Some photos from Sunday, June 22, Day 3 of Philadelphia's Popped! Festival at World Cafe Live. The home team made up the bulk of the lineup today with some of Philly's best bands playing. I arrived in plenty of time time to grab a Grimbergen Dubbel Abbey Ale from the bar and stake out a prime spot to catch Cheers Elephant kick off the days proceedings with a dazzling set in the upstairs bar, showing why they are one of Philly's hottest bands right now. Spent some time chatting with Jessica from Popwreck(oning) in between sets. Next up were The Vandelles, a band I had not only not seen before, but had never heard of. Well, I won't be forgetting them anytime soon because their reverb laden psychedelic laced sound was amazing, with a sound falling somehwere between Jesus And Mary Chain and The Black Angels. They also delivered the "girls can rock too" moment of the festival in the powerhouse rhythm section of Suzanne Pagliorola and Lisha Nadkarni on drums and bass respectively. Then it was downstairs for Gildon Works who delivered one of the best sets of the weekend, their shoegazey psychedelic blend was absolutely massive sounding. Then it was back upstairs for one of my favorite Philly bands The Swimmers, who despite having to use a fill in bass player for the afternoon, sounded as fantastic as always. At this point the downstairs stage took a weird turn toward the performance art side with one man avant garde poet guitarist PWRFL Power up next. Three songs and it was back upstairs for me where I spent some time hanging out with Carly and Royce from Girl About Town for a bit while Takka Takka prepared to play. Caught most of Takka Takka's interesting set before heading back downstairs to see the much buzzed about Tickley Feather. More avant garde performance art tinged music that continued the theme started earlier. Although much more great music still remained, it was at this point I had to jump ship and make my way across town to the M room for my Bag Of Songs night, more on that coming soon...
Cheers Elephant The Vandelles Gildon Works The Swimmers PWRFL Power Takka Takka Tickley Feather The Downstairs Stage

Okay here it is the grand finale, my top ten of the year. The albums I listened to and enjoyed most this year. There was so much great music this year that a short list of twenty five doesn't nearly it do it all justice. There's obviously way more omitted than included.

And, as I promised I have giveaways. A copy of The Swimmers - Fighting Trees that most of you will need to wait until it's March release to get your hands on, but I have it for you now, and a copy of The Broken West's I Can't Go On, I'll Go On autographed by the whole band(Thanks Ross!)

Once again I'll make it easy to win just leave a comment or send me an email to
bagofsongs@gmail.com with "Top 25 Contest" in the subject line.
You don't have to, but feel free to get creative in the comments - your top albums, what I missed, etc. If you leave a comment make sure you leave an email or some way to get in touch if you win. I'll pick 2 winners at random on New Year's Day from all the entries. Good Luck !










1:The Swimmers - Fighting Trees
Back in January of this year when I received a rather unassuming email from Steve Yutzy-Burkey, not so unlike a lot of other emails I receive everyday from bands, letting me know they had shows upcoming and that their new album Fighting Trees was
streaming from their website if I wanted to give it a listen. What I found at the end of the link was a record I would unabashedly call one of the first truly important releases of 2007. Now nearly a year later, I've seen the band live more than a dozen times and there is no single album I listened to or enjoyed more this year. It's the perfect balance of catchy hooks,vocal harmonies and intelligent lyrics that I just can't seem to get enough of. The record saw a limited Philadelphia area CD release this fall on Mad Dragon Records, who signed the band and will officially release their record to the rest of the world in March 2008. Watch out for it.

MP3: The Swimmers - Pocketful Of Gold
[MYSPACE] [WEBSITE]











2:The Broken West - I Can't Go On I'll Go On
Guitar driven, smart, power pop. Reference points of Big Star,The Beatles,Cheap Trick and more come to mind but the sound ends up undeniably all The Broken West. A dozen songs here and each one could be a single in it's own right, no filler here just great music.

MP3: The Broken West - Down In The Valley
Buy I Can't Go On I'll Go On











3:Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up
The best overlooked album of the year. Emotional, ragged and real with a sound that falls somewhere between fellow Canadians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Forget Feist you need this.

MP3: Julie Doiron - I Woke Myself Up
Buy Woke Myself Up











4:The Clientele - God Save The Clientele
Alasdair Maclean describes the band's sound on this record: "The band are setting free their inner Monkees; a lovely blend of Big Star twisted power-pop and country achin', with flashes of the Beatles at their most joyful and upbeat." He's dead on, it's a perfect Sunday morning record, filled with smooth sixties overtones but never sounding retro or dated.

MP3: The Clientele - Here Comes The Phantom
Buy God Save The Clientele











5:Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
What Wilco could sound like if they didn't sand all the edges off. The perfect mix of alt country and indie rock, they delivered one of the best live shows I saw all year.

MP3: Blitzen Trapper - Sci-Fi Kid
Buy Wild Mountain Nation











6:Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter
One of the best new songwriters of a generation, Josh amped it up a bit more than his earlier records for this one and created a new classic. And as good as this is, I somehow feel it's still only hinting at the future greatness Josh has in him.

MP3: Josh Ritter - Right Moves
Buy The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter











7:Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
I'll commit blogger heresy here and say other than a song or two,their debut Funeral did nothing for me. But with only one real clunker(Black Wave),this one is just shy of perfect. Anthmemic and engaging it grabs you right from the first listen. Openly embracing their Springsteen influences in their sound this time around didn't hurt at all either.

MP3: Arcade Fire - Black Mirror
Buy Neon Bible











8:LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
James Murphy obviously honed his ear for what works during his time as a bouncer at Trenton's alternative rock club City Gardens all through the mid to late eighties and delivered an album that put all that knowledge together for something relevant right now. Their live show is phenomenal, hearing All My Friends live was one of most transcendent concert moments I've ever experienced.

Listen To The Whole Album Here
Buy Sound Of Silver










9:Creeping Weeds - We Are All Part Of A Dream You're Having
One of Philadelphia's most original sounding bands this manages to run the gamut from desolate spacey piano, to jagged edgy guitar rockers and all points in between, and it all works. And having seen them live like 8 or 9 times this past year I can tell you they're an awesome live band as well.

MP3: The Creeping Weeds - Eternity Is A Long Time
Buy We Are All Part Of A Dream You're Having











10:Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Twelve solid midtempo pop songs filled with hooks,violin, whistling and more, from th eopening notes of Fiery Crash it creates an alternate world and holds you there right through to the final notes of Yawny at the Apocalypse. One of the best sequenced albums of the year, each song perfectly setting up the next, just like a great mix tape.

MP3: Andrew Bird - Fiery Crash
Buy Armchair Apocrypha

Previous 11-15 16-20 21-25

I thought this year I'd bring you all some Holiday music so everyday day between now and December 25th I'll post a different song everyday so by Christmas you'll end up with a nice little 25 song mix. Since I was a slacker and missed yesterday I'm bringing you a two-fer today. One of my personal favorites Let Me Sleep(Christmas Time) by Pearl Jam and and brand new Phil Spector influenced number by Philadelphia's The Swimmers. Happy Holidays.

Day 1: Pearl Jam - Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time) [WEBSITE]
Day 2: The Swimmers - The Christmas Sound [WEBSITE]

The Swimmers are bringing their sound to you this holiday season as well.
Head on out and catch them live if they're in your area.

Dec 4 2007 8:00P World Cafe Live Philadelphia PA
Dec 7 2007 8:00P Subterranean Chicago IL
Dec 8 2007 8:00P The Empty Bottle Chicago IL
Jan 3 2008 8:00P IOTA Arlington VA

If you're a regular reader of the is blog you know that The Swimmers have been one of the absolute favorites here since I received a copy of their as yet unreleased cd Fighting Trees back in January. I even boldly proclaimed it "the first truly important release of 2007" and talked it up relentlessly to anyone who would listen. Well folks "all the new sounds" are here, Fighting Trees will be seeing a national release on March 4 of 2008 on Mad Dragon Records and distributed by Ryko/Warner.
The lucky Philly peeps get a jump on the rest of the world at a special local release party this Saturday October 27th at Johnny Brenda's, recently named Rolling Stone Magazine's "2007 Hot Music Club". It's going to be a special night you won't want to miss.

See the new cover artwork above by Janell Olah, but better yet see it in person, as anyone who comes to the show gets a copy of the cd right then and there with admission. I'll be there so should you, and you, and you and you and you.

MP3: The Swimmers - It's Time They Knew

Saturday October 27th
Y-Rock on XPN Welcomes - Swimmers CD Release Show
The Swimmers, Audible, Adam & Dave's Bloodline, Denison Witmer
9:30 PM
$10 includes a copy of the CD! - Door Sales at 8pm

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]

Yesterday I featured these bands on 5 On A Friday. Here's some photos from last night's amazing display of Philadelphia and New York talent at The Tritone in Philadelphia. If you couldn't make it last night The Swimmers, The Jealous Girlfriends and Sam Champion along with Drug Rug all play again tonight in New York City at The Mercury Lounge. Go. Dance. Enjoy. I highly recommend it.
Papertrigger

A Sunny Day In Glasgow
Sam Champion

The Jealous Girlfriends


The Swimmers

Tonight a deal you can't beat, 5 amazing Philadelphia and New York bands at the Tritone in Philly, a club the size of a shoe box, and all for 5 bucks. Any one of these bands could headline a much bigger venue and pack it. It's going to be a hot time in Philly tonight.

1: Papertrigger - We Are Nations Now !
Buy Riot Lovers EP [WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]
2: A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Best Summer Ever
Buy Tout New Age [WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]
3: Sam Champion Band - Like A Secret
Buy Slow Rewind [WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]
4:The Jealous Girlfriends - Something In The Water
Buy The Jealous Girlfriends [WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]
5: The Swimmers - Pocketful of Gold
Get Fighting Trees [WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]

[PHOTO CREDIT]

Here's some pictures from Friday night's Illuminea CD release party show at Johnny Brenda's. First up for the night was Whales And Cops who put on an amazing display of precision, They reminded me a lot of Battles or the new stuff from Minus The Bear. Then came BOS favorites The Swimmers who just keep sounding better evrytime I see them. It was also cool to hear a couple brand new songs in thier set, every bit as good as the stuff on Fighting Trees. The lovely Illuminea girls also joined them for a bit with some extra backing vocals and percussion. Illuminea then took to the stage opening with the title track of their excellent new CD Out Of Our Mouths and playing a mix of new and older songs including a incredible cover of Reach Out I'll Be There with The Swimmers returning the earlier favor on additional backing vocals. A fun night all around.

Whales And Cops The Swimmers

Shuffling through the mailbag to bring you some recent music fom the inbox.

First up is Jade McNelis. Good Fences Records label mate to BOS favorite Memphis.

Jade McNelis’ debut EP is a terrifically beautiful amalgam of fate and destiny. This 20-year-old singer-songwriter was born in Taiwan, adopted by an American couple at only 42 days old and began learning the piano at age 4. Discovered when she opened for Stars in her hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, she was quickly signed to new Montreal label, Good Fences. She came to Montreal in the summer of 2006 to record and never went back. Chris Seligman (from Stars) co-produced the All The Fables EP. His co-producer and engineer was Drew Malamud, who has worked with The Dears, Death From Above 1979, and Stars. Murray Lightburn from Dears plays guitar, as does Gregory Paquet, formerly of the Stills. Andrew Barr of The Slip plays the drums. It was mixed by Ryan Hadlock at famed Seattle’s Bear Creak Studio. Yet her sound is all her own, a frozen stream unlocking its force by way of hungry piano playing, haunting melodies and a voice that brims with all the hope of a bright dawn pouring through the window. As the EP’s title indicates, McNelis writes songs that are like fairy tales, little stories with their own morals and mysteries. “Aesop’s Fables were one of my first influences as a human being when I was growing up,” she says. Her songs are the decisive moment, a call to adventure, arrows of destiny. Wistful lyrics that soar above rich and affecting piano arrangements. The sun is rising, the town is deserted, but the enchanted landscape is filled with golden, ghostly harmonies.

MP3: Jade McNelis - Life In Grey

Some of Jade's Upcoming shows:
May 15 2007 10:00P The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, Ontario
May 20 2007 8:30A Bar St-Laurent 2 Montreal, Quebec
May 29 2007 8:00P The Tranzac Toronto, Ontario
May 31 2007 9:00P Union Hall Brooklyn, New York

[myspace] [website]

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photo by Baratunde

Next up is Mieka Pauley

Mieka Pauley was born in Boston and raised in Kentucky, Colorado and South Florida. School brought her back to Boston where she makes her home. She started singing as a child and studied classical voice and piano. In high school she sang in alt rock garage bands and Motown funk bands and in jazz, classical and church choirs. In high school she taught herself guitar on an uncle's old acoustic, then cut her teeth in college playing on the street corners of Harvard Square. Her immediate ability to captivate audiences quickly made her a favorite of Boston's best clubs including the Paradise Lounge, House of Blues, Club Passim, and Kendall Café – next at New York's renowned Bitter End, Living Room, Makor, Knitting Factory and Village Underground – and then at the best clubs and festivals throughout the U.S., North, South, East and West.

She follows her own vision for her music and her soul/blues/rock/acoustic/alternative style has brought comparisons to Ben Harper, Cat Power, Neko Case, Patty Griffin, Martin Sexton and others. She came up listening to all of those artists, and also to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Eva Cassidy, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. She has traveled in several directions as well in her recordings and bands while defining her own personal sound and style, and this road has lead her to take the reins in her own hands and draw her own map from here forward.
date

MP3: Mieka Pauley - All The Same Mistakes

Upcoming Shows
May 10 2007 8pm Pianos New York NY
May 12/2007 8:20pm Rusty Rudder Dewey Bch DE
Dewey Beach Chick Fest showcase
May 17/2007 10pm Pianos New York NY
May 18/2007 11pm Twisted Tree Cafe Asbury Pk NJ

[myspace] [website]

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The Swimmers just finished a short Spring tour. Here's a few songs from some radio appearances they made.

From the World Café Live in Philly:
MP3: The Swimmers - It's Time They Knew
MP3: The Swimmers - Heaven
From WHFR in Detroit:
MP3: The Swimmers - Mr Blue Sky(ELO cover)

[myspace] [website]