Retrosexual Moments: I Would Set Myself on Fire for You

A Post-Modern Look at Past Hardcore Endeavors by Brian Cox

They came from Georgia and roamed the earth from 2001 until 2007.

Slowly your cheeks fill with blood, until you can feel the burn. That kind of burn where you don't know if you want to yell, or scream, or fight, or cry. And it pulses, and it pulses. So you light your cigarette, and you let it hang limp, like a malignant fuse. That's when you dance, you dance catharsis, and you dance rage, and you dance joy. Will it save you? Will it kill you? Does it matter?

I would set myself on fire for you. I would.

MP3 ::
I Would Set Myself on Fire for You - Twelve
I Would Set Myself on Fire for You - Nine
Try :: Believes In Patterns

Premiere :: No Better

Everything kept flickering. This large ominous figure towered above me. He resembled an owl of sorts. We were in a jungle and then a swamp. We were buried in the sand and my lungs burned. We were falling for what seemed like forever and then nothing was there at all. He was screeching above me now and on the raised side of a spoon, scrambling to hold my footing as if it mattered. Then we were in an alley and the owl had filled the sky. I was done for and then once more there was nothing. And nothing returned.

MP3 :: White Car - No Better
Website :: White Car
No Better EP available August 31 via Hippos in Tanks

,...the lemon houses.

The trees ripped apart. It was all at once. I'd never seen a more wretched thing. Spirits poured out we saw every knowledge they owned. We were all taken aback. The boy especially. His eyes grew wide with delight and I was sure he would be the end of us all. I'd later find out I was very wrong. His sister was still around then, and her reaction that day was certainly among the stranger. The strangest, I believe, was that of one of the elder men, who had tried to bury his head in order to see no more. He would have died had the boy not stopped him.

Stream/Purchase :: Hunting Hat - ,...the lemon houses.

Afrika

We'd been watching him run through the pipes for hours before anyone decided to help him. Not that any of us were much help, but effort did need to be made. The clouds were hanging awfully low, scraping the heads of some of the taller gentleman, and this thoroughly upset me. How was I to account for this later? They would only tell me I should have placed them higher. And I kept seeing that lemur sweeping about. I was certain it would eat the man if we didn't get him out soon. Then someone started the engine and he came rocketing out. He ended up on an older woman's hoop earring, though not before hitting a pool float and bouncing onto the roof, where he fell calamitously before hitting the golden ring and giving the woman's ear a polite tug.

MP3 :: Ikons - Afrika
Website :: Die Neu Mythologen

rem

I'm still processing it as it's happening. Somehow I can feel them around me for minutes before I can even see them coming close. Time shouldn't move like this. Fragmented. At times I see multiple streams and I'm not sure which will happen, if any at all. We're in an ice cream parlor and the people keep just appearing and disappearing. I'm not sure if the ice cream is even real. I'm afraid to try it. I haven't slept in days. I need to get some rest.

MP3 ::
kohwi - rem
kohwi - play with me

For Ash

[Photo Credit: Rob Spicer]

There has always been that persistent drive for them to just run and run and run. The old people in the town would swear that the horses could fly, though the number of them who had actually seen it was pretty unremarkable. Still, there was certainly something majestic about them. They way they ran in harmony was almost a dance. It was an art form. I dreamt of following them to icy glaciers that rang with every color there was and even ones that were not. I dreamt of tearing through pastures with them as other creatures would drop in and out of the pack. It was a shame that I never actually had that drive to run and run and run the way that they did.

MP3 :: Marnie Stern - For Ash
Website :: Marnie Stern
Marnie Stern out October 5 on Kill Rock Stars

Baltimore

Every winter there seems to be at least one night that I go out to the beach and randomly end up seeing fireworks, and it's always one of my favorite experiences. Something about fireworks puts a warmth in my heart that I've never fully understood, but I've always appreciated it. These days I find myself wondering if they've had that pleasure. She sits up there in the sky, and the rest of them are always moving, never taking the time to enjoy this burden. It doesn't really unsettle me. I just miss their company.

MP3 :: Tennis - Baltimore
Website :: Tennis
Pre-Order Limited Edition 7" via Underwater Peoples

I Am You

Everything rests gently along the cliffs, hanging upside down. Though I'd hardly call it hanging. They do seem rather in place. Memories whip throughout the rocky caverns playfully. It engages the light in burst of energy, while at other times quietly resting and enjoying it's presence, though only for a moment. Then it's back to the games and each afternoon continues on like this. I've only been there once and I've always longed to return, and yet never had the opportunity.

MP3 :: COOLRUNNINGS - I Am You
Website :: COOLRUNNINGS

Oh?! (Intangible Fantasy)

As he glides across the rink, backward the entire way, he basks in the envy of the other kids. This is his night. He moves to the center of the rink and begins to bust some moves. And the floor is gone. And he is gone. Now air is gone and we are gone. Suddenly vines are whipping about pavement islands that float around each other, never quite making contact. Cities are built upon them with some even permanently bridged. A new home is ours and here we will make do.

MP3 ::
ArnHao - Oh?! (Intangible Fantasy)
Holygrailers - Rosa
Website :: ArnHao // Holygrailers
Pre-order :: Split 7" via Denmark Records

Sleep Ranger (+Blissed Out's Lindsay Lohan Fuck U Edit+)

Lights are blinding. They hardly exist at all. They flicker across the sand delicately, warping in and out. All you think about is diving into the ground. You feel nothing at all, and yet everything is suddenly part of you. The sound of the water as it rinses over the crystalline stacks soothes you and you begin to bellow. Time doesn't matter here. Nothing is in a hurry so we just take it slow.

MP3 :: Pink Priest - Sleep Ranger (+Blissed Out's Lindsay Lohan Fuck U Edit+)
Website :: Blissed Out // Pink Priest

In Shrouds

Ghost Animal recently sent over this dark, frantic jam from his upcoming fall EP. It'll first be available digitally, and later we'll have the chance to own it on wax. This one is definitely for lovers of shredding garage psychedelia.

MP3 :: Ghost Animal - In Shrouds

Photos :: Ed Sharpe + The Magnetic Zeros

My friend Meagan is in Savannah, GA for a few weeks and caught Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros at Trustees Theatre on July 11. These are a few killer photos she captured.

Caves and Tunnels, Mountains and Stairs

Totem Pole just sent over their new EP, Caves and Tunnels, Mountains and Stairs, and with one listen it is an instant favorite. It shines in it's perfect instrumentation and wonderfully layered vocal melodies. The best part is that it's entirely free, so grab the EP below and cozy up in your papasan, because this truly is bliss.

Download ::
Totem Pole - Caves and Tunnels, Mountains and Stairs

Gold Dust

South Carolina's Sean Neuse has been in various bands throughout the past four years, all the while nursing his solo project, Backseat Dreamer, into full blossom. His debut album, The Colors of Dreams, They're in You, drops tomorrow on Stickfigure Records, and you can snag a few lazer cut dreamy disco jams from it below.

MP3 ::
Backseat Dreamer - Gold Dust
Backseat Dreamer - Consider

Vaeiouwls

RxRy recently put up his newest album of work, Vaeiouwls, for free on his blog, along with this nearly tear jerking open letter to the internet. He also recently put up stems to a couple of his songs with an interest in hearing people's remixes. I can't wait to hear what people come up with, but until then just coast with me on this incredible album full of atmospheric nostalgia as it weaves each delicate environment we encounter along the way.

Download :: RxRy - Vaeiouwls