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Indie bands and labels, let this be a great example of why buying an ad in a magazine is worthwhile. I was flipping through the most recent issue of Under the Radar (Tegan and Sara cover) when I happened upon a full page Transit of Venus full-page ad promoting 4 new releases. Swivel Chairs caught my eye thanks to the description that says “Gorgeous indie-pop with county and new-wave overtones … features guests turns from members of Audible, The Bigger Lovers, Mat Pond PA, Slo-Mo and The Trollyvox”. Ding, ding, ding. Sold. Say no more. I downloaded the CD from eMusic.com (totally worth the monthly subscription, by the way) and while it may seem like a cop-out, I completely agree with the description in the ad. FINALLY, truth in advertising.

Jason Brown and Jeremy Grites make up the core of Swivel Chairs and use special guests to fill out the sound on The Slow Transmission. Jeremy was kind enough to weigh in on track 3 of the CD, “All at Once”.

MP3: “All at Once”

Is track 3 representative of the whole CD?
Actually, the song isn’t represtative of the whole album, or any of our albums. We like a lot of different types of music, and I think it really shows in the songs that come out of the band. Also, since there are 2 distinct songwriters in the group I think that that’s accentuated even more.

What’s the story behind the song – from the lyrical content to the way it was written and recorded?
That song is a pretty personal account of where I was at the time that it was written. I was going through a really bad relationship break-up at the time and felt really overwhelmed. It’s also about dealing with getting older and the stress of things in your life. I literally felt like all of these bad things were happening to me simultaneously and that song just came out. It feels really good to sing that one – like an expulsion of those feelings…

Was there a particular reason you placed this song in the #3 spot on the tracklisting?
The track placement of that song was “planned” so much as it was natural. Jay and I were both college radio DJ’s and have always tried to arrange play-lists and mix-tapes so that they have an ebb and flow and a continuity to them. So, making our own records have always been kind of the same thing. We went through a lot of different track-lists before the final version. It just seemed to be a nice build from tracks 1 to 2 that peaks in “All at once,” and then settles back into the album. Because we are such huge music fans, we tried to put together a track-list that was interesting all the way through…

Buy The Slow Transmission by Swivel Chairs.

A little light with the downloads this week but still some good stuff to check out over the holiday weekend.

Voxtrot – “Kid Gloves” (MP3)
Oslo – “The Rise and Fall of Love and Hate” (MP3)
Division Day – “Tigers” (MP3)
Pigeon John – “Weight of the World (live)”(MP3)
Ghastly City Sleep – “Ice Creaks” (MP3)
Modena Vox – “Show Me” (MP3)
Brad Laner – “June Gloom” (MP3)

Leonid Maymind has just released his first collection of homespun indie folk under the name Spanish Prisoners. At eight tracks, Songs to Forget is the perfect length to serve as an introduction to this songwriter who undoubtedly will get some blog love over the next couple of months. There are many bits and borrowed pieces of early ’90s lo-fi rock spread throughout the tracks, bands like Pavement, The Silver Jews, and Will Oldham serving as reference points.

So, Mr.Maymind, how about answering some questions about “How the Fallen Fell”?

(Download the song and listen as you read)

Is track 3 representative of the whole CD?
Track 3 is called “How the Fallen Fell.” I was trying to expound upon my feelings of how society treats poor people and the lower classes, which in my humble opinion, is not very well. The song also touches on the materialistic tendencies of people. So I would say the track is representative of the whole CD in that the lyrics are about a part of human nature that I’m interested in. I wouldn’t say that it is very representative musically because my songs are pretty eclectic and they are all pretty different from each other. This is just because I like a lot of variety in sounds and textures when I’m both listening and making music. I guess you could say that track 3 is representative in that it does a lot of things I like songs to do: have background noises, not follow a strict structure, construct a feeling; those are things that I’ve tried to weave into all my songs, regardless of the musical feel.

What’s the story behind the song – from the lyrical content to the way it was written and recorded?
The lyrical content- see number 1. I recorded this song, like most of the others on the record “songs to forget” in my basement on a modest studio I have set up down there. The chord progression was something I came up with a really long time ago and was working on lyrics to fit with them for a few months before it felt right. I played everything on the track except for the drum fills, which my friend Steve Neola did in about half an hour. The creepy feedback noise at the beginning and end is an electric guitar run through a few feedback mechanisms that self-oscillate. Also, the noise in the quiet section of the song is me dropping silverware on the hardwood floor in my dining room and recording it! That was pretty fun.

Was there a particular reason you placed this song in the #3 spot on the tracklisting?
No particular reason I placed it at number 3. I actually don’t like it in that position anymore, so when I release the expanded version of “songs to forget” it’ll have a new tracklisting that I think works better (and thus makes this whole thing moot). I’m working on a few new songs on my own and am going up to Kent, Ohio to record a song with Todd Tobias (Robert Pollard, GBV) so look for that soon!

Ferraby Lionheart – “Small Planet” (MP3)
Grand Ole Party – “Look Out Young Son” (MP3)
Tiger City – “Dark Water” (MP3)
Clockclean Er – “Vomiting Mirror” (MP3)
State Radio – “Unfortunates” (ZIP)
The Go Station – “All Together Now” (MP3)
Holler, Wild Rose – “Marylawn Hair” (MP3), “Sun Vines” (MP3)|
Para One – “Dun Dun” (ZIP)
Gram Parsons – “Long Black Limousine” (MP3) (only available for download until Aug. 30)
Brandi Shearer – “Lullabies” (MP3) (only available for download until Aug. 30)

Chris Zerby and Julie Chadwick used to be in an incredible band called Helicopter Helicopter. After deciding they had done all they could do in Boston, they moved to L.A. to give H2 a new start but soon started recording music as a side project they called Hello Dragon. After going through the whole traditional CD release thing a few times with H2, they’ve decided to embrace technology and allow people the option to download the Hello Dragon stuff via their MySpace page. Fans who want to support the band can pick up a limited edition EP, each copy with a unique hand-painted design, for $5 (+$2 shipping).

Chris recently answered the following 3 questions about track number 3 from the EP, “Dirt and the Body”. Before getting to his answers, head over to the band’s MySpace page, queue up the song (or download it), and use it as reference when reading what Chris has to say about the track.

Track 3: “Dirt and the Body” 

Is track 3 representative of the whole CD?
Kind of, but not really. It’s the catchy one. (See answer #3.) So I didn’t really have a choice.

What’s the story behind the song – from the lyrical content to the way it was written and recorded?
The song was mostly recorded at my little studio End of the World, and was mixed by Bruce Macfarlane here in Echo Park. I don’t really know what it’s about; I guess it’s kind of a comment about how we spend so much of our lives dealing with our day to day needs, and manage to ignore the really important things. Like space travel and the size of the universe. And kitten rescues. And the behavior of subatomic particles. And the joys of a really good pre amp. And sea creatures. All that stuff.

Was there a particular reason you placed this song in the #3 spot on the tracklisting?
I put it third because you always start with the best song. Track two should throw a little curve ball at the listener. Track three should be the second best song and should always be catchy. It’s a tried and true formula, and really, you shouldn’t deviate from it; you can really fuck things up if you do.