Perhaps a future xmas gift for your fave indie rock fan, Danielson: A Family Movie (or, Make A Joyful Noise HERE) by J.L. Aronson is coming to a theatre near you.
Premiered this past weekend in the home of the Hoosiers, Bloomington, IN, (also the home of Secretly Canadian, the Danielson Family”) DAFM follows Daniel Smith as he and his kinsfolk grow into le Danielson Famille.
Sort of a Very Special Indie Brady, the film explores individuality, family, faith, and the creative process and also features fellow indie luminaries Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Johnston, and Steve Albini.
Here’s the trailer:
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Danielson’s stellar 2006 release, Ships. Daniel Smith has assembled his version of a supergroup which includes Why?, Deerhoof, Sufjan Stevens, Sereena Maneesh, and of course, members of his family to 
create an album that AMG called, “Led Zeppelin 1, 2, 3, and 4 all wrapped up into one giant boot stomp of a record.” It’s hard to argue with that but if you’re looking for a gift to give your favorite indie rock fan this xmas, this might not be it. Danielson, like the Fiery Furnaces, is an acquired taste for some. Either you love it or you hate it. But you’d be hard-pressed to hate the album’s single, ‘Did I Step On Your Trumpet?,’ which is sure to enter the indie lexicon as a slacker mea culpa for accidentally offending someone.
- Listen to Ship The Majestic Suffix
- Listen to Did I Step On Your Trumpet
- Listen to Five Stars And Two Thumbs Up
Buy Ships from PRMS.
Chicago’s 3rd best band, Quasar Wut Wut, sends along their Christmas song about 12 snowmen and, um, their resistance to shrinkage.
There’s more on their MySpace page or you can d/l some snippets from their page at Glorious Noise Records.
Buy Quasar Wut Wut’s 2004 album, Taro Sound, from CDBaby.
Free indie, indeed.
Guiltless, even. Mike over at FreeIndie has managed to cull together some great music into downloadable albums that you don’t make you feel like shouting, “Avast ye mateys! We’re comin’ aboard!” everytime you download some music. How’s that possible you say?
Well, every “album” he posts is really a series-of-tubes-tastic mix of 5 of a particular artists’ songs. The songs tend to draw
from multiple albums so the listener (that’s you!) can marinate on who the artist is and what they’ve done over a period of time. The songs are usually hand picked by the artists themselves, so every “album” on FreeIndie has been approved by the band. Mike has gone the extra mile and tagged all of his albums appropriately, so there’s no work for you to do once you load these bad boys into your favorite media player.
One of FreeIndie’s latest contributions, Locksley, is definitely worth giving a listen to.
Steve Poltz helps us visualize how today’s attractive but talent-challenged teens can grow up to become pop stars.
Excerpted from the 2006 documentary, Before The Music Dies, also featuring My Morning Jacket, Calexico, North Mississippi All-Stars, and the late, great Billy Preston (among others) and available on DVD starting December 12. The perfect holiday gift for your favorite indie rock fan.
- Listen to Steve Poltz’s You Remind Me
- Listen to Steve Poltz’s Silver Lining
Buy B4MD from Amazon
(((peeled by)))