Grooveshark

In the days immediately following a breakup most people retreat into their music collection to find solace. Or their collection of finely aged scotch, but that’s beside point. Listening to unbearably depressing music after the dissolution of a relationship is a time honored tradition for misanthropes all over the world. There’s something cathartic about listening to some rock star describe the same emotions you’re experiencing. Of course, the “heart on their sleeve” is probably accompanied by a “big fat paycheck” that you wont be privy to, but that’s neither here nor there. They get you. You get them. You are brothers in arms.

It’s really rainy and miserable in Gainesville right now which means that there’s probably some kid lamenting a lost love and listening to The Smiths. This blog is for that kid, hypothetical or otherwise. Here is a list of The Best Breakup Albums to drown your sorrows in when you don’t have the luxury of a wine collection. Feel free to stream some of the tracks and revel in the sorrow.

Bob Dylan- Blood On The Tracks

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What Made Milwaukee Famous had the unenviable task of opening this year’s Bonnaroo music festival. While the opening slot might have seemed daunting for other bands, What Made Milwaukee performed like seasoned veterans. Their latest album What Doesn’t Kill Us is one of those sparkling pop records that seems destined to fly under the radar for a very short period of time. The songs they played live at Bonnaroo benefited from an incredible energy that moved even the most apathetic hippies to shuffle their feet.

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We got a chance to hang out with What Made Milwaukee Famous’ singer Michael Kingcaid the day after What Made Milwaukee Famous set the tone for what would be an incredible 4 days of music. We talked about their video for “Sultan”, their tour with Louis XIV, and the changing landscape of music
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Before the rest of Against Me! takes the Bonnaroo stage, frontmanTom Gabel approaches the microphone and begins strumming the chords to “Amputations”. With the election right around the corner, the song’s plaintive refrain of “What kind of future are you promising us?” seems particularly important. It is with the election in mind that Tom Gabel began penning a new batch of material for Against Me!’s followup to 2007’s critically acclaimed New Wave.

We caught up with Tom before Against Me! played a blistering set that left both hippies and punks awestruck. The calm before the storm so to speak. Tom was nice enough to fill us in on the Foo Fighters tour, the New Wave deluxe package soon to be released, and most importantly, the songs he’s been writing for the new Against Me! record.

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At this point there is really nothing one can say about Vampire Weekend that hasn’t already been said before. Their mesmerizing blend of afro-pop and punk have been the subjects of innumerable blogs and news stories since the release of their self-titled debut album. As is the case in our present culture of ADD-music criticism, the inevitable backlash occurred almost as soon as the hype reached a fever pitch.

As much as the bloggers who leave comments on Stereogum would like to ignore Vampire Weekend, the band’s live shows have proved emphatically that they will be around for a while. The propulsive, frenetic tracks on the record take on a new life on stage compliments of a band that has never sounded tighter. Singer Ezra Koenig’s vocals pierced the Tennessee night like a knife and the crowd sang along to almost every word in a fitting kick start to the festival.

I’d been trying to procure an interview with Vampire Weekend for the last 7 months. Their debut record sits atop our Best of 2008 list and I haven’t responded so passionately to an album since The Strokes Is This It. So imagine my excitement when I saw singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig and keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij mingling around the press tent. They were both in a hurry to prepare for their set, but kindly took the time to answer some questions about touring with The Walkmen, how they’ve stayed grounded throughout this entire process, and how they will approach their sophomore album.

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This summer, a perfect harmony of the classical and contemporary descends upon The Galapagos Art Space. Discrete Encounter could best be described as glam rock meets synth-pop - the silvery love-child of Rammstein and Imogen Heap. Founded by Natasha, a classically trained pianist, and an accomplished composer, Taras, Discrete Encounter picked up a live DJ and some killer visuals to create an electro-rock show that is rocketing to the forefront of the genre.

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I first encountered Mason Jennings’ music on a vacation in Asheville, North Carolina with some friends. We were staying on the side of a mountain and the closest part of civilization was a dilapidated ice cream store six miles away. Every morning we would wake up to the smell of fresh bacon cooking and the soft sounds of Mason Jennings’ album Century Spring. The combination of isolation and calming sound of Mason Jennings’ acoustic guitar provided the best possible setting for what became the best trip I ever undertook.

Mason Jennings’ new album In the Ever is a product of that same sense of calming isolation. Written in a heavily wooded area, In The Ever finds Jennings writing some of his most simple, evocative songs yet. The whimsical, freewheeling vibe stands in stark contrast to the glossy production of 2006’s Bonecloudsand should cement Jennings as one of the preeminent singer songwriters creating music today.

We caught up with Mason to talk about In The Ever, his transition to Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, and how we both mutually nerd out when the topic of Robert Plant is broached.

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The Helio Sequence is a Portland based band that takes pride in performing incredibly exuberant live shows. So imagine their disappointment when singer Brandon Summers so thoroughly obliterated his vocal chords that even speaking became an exceedingly painful endeavor. When Summers was ordered by his doctor to cease singing for 2 months he began to rethink his outlook on both his help and the band in general.

Summers and best friend/drummer Benjamin Weikel returned to the studio in 2007 to record what would be their 4th album Keep Your Eyes Ahead. With a newfound discipline and keener ear for pop melody, Keep Your Eyes Ahead symbolized a startling breakthrough for the band. The result of a prolonged stint in the studio, Keep Your Eyes Ahead finds The Helio Sequence delving into extraordinary new arenas of sound. Their signature layers of keyboards and massive guitars are still there, but the songs feature a restrained quality not yet seen in a Helio Sequence album.

We caught up with Brandon after The Helio Sequence performed a phenomenal set here in Gainesville. With their incredible cover of The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” still ringing in our ears, we spoke to Brandon about Keep Your Eyes Ahead, the pain that came from shredding his vocal chords, and a litany of other subjects. The transcript comes after the drop…

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As you may have read in the Rothbury post, Conscious Alliance is placing a bid at the Rothbury Festival for the largest can structure with the 40,000 cans that Whole Foods has donated to give to local food pantries. However, Conscious Alliance’s involvement at music festivals is not new. Their presence at concerts and festivals on a national level actually began with the support of The String Cheese Incident and Sound Tribe Sector 9. These philanthropic bands supported their cause and they soon began touring with them to all their concerts. Then when Hurricane Katrina hit, they were able to respond immediately by raising emergency relief with the help of Dave Matthews Band.

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