like the Atlantic Ocean,

looks like those moments that people say flash before your eyes just before you die...

check out the album here for yourself and enjoy!

we can still afford to not make sense at all...

So I'm gonna keep this post nice and blunt: Fanfarlo's debut Reservoir is a marvel of an album. The band employs all kinds of instruments, ranging from trumpets to mandolins to violins along with the usual instrumental suspects to create an album full of aural happiness.

The full sound of the band as well as the buttery smooth vocals remind me of Beirut and their use of layers that swell with complexity and power while still remaining delicate. The layers quickly give way to catchy breakdowns and impeccable song-writing that make this album stick around the skull for days to follow.

This is a great album to kick back to and take in the beautiful weather we've been having lately,

For your listening pleasure, grab the album here.

the girls are coming to town...

two of my favorite new bands of the past 6 months are coming through the central Texas area and are touring together!

Girls from San Francisco and The Smith Westerns from Chicago.

Both of these bands have stellar first releases and feature a great modern fuzzed out sun-baked interpretation of vintage rock and roll.

Basically , Girls Album is all like

but in 3D

while The Smith Westerns self titled album is all like

for the 21st century.

Check out Girls Album here and check out The Smith Westerns album here.

Myself and some good friends will be catching the show @ The Parish

Austin, TX

Friday, Jan. 29th

Come join the fun!

Surfs up...

So lately this album has been growing on me with every listen, and I can now say its one of my favorite albums I've jammed to in a while. Surfer Blood channels a lot of the great undercurrent rock trends that are percolating to the top of my most played albums list. Lo-fi jams that shimmer with reflections of sun, girls, and sea breeze (the band hails from Florida) . Surfer Blood's album, Astrocoast is:

like that beautiful hue of green that can only be created by the sea

like Weezer decided to strip down production, live on a beach, apply certain elements of afro-pop while keeping their tight and catchy song structure

(too bad they didn't, and then this happened)

like sitting around a bonfire on a blood-red Texas kind of night,

like road trips with your best friends to places you've never been

But under all of that beach party summer fun is also something different...

under all of that sun are some brooding tracks eerily crashing into the coastline

and on repeat

in my brain.

It's a good thing...

Download the album and check it out for yourself by clicking here.

(Thanks to Matt Young for the Photos)

locked up

A great track from an upcoming debut by LA's Dum Dum Girls has been stuck on repeat in my head for days since I stumbled upon the track at Gorilla Vs Bear. The song is a hot mess (in a really good way) layered with thick reverb, driving drums, and infectious soaring vocals. In the end it's the lyrics that keep me coming back to this track every time. Grab the single here and sing along with me.

Oh God how did I get here / I do not know

I just woke up in this freak show / This woman's clearly out of her mind

She's covered in shit and high as a kite

Don't tell my mother / Don't tell my father ...

All Together Now Ladies!

for all intensive purposes...

this is about having fun. It's a new year and i'm starting a new project, namely this blog. I will use this to exploit friends, hatch schemes, share music, and most importantly add to the list of distractors that plagues my college career life.

Is it weird that I thought of this after watching half of Julie & Julia? I quickly became bored and hungry (nothing gets the appetite aroused quite like hearing Meryl Streep trying to squawk a Julia Childs impersonation for an hour straight) and moved on with a thought:

I love food.

I love writing,

I love friends.

I love music.

College Station can be boring.

I likes to keep it real.

So I am starting a blog that will be filled with friendly faces, food/recipes, music and thoughts that make me happy.

I chose the title The Sun Was High because:

a. It is half of a title to an awesome song by Best Coast

b. Nothing turns my day around like looking up into the sky and feeling

the radiating (from radiation?) warmth flow over my body.

Life is beautiful and we can be happy...

but only if we chose to be.