Orange Alert's Music Minute

If you hadn't noticed one of the more mysterious bands just got a little more mysterious. Seattle's Molly Shannon Molly Shannon has disappeared! Their myspace deleted, their website now a strange and distorted montage of someone's old home movies, and no one knows what happened. Well almost no one, because last week, I received an e-mail from Joe Martin their trusty PR Guy.

"Hi Jason, How have you been? This is Joe Martin with Molly Shannon, Molly Shannon. Recently you may have noticed that ms,ms's website and myspace page have gone blank. No we didn't forget to pay our hosting bill, this act was intentional.

Molly Shannon, Molly Shannon is going to disappear for the next couple of months. The compositional powers at the helm of this ship are placing their complete focus into the creation of the next album. Before the group disappears, we wanted to leave people with a gift. Anyone can now download Molly Shannon, Molly Shannon's entire first album: You think yr the Doctor, I think I'm the Sheriff for FREE at Seattle Subsonic"

I've mentioned their debut album before, and it is really unusual and quite remarkable. An eerie lo-fi adventure into the darkest forest and strangest lands on imaginable. I suggest you download it today before it disappears as well!

It is hot and sticky right now in Chicago and in New York. There is no better time to roll down the windows and blast a few bangers! This past weeks featured musician Bell has offered up her top ten summer bangers. Enjoy!




She actually gave me ten songs, but I could not find an mp3 of Ryan Power "Mind Parasite", but it should be the 10th song on this playlist.

Recorded at Chicago's Stray Dog Recording Co., this is the second release from the duo Remote Control Frequencies, R-Rock and LG. Combing improvised sample-based free rock and hip-hop, Tempus, is a mysterous journey into space. The mystery only builds as you read this strange post on the Secret Life of Sound website: The CD will debut to select members of the media and college radio, but this mysterious record’s release to iTunes and other digital distribution services appears to have been delayed by an uncleared sample. The band is hesitant to discuss specifics until the matter is resolved.”Initially I was outraged,” commented the band’s rapper/instrumentalist R-Rock “but then I thought to myself ‘Hey, this does kind of buy us some time to finish up the ‘Black Box’ component of the album with the alternate cover and the bonus tracks’.” This mysterious ‘Second Disk’ is rumored to include some of the best material from Tempus that didn’t make it into the official release, as well as a great number of alternate versions of “Insomnia” featuring Sharkula. ”Boom bap boom boom boom bap,” added drummer LG.

Well, even though this fantastic album is not offically being released yet, you can still stream it here.

Just as hot summer days are for bangers, chilled summers night as meant for funky downtempo hip hop. Chicago's Radius delivers the perfect mix of Chicago love and chilled beat on Neighborhood Suicide. Each track is named after a different part of the city and in the liner notes he tells the stories behind each choice. This album is both beautiful, heart-felt and full of tight beats.

Radius explains it here:

"So, I decided to make an album for Chicago, and all the elements that make it up, personally the neighborhoods. And to really make it from me, I decided to relate it to neighborhoods I for the most part lived in, frequently visited or just really enjoyed. Chicago is a high competitive city, where u are supported and can come up, but you always have to leave, you cant get stuck here, because as a whole we are disconnected and segregated and a large part of that has to do with our neighborhood and overall city layout and the elements within, including the CTA trains. So with the combination of my personal feelings as an artist and also as my regular self I felt the feeling of dying or suicide. I didn't want to really kill myself, but I knew the feeling. I chose to present that in my music, in this album. So a journey through Chicago, but also within me, u see it from the eyes of South Chicagoan but from a view from all over the city, because I lived in at least eight neighborhoods…”

Listen to: Englewood (Necessary Growth) (mp3)

On the heels of Lovers Prayers, Ida has prepared My Fair, My Dark EP to be released by Polyvinyl on August 5th. Seven songs that stand on their own yet shine some refracted light on the goings on at the barn where Ida was simultaneously working on both Lovers Prayers and an as-yet-unreleased album with the legendary Michael Hurley. These are some of the songs that the band was playing when they thought the tape machines were turned off, loose around the edges but sealed with a kiss. This EP compiles two unreleased originals, alongside covers of songs by Anne Briggs, John & Beverley Martyn, Dolly Parton, and David Schickele. On "Late Blues," recorded during one of Ida's performances at The Midnight Ramble, they were joined by the mighty Levon Helm himself. Produced by Warn Defever of His Name Is Alive, art by Tara Jane O'neil.

Listen to: Road to Ruin (mp3)


This week the Annuals announced the coolest contest ever! For each show in each city, fans can enter to win a pair of tickets to the band’s show, in addition to other exciting goodies such as passes to the local zoo or aquarium, an animal adoption at the local zoo, copies of Wet Zoo and more! Tour dates and prize details are below. Rules and regulations for the contest can be found on the Canvasback Music website.

You can enter the contest here, and below are a list of the cities and zoo's.

June 4 - Phoenix, AZ at Modified
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Modified show & an animal sponsorship for the Phoenix Zoo
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 5 - San Diego, CA at Beauty Bar
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Beauty Bar show & an animal adoption at the San Diego Zoo
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 6 - Los Angeles, CA at the Natural History Museum
Three grand prize winners will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ show at the Natural History Museum & a Natural History Museum gift bag
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 7 - San Francisco, CA at Cafe DuNord
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Café DuNord show & a pair of tickets to the Aquarium of the Bay
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 9 - Portland, OR at Holocene
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Holocene show & an animal adoption at the Oregon Coast Aquarium
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 10 - Seattle, WA at Neumo's
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Neumo’s show & an animal adoption at the Woodland Park Zoo
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 13 - Minneapolis, MN at Varsity Theater
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Varsity Theater show & a pair of tickets to Underwater Adventures Aquarium
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 14 - Chicago, IL at Empty Bottle
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Empty Bottle show & a pair of tickets to Shedd Aquarium
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 16 - Toronto, ONT at Drake Hotel
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Drake Hotel show & an animal adoption at the Toronto Zoo
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 18 - Brooklyn, NY at Union Pool
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Union Pool show & a pair of tickets to Central Park Zoo
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 19 - Arlington, VA at Iota
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Iota show & an animal adoption at the National Zoo
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 20 - Philadelphia, PA at Millcreek Tavern
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ Millcreek Tavern show & a pair of tickets to Adventure Aquarium Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo
June 21 - Carrboro, NC at ArtsCenter
One grand prize winner will receive:
One pair of tickets to Annuals’ ArtsCenter show & a year-long ArtsCenter membership
Two runners up will receive a copy of Wet Zoo

Listen to: Sore (mp3)


The Peel Back: Plug Drum 'N' Bass for Papa (Nothing Records, September 1997)

I can't remember which magazine it was but I can remember clipping out the little album review and putting it in my wallet. I don't know if it was they the review wrote it or the cover or title or my fascination with dnb sounds, but I had to have this album. At the time I was not familiar with Luke Vibert's previous work as Wagon Christ, and that he had been a figure in electronic music since the early ninties. All I knew is that it was a sample driven, beat crazy, double disc, madness!

I saved up for months and finally asked the local record store to order a copy for me. After waiting another week, I finally ripped open the cellophane and threw in disc one. Dark and mysterous manipulated vocals, "without beats I would never get up", applause... it feels like you are in a lab and the scientist is about to cooked up something deadly and heart pounding. The drums hit and jump and scitter around, and then everything stops... silence... drum n' bass takes over. The beakers boil-over and a beast is born.

Me and Mr. Jones (mp3)/Drum N Bass for Papa/Cut/Feelings/I Freak Techniques/The Life of the Mind/Subtle (In Your Face)/Delicious Vibert/DBC/Maker of All