Excerpt The Studio Version of "Evil Urges"

Evil Urges baby...

I just came across this on My Morning Jackets fantastic message board. It is the first minute or so of the song Evil Urges. It sounds different and I love it.

http://rapidshare.com/files/103946414/Evil_Urges__studio_excerpt_.mp3.html

Jim James Explains Evil Urges To MTV

The full article and short video can be found here:

http://www.mtv.com
/news/articles/
1584403/20080328/
my_morning_jacket.jhtml

This Christopher Smith seems to give it a mixed review but then he also kind of does not, regardless, he sounds like an asshole. Just kidding. Anyways, check out the previous post and download the SXSW show, if it is not up anymore just email me. 8 of the 14 new songs are played and they all sound really quite spectacular. Touch Me I'm About To Scream Pt. II is sick, the announcers right after it are clearly blown away. All of the new stuff seems top notch, I expect nothing less of the boys from Louisville. As of now Evil Urges is my most anticipated album of '08 and unless Pink Floyd announces a reunion album featuring Neil Young, I do not see that changing.

Also, be checking this: http://www.mymorningjacket.com/evilurges.html apparently a new website will be up "hopefully soon."

P.S. - That is not the album artwork, just something I made

Red House Painters

A few months ago a friend played me the fantastic Red House Painters album, Songs For A Blue Guitar. Since then I have been very into this outfit and Mark Kozelek's (lead everything) post RHP's group, Sun Kil Moon (which Kozelek admits is the RHP's, he just wanted to rejuvenate the project). These are two of the songs that really stuck out to me after the first go around. Listen to the slide kick in at 3:52 on Have You Forgotten, it is truly gorgeous. Silly Love Songs, a Wings cover, is totally reworked into a whole new animal. I really dig Kozeleks guitar playing, both acoustic and electric, but his electric Neil Young-esque tone/style is sick on this track. Enjoy these tunes and buy the album, these guys are really great.

Red House Painters - Have You Forgotten & Silly Love Songs

Ryan Adams describes albums in one word

This is pretty cool and awesome:

PASTE Magazine asked Ryan to quickly come up with a word for his solo catalog

heartbreaker: naivety
the suicide handbook: pain
gold: smiling to mask pain
48 hours: masculinity
pinkhearts: nashville
demolition: cop-out
love is hell: beauty
rock n roll: laughter
cold roses: dreams
jacksonville city nights: home
darkbreaker: death
29: spirituality, or evil
black hole: drugs
easy tiger: life, love

Thank God Jim James...

Did not stay in college. If I could get a commitment from Jim James I would go gay. I did some very late night listening to My Morning Jacket's god damn amazing 2008 SXSW show. It is absolutely ridiculous. The new songs are fucking amazing and their old (not stale, just prior) material has this new sound, little things; extra raging on Off the Record, Carl Broeml's One Big Holiday solo is slightly different, they are clearly a band that will be around for a long fucking time. Thank god. Check out this SXSW show, it is life changing.

MMJ - SXSW 2008 Pt. 1
MMJ - SXSW 2008 Pt. 2

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals- Off Broadway

Here is the audio from the really awesome Off Broadway music video The Cardinals made. They get into a great jam, as usual, I am in awe of Ryan Adams. Have a good weekend.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Off Broadway Jam

Please explain

Can somebody please explain how fucking sick this picture is? In case you are wondering, those are cargo shorts (male capris maybe?) with some high top boots. This is clearly a man that does not want to be fucked with.

Wilco - Austin City Limits 2007

If I had a blog in early January I would have posted this ASAP. Wilco is easily one of the best bands out there today and their live performance is dynamite always. I have the good fortune to see Radiohead and Wilco back to back mid May, first time for Radiohead nth time for Wilco. Anyways, this is their performance at 2007's Austin City Limits. As usual they are dead on and sound fucking great. I love the current lineup and I think that Nels Cline (avant-garde guitarist, absolutely ridiculous) was made to be in this outfit and he really brings the band to a new level. Many a nights have been spent raging to this show, I have the video as well (if RapidShare allowed more than 100MB uploads I would throw that up, wait for my domain...), which is sick, I love concert movies. Really enjoy this piece; Wilco is, well, spectacular.

Wilco - Austin City Limits 2007

For New Years Eve 2008 a few of us (girlfriend, brother-in-law, knocked up as fuck sister) went down to St. Louis to celebrate with a doctor friend of ours. After the first night of hanging out he threw on the soundtrack for the movie Into the Wild. The first track he played was Society, instantly pleasing to the ears; great acoustic guitar work and Eddie Vedders' rustic voice, a perfect song. Since then I have grown quite fond of the entire soundtrack and was able to come up on the demo's for this album. If you do not own the album, buy it, it is really fucking spectacular; it makes me want to go camping in the mountains every time I hear it. The movie is also great, it really compliments the soundtrack (or vice versa?). An interesting statistic would be the amount of missing hippies before and after the release of this movie, watch it and you will catch my drift (I cannot take credit for that joke, thanks Matt). Check out the demo's and whenever possible the movie as well.

**LINK UPDATED 2010-08-24**

Download - Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild Demo's

Neil Young - Time Fades Away

Anyone that knows is aware of my fascination/obsession/wonder of Neil Young. A few years back my brother-in-law and I sat down and watched "Live Rust," the best concert movie ever (in my eyes). At that point in time my CD player either had the latest Eminem or Slipknot album and I was preaching to anybody that would listen that they were "it." This evening changed all of that. Watching this guy I had never heard of before sitting on top of a huge Fender amp stage prop looking like he just got done painting a basement did me in man. Neil plays his beautiful acoustic songs, strumming his twelve string (that Joni Mitchell gave him) and making it sound like there are two, sometimes three guitars playing at once, and then picking up Old Black (his famous black Gibson) and raging through Like a Hurricane, his solos sound like a lightning bolt stuck in a cage. ANYWAYS, since that night Neil Young has been a constant in my life and I "celebrate his whole collection." Well sort of, I cannot find every album, but most. In the early to mid 70's Neil came out with what is referred to as The Ditch Trilogy; 73's Time Fades Away, 74's On the Beach and 75's Tonight's the Night. All of this stuff is dark and dirty and considering it came out after other "commercial" sounding-for-that-era releases (masterpieces none the less) such as After the Gold Rush and Harvest, it was clear that Mr. Young was in a different place. On the Beach and Tonight's the Night have seen the light of CD releases but Time Fades Away has been largely hidden the past 30 years. I do not remember where I got this recording but I am glad I did because it is a great live record. The whole recording gives off an uneasy vibe, even the artwork is depressing. Regardless, it is good fucking music. I do not know if it is still active but there is a petition for the album to be released on CD here. Listen to the opener, Time Fades Away and listen the saloon like piano trudging along in the background, only Neil. The album is posted on RapidShare for your listening pleasure, enjoy this forgotten gem.

MP3 - Neil Young - Time Fades Away

"Fourteen junkies
too weak to work
One sells diamonds
for what they're worth
Down on pain street,
disappointment lurks
Son, don't be home too late.
Try to get back by eight
Son, don't wait
till the break of day
'Cause you know
how time fades away.
Time fades away
You know how time fades away."

Ryan Adams - What Sin Replaces Love

Not too long ago, Aquarium Drunkard posted the history of the Ryan Adams penned tune What Sin Replaces Love. Mr. Adams played this song on one of his heroes television shows, The Henry Rollins Show. Adams has been a huge fan of Henry Rollins' band Black Flag, he even has the Black Flag tattooed on his arm. Anyways, the song has been around since 2000 and has seen many different versions, both acoustic and electric. I have seen this song performed by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals (or now just The Cardinals) numerous times as well as heard about a million bootlegs, none of which quite capture the sound and overall mood of their, in my eyes legendary, Henry Rollins Show performance. Download the MP3 below and check out the YouTube video here, watch the expression on his face as he opens the song up, it is fucking sick.

MP3 - The Henry Rollins Show - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - What Sin Replaces Love

My Morning Jacket - The Rolling Stone Sessions

I came across these recordings when I initially got into the Jacket. One night while scouring the internet for any video of the great Jim James I came across some YouTube's of him doing some solo acoustic songs for Rolling Stone. In these three videos he performs Masterplan, Golden and Steam Engine as well as give some insight into his writing process. Listen to this guys voice as he quivers his way through Steam Engine. Here are the songs via RapidShare, please enjoy.


**LINKS UPDATED 2010-6-1**

Download - My Morning Jacket - The Rolling Stone Sessions

Welcome to The Steam Engine

Well here is the first "official" post at The Steam Engine. You will be able to find all sorts of sweet shit; live shows, reviews, opinions, pictures, etc.,. In the spirit of the title of this place, my first post with some content will be My Morning Jacket related, check back soon for a download.