I finished college two years ago this week. Below is roughly the playlist I had running on my Powerbook when I would wrote my dissertation. I still listen to many of these bands on a regular basis. With the delay of season change here in Southern California, I hadn't thought about school until just recently, when I went home to visit my parents on the Central Coast this weekend and saw that the leaves had turned color. I equate Autumn with school and vice-versa, and had not seen any signs of my favorite season until Sunday. Thinking of school made me think of Glasgow (where I went to university), which made me think of Belle and Sebastian, which made me think of the other bands I used to listen to on a consistent basis because I could not afford to buy CDs with my weak American Dollar. Some things have changed, some have not.

Yesterday, Portland-based band The Decemberists, opened up their "Long and Short of It"  tour in Chicago. The tour is in promotion of last year's album release of The Crane Wife and consists of two nights in each city. The first show features the band's longer, melodic compositions, while the second night's set list is made up of the shorter, poppier tunes. A great tour concept, this setup enables fans to hear the broad range of one of the most prominent bands on the independent music scene. See a full list of tour dates at decemberists.com.  ED. NOTE:  Tour Cancelled - story here

 

source: pitchforkmedia.com 

Described as having, "angelic, breathy vocals, melodic, lush instrumentation all backed by an unwarvering rock drive", Copeland is one of those prolific rock bands that has earned considerable amount of attention in a relatively short amount of time. Since their full-length debut of Beneath Medicine Tree (2003), Copeland has been touring almost non-stop and have still managed to release a new album yearly. On 11 November 2007, Copeland will be releasing Dressed Up & In Line, featuring an collection of rarities and unreleased tracks, all which have been remastered since their original recording. The album will be available through The Militia Group website.

 

source: www.themilitiagroup.com 

Last night, The Silversun Pickups played a sold-out show at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Without a doubt, this was the most impressive live show I have been to in 2007. The entire band put on a great performance, with the highlight of the evening being the introduction of a new band member who hopped on stage to join in an elongated version (15-20min) version of Lazy Eye. SSPU is definitely a band who is better live than on their albums, and seeing them perform live will help you to better make sense of the widespread comparison to The Smashing Pumpkins. For more information on SSPU and their upcoming European Tour, visit the SSPU website.

As part of the Jupiter Hotel, the Doug Fir Lounge is at the root of Portland's burgeoning independent music scene. The decor is smooth and the scene hip with a unique Northwest vibe. This venue attracts only the finest local talent as well as all the big names passing through town. TLS favorites playing in the month of November include The Good Life, The Bird and the Bee, Sondre Lerche, The Walkmen and Portland natives Derby.