Christmas tunes

We have had a few people ask if we will have a new Christmas mix out again this year, but unfortunately because our computer is still broken we can't make one. However, that doesn't mean you don't get to have any new Christmas music this year... Sufjan Stevens has put out a great new Christmas album "Silver and Gold" which is just $15 for 59 beautiful tracks. If that isn't a Christmas bargain, I don't know what is. On the blogging front, Cesar has a new traditional mix out this year and so do the Gallo's, so check those two out.
Also if you are new around here, you can download our last two Christmas mixtapes here and here.
Only two weeks to go, so get your Christmas music pumping! Kim has been at it since October.
-m&k

Rock en Seine

Source: gypsymeblog.blogspot.com.au via Erik on Pinterest

Yesterday was the start of a lovely 3 day festival in Paris called Rock en Seine. In Australia, festivals with such a line up would cost alot of money, so whilst in Europe we are taking advantage of cheaper gigs. We very excited to see Sigur Ros, The Black Keys, The Shins and many other amazing acts. Who would you most like to see play live? Our top 5 bucket list at the start of the year was Beirut (3 weeks time), Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Avett Brothers and Edward Sharpe.
-morgan

Quatorze Juillet

Yesterday was La Fête Nationale and was the first time in a while either Morgan or I have been in France to celebrate. We went along with Morgan's grandmother to the local village celebrations. There was jazz performances all night and it was nice to watch the sunset over the Luberon mountains. Surprisingly though there was no singing of "La Marseillaise" or fireworks, which was a great disappointment for us.
-kim

right away, great captain!

Right away, great captain! is Manchester Orchestra lead singer, Andy Hulls solo side project. Three albums follow a 17th century sailor who chronicles, via a personal journal, his torturous time at sea, plagued by vivid memories of the betrayal that preceded his departure. It's a lyrically mind-blowing trilogy of music and we both are in love with the third album released recently. If you like it you can buy it on Bandcamp here. Or don't, either way, we like to share good music.

ten stories

Oh me oh my are we excited.
Since kim and I first met I think mewithoutYou has been our favourite band. Heck, they might even be the reason we talked to eachother. We have seen them play once (although kim was too sick to remember due to sun stroke) and every few years we get as giddy as school girls when they even talk about releasing a new album.
Well, the time has come. We have just pre-ordered our limited edition box set and for anyone who is interested...you can too. I highly reccomend keeping an ear out for their album upon release date. These guys are so cool they drive a tour bus powered on use vegetable oil. Anyway, enjoy.
-morgan and kim

Snakadaktal

I just wanted to take a second to tell you about Snakadaktal, a band that recently won a high school band competion of our major independant radio station Triple J. As we have left Australia I believe this to be one of the best new/young talent Australia has currently. Big statement, but I have thoroughly enjoyed their EP. Download it here. No regrets. Promise.


-morgan

carnival

A month or so again a good friend of mine played a gig... on the back of a truck... at a school fete. It was great.
-morgan

12 Days of Christmas mix! [ROUND TWO]

Last year, Morgan and I made an incredible 12 Days of Christmas mix of all our favourite classic and contemporary Christmas songs. This year we are back with round two, and it sure is a hit.

This years mix is dedicated to Cesar and we hope you like it. Merry Christmas everyone. Thanks for reading our blog.
- m&k

Download 12 Days of Christmas mix! [ROUND TWO] here


1. Sister Winter by Sufjan Stevens from the album Songs For Christmas
2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Bright Eyes from the album A Christmas Album
3. It's Christmas, I Love You by Daniel Ellsworth from the album Music City Unsigned Family Christmas
4. Silent Night by Rosie Thomas from the album A Very Rosie Christmas
5. Christmas Day by She & Him from the album A Very She & Him Christmas
6. Tracks in the Snow by The Civil Wars
7. The Christmas Song by Sleeping at Last from the album Christmas Collection 2010
8. The First Noel by Goodlife from the album Born Is The King
9. Winter Wonderland by Bing Crosby from the album I Wish You a Merry Christmas
10. Baby It's Cold Outside by She & Him from the album A Very She & Him Christmas
11. White Christmas by Bright Eyes from the album A Christmas Album
12. Joy by George Winston

ps. Andrew and Carissa have also created a great Christmas mix here

the first day of spring

The First Days of Spring Official Trailer from charlie fink on Vimeo.

Today is the first day of Spring here in the southern hemisphere, and it is turning out to be a beautiful day. When I go to work this morning we listened to the whole album "The First Days of Spring" from Noah and the Whale . I had forgotten what a great album it was.

Tonight I am getting my hair cut. It is starting to get a little out of hand and I am so excited to see what Lisa, my lovely hairdresser, is going to do. I love getting my hair cut.

Tomorrow is my rostered day off from work, and I am going to sleep in, eat a big breaky with friends, and then go op shopping. I'm really looking forward to dressing in a pretty dress and hanging out with morgan. We don't get many full days together and so I am really excited about what we have planned tomorrow.

I told you it was turning out to be a beautiful day.
-kim

the fox, the crow and the cookie

mewithoutYou - The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie from David Bell on Vimeo.

One of our favourite bands is mewithoutYou. They are currently recording their fifth album which makes us very happy indeed. Here is a film clip of theirs from their last album. Its been stuck in both our heads all week and has been playing on repeat. Enjoy.

ps. some other music loves at the moment are:

Foster The People
Cataldo
Valley Maker

Have a listen.
Dare you.

-morgan

noir et blanc

Like it or not, black and white photos, no matter how cliche it can be, look beautiful. I have never really experimented with black and white film. After finally getting a roll developed I was very surprised with the outcome. There was an automatic vintage feel, but one of my photo mentors taught me all film has a temperature, meaning black and white film can hold colours such as green, yellow, red and even purple. Seeing this come through was beautiful. I took my pentax with me to Laneway festival in brisbane a while back where we saw beach house, stornoway, warpaint, jenny lewis, local natives, two door cinema club and heaps more. I am excited about trying to master b&w shots in the future. Here are but a few shots.










Also a couple of people have asked where I get my film developed...
Firstly for standard 35mm developing I send away to ExtraFilm, these guys are cheap and have a high standard.
Secondly when it comes to getting lomo shots or anything done by hand I send away to Photo Continental, these guys cost a bit more but do amazing work and developing anything you send.

right round, baby, right round

So for the last 2 years we have become vinyl addicts. When I say we, I mean me. Kims sister gave us a beautiful Radiola record player cabinet which she bought of an old couple that bought it new in 1960, it even had a spare needle that they bought with it. In January the old girl stopped working. We paid the same amount to have it looked at to get fixed then what kims sister paid for it. The diagnosis came back, and it was going to be way too expensive to fix. This begun the journey for a new player.




I bought this one at a good price on eBay. Its a beautiful old Crown portable record player. This one doesn't work to it's full potential but lets consider it my new 'project'. In the mean time we had accumulated almost 15 new vinyls since our first player passed away.




After working a big day on a public holiday (double the pay) I sporadically bought my first brand new record player. This little beauty plugs into our computer and our cd player. It's sounds pretty decent with it's inbuilt speakers, but through our sound system it has brought our vinyl experience to a whole new level.




This begs the question, vintage or new? Vintage looks and sounds great, but parts and repairs are really hard to get. New sounds great and hopefully is easier to fix. I think I would still choose vintage, our cabinet lasted 50-60 years, as far as we know this was it's first time in a repair shop. So who cares if we only got to love it for a year and a half, they were some of the best years of my life.



And for those interest here are a few records we love at the moment.

- fleet foxes>helplessness blues
- death cab for cutie>codes and keys
- rosie thomas>all the way from michigan not mars
- stornoway>beachcombers windowsill
- black keys>rubber factory
- edith piaf>a portrait of piaf
- louis armstrong>hello dolly
- bon iver>bon iver

what do you think/do vintage or new?

-morgan

manchester orchestra..

Manchester Orchestra - "Simple Math" from DANIELS on Vimeo.

These past few weeks I have been completely hooked on Manchester Orchestra. I have been listening to this band over and over, so it helps we have 3 of their albums and 4 EP's. Their new album "Simple Math" is released this week, and if their first single (video above) is anything like the album its going to be AMAZING! Andy Hull is so talented with his words and the lyrics and heart to these songs get me every time. My favourite album is "I'm Like A Virgin Loosing A Child" (2006) which was their first full length album which they released.

If you're already a Manchester Orchestra fan, make sure you check out the band's side project with Kevin Devine, "Bad Books'. This stuff is equally exciting, and has the influence of one of my other favourite songwriters Mr Devine, which comes through nice and strong.

And finally if you are all over that already as well, then check out Andy Hull's solo stuff under the name "Right Away, Great Captain". These epic songs make you want to go live on a boat and sail the seven seas...

I hope you check this stuff out and you enjoy it. Let me know if you find a new favourite artist, or if these are already in your top 5, then we should be friends.
- kim

UPDATE: If you solve a puzzle on the Columbia Records website you can listen to the new album 'Simple Math' for free now.. Check it out here. It's beautiful.

visit the middle east

For the last four years I have been fascinated by the band 'The Middle East'. A great bunch of guys and girls with such a passionate heart for music and Jesus.

Their new full length album 'I Want That You Are Always Happy' which was released today, is stripped back and raw, getting into their Neil Young/Country roots, and is lyrically beautiful. I can't wait to see them play agin.

We used to go see them for $5 when they were all poor and about to break up as a band, but then they released 'Recordings of the Middle East' and have since toured the world, performing with many great acts.

If you don't already love them, please check out this great act from kim's hometown... Townsville.

Beruit _ Cheap Magic Inside

These two men inspire us so much. Vincent Moon and Zach Condon.

We hope this brings you real joy today.
-m&k

BEIRUT _ CHEAP MAGIC INSIDE from Vincent Moon / Petites Planetes on Vimeo.

ps. this the whole album of the flying club cup performed live, so if your in love, buy the album.

sufjan stevens..

So, this last Sunday night we went and saw a show which went straight to our top 10 gig's ever. We saw Sufjan Stevens.



This was part of the tour for his new album "The Age of Adz", and was a flipping incredible show. With ticker tape and a balloon drop, costumes and a great light show this gig was amazing. We saw him about 3 years when he came out to Australia for the first time and was touring his album "Illinois".



The journey his music has taken in this time is pretty different, and we weren't quite sure hat to expect. I have to admit, I had only listened to the new album a couple of times, its pretty intense, but seeing it live brought it to life. The 12 piece band played together so well, and the neon costumes and super nerdy dancing made me smile so much. This show was worth every Penny. If you get a change to see this man perform live, take it. You will not be disappointed.

What's on your top 10 gig list??

top TEN from two thousand and TEN

So, for all those readers of our blog from overseas (I'm looking at you readers in Brazil, Japan, Germany, America, the UK and many more locations) last Wednesday was Australia Day.

The tradition for a lot of us on Australia, other than going to the beach and having a BBQ, is to listen to Triple J's Hottest 100. How it works is everyone is invited to vote for their top 10 songs for the year just gone, then on Australia Day they take the whole day and count down what got the votes for the top 100 songs voted by the nation.

To commemorate this great event we have put together our songs we voted to win, for you to enjoy yourself.

So here is our top TEN from two thousand and TEN
1. Billie Holiday by Warpaint from the album Exquisite Corpse
2. Zorbing by Stornoway from the album Beachcombers Windowsill
3. Blood to Gold by Boy & Bear from the album With Emperor Antarctica
4. King of Spain by The Tallest Man On Earth from the album The Wild Hunt
5. Not Stuck Here by The Vasco Era from the album Lucille
6. Rococo by The Arcade Fire from the album The Suburbs
7. World News by Local Natives from the album Gorilla Manor
8. The One You Love - Feat. Kate Miller-Heidke by Passenger from the album Flight Of The Crow
9. The Owl And The Tanager by Sufjan Stevens from the album All Delighted People EP
10. Generator First Floor by Freelance Whales from the Daytrotter Session - 4/21/2010

CLICK HERE to download and enjoy...

Listener - Wooden Heart

oh dear. they have stolen our hearts.

The other day a new friend of ours shared this video with us, which resulted in the purchase of an album from Listener straight away. We hope you can take the time to give this a listen and let it impact you.
If your into this, even a little, please check out some other bands we like which are similar... mewithoutYou, Kevin Devine, and The Homeless Gospel Choir.

Also, we have just discovered the website Bandcamp a great initiate in music purchasing for both artists and fans. Many artists have also chosen a 'name your own price' purchase, and this website offers 90% of the sale going directly to the artists. There a heaps of artists to choose from, so go take a look, and purchase some new music.

ps. happy australia day.

happy new year!

Did you have a good New Years Eve? We had a great time at the NO YEARS party at the Brisbane Powerhouse.

This was a sweet night of music, dancing and lots of fun to see the new year in. There were a ton of new bands we got to see and here are a few of the highlights we rekon you should check out...

- Jonathan Boulet
- The Honey Month
- Lion Island

The headline act was Swedish champions "Shout Out Louds" who made the evening perfect. We hope you had a great night, whatever you got up to.

christmas cheer.

is there anyone yet to find their christmas cheer? this will get you in the mood...

Some friends of mine, Holly and Grace have been making a video each day in the count down of the 12 days to Christmas. This is todays... Enjoy.



You can find the first and second days here and here.

Updated:

Here is the full list of days so far..

first, second, third, forth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth....