i am enjoying the latest album from damien jurado called maraqopa. it’s one of his best records, especially from start to finish, and that’s saying a lot with this being his 12th outing. there are some classic jurado tracks on this gem, including my current favorite museum of flight, which you can check out below.

the seattle times recently posted some covers of damien jurado songs by local artists, including one by jeremey enigk. from what i remember, enigk, of sunny day real estate fame, first introduced sub pop records to jurado back in the day and they ended up releasing his first few records. so these guys go way back. you can hear that cover here.

for vinyl fans, you can order a limited colored vinyl version of maraqopa from secretly canadian, which includes a poster and 3 extra 7″s with 6 bonus tracks.

don’t miss damien jurado at the earl on wed, may 23th! you can get tickets here.

– ryan

damien jurado – museum of flight

atlanta has a ton of great shows this spring. don’t miss out on the fun! for a full list, click here.

march:

radiohead – the, mar 1st – phillips arena – $69 – 7:30pm – tickets
cults – tue, mar 6th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets
deleted scenes – mon, mar 19th – 529 – free – 9:00pm
neon indian – mon, mar 19th – the masquerade – $15 – 8pm – tickets
youth lagoon – thur, mar 22nd – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9pm – tickets
alcest – thur, mar 29th – 529 – $8 – 9:00pm – tickets
perfume genius – thur, mar 29th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

april:

school of seven bells – sat, apr 7th – the earl – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets
frankie rose – tue, apr 10th – 529 – $8 – 9:00pm – tickets
bowerbirds – sun, apr 15th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets
sharon van etten – wed, apr 25th – the earl – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets

may:

m83 – mon, may 14th – the buckhead theatre – $24 – 7pm – tickets
st vincent – sat, may 19th – variety playhouse – $20 – 7:30pm – tickets
damien jurado – wed, may 23th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

with m83 coming back to town, i figured i should finally review their show from last halloween at the the masquerade.

all in all, the show was great! the new songs sounded amazing live and the crowd was way into it. at the same time, this was my fourth time seeing m83 and i had high expectations. i was definitely bummed they didn’t play any old songs, including completely skipping dead cities, red seas & lost ghosts, which is one of my favorite albums. i understand they have to cater to their huge new fan base, but i still want a set list that goes deeper than their last two albums (they’ve released six since 2001).

i still plan on checking out m83 at the buckhead theatre in may, i just hope for a better selection of songs this time.

– ryan

fans of vinyl records and neutral milk hotel rejoice! jeff magnum recently self-released a vinyl only box set featuring their entire catalogue along with fifteen previously unreleased tracks.

the box set includes the in the airplane over the sea and on avery island lps in new deluxe gatefold packaging, the everything is 10″ remastered with 3 bonus tracks and new artwork, the new ferris wheel on fire 10″ featuring eight previously unreleased acoustic recordings, the little birds 7″ with 2 unreleased recordings of the song, the you’ve passed/where you’ll find me now 7″ with unreleased 4-track demos from on avery island, the holland 1945/engine picture disc 7″ with fold-out poster, and two 24″x24″ posters, all enclosed in a fancy box. they really went all out with on this one!

you can find this amazing box set at current jeff magnum shows or on his new website for neutral milk hotel records. it’s a little pricey at $88, but you could easily have paid more than that for just the holland 1945/engine picture disc 7″ before this repress.

– ryan

i recently drove by the big chicken in marietta for the first time. how did i not know there was such a cool 50s relic in marietta? the eyes and beak even still move!

– ryan

i’m really digging jessica jalbert’s debut album from the end of last year. if you are a fan of lo-fi indie rock with female vocals, ala the spinanes or early stars, then you will probably like it as well. you can listen to the album here or check out a couple tracks below.

– ryan

i gathered a list of my favorite concerts from 2011. i hope to also put up a list of my favorite albums later in the week.

archers of loaf & band of horses – sun, jul 24th – the earl
broken social scene – thu, feb 10th – the buckhead theatre
casiokids & strfkr – wed, mar 23rd – drunken unicorn
godspeed you! black emperor – tue, mar 22nd – 40 watt
kurt vile – sun, aug 7th – the earl
m83 – mon, oct 31st – the masquerade
the pains of being pure at heart & twin shadow – tue, apr 5th – the earl
sebadoh playing bakesale – mon, mar 28th – the earl
tUnE-yArDs – tue, oct 4th – the basement
zola jesus – tue, oct 25th – the earl

-ryan

-here is my favorite concert list from last year.

i tried filming time lapse of one of those mystical gardens earlier this week. it looked pretty cool, although it took way longer than expected. the box claims everything would finish within 10 hours, however after 24+ hours, 10,000+ photos and 3 camera battery changes, the mystical garden was still growing and we had to leave for the holidays. maybe it was too cold in our house or something, but it sure took forever.

– ryan

i like when buildings reflect the sky, it’s almost like they aren’t even there. here’s a previous photo i posted that’s fairly similar.

– ryan

don’t miss the first ever battle of the beards this saturday at the highland inn ballroom! there will be food trucks, live music, local artist vendors, a full bar and lots & lots of facial hair. how can you go wrong?

– ryan