...and we're back! (Plus a new site, giveaway and more!)

Wow, it's been a terribly long time since we've posted here. Don't worry, we're still ready to blog our little hearts out, we've just had a few exciting developments that kept us from here the last week or so. Here's some tracks to celebrate our return:

[mp3] The Beatles - Get Back
[mp3] Steel Train - I Want You Back (Jackson 5 Cover)

As you may have previously noticed, we registered a .com address a few months ago to store all of our music at. Since then, we've spent some time trying to figure exactly what types of content we'd like to feature at Sell the Lie.

After a few failed attempts, some crashes and a few re-designs we're ready to launch our brand-spankin' new site. Here's the address, it should be pretty easy to remember:

http://www.sellthelie.com

All of our previous posts are already there. We expect that there may be a few glitches when we moved everything, so if anything looks out of the ordinary please give us a buzz.

I'm happy to say that we've added a few new features to the page. We now have a calender of events that includes the CD releases we're looking forward to and some shows we'll be attending. If you're in the Salt Lake City area (as we are) you'll find these shows listed with all the relevant information (times, places, prices etc.). I believe we've also made it quite a bit easier to find different types of content using the tabs. Let us know what you think of it!

Now, to the part you're all reading for - FREE STUFF! The fine folks over at Brushfire Records have sent us a few vinyl samplers to give away as a celebration of our move to our own .com. For those of you kickin' it new school the records also include a link for a free digital download of all 8 songs.



Here's the track listing:

1- Neil Halstead - Paint a Face
2- Mason Jennings - Something About Your Love
3- Jack Johnson - What You Thought You Need
4- Matt Costa - Never Looking Back
5- Money Mark - Summer Blue
6- G. Love & Special Sauce - Crumble
7- Zach Gill - Beautiful Reason
8- Rogue Wave - Christians In Black

Now, to answer the inevitable question - how do I get my hands on one of these beauties??

It's simple. Head to the new webpage and post a comment on the giveaway post (it'll be stickied right at the top). All your comment needs to do is convince us why you deserve to win. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you if you win. The contest will end on 27th of June (next Friday) and we'll have multiple winners!

See you on the other side...

[mp3] Collective Soul - What I Can Give You

Happy Mother's Day!

So, my idea was to toss up some songs about Mom (since it's Mother's Day here in the U.S. and all). However, it turns out that there aren't a whole a lot of songs about Mothers. It's amazing, there are likely thousands of "yo mama" jokes, but seemingly only a handful of good Mama songs. For shame peoples of the world, for shame! Here's a couple of tunes that are kind of about Mom:

Your Mother Should Know - The Beatles

Gotta love this song from the Magical Mystery Tour. Actually, gotta love the whole Magical Mystery Tour album in general. If you decide to listen to this song with Mom, don't point out that "she was born a long, long time ago;" bad idea, doubly-so on Mother's Day.

[mp3] The Beatles - Your Mother Should Know

Buy some Beatles: Amazon
Visit the sites: Official

Wouldn't Mama Be Proud - Elliott Smith

I may be completely wrong on this one (I tend to do that sometimes) but I've always thought this was a self-deprecating and sarcastic "wouldn't mama be proud." You know, like when you do something stupid and say to yourself, "sheesh, I'm glad mom's not here to see that!" Mom's a great teacher, follow her sage advice and remember to appreciate her the other 364 days of the year too.

[mp3] Elliott Smith - Wouldn't Mama Be Proud

Buy some Elliott Smith: Amazon | iTunes
Visit the sites: Official | Myspace

Six Pack of the Week - Rainy Day Tunes

The month of April and rain are nearly synonymous in the north-western hemisphere of the world. Since that's where I live those are the lamentations you shall hear today.

It rained (and snowed) today in the little place I call home and I'm sure it will keep on raining through the end of the month. And then stop. Forever. Because I live in a desert.

We've got some tunes to get your drenched and dreary soul through the day. First off, my (Kraig) picks:

The Beatles - Rain

Oh, The Beatles. They're either the greatest thing since sliced bread or the most over-hyped band that's ever graced the planet depending on your stance. Regardless of whether you like them or not, most people seem to agree on the overwhelming influence The Beatles have had on popular music over the past 40 years. "Rain" is a shining example of why they were such a revolutionary band.

The song features the best drum fills Ringo has made this side of Abbey Road, some of the sweetest tone to be heard at the time on the bass, a collection of the first real "psychedelic" lyrics John brought our way - not to mention the fact that we're hearing the first implementation of a backwards track when John's vocals reverse right before it starts to fade out. Really, The Beatles don't get much better than this. And it's a b-side?? Seriously - there's very few tracks I hold in this high of a regard and it's not even an a-side single. Crazy. Oh, and it's about rain (well, probably) if you didn't guess.

[mp3] The Beatles - Rain

Buy some music from The Beatles: Amazon

Pearl Jam - Wash

This song has more to do with "washing away" then rain, but there's a heavy dose of precipitation imagery involved throughout. When I hear this I can always see Eddie screaming to the skies to open themselves up as the song closes out - a lot of passion there. I was a bit surprised that they were able to retain the original grit when this was re-recorded for Lost Dogs a few years ago. I've posted the most recent version, but the original is quite epic as well.

The most important thing here is that I get to hype my two favorite bands in the same post for songs they aren't well known for. How often does that happen?

[mp3] Pearl Jam - Wash

Buy some Pearl Jam: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Stu's:

Collective Soul - She Gathers Rain

I once asked Kraig if this song was about a fat chick. It makes sense, doesn't it? If she's gathering rain, she must be a pretty big girl. Pretty self-explanatory to me, but I think it came at Kraig completely out of left field.

I was never very fond of this song until I had the privilege to hear it live. A couple years ago CSoul came to Boise, Idaho, and played at the Idaho State Fair (of all places!), and we (Kraig, Brock, myself, and some friends) decided this was too good an opportunity to pass up. We all squeezed in a tiny car and drove the 4-5 hour trip up to Boise. The song wasn't any different at the show, but for some reason the hook just sounded soooo good live. Now She Gathers Rain is one of the songs I think of when I think Collective Soul. Oh, and it also has the rain theme we're featuring this week. Ya, nice.

[mp3] Collective Soul - She Gathers Rain

Buy some Collective Soul: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Adam Elk - It's Raining In Here

I don't really feel qualified to talk about Adam Elk (as I know incredibly little about him, besides that he's an ex-member of the Mommyheads), but I knew I had to include this track in our rainy day list. Elk brings the funk and, wow, is it good. That's some good funk right there. A couple years ago I wasn't a fan of the funk, but I credit many of the tracks on Labello to bringing me over to the funk side.

[mp3] Adam Elk - It's Raining In Here

Buy some Adam Elk: Amazon | iTunes

Brock's Songs

The Apples in Stereo - The Rainbow

This is a song that's ostensibly about rain, but in a happy way! The Apples in Stereo can't really help but make you happy, with such a excellent mix of quasi-psychadelic, 60's-style sugary sweet pop. Check it out!

[mp3] The Apples in Stereo - The Rainbow

The sites: Official | Myspace

The sounds: iTunes | Amazon

The Jayhawks - Save It For a Rainy Day

If you don't own the album Rainy Day Music by the Jayhawks, you're missing out on a modern masterpiece. It's fantastic alt.country that evokes early Beatles and has some of the greatest vocal harmonies around. The Jayhawks are currently on hiatus, which fills me with some rain-soaked sadness.

[mp3] The Jayhawks - Save It For a Rainy Day

The sites: Fansite

The sounds: iTunes