A little off track from the regular Brobot fare, but as we near the end of the aughts I got to thinking about the albums of the decade.  I know a lot of people want to make the argument that the “album” is dead, what with all the instantly downloadable tween twitter feeds and torrential bit mapping, but looking back there were some real gems.  Radiohead, Girl Talk, Broken Social Scene, to name a few.  I posted up this Wilco track because I listened to this album recently and it got me thinking about what other great albums came out this decade.  I picked this song because it’s was able to capture the defining moment of this decade, 9/11, in this amazing way even though it was written and recorded prior but released after.  I would love to get other people’s thoughts on other albums that did it for them this decade.  Maybe we’ll get our shit together and put together our own list?  Stay tuned!

Hey team! I’m back in action after a looooong summer-imposed timeout. What can I say? I had shit to do. Get off my back already! Anyway, here’s something to make up for my delinquency.

Crabby Appleton were an L.A. band who made it big with this li’l ditty back in 1970… and never saw chart success again. But hey they got to hang with Sly so I’m thinking it was all worth it.

This is their big cut “Go Back”. I’m posting it here ‘cuz the drums / drummer is ruling and, well, that’s pretty much all it takes to get me psyched these days. It’s a nice slab of pop/rock/psych/garage/arentgenresdumb?/hottness. Enjoy!

Artist: Crabby Appleton
Album: S/T
Year: 1970
Label: Elektra

Amazon has the MP3s & CD

Wuzzzup ya’ll?! Apologies for going dark without notice here. What can I say… it’s SUMMER! Anyway, I’m back with a li’l treat.

EPIC! TUESDAYS!

Here’s a little slice of moody 60’s garage psyche w/ lots of organ soloing and a great beat. A few back Jay-Z took this li’l un ‘round the block on his “Public Service Announcement” cut so you know it is nice. Hope ya dig!

Artist: The Little Boy Blues
Album: In The Woodland of Weir
Year: 1968
Label: Fontana

Amazon has the reissue CD.

P.S. Just a heads-up that things might get a little sporadic here what with the nice weather and such. Subscribe to our RSS feed and let yr reader do the work!

Ah, an old favorite. Hi-five to my man SnailBoy for droppin’ this one on me ages ago. Nothing sez “It’s Summer” better than this cut (case in point). So as I sail off into vacation land, I leave you this in my wake.

Get yr pale self to the beach and make some new friends!

Artist: The Stranglers
Album: Rattus Norvegicus
Label: United Artists
Year: 1977 *

Amazon has the MP3s and CD.

* Fun Fact: This is the first track I’ve posted that was actually recorded when I was alive (if only just).

I know, I know… I’m shredding whatever credibility I’ve built up over these last weeks… but… it’s…

EPIC! TUESDAYS!

So, ya know, suckit. I do what I want! Besides, I’m in good company.

I’m not sure how we could possibly get much more epic than this. Over 9mins of burnin’ rock funk dedicated to the praise of cheeba. God bless them geezers.

A few observations before sending you off: First, check the bassline starting around 3:07. If it goes BOOM, one is all you need kids. Second, notice how the kick drum has a sort of skip to it? That’s Don’s big move. Ol’ skipfoot Brewer. All the good acceptable Grand Funk tracks have that little flourish.

Artist: Grand Funk Railroad
Album: Grand Funk
Year: 1969
Label: Capitol

I’m pretty sure you can buy this anywhere they sell music beer. Especially truck stops in the Midwest.

Hey everybody!  Guess what?  Your friendly neighborhood Brobots! (form of Raliegh Fingers!) are DJ-ing the record release party for hometown heroes Hands and Knees.  Their album “Et Tu, Fluffy” (Midriff Records) is out just in time for the great weather here in the Northeast.

There are many great musical comparisons that could be made to describe this album (Pixies, My Morning Jacket, Tegan & Sara, Violent Femmes) but i don’t think that does these guys justice.  It never feels like they are directly imitating a style and, even though it’s there first album, it always sounds like a Hands and Knees album.

The thing that stands out about this album, oddly, is fun.  It genuinely sounds like they are having fun making music (and making fun music), which shouldn’t be something that stands out on a modern album (what could be more fun than making music for a living) but it does.   To borrow their phrase “they’ve got pop, they’ve got style”…and again - hand claps, c’mon!

So, come on out and show your support.  We’ll be at River Gods in Cambridge tonight starting at 9.  They’ll also be playing a record release show at Great Scott in Allston on Thursday (4/30)