Ways to be awesome:
#1: Sample the Hook soundtrack

Unsigned Fort Worth bedroom project, HasJ, slices and dices audio clips from Hook (including some of the original John Williams music) in a stroke a sheer genius on “Bangarang.” The track is one of many electronic, instrumental jams aching to be on the next Kid Cudi mixtape streaming on his Myspace page. Couldn’t find the Hook sampling track on his ’song downloads’ blog post, so HasJ offered up a free download, below. Bangarang.

Download audio file (bangarang.mp3)

“Bangarang” by Has J

I was clicking around Delta Mirror’s Myspace and came across Franco Near Death, an unsigned LA based band with a handful of solid tracks on their player. About a year ago, the band told Radio Free Silver Lake that they were working on a new record, but, from the looks of it, they seem to now be inactive the band commented on this post to let us know that new recording started last week.

Their song “Worrywart” has spent much of the day on repeat. Check out the washed out guitar track up first on the band’s Myspace page.

Ah Myspace, ’tis a graveyard of abandoned accounts and forgotten music (EDIT: this is still true, but apparently does not apply to Franco Near Death…and yay to that).

Listen: “Worrywart” by Franco Near Death

I can’t imagine anything more perfect making its way to my inbox on a day like today. It feels like it’s been raining for 4 months straight here in NYC, and being from Brooklyn, I believe that Hollands relate to my New York summer rain blues.

The band is set to release their second EP, Mother, which is due in October, but it’s last year’s “Coughing Boy” off of their Faces EP that has been soundtracking my gloomy, contemplative stares out the window this afternoon. Frontman John-Paul Norpoth and classical violinist Jannina Barefield (who’s played with Robyn, Beyonce, and Jay-Z, to name a few) create wistful, atmospheric indie folk-rock reminicsent of Wilco at their best.

The duo will be making their television debut, performing on Fox’s Fearless Music TV next month for an episode that will air in the fall. Keep an eye on Williamsburg venues for the local band, who play Pete’s Candy Store on August 21.

Until then, enjoy the rain.

Download audio file (hollands_coughing_boy.mp3)

“Coughing Boy” by Hollands

For the past 6 years, I’ve been genuinely disturbed by every solo release by former Life of Agony frontman Keith Caputo. I don’t think the man knows how to write anything but incredible, intense, soul crushing music. After 7 amazing albums (including one with band Freax and a live record), Keith’s library of work is an overwhelming collection of emotional songwriting, eloquent lyrics, and eclectic arrangements.

His latest album, A Fondness for Hometown Scars (streaming here), features one of my favorite Caputo songs, “Crawling.” The track is Keith’s first single from the new album, and will soon have a Corin Hardy directed music video (The Guillemots, Keane). Keith has a very devoted following that’s strongest in Holland, and tours in and around that area of Europe often (both solo and with Life of Agony – who have staged somewhat of a comeback in recent years, including a stint on Epic Records). He’ll be touring for the majority of the summer and fall, including some August dates in the states (below).

If you have any plans for killing yourself and/or being born again, Keith Caputo surely has the perfect soundtrack. Do yourself a favor and listen to everything here.

Aug 6- Jaxx, Springfield, Virginia
Aug 8- North Star Bar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aug 14- Club Toxic, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Aug 15- The Whiskey, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Aug 16- Motorheads, Michigan Center, Michigan
Aug 17- I Rock, Detroit, Michigan
Aug 19- Barfly, Cleveland, Ohio
Aug 20- The Chance, Poughkeepsie, New York
Aug 21- Skyline, Albany, New York
Aug 22- Lost Horizon, Syracuse, New York
Aug 23- Mercury Lounge, New York, New York
Aug 24- Webster Underground, Hartford, Connecticut

Riding Between Cars, British born musician Mark Bleasdale’s one-man-band, is an NYC indie project if I ever heard one. The fast-paced electronic influenced rock songs are as catchy as they are depressing, musically personifying a move across the pond. Mark used nothing but Garagaband and an acoustic guitar to create the 6 remarkable songs on his myspace page, all of which are well worth a listen and a record deal (“where Are We Now” and “One Night in April” are both stand-out tracks).

The sometimes lushy and sometimes sharp recordings coupled with Bleasdale’s thick Liverpool tongue make a kind of Brit-pop that could only be written in New York City.

Listen: “Where Are We Now” by Riding Between Cars

Boston’s Boy in Static has developed exponentially since I first blogged about them in 2006 (Myspace Music Review: I thought it was a good idea). To quote me, “the music of Alexander Chen is a Bloody Smashing Cure of lushy electronic pro tools pop. Chen’s vocals are nothing short of brilliant; a moaning and groaning of bedroom recording apathy on a rainy afternoon.” I couldn’t agree more.

Boy in Static (now complete with 6 piece live band) has since released a second record on Mush in May of ‘07, Violet, which was hailed as a “shoe-gazing dream-pop epic .” Chen’s sensitive serenade on tracks like “Where It Ends” (available for free download on their site) compliments the distortion of guitar driven electronica to a t.

“Kissed Under The Sun” from their first record, Newborn, is also abundantly worth a listen (streaming on their myspace).

Boy in Static just finished up a small tour with Boston’s Freezepop, and has already started writing music for their next album.