Pittsburgh Net Radio

If You Rescue Me” is from the movie soundtrack “The Science of Sleep”. Love how they turned this dark “Velvet Underground” cover song “After Hours” into a sweet bossa nova cat-rescue song.

The Feeling -Fill My Little World - I like how they make fun-bubble-pop music without sounding like your typical top-40 mix.

Sean Lennon - Wait for Me - From “Friendly Fire”. While he might dread being better known just because John Lennon & Yoko Ono are his parents, his new album is a very unique blend of both of them. The music & lyrics are very Beatle-esque era “Sgt Peppers”, while his voice is sing-a-long like his moms. I like it.. yet, it is freaky!

Powersolo - Cat Nazer - A band from Denmark under the “Crunchy Frog” Label that tried to break ground in the USA a year ago with the College Scene with not much success. I personally like it, is catchy, jumpy… they have other great songs too.

Scary Mansion -Go To Hell - An indie band/girl from New York that I discovered in myspace through a friend. It is dark, folky… very atmospheric. I love it.

Antony and the Johnsons -Hope There’s Someone - Antony is an artist that I discovered thru British radio, and then again in the Music Documentary film “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man”. Antony’s voice is exquisitely haunting and beautiful…. Like a male counterpart to Bjork.

GuiLLemots -Madeuplovesong#43” - Another band from England. Their music is also unique and their lyrics phenomenal.. very poetic. They were actually one of the finalists for the Mercury Prize in England, the British equivalent to the “Album of the Year” Grammy. Once again a friend introduced me to them in myspace, and I haven’t stop listening to them.

The Zutons -Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love? - I love the Zutons! I saw them live opening for “Muse” over a year now, and their music just blew me away. Is fast, fun….they are pretty big in the UK, but so far haven’t been able to open ground here in America.

The Raveonettes -Vampscratchwhore - This song is a rare bonus that was given on the British EP on the release of their new album last year. You know I love The Raveonettes! I have a bunch of rare Raveonettes songs. I like how this one is fast, cheap, great beat. Hopefully they'll play it on their next tour (when they realease their new album that is almost done)

Junip -Official - This little band is another side project of the multi-faceted Jose Gonzales, who this year toured around promoting not only his album “Veneer” (who I saw perform in Columbus), but also with Zero 7 (from England). I like the atmosphere of this song….. very different from his acoustic work.

Alice Smith - Dream - I love her style, her voice. I discovered her on myspace, and saw her live with Citizen Cope. I love her groviness, ala Eryka Badu and Lauren Hill, yet the way she explores her music with her voice and lyrics reminds me of Sade. I don’t know, but I really like her. Very unique.

Tangerine -The Final Hour - Yeah… Mr Matz (I love Mr. Matz). While I love their regular full-length album, this song from the previous EP is just stunning and one of my favorites (if not my favorite!). I love how the music slides so smoothly along with Tony’s voice on this one… is very sexy!.haha!

Mew -Comforting Sounds - Another band from Denmark. I love this song… is sweet and simple, and yet so grand in its scope. This song was the “tear jerker” for me when I saw them live. Their new album “And The Glass Handed Kites” is awesome!! This is one of those albums you must listen in order from beginning-to-end. It is great, specially when driving the open road!

Alexis Murdoch - Orange Sky - Ok, this guy seems to be pretty big in the adult-contemporary scene, but I discovered him thru a friend on myspace, and well… while I don’t label myself “adult-contemporary-listener” yet, I love this guy’s music. This song is from an earlier ep (and which was featured on the “Garden State” Soundtrack, which then was re-issued much cleaner in his fell-length release. I love this song. So simple, great lyrics. Love it.

Richard Ashcroft - The Direction - by Richard Ashcroft. This song was a bonus-track for the single release of his new album “Break The Night with Colour” last year in England. This song means a lot to me…. it came to me at a pivotal-significant moment in my life last year. Love the lyrics. Love it.

Posted by Brian Cosgrove at 01:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lucia M. Aguirre is a cross between a modern "renaissance woman" and someone who just has way too much time in her hands. She is an architect, artist, writer, has her own "The Lucia martini" available at the Lava Lounge in the Pittsburgh's Southside; and is also a music aficionado who can be spotted at many shows in Pittsburgh and around the tri-state area.

Kaleidoscope Eclectic #3


01 "Summer of Protest" by The Dears from Montreal, Canada. This band's music is rather gloomy and apocalyptic, even pre-9/11 era. While the "Protest" EP was recorded in the summer of 2001, its poignancy and timing could not have been better (I picked this song after watching a "State Of The Union" address. The Dears gained notoriety and main-stream success with their second full-length album No Cities Left, and rumor has it that they were hand-picked by Morrisey himself to open for him in his Montreal show after he found haunting and delightful Murrays's voice, which is similar to his. Currently The Dears are supporting their new album Gang Of Losers.




02 "Sodium Light Baby" by The The (Matt Johnson) from his "Dusk" record. I have to say I love this album! It is rather dramatic and intense with a mental and physical heat that is palpable… the word "anguish" comes to mind.


03 "Lullaby" by Priscilla Ahn. I discovered this girl via myspace, and I just loved her voice, which has a subtle melodious clarity that I find very soothing. She'll be opening for Alexi Murdoch at the Hotel Café in LA next month, so catch both of them live!


04 "Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie. I don't have much to say about this band since they are pretty well known thanks to certain "O.C" TV show. Regardless of their notoriety, I love their lyrics. This song in particular I like a lot, puts me in a great mood.


05 "Focus In" by local band Tangerine, who is currently working hard on their new album and which should be released this spring '07. For me this song stands-out because it has a refrained cohesiveness to it that gives it a different feel to the rest of the album, which brings to mind the title of the song. After checking out the album notes, this track's only distinctive quality comes from being performed in its entirety (instruments and all) by the band mastermind and always talented Mr. Tony Matz (so go figure!)


06 "In My Life" by The Beatles…. Released in 1965 in the Rubber Soul album. I've loved the Beatles since I was a little kid thanks to my Dad's influence, but I have to admit that even now as an adult I keep finding reasons either by myself or through people I love to continue this "musical affair" haha! According to John Lennon himself, this was one of the first songs he really felt proud to having composed because unlike their earliest music, this song had some gravity and thoughtfulness to it.


07 "I'd Wait A Million Years" by The Grass Roots, originally released in 1969, a "Dad-influenced" tune from the late 60's. This band is better know for their hit "Let's Live For Today" (another excellent song), which compared to this song, is so much more relaxed and "vanilla" than this one…. But yet, I really like it!








08 "Flipside" by Everything But The Girl from their Japanese release "Walking Wounded". This is one of my favorite albums of all time…. Love every song on it, which is a nice balance between alluring and heart-felt lyrics with subtle and brilliant techno-jazz-disco beats… smooth! Some of the best duos to emerge from the 90's, I think.



09 "Destiny" by Zero 7 from their album "The Garden", featuring Sia on lyrics. This band I think is also brilliant and rather smart. While giving singing duties to guest performers like Sia, Jose Gonzales, or Sophie Burker; Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker (the original guys) have the freedom to create different musical moods on every album (similar to what french duo "Air" does). This song stands out by Sia's beautiful lyrics, which are complimented artfully by Zero 7 arrangements.


10 "My Girl You Blush" by Moi Caprice from Denmark. This band is one of my favorite new finds now! And while they are hard to find in the U.S.A still, I think they should play more in here -and soon! Their lyrics are simple yet thoughtful, with nice romantic melodies and an indie Pop sensibility that reminds me of New Order, but with happier tones … I don't know. I like them a lot! One thing, though…. What's with the Danes? They are really into falsetto voices, I think (Mew anyone?)… still, really like them!


11-12 "Waltz for Koop" and "Baby" by Koop, from their second release "Waltz For Koop". Koop is an electronic/acid jazz duo from Sweden who create lush / loungy songs that bring to mind images of old-world smoky bars and leisure strolls on the beach.


13 "Moma I'm a Communist" by The Raveonettes. This song is a rare track from ther R's early days, when Sune and Sharing were initially known as "The Girl on Death Row". Plus, it is not an original Sune song, but a cover from another band named "Thau" I believe… regardless, this song is excellent early-Raveonettes stuff! The R's are working right now on a new album which is almost finished, and if you live in Boston, NY, Brooklyn, or DC; look in March for live Raveonettes music coming to your town!


14 "The Man who Told Everything" by Doves from their album "Lost Souls". This band's music is most of the time pensive, sometimes even depressive (truth-be-told) regarding their lyrics (maybe except for 'Rise'), but musically, their albums are a refined layered landscape of notes and sounds that require multiple listenings to really get the beauty and intricacy of their instrumental designs…. Whew! That was a long-run sentence, but you get my drift….


15 "Call Me On Your Way Back Home" by Ryan Adams. I just love this song… it is so simple, beautiful and unpretentious both in structure and lyricism….. a bit sad, but just enjoy.

Posted by Brian Cosgrove at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)