The Long Winters are long overdue for an overhaul on the ‘hive. They were one of the first five original posts, back when we were just so excited to be live, sharing music that we loved, we’d post a micro-review of the band, and move on to the next one. So more background on The Long Winters: it’s the brainchild of John Roderick along with a revolving cast of musicians. Roderick’s an Alaskan native living in Seattle, so there’s lots of talent to tap up there. Producer Chris Walla and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) are among the many who have put up with Roderick who’s a self-proclaimed “little grouchy Napoleon” (and I don’t think he means of the Dynamite variety). Says a lot about his strength as a songcrafter—that he attracts that caliber of musician. Musically he’s a little bit folk, a little bit psychedelic, like Apples In Stereo caught up in A Mighty Wind. You’ll get caught up in the music and the charming earnestness of his vocals and lyrics.
*Note: Go to The Long Winters site to get hi-fi versions of the 48kbps MP3s. He asks nicely not to link directly to the files, so we won’t. He’s got Merlin Mann running his site, and you straight up don’t want to mess with that guy. He’ll get you done.
From Putting the Days to Bed (Coming July 25, 2006)
Pushover [MP3, 2.4MB, 128kbps]
From When I Pretend to Fall
Blue Diamonds [MP3, 1.3MB, 48kbps]
Stupid [MP3, 1.4MB, 48kbps]
From The Worst You Can Do is Harm
Carparts [MP3, 1.4MB, 48kbps]
Scent of Lime [MP3, 1.4MB, 48kbps]
Original post: 02/17/04
A sampling of favorites from 2003. That ’60s album.
“Everyone in this town needs to shut up.” It’s nothing personal, just that this former roadie for 
This is a guest post from 3hive junkie 
Self-pigeonholed as “romanticore,” L.A.’s Bedroom Walls are equal parts dreamy and playful. Raised in the suburbs, guitarist and songcrafter, Adam Goldman says the band tries to recreate the schizophrenia of his high school mix tapes. “You just love what you love without thinking too hard about classifications or sub-genres…I wanted to get all of that—the anglo-pop of Squeeze, the mythic pre-tensions of Led Zeppelin, the druggy bombast of Floyd, the teenage narcissism of the Smiths.” That should peak your interest. Busy making your summer mixtapes? We love a good summer song and “Your Idea of a Holiday” is just a gem.
Books on Tape is actually just one Todd Drootin (should that make it Book on Tape?), current resident of Los Angeles (where I’ll be landing tomorrow, by the way). Todd was raised on punk, but was then hooked by electronic music and hip-hop as he began making music. The result: “beatpunk,” as coined by Todd himself. The energy and spirit of punk, expressed through electronics, very deliberate and focused, not as brash and concussive as say Atari Teenage Riot or 
Ever since I came across their compilation 
This angel of Brooklyn has more vocal range than any one woman should be allowed. Just check the difference between these tracks — one straight sheet schmoovin’ and one straight blues beltin’ (and one remix for good measure). Plus, she’s got that “I don’t really know how sexy I am” sexiness to her. Her debut is set to drop September 5, 2006 in hard copy form but can be downloaded in full at