My friend Mikronesia has released yet another album. Didn’t he just release one a few months ago? Ahh, I’m far behind in my listening "to do" cue. His new release is completely free, so go to his site and download it. I’ve listened to the first 5 tracks thus far. It’s a lucid ambient album to escape into, with such minor subtleties happening that headphones are necessary to really indulge in the full scope of the tracks.

Mikronesia and Pandar of Gemini Wolf are about to unveil their new record label called earSnake. To celebrate and introduce some of their artists, earSnake will be hosting a "12 Days Holiday Podcast" starting on Friday, December 14th. Each day, until the 25th, a new song will be added for your listening pleasure! Here’s more:

"Founded in late 2007, earSnake strives for a unique vision of sound, taste and soul. More than a label, earSnake is an artists’ collective of singers, beat makers, instrumentalists, visionaries, video painters, sound designers, soul scrapers and vibrational virtuosos. Find all of this and more at earsnake.com"

I haven’t recorded any new instrumentals or songs since February of earlier this year. Last night I recorded a new diddy called "Melting of The Evil Snowman", using the newly revamped GarageBand 4 (which is a HUGE improvement from the previous version). This is one of those "made on the spot" songs that I enjoy doing, giving myself a time limit to write and finish it, making it a fun challenge. Enjoy! Melting Of The Evil Snowman

Donned in their “Little Red Riding Hood” masks, Gemini Wolf played an extra spooky set at Cafe Habana on 10/26/07. Here’s a clip of the band playing “Sugar”.

Ween is one of my favorite bands ever. I’ve seen them in concert more than any other band, and I’m always impressed by their ever-morphing sound, DIY attitude, local roots, and no frills stage persona. Ween’s new album "La Cucaracha" is a nice gem in my book. If you bought the "Friends" EP this past summer and hated it, "La Cucaracha" will cure your Ween fix. Here’s a breakdown of the songs: 1. Fiesta The instrumental opening song sounds like a Spanish game show theme song and you’re next contestant. Very exciting. 2. Blue Balloon Fun chill ode to a mysterious blue balloon. Farty keyboard sounds never sounded so good with Gener’s voice of helium effects. 3. Friends Didn’t get enough of the EP released this summer? Here is a completely different version of the techno song, but more organic and with uglier keyboards. Still just as good. As goofy as this song is, it’s so damn catchy. 4. Object "Your just a piece of meat…And I’m the butcher…" Sincerely sung vocals letting a girl know her place in a relationship, I guess. Dark song with a funny ending. 5. Learnin’ to Love A nice barnyard stomp, but this song drives me nuts. Just kind’ve annoying to me, but very well done. 6. With My Own Bare Hands The roughest song on the album with the dirtiest lyrics, possibly the dirtiest ever by Ween. This song sounds like 4 shots of Jack Daniels. Gener boasts some of the many great things he can do with his own bare hands. 7. Fruit Man Ween has previously done some reggae in the past with "Nicole" and "Mango Woman", and this is a serious step up. They do it well, with dark dank dub overtones. Gener does some nice voice variations of the song’s characters. 8. Spirit Walker A percussion-free song with great use of vocal effects. Very trippy. Start your daily affirmation with this piece, or cure your hangover. 9. Shamemaker Is this an English accent Gener is doing or what? Very cool, nonetheless. The lyrics don’t sink in for me with this one, but the rhythm and guitar effects are dope. 10. Sweetheart I believe this is Deaner doing the vocals. This song has got some killer 70s strings and is ridiculously happy. Your girlfriend will love this song. 11. Lullaby Piano ballad with some harp and smooth pad synth. The most serious song on the album, I’d say. 12. Woman and Man The longest song of the album. If you don’t dig the loose biblical opening, just hang in there. It takes off on a Led Zeppelin-esque powerhorse out of nowhere. Deaner’s long guitar solo makes this song his spotlight, and is done with the feel of a live performance of "Voodoo Lady". 13. Your Party David Sanborn adds some sweet tenor saxaphone throughout the song. Great lyrics about an inspirational party. Check out a bunch of the tracks on the Ween MySpace Page.

The Absinthe Drinkers perform at Art@Sophi as part of Philadelphia Open Studios Tours (POST) on October 20th, 2007.

I went to the 2nd Annual Midtown Village Fall Festival yesterday. "Where the hell is Midtown?", you ask? Well, it’s basically the area around 13th and Sansom in Center City, near Fergie’s, El Vez, and Ludwig’s. "Wait, I thought that was called the Gayborhood?", you ask I did too, but it’s really too varied anymore to draw up boundaries. Ultimately, the Midtown Village Fall fest was a multi-block party where area bars, restaurants, and stores invert themselves by putting some great eats and specialty booze on the street. Combine that with various live bands and events, and you’ve got one awesome way to enjoy a 75 degree day. Here’s a look at the padded Sumo Wrestling that anyone could participate in:

At one point, I was sitting outside of Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro, enjoying a Kronenbourg 1664, when all of a sudden this killer band faded out the cheesy techno that was playing from the PA and let loose a nice set of abrasive drunken glory. (I didn’t catch their name, but check out a clip below.)

Below are nine new instrumentals that I recorded a couple months ago. Click on the blue “play” icon to listen. Click on the title to download.

Alarm Clock Kills The Nightmare
Marrakesh Belly Dancer
Bridget Likes Frisbee
Decision Time
I Need A Bathroom Now
Lawn Chair With Princeton Radio
22nd Street Kiss
Thaw
Snow Day With Sam Adams

My friend Rich likes to come over every once in a while and load up his iPod with the latest MP3s that I’ve attained on my iTunes. I’ve always thought about how it sucked that I couldn’t get his MP3s and started feeling so cheated. But now there is a free application called Senuti (that’s iTunes spelled backwards) that allows you to do just that. Download Senuti here.

Beck’s latest release, “The Information”, is a primarily upbeat album layered with delicate sounds–some that you barely notice unless you’re wearing headphones. Beck, with his various album tonalities, has created a fun album along the lines of “Odelay”.

For $12 on iTunes, you can download the 16 songs along with a separate video version of each song. The videos utilize a lot of 80s-era special effects that are just flat out goofy, but definitely make for a fun watch.

It’s strange talking about Beck with some friends that are into music, because there are so many peronalities and moods that differentiate his albums. People hoping for another heartbreak “Sea Change” album will be let down. And people that thought that “Stereopathetic Soulmanure” was his only good album–and I know some purists that wish Beck never left his anlaog 4-track days, will be even more disappointed.