Went and saw Swede crooner Jens Lekman last night here in Lawrence. Great show and Jens is a modest and stunning performer. But I wasn't always paying attention to what Jens was doing. You see, his six piece band is made up entirely of beautiful women, presumably also Swedish. Never have I wanted to amble around the country in a van with a band more.

And by the way, Jens played the crowd favorite, "Black Cab".

Check it out here -

Jens Lekman - Black Cab

That saying has been attached to The Embarrassment for some time. The band formed in Wichita, KS in the late seventies and carried on well into the eighties. They even were courted by the earliest formation of Sub Pop Records. Almost everything in their catalog is out-of-print including the Bar-None anthology Heyday. But why am I telling you this? Because the best band you've never heard of is reuniting for 3 shows only. Two in Wichita and one here in beautiful Lawrence, KS. So if you can, don't pass up the opportunity to see them August 20th at Liberty Hall.

Here are my favorite two Embarrassment tunes -

"Patio Set" (1979) [B-Side to their first single "Sex Drive"]

"Lifespan" (1981) [Sub/Pop #5 cassette]

(MP3Pro Format Encoded)

Hey everyone, I'm back from Louisiana and will be getting the next episode of The Yank Sizzler up soon. However please direct your attention over to ballboy's website where they have just posted a premiere podcast. Regular listeners of the show will know that ballboy are an absolute favorite of mine. The show is hosted by Gordon and he plays a couple songs acoustically.

ballboy are phenomenal.
http://www.ballboymusic.com/

New songs are pouring through the speakers with The Rapture, Johnny Cash, Jamie Radford, Hot Chip, The Bobby McGees, The Hermit Crabs & Devotchka. We say goodbye to Sleater-Kinney. Rock out with Eno, Shocking Blue, ballboy, Geechie Wiley & I let George Lewis lead me to New Orleans.

Brian Eno - Needles in the Camel's Eye [1974]
Album: Here Come the Warm Jets
Buy his album here.

Captive States - Weatherman [2006]
EP: Forthcoming EP [August 2006 release]
But you can get an MP3 at their website.

The Rapture - Get Myself Into It [2006]
1st Single off Pieces of The People We Love
Album due September 2006.
Their Myspace Page has the single.

Jamie Radford - You're So Warm [2006]
Album: Athens
Buy his album here.

Hot Chip - Over and Over [2006]
Album: The Warning
Buy their album here.

Sleater-Kinney - Little Mouth [1996]
Album: Call the Doctor
Buy their album here.

Shocking Blue - Send Me a Postcard [1969]
Album: Scorpio's Dance
Buy their album here.

Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Strike You Down [recorded 2002-03]
Album: American V: A Hundred Highways [2006]
Buy his album here.

Devotchka - The Last Beat of My Heart [2006]
EP: Curse Your Little Heart
Buy their album here.

Sleater-Kinney - I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone [1996]
Album: Call the Doctor
Buy their album here.

Geechie Wiley - Last Kind Words [1930]
Album: V/A: Last Kind Words - Blues of the 1920's & 30's [2006]
Buy the Comp. here.

The Hermit Crabs - Feel Good Factor [2006]
Demo Recording.
Their Myspace Page. Their Website.

The Bobby McGee's - Forever & a Day [2006]
Demo Recording.
They have a new EP Yes Please out July 10th.
Buy the EP here. Find the song at their Myspace page.

ballboy - You Should Fall in Love With Me [2003]
John Peel Session Feb. 16, 2003.
No Commercial Release Available.

The George Lewis Band - Winin' Boy Blues [1961]
Album: Jazz at Preservation Hall
Buy their album here.

After a week of musical highs, a low has shown itself. One of the most amazing bands of the last ten years is coming to an end. Sleater-Kinney will play one final show in Portland and that'll be all they wrote.

I remember when I first heard them. Call the Doctor had come out and I found a used copy for sale and took a chance on it. I didn't put that album down for a year. It is a masterpiece.

So in celebration of their phenomenal career I've pulled out my best sounding bootleg and will share the entire show with you.

Sleater-Kinney - May 27, 2000, Echo Lounge, Atlanta.
[MP3 VBR Format]

Setlist: intro / Ballad of a Ladyman / Ironclad / Start Together / All Hands On the Bad One / Get Up / Words & Guitar / The Professional / You're No Rock n' Roll Fun / Call the Doctor / Milkshake n' Honey / I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone / #1 Must Have / Was It a Lie? / Male Model / Little Babies / Youth Decay / encore break / The End of You / Good Things / Dig Me Out

The show is recorded from an audience mic, but sounds quite good. It's a ZIP file at 88 MB's.

Enjoy it everyone. Tell all your friends and if you have the chance to see SK in the next two months, don't pass it up.

Thank you Sleater-Kinney for all the great music.

One of my favorite bands this year, Shrag, have a new 7" on Rough Trade Records. This is phenomenal because it's a debut release and I've been waiting anxiously for anything by them. Several of their tunes have made it onto the show and my favorite "Pregnancy Scene" is their choice for the single.

Check out the MP3 - Shrag - "Pregnancy Scene"

Then grab a copy of the 7" to hear the great b-side "Mark E. Smith."
And don't wait. Only 300 copies were pressed.

AND IN ADDITION, not only do Shrag have this new single but they opened up for Love is All last Wednesday. L.I.A. are a brilliant Swedish band and I'm addicted to their new album, "Nine Times That Same Song", and especially the album opener. Check it out here.
Love Is All - Talk Talk Talk (MP3)

Buy Shrag's new single here.
Buy Love Is All's new album here.