Bombadil is a favorite over at IndieMuse–their album Tarpits and Canyonlands was on my Top 10 list last year. Simply put, they are a band worthy of everyone’s ears. It’s criminal that more people haven’t heard their music.

Instead of listening to a nobody like me though–consider this! Avett brother, Scott, recently did a video cover of Bombadil’s song “Marriage.”  Last time I checked, The Avett Brovers don’t cover just anybody.

I still can’t decide what I like more: the band’s music or their photos. As you can see below, their CD travels the world asking friendly strangers to capture his adventures. Everytime it comes home to the band they share the photos with the world to see.

(mp3) Bombadil – Honeymoon

(mp3) Bombadil – Marriage

Site | Store | iTunes | Myspace

see more photos on Bombadil’s Facebook fan page.

On Friday night, Ben Cooper (Radical Face/Electric President), played a house show in Washington DC.

It’s the start of a new “project” where instead of playing clubs, he just connects with his loyal fanbase and plays in cool places. While donations are accepted, he doesn’t charge a cover.

I probably get more mushy over this stuff than most people do, but things like this make me really, really happy. I’m not anti-capitalism,  but I think it’s telling that most of my fondest memories are things that I didn’t have to pay a luxury price for. Whether it’s just talking with a friend, taking a stroll through a park, or making an elaborate dinner (I don’t cook), these are the experiences that I really remember the next day. And I think most people feel the same way.  Sure, I’ve been to great shows before where I’ve paid a lot to get in, but I just think it’s awesome when the artist plays music for no other reason than for the love of sharing his/her music.

Of course, it’s not very sustainable for a musician to play free shows (Cooper told me that the van he had to rent just to get from Florida to DC ended up costing a ton of money… there is no way he broke even). But over the upcoming years, I really hope that with the expansion of technology, the independent community can organize and make things like this happen more frequently. In the meantime, keep up to date with Cooper’s site, as he’ll be adding more tour dates soon.

(mp3) Electric President – Science of Sound

(mp3) Radical Face – Welcome Home, Son

Site | Patients (another cool side project of Cooper’s) | MF (download the Patients album for free)

Are you going to SXSW this year? Well, lucky you. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend this year (IndieMuse’s contributor, Nick, is going and will be keeping everyone up to date via IndieMuse and our twitter feed @musicfloss). I wanted to go ahead and include some bands that I highly recommend checking out if you do make it down to Austin. This list is far from complete, but with the overwhelming number of bands performing, we thought it would be a good idea to share some “IndieMuse approved” artists. A lot of these artists are more on the alternative folk side, but if you’re looking for “indie rock” music recs, check out Nick’s post. If we missed anyone, please include them (and a Myspace link) in the comments!

note: some of these artists are playing multiple days so check SXSW.com for venue, dates, and times.

Wednesday

Bowerbirds, Califone, The Veils, Fanfarlo, Frightened Rabbit, Born Ruffians, Joe Purdy, Princeton, Dustin O’Halloran.

(mp3) Bowerbirds – Northern Lights

(mp3) Joe Purdy – Wash Away (Reprise)

Thursday

Midlake, Centro-matic, Miles Kurosky (Ex-Beulah), Rogue Wave, These United States, Le Loup, Avi Buffalo, Seabear, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Lissie, Cary Brothers Band of Horses, Broken Social Scene, and Amber Rubarth.

(mp3) These United States – Will it Ever

(mp3) Avi Buffalo – Where’s your Dirty Mind?

Friday

Dosh, Vandaveer, Twin Sister, Jail Guitar Doors (Documentary showing), Memory Tapes, Tape Deck Mountain, She & Him, Zeus, The Low Anthem, Metric, and Sebastien Schuller.

(mp3) Sebastien Schuller – Balançoire

(mp3) Vandaveer – However Many Takes it Takes

Saturday

Forest City Lovers, Electric President, Pretty Lights, and Hey Marseilles.

(mp3) Electric President – Safe and Sound

(mp3) Hey Marseilles – To Travels and Trunks

There’s a really cool new site called Kickstarter that allows people working on independent projects to raise funding through friends, family, and awesome folks around the internet. And better yet, funders usually get some really neat swag in return (i.e. an artist trying to raise money to record an album, will often times send it to a supporter for free). You are bound to find amazing people on this site–and given they are seeking help from the community, it’s fair to say most of them are extremely modest, unlike some of their industry “(insert mean word)” counterparts.

One project that gets a big IndieMuse stamp of approval is called Sound Through Sight: A Gonzo Road Trip to Understand Music In 2010. It’s started by Tom Williams (writer), Sarah Mulligan (photographer), and Rahawa Haile (filmaker).

Here’s a small blurb from their Kickstarter page explaining the project:

Picture Chuck Klosterman and Alexis de Tocquevillie joining Hunter S. Thompson, going not on a drug-fueled rampage across Las Vegas but on a trip of discovery across America, seeking to understand where music and the music industry stands in 2010, how we got here, and where we’re going. We are three passionate young music lovers who intend to do just that. To understand these questions and to look for answers, we are going on a Gonzo road trip, searching for insights and answers on the back roads of America. We will then write a book on the trip which attempts to answers those questions we just posed. We will also create a book of photography from our travels across North America and a short documentary about the music we encounter on this trip.

The money we are seeking to raise here will go towards printing the first edition of the book, as well as the gas, food, and other minor travel expenses we’ll need to complete this trip. (more)

If you have a few extra dollars in your pocket, you should consider helping out! A $15 donation will even score you a free copy of the book once it’s published!

Song of the day: Avi Buffalo – Where’s Your Dirty Mind

I’m still tossing and turning at night over my “best of 2009″ list, but one album that I am quite certain will be on there is Bombadil’s Tarpits and Canyonlands. It’s also going to make it onto my “Most underappreciated albums of 2009″ list, “Most underappreciated albums of the decade” list and “Most underappreciated albums of the century (so far)” list. And David over at Largehearted Boy will have to recognize them all!!! (seriously, how does he do that?! He’s like a magical blogging wizard.)

Anyway, the main point of this post is to bring to your attention a hilarious music video Bombadil made for their song “So Many Ways To Die.” The video is comprised entirely of stock footage from the 30s, and was put together by Bombadil frontman Bryan Rahija. After watching the video a few times through I asked Rahija how he thinks he’s going to die, given all the possibilities. He said he figures he will clobbered by a bus scooting down G St in Washington DC. Similarly, I know for a fact that my untimely death at 93 is going to involve (but not be limited to): Montana, a treadmill, mountain goats, and 7-Eleven coke slushies.

There are so many ways to die. How is it going down for you?

Tarpits and Canyonlands (2009):

(MP3) Bombadil – Honeymoon

(MP3) Bombadil – So Many Ways To Die

Site | Store | iTunes | Myspace

I’ll admit that I don’t actively seek out cover songs, so this award may be completely unwarranted for all I know, but this cover of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” by Orba Squara wins the best “Cover of the Year” in my book. It’s amazing.

Your Yellow Dress’ cover of MIA’s “Paper Planes” comes in a very close second.

Orba Squara – Poker Face (Lady Gaga cover)

Your Yellow Dress – Paper Planes (MIA cover)

Are there any other covers I should check out? I’ll be doing more complete features on Orba Squara and Your Yellow Dress soon…they’re both really awesome.

Oh my, the difference electronics and sex appeal can make!

Lady Gaga – Poker Face

MIA – Paper Planes

I grew up playing Mario Kart, and really loved the game despite the fact that I was absolutely horrible at it. My strategy was to be so bad that I would distract my opponents, and then sneak attack a banana peel, but that never seemed to work out too well for me. I once slipped on my own peel which I didn’t even know was possible…

Mario and I have parted ways over the years (on good terms), but there are some really good Mario songs out there that still keep us close. My favorite is called the “Mario Kart Love Song” from a musician named Sam Hart. Sam plays music more as a hobby, for now, but this awesome song has gotten him quite a bit of attention.

(MP3) Sam Hart – Mario Kart Love Song

The above MP3 is the Youtube version. Buy the better quality MP3 at iTunes or CDbaby. Sam is independent, support him!

Black Pear Trees EP:

(mp3) The Mountain Goats & Kaki King – Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is in Another Castle

I highly recommend checking out the band Bombadil. Their 2009 release Tarpits and Canyonlands hasn’t received all that much attention, which is really unfortunate given it’s one of my favorite albums of the year. I’m absolutely in love with the third track on the album, called “Honeymoon.” I would even go as far as saying that it’s my favorite track of the year. Its layered arrangements are gorgeous and seriously… it’ll blow your mind. Take a listen below.

Bombadil has a truly unique sound. It’s hard to classify them in a genre because their songs constantly evolve into something new. One second you can make the Neutral Milk Hotel connection. Next second,  Andrew Bird or the Minders. Perhaps with a dash of the Fleet Foxes.  Songs like “Sad Birthday” and “Honeymoon” have somewhat dark lyrics, but are among the most upbeat songs on the album. “Laurita” is sung in Spanish. The album is all over the place, and makes for one of the funnest concoction’s of the year. It’s pretty cool that the band and their label Ramseur (Avett Brothers) took the risk of putting this “multi-genred” album out. People might not like every song, but there’s definitely something here for everyone (at least on indie muse).

Bombadil is based out of Durham, NC, though they met while studying in Bolivia.  If you aren’t convinced that they’re a cool band yet, just take a look at their site where they pose their CD around the U.S. like Amelie does with the Garden gnome.

Tarpits and Canyonlands (2009):

(MP3) Bombadil – Honeymoon

(MP3) Bombadil – So Many Ways To Die

Site | Store | iTunes | Myspace