an examination used to test the condition of the middle ear and mobility of the eardrum, and the conduction bones by creating variations of air pressure in the ear canal.
Basically, it sounded like a cool name for a blog intended to be primarily about music. We’d both had other blogs previously, but over beers it was decided that more damage could be done as a joint venture. And here we are.
We share a passion for the undiscovered and under-appreciated, and hope that you’ll be able to find something you love as well.
Also, if you're interested in advertising on Tympanogram, feel free to get in touch with us here.
Disclaimer
The music offered on this blog is for sampling purposes only. If you enjoy something you hear here, please go out and buy the music, see a show, or purchase some merchandise. Posted mp3s are available for a limited period of time only.
If there are any materials featured here that are your intellectual property, and you would prefer them removed, please notify us and we will be happy to oblige.
About the Author: Dave
I like music. I can't describe how I came to like the music I do, because I don't know how or why, I just do.
Many years ago, Napoleon's brother, my great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather, came to America. He was asked his name on Ellis Island while being processed as an immigrant. Not understanding English, he was under the impression that he was being asked how he had arrived in the new land. So he turned around and pointed at the sea vessel and said, 'LaBarge.'
About the Author: Andy
I come by my music taste of my own free will. My friends listened to 2Pac, my parents to contemporary Christian and me? Sunny Day Real Estate. I can’t explain it.
“Music, true music, not just rock ’n’ roll, it chooses you. It lives in your car, or alone, listening to your headphones…” - Lester Bangs
Upcoming Western NY Concerts
NOTE: All concerts are in Rochester unless otherwise noted.
8/28: My Morning Jacket and The New Pornographers
9/2: The Black Keys (Buffalo)
9/3: Coheed and Cambria (Syracuse)
9/4: These Electric Lives and Mikey Jukebox
9/8: Chali 2na
9/10: Vampire Weekend and Beach House
9/16: Wavves (Buffalo)
9/16: Jesse Malin and The St. Marks Social
9/16-9/19: Rochester Indie Fest
9/19: of Montreal with Janelle Monae (Buffalo)
9/21: Holy Fuck (Buffalo)
9/22: Stars and Wild Nothing
9/25: Broken Social Scene and The Sea and Cake (Buffalo)
9/29: Bear In Heaven (Ithaca)
10/18: Dr. Dog and Here We Go Magic (Buffalo)
10/22: Tympanogram Presents (at Bug Jar) - TBA
10/28: Matt and Kim
11/14: Sarah Harmer
This past Saturday evening These Electric Lives once again made the short trip south from Toronto to play a show in Rochester. It was their third time in Rochester this year and second at the Bug Jar. My recap will be brief (it’s not even really much of a recap) because I rather unfortunately got a bit too silly to recall most of the evening. It’s also a bit of an apology to the band since I regret my choice of imbibing several drinks on the evening to excess. I hope the band does not think me a lush. I say this because for their previous Bug Jar appearance I was also far too silly. I can count on one hand how many times in the last few years I’ve gotten as inebriated as I did those two evenings, and I could do so just as well if I lost three fingers. I suppose These Electric Lives bring out the crazy in me.
The band members Gary, Mark, Charles and Bryan, are four of the coolest, nicest young gentleman you could ever hope to meet. I just wish I wasn’t apparently so excited every time they come that I drink far too quickly and get crazy. I would really like to catch another full set sometime soon. I only hope they can take this unfortunate recurrence as an odd compliment. The brief bits of the show I do recall are of enjoyment, and I know the band put on an excellent set once again. Thanks to the guys, I hope we can do it again soon.
P.S. Next time they come, I’ll be your D.D. if you need a ride, because you should certainly go check them out.
Andy usually does the new releases list, though he hasn’t done it quite so often lately. I can see why; it’s a laborious job sorting through much of the dregs released in a particular week to find something, nay, sometimes anything, that would be of interest. As such, please forgive me if I’ve missed anything near and dear to your heart. It isn’t personal.
Luckily this week there is the new Interpol, though I’ve heard it isn’t much good, and then there is The Thermals new record, so there are some things I know I will likely get. Besides that you would be hard pressed to find me getting anything else off this week’s list other than perhaps the new Jukebox the Ghost. Then again I didn’t scour the entire list, so there may be a gem in there somewhere I missed. There are also new records from Sara Bareilles and Robyn, as well as from some artists I have never, nor will ever, listen to.
The other morning I was flipping through channels and came across the movie Dan In Real Life. I had watched the film a few years prior, but literally remembered nothing about it. And so I watched it for a while, flipping back and forth between the film and something else unmemorable during the commercials. This time I came across something I’m sure to remember another time around.
Sondre Lerche is a name I’m familiar with, yet haven’t explored further. His song “Modern Nature,” that adorns the final segment of the movie, is a light and rather catchy duet by Lerche along with a sultry vocalist by the name of Lillian Samdal. It’s a conversational back and forth trying to ground this love they’re both feeling in some sense of reality. The song was excellently chosen for the closing portion of the film; it accompanies a wedding scene with familial dancing and has the appropriate emotional weight for what should be a happy occasion.
Unfortunately, it seems the female vocalist Samdal hasn’t done much else in the way of singing besides this song that I was able to locate. As for Lerche, I haven’t explored much else as of yet, but the only other song I do have is not nearly as good in my estimation. I imagine I’m fine with “Modern Nature” for the time being.
Well that didn’t take long. Brooklyn’s indie pop band du jour, The Drums, recently covered Arcade Fire’s minty fresh “We Used To Wait” while performing live at BBC Three Live Lounge. The Drums don’t take the song in much of a different direction, but the original is rather good, so the cover doesn’t have to alter much to make a decent sounding song. Andy and I still haven’t gotten their debut album for some reason, though I’m sure that will change before the year closes.
Does It Offend You, Yeah? reportedly derived their name from a quote in the British version of the television show The Office, made by the character David Brent, as played by Ricky Gervais. Despite that show being a seminal comedic force, the quote used as a band is pretty terrible. The band itself is not pretty terrible; they author an extremely catchy variety of dance rock that many would recognize from trailers for one of those faster-and-more-furiouser-times-infinity movies.
The band has some new material making the rounds in anticipation of a forthcoming release that is to be titled Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You, due some time next year. The track “We Are The Dead” and is in the same vein as their previous work, and fans should be pleased.
To honor the deaths of a sizable amount of union railroad workers who were killed in 1894 by some overzealous members of both the U.S. military and the U.S. Marshals, we celebrate Labor Day with a day off of work. As time has worn on, the holiday has transformed into a day of parties as the symbolic end of summer. I was at a family party yesterday, so today I am spending most of my time with my ass on the couch. To celebrate, here are a few assorted songs that have little to do with anything other than me having heard them again recently.
God damn I love Deerhunter. ”Helicopter,” another track from the forthcoming Halcyon Digest, has gotten the video treatment and it is just as spectacular as I could have hoped. I still haven’t come across an album that is my surefire number one of the year, though there are several candidates that could default in that slot. I’m hoping Deerhunter’s latest takes the cake.
Despite considering them a ‘favorite’ band, I only recently got around to purchasing the latest Wolf Parade album Expo 86. When Andy and I were in Portland for our friend’s wedding, we went into multiple record shops and I considered purchasing the vinyl. I did not because I ultimately was uninterested in lugging the fragile vinyl back across the country. Then life got involved and I just never got around to getting it, which is a shame because like every previous Wolf Parade record, I really really like it.
I always grow into Wolf Parade albums with multiple listens, and I tend to enjoy them as entire entities. Expo 86 is no different. “Pobody’s Nerfect” was my immediate favorite off the record, and it remains a contender to continue as such. So, if you’re as delayed as I only recently was and haven’t gotten Expo 86 yet, I recommend you do so.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, we took part in this month’s Hype Machine Radio, which happened to go up today. Yesterday I wrote about Gamble House and the song of theirs I chose for inclusion “Second to None.” The wonderful editing team for Hype Radio managed to make me sound alright in my segment, so for that I thank them.
Related to that activity was the involvement of another blog from Vancouver, BC., Chipped Hip in the same September edition of Hype Radio. Alex from that site chose a track from Frankie Rose and the Outs to highlight, entitled “Little Brown Haired Girls.” Andy previously wrote about that track here on our site a while ago, so I’ve got another one from the band via Aquarium Drunkard that will be part of (or at least teaser for) an all girl-group mixtape they happen to be putting together. If you’ve listened to any of Frankie Rose’s previous bands, Dum Gum Girls/Vivian Girls/Crystal Stilts, you’ll have an idea of what you’re in for. This particular track is a cover of an old Dee Dee Warwick song, sung in a style all the rage these days.
At this point, Big Echo is still well within the running for my favorite album of 2010. There are few other albums I’ve listened to more. In “All Day Day Light” we get another swell single and another entertaining video. Each and every track off the album merits single-dom. As for the video, it is nothing spectacular, just an enjoyable few minutes honoring a good song. The best thing the video does is highlight the best part of the song, which is the sets of three handclaps.
The other morning I was flipping through channels and came across the movie Dan In Real Life. I had watched the film a few years prior, but literally remembered nothing about it. And so I watched it for a while, flipping back and forth between the film and something else unmemorable during the commercials. This time I came across something I’m sure to remember another time around.
is still well within the running for my favorite album of 2010. There are few other albums I’ve listened to more. In “All Day Day Light” we get another swell single and another entertaining video. Each and every track off the album merits single-dom. As for the video, it is nothing spectacular, just an enjoyable few minutes honoring a good song. The best thing the video does is highlight the best part of the song, which is the sets of three handclaps.