Madi, Olivia & Nonie | Space in Evanston, IL on 10.17.09

Listen | Purple Apple | Life As It Is

Chicago-based indie pop quartet Purple Apple is made up of three 12-year-old girls and their 24 year old babysitter on drums… yes, seriously. Though young by any stretch of the imagination, the three 7th grade schoolmates at the core of the band – Olivia, Madi and Nonie – are wise beyond their years and nowhere does this show more than in their songwriting. While most of us were playing tag and trying out for the junior high cheerleading team at age 12, these girls spend their free time writing songs which fantastically capture the complex and sophisticated world around us through eyes not yet tarnished by the cynicism of adulthood.

These truly gifted young ladies might have gone unnoticed had frontwoman Olivia not asked longtime family friends (and music industry veterans) Michael Wilison and Blake Smith (Caviar, Prairie Cartel) if she could record one of her songs at their home studio. In only a couple of hours, Olivia cut the guitar and vocals for the first song she ever wrote with her Purple Apple sisters, “Life As It Is,” and from that afternoon it was clear that there was something special going on. Over the summer of 2009, Purple Apple retreated to Olivia’s family’s lake house and in between water skiing and Wiffle Ball games, they recorded seven songs in a make-shift studio with Wilison & Smith producing.

Armed with a handful of original songs, Purple Apple played their first show at well respected Chicago venue The Hideout in December of ‘09. With some live experience under their belt, the group then took 1st place at a North Shore Battle Of The Bands competition, despite being the youngest entrants. Olivia also took home the “Best Vocalist” award at the event. Purple Apple will spend the early part of 2010 writing, recording, playing gigs around Chicago and the surrounding area.

Excerpt above from Purple Apple’s MySpace page where you can listen to three other songs from these promising young musicians: Shut The Door (Friends Whatever), Memories and Sweet Wolverine. It’s certainly worth a visit.

Since I first heard the song featured here, Life As It Is, I’ve found myself humming the infectious melody more than I would consider normal.

This audio clip comes by way of a friend from my junior high school days in Houston – thanks Scott!

The below image is borrowed from Google Books and best sets up this track – it’s taken from a book called Reveal: the story of REM by Johnny Black.

via YouTube.

Image from NPR.

Hear Dinosaur Jr. perform selections from Farm — along with an assortment of old favorites — in a full concert, webcast live on NPR Music this Thursday, Oct. 8. The show, from Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club, will begin with an opening solo set by Lou Barlow at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET.

via Live Thursday: Dinosaur Jr. In Concert : NPR.

If you’re a Dinosaur Jr. fan, also don’t miss Lou Barlow’s Goodnight Unknown solo album, available for your listening pleasure in its entirety at NPR’s Exlcusive First Listen Series.

via YouTube.

Here’s a rather exceptional live TV performance of TMBG’s new song, Meet The Elements.

The Jimmy Fallon show video was removed from YouTube by the copyright police, so I’ve replaced that video with this live, first ever performance of Meet The Elements. These moving pictures were shot at an all ages show at the Union County Music Fest in Clark, New Jersey.

The medley features the sounds of banjos, violins, a Jew’s harp, a steam locomotive whistle and a CB radio exchange.  Somehow, the Radiohead lyrics transform magically into the bluegrass style.

The Radiohead songs covered, in order of appearance are:

• Planet Telex
• 2+2=5
• No Surprises (Instrumental)
• Optimistic
• You And Whose Army
• Karma Police
• Knives Out
• Creep
• The National Anthem (Instrumental)
• Morning Bell
• Just (Brief Guitar Riff)
• Fake Plastic Trees
• Nice Dream
• Paranoid Android
• Subterranean Homesick Alien (Instrumental)

I found the MP3 source at larrysinger.com.

YouTube – Miracle Legion | All for the Best.

Here’s the original song by Mark Mulcahy and Miracle Legion which was recently covered by Thom Yorke and his brother Andy Yorke.

The cover by the Yorke brothers is part of a compilation album of songs, Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy, which also features Dinosaur Jr. and Michael Stipe, among others.

The compilation has an impressive lineup, but the circumstances around it are heartbreaking: Almost a year after his wife Melissa died suddenly, 21 artists have contributed exclusive tracks to Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy to help the former Miracle Legion front man continue making music while he raises his three-year old twin daughters.

Above quote from Stereogum.

Dylan’s Christmas In The Heart due out on October 13 in the US.

See First Aid Kit at their MySpace page. You’ll find info on their UK tour there, as well.

You also might enjoy their cover of Fleet Foxes’ Tiger Mountain Peasant Song posted here at TSM.

Exceptionally fine audio and Bono plays some guitar to the hometown audience, too. Great performance.