For fans of The Classic Crime and My Chemical Romance, The Dear Hunter is full of raw vocals, darkly catchy hooks, and crazy amounts of instrumentation. I obtained one of their songs (Smiling Swine, which you can play below) through a free compilation download a while back, and absolutely loved it. I just got around to checking out the rest of their stuff, and love the rest of it as well. Check them out!



*NEW on No Name Fame: For all you lazies/Myspace haters out there, you'll now (when possible) have a song ready-to-hear at the bottom of each post. Thanks to Grooveshark for this new function!

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As some of you know, I am a HUGE Green Day fan. I don't need a reason to love them, but here's one anyway: they're so incredibly talented, not just in "punk" music (in the loosest sense of the term) but in the side bands they have which span multiple other genres. My favorite of these is the Foxboro Hot Tubs, a 60's garage rock-style band. Think the beach boys on crank. Their shows (when they have them) are in small clubs and they are sweaty, wild, and as intimate as humanly possible. Billie J--er, Reverend Strychnine Twitch pours beer into the mouths of those in the front row, constantly crowd surfs, and invites nearly the whole audience onto the tiny stage at almost every show. It's pure energy, and most die-hard Green Day fans would kill for a chance to go to a Foxies gig...myself included. Anyway, I'll stop babbling and you just click that little link up there to go listen to some awesome music.  :)

I won't have time to search out another band today as my time with good solid internet is coming to an end, but I hope you've enjoyed hearing some of the jewels I've gleaned over the years. I'll do this again soon hopefully!

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You probably remember these guys from back in the 90's, they had a hit song or two and then disappeared back into the thin air they seemed to have come from. Their name is Fastball, and the song you likely know is The Way ("The road that they walk on is paved in gold, and it's always summer they'll never get cold. Never get hungry, they'll never get old and grey..."). Did you know they're still a band? Well, my friend, they are. And they are just as good as they always have been, so here's to a little nostalgia and maybe the discovery of your new (old?) favorite band.

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Theeeese guys are a band that I've been listening to for so long that I don't remember where or how I found them. The Classic Crime has this sound like something from the late 90's-early 2000's (which, I believe, is when about 85% of good music died out). Deep, thoughtful lyrics on life and death, love and loss, struggles with addiction, and everything in-between make for what's not always a "pretty" picture but certainly a masterpiece. Raw emotion pours out as lead singer Matt Macdonald screams on one track,

 
"I know there's more to life than slavery, I'm tired of dyin',

           I know there's more to life than drinkin' this soul sick medicine."

You can tell these guys actually give a rip about the music they're making. Macdonald has written before about how discouraging it is to be a small band, but that doesn't seem to matter, if anything that seems to push him to put even more depth and meaning into his lyrics as he pours out his heart on paper. They're not out just to make music so people think they're cool, every note is thought out and has a purpose...which is what I long for in the music industry today.

The band has also been both raising money for and volunteering in Haiti, sending 100% of the profits of the pre-order of their new album Vagabonds (out in April) to the cause, and they've already raised over $3000. So, big hearts + big music = big need for you guys to check out The Classic Crime.

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Oh Ben Folds, how you soothe the soul.

I don't have a "real" post to make right now, but I just wanted to say for any of the (negative) 270 readers we might have, that you can expect a couple of posts this week at least! I'm going to be sharing some of my best-kept secrets, as well as finding a new (to me) band to share. Get excited!

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Don't worry, that big X up there doesn't mean the picture is broken. That's the album cover for today's featured band, The xx. I found these guys (and girls) through NME, looking at their "celebrity doppleganger" article. I was surprised to find that lead singer Romy is also MY look-alike. Too bad I found this out after doppleganger week. Anyway...I've been getting more into new wave lately, so I decided to give The xx a listen. Good stuff, good stuff. Smooth beats, and Romy has a voice to match. They've been getting more press lately from what I've seen, from NME to Rainn Wilson of The Office tweeting about them, so give these guys a listen before they get too popular  ;)

Ciao!

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I present to you lovely people:

The Modern Society 

These guys are near and dear to my heart, because they're a bit of a local band where I'm from. I've had the extreme pleasure of seeing them live, and intend to go again as soon as it's possible. Drawing off influences such as Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles, The Modern Society has a knack for making music that is as much infectiously-catchy pop as it is raw rock and roll. I can't think up enough good words to describe them, but I will say that their latest album, The Beat Goes On, didn't leave my CD player (yes, I still use one of those) for a good four months at least. Their latest blog entries have noted that there are some big things coming, though they won't say what. I'm excited to hear what these boys have up their sleeve, but until then give them a listen on their Myspace. Enjoy!

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