Whoremoans - whoremoansheartsyou (2009)

So last night, this album hopped its way across AIM from the artist, to my friend, and then to me; this guy lives in Illinois and makes self-produced nerdcore - actually, to call this nerdcore probably undercuts how good it is, because this isn't another album full of some shitty MC rapping about video games and food, which is what most of us have come to expect from freely available nerdcore; while there may be a song on here called "Fuck the Princess" with a Mario beat (which, by the way, is awesome), most of this isn't nerd themed, but is actually just really great underground hip-hop that happens to exist within the nerdcore scene

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The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red-Eyed Soul (2006)

This Brooklyn band plays something called cabaret punk, which sounds odd, and it is; they've got the typical setup of a rock band, but in addition to that they have horns and xylophones and accordions and all sorts of other goodies; upbeat and energetic and, well, punky, it's hard to really describe their sound with words, and they aren't everyone's cup of tea, but those of us who like them love them

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Tiger Army - Music from Regions Beyond (2007)

This is the most recent album from Berkeley psychobilly group Tiger Army; if you're wondering 'what the fuck is psychobilly?', it means that they play a combination of punk and rockabilly, which is pretty awesome if you ask me, but they aren't as bound to that sound as most bands in this scene; the song "As the Cold Rain Falls" sounds like something straight out of the world of '80s synth-rock

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Get Set Go - So You've Ruined Your Life (2003)

Debut album from Get Set Go; a lot of this has more of a pop-punk, alt rock sound than their later work, but it's still identifiable as them, and there are hints of what was to come in albums like Ordinary World and Selling Out & Going Home; this has the song Wait, which I'm pretty sure has been on Grey's Anatomy at some point, which is where most people know this band from

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Previous Posts:
Ordinary World
Selling Out & Going Home

Get Set Go - Ordinary World (2005)

Sorry about the lack of posts; it's been a long, long week

Anyway, I've been meaning to post Get Set Go's other albums for ages, and someone recently requested that I do so as well, so I figured I should get around to doing it; this is their second album, is largely acoustic and folksy, and centers around singer-songwriter Mike TV's battles with drug addiction; it has the wonderfully amusing and insightful lyrics that we can always expect from this band, and the happy-sound-with-depressing-lyrics combo that makes this band either an upper or a downer, depending on what you want them to be

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Previous Posts:
Selling Out & Going Home

The Constellation Branch - The Dream Life, The Real Life, The Empty Glass... (2008)

This Phoenix four-piece has been setting the blogosphere on fire for the past week or so with this release; everyone and their dog seems to be getting blown away by this little band's debut album, which I would compare favorably (as other reviewers have) to a mix of mewithoutYou and Radiohead, with a bit of '80s/'90s emo flair thrown in for good measure; what makes this so surprisingly good is that it doesn't sound like a debut; this sounds like a band that's spent years perfecting their sound

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everybody here is a cloud

As you may or may not have noticed, depending on if you keep up with this blog through an RSS feed, I've now added genre tags to all the old posts, and placed a tag cloud over to the right. Now that the archive of posts is getting a little more significant, I figured it might help you sift through everything and get to what you want.

Onwards!

Have Heart - Songs to Scream at the Sun (2008)

Second and final album from this Massachusetts edge group is my last post for edge day; they're playing their last ever show TODAY, and chances are you're like me, stuck a bazillion miles away from it, so make do with spinning this motherfucker a few times as loud as you possibly can; it's only 20 minutes long, but you'll be listening to it much longer than that; also, please don't ever use the term posi-core

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Bane - Give Blood (2001)

Bane is one of the most well-known modern straight edge bands, and everyone who knows anything about edge has heard this album already; however, for the uninitiated, this is 25 minutes of anger and aggression; I mean, come on, this album opens with a shout of "FUCK YEAH / I AM STILL HOLDING ON", so you know right away what you're getting into

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Minor Threat - Complete Discography (1989)

It's motherfuckin' edge day, bitches, so put down the joint long enough to turn this shit on and crank it the fuck up; I've got a few albums coming your way today, and first up is the one that started it all; fast and pissed off and violent, Minor Threat was essentially a band full of teenagers who fought their way to the top of the hardcore punk world; we have them to thank for the straight edge movement, all ages venues, and thousands of stupid tattoos

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how to be so real

As a heads up to all my readers, in addition to updating Watch the Tapes, I will now be contributing to the blog How to Be So Real, along with three other dudes who all have awesome shit to share. So go bookmark it, add it to your RSS feed, or whatever it is you do, because even for a new blog it's already looking great.

Cheers!

Harvey Danger - Dead Sea Scrolls (2009)

Well, it's been six weeks since this Seattle alternative rock band played their last ever show, and it sinks in more every day how much that sucks; their breakup is almost the most upsetting one of 2009 for me

You probably know this band as the guys who did "Flagpole Sitta" back in the 90s ("I'm not sick but I'm not well", yeah, that song), but they matured so far beyond that label of 'one-hit wonder', and this final release - a collection of studio demos, covers, unreleased tracks, and live recordings - showcases that perfectly; their clever lyrics, their tight, refined musicianship, their balls-out rockers and their contemplative 'slow songs' all can be found here, which makes this last release as good a place as any to start introducing yourself to their music; if you've never given Harvey Danger a chance, now's the time to start

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Beck - Mutations (1998)

Alright, hold onto your seats, because I'm going to break the unwritten rule of Odelay worship - this is the best Beck album that actually sounds like Beck (ie, the best Beck album that isn't Sea Change); anyone familiar with Beck knows that pigeonholing him into a genre doesn't really work, so I'm not going to bother, and instead will just say that this album has all the influences and styles of his other releases (yes, even Sea Change) culled together to create one sweeping artistic statement that can speak for his entire catalog...folk, hip-hop, alt rock, psychedelia, pop, funk; it's all here, and all in top form

To summarize? This is the perfect Beck album.

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Previous Posts:
Beck and the Flaming Lips - Live at Orpheum Theater

The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site (2003)

This Canadian four-piece makes what they call folk rock, and that's pretty accurate, but it doesn't account for the strong punk influence in their music (they're on Epitaph, after all...although I suppose nowadays Epitaph is pretty wide-ranging genre-wise, but you get the idea); they're basically the only thing worth a shit to ever come out of Winnipeg

Oh, and this is amazing music for the fall season, so don't sleep on these guys

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Another Sunny Day - London Weekend (1992)

I uploaded this forever ago and forgot to post it; Another Sunny Day is a seminal twee/jangle pop act of the 80s-90s, part of the Sarah Records roster, what this is is a lot of songs about love and romance and desperation, with odd cheeriness and sentimentality, considering the often disturbing subject matter ("if I don't see you soon / I'm going to kill myself"); tongue-in-cheek, perhaps, but that doesn't mean there isn't some truth down there somewehre

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Edna's Goldfish - Before You Knew Better (1998)

Catchy as fuck ska punk from the '90s; honestly, what else is there to know? Pick it up (some pun intended)

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