Win a signed copy of Flyday

My friend S.M. Boyce is holding a giveaway at her blog, and until tomorrow you can enter to win a signed copy of my book (US only), and there are still giveaways starting up for 30 other books, so check it out.

Also, start reading my author blog A Writer's Notes if you haven't already. It's pretty cool. Although, I may be biased.

Ian Axel - "This Is the New Year"

I found this video last year, and it remains the quintessential New Year's Eve song for me. It was released with Ian Axel's unique February 2011 album This Is the New Year. Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!



www.ianaxel.com

Harts, "Back to the Shore" MP3

Harts is an indie rock project based in Melbourne. "Back to the Shore" is a fun, catchy song from his upcoming EP, which was mixed by Lars Stalfors of The Mars Volta. Check it out:



You can also download the song and listen to an interview here.

www.hartsmusic.com
facebook.com/hartsmusic

Josie Charlwood - covers and originals

Josie Charlwood is a UK-based musician and songwriter. Her cover of "Feel Good Inc" is crazy impressive. Check out that looping. And she absolutely nails the rap:



You can hear a variety of music on her Youtube channel and her Soundcloud page. I particularly love her cover of MGMT's "Electric Feel."

MGMT Cover "Electric Feel" - Live by Josie Charlwood

Links:

itunes.com/josiecharlwood
facebook.com/josiecharlwoodmusic

Review of Shael Riley and the Double Ice Backfire's Ultimate Songs from the Pit

Shael Riley and the Double Ice Backfire just came out with a new album, Ultimate Songs from the Pit. Running under the album is the undercurrent of lovely chiptune melodies, and it features sung vocals with occasional rapping. It dares to go where other indie albums won't: to the friend-zone, to crazy girlfriends, to video games and back again. But the album also has some seriously offensive misogyny, and at times I wondered, "Am I really hearing this?"

"How to Fire a Gun" is a free download, so check it out. It's been redone since the original EP and features a new chiptune solo that I think is just fantastic. "Hipster Hoax" has a new intro beat, "The Other Side of Memphis" is as sweet as ever.

"Boot Straps," a catchy, hard-rockin' song asks what we're all thinking about: "How can we live like this?" and discusses the anguish of working a dead-end job. There's "Princess of Ants," about falling for a cute but lackluster girl.

I didn't know what a "Hobby Model" was until a friend enlightened me: "Hobby models are basically girls who are geeky enough to get into posing as an underdressed character for money." So, there you go. It's a song about that.

"Rarest of Elements," as a woman, made me want to crawl into a hole and hide. Skip that one. I'm hoping it's tongue-in-cheek, especially when the next song opens with: "She don't care about your gamer score / That's just the currency of impotent gods."

The album ends with "Pump Up the Bass," about listening to music loud while writing (which is kind of what I'm doing now), and just sort of stops.

I loved Shael's work on The Grammar Club, but upon multiple listens I couldn't get into this album. It's a love letter to video games, and includes some genuinely good music, but the misogynistic lyrics made me pass.

Mumford & Sons - "Lover's Eyes" video

Here's a touching performance of Mumford & Sons' lovely, unreleased song "Lover's Eyes" for iheartradio.



Thanks to Sally for the tip.

MP3 Roundup: Kites With Lights - "Cosmonauts"

Kites with Lights (and I love that name) is an indie electro / synth pop project run by Jonah Cordy. His newest album, Cosmonauts, was released in August, and the eponymous song is a free download on Bandcamp. It's really something special. Take a listen:



The album is also very good, with cool backing vocals, synthesizer beeps and bloops in all the right places, and great use of sound clips. It has an incredible atmospheric feel, and the last three songs--"The Lonely Night," "Next Time" are "Balanced on Air"--are especially good, and left me wanting more. "Cosmonauts" is probably the most fun song, but there's no shortage of quality on the rest of the album.

Cosmonauts is available from Bandcamp, iTunes, and Amazon.

kiteswithlights.com
twitter.com/kiteswithlights

Said the Whale - "Lines"

Said the Whale is an indie pop band from Vancouver. They've released two EPs so far, and they've compiled four B-sides for their upcoming New Brighton EP, to be released November 8th. They're currently on tour throughout the US. You might have heard their awesome song "Camilo (The Magician)."



"Lines," a song from their upcoming EP, is free download from saidthewhale.com today. Listen to the stream here:

"Lines" - Said the Whale by PlanetaryOnlinePR

twitter.com/saidthewhale
www.facebook.com/saidthewhale

Portugal. The Man - "So American" video

Portugal. The Man's newest album In the Mountain in the Cloud came out in July, and they're currently touring across the US. They've also been tweeting about playing for some of the Occupy Wall Street protests, which is awesome. They recently performed "So American" on Conan.

Check out their new video for "So American":



twitter.com/portugaltheman
facebook.com/portugaltheman

Giraffage - Pretty Things EP

I previously wrote about Robot Science earlier this year, and as I recall people really enjoyed the music. It's an electronic project by Charlie Yin, of San Francisco. He also has a side project called Giraffage, and his new EP, Pretty Things, is out and available for streaming or purchase on the Giraffage Bandcamp page.

You can also hear some remixes at facebook.com/giraffage and other songs on Soundcloud. Here's the EP:

New album from Quiet Company - "We Are All Where We Belong"

Quiet Company just released their new album, We Are All Where We Belong, on October 4th. Paisley previously featured the music video of their song "Fear and Fallacy."

Check out their web site for more information.

Odonis Odonis - Hollandaze

Odonis Odonis is a band led by by Dean Tzenos, a Toronto-based musician. They play lo-fi punk with lots of reverb. Their new album Hollandaze, recorded mostly in Tzenos's home, drops on November 15th in the US.

To listen to their song "Ledged Up" from Hollandaze, click here. It's in intense rock song with great hooks and guitar work.

And enjoy this flashy music video of "Mr. Smith," a song they released with Lotus Plaza on Palmist Records last July:

Odonis Odonis - Mr. Smith from riceandcheese on Vimeo.

For more info: odonisodonis.com