My Band's Debut EP is Released Digitally Today

Listen/Download:
"Cover It Up"
Myspace
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Check Out My Band: The Missing Chums

Listen/Download:
"Cover It Up"
Myspace
Facebook

Check Out My Band

That's me on drums.

An Interview with Yours Truly

Record of the Day, a music industry publication from the UK, has an interview this week with your humble webmaster. Here are some highlights:

Where are you based?
Chicago. For now.

What made you start an mp3 blog?
I used to have a more traditional music blog (Glamorama). But then I realized it was pointless to spend two or three paragraphs talking about how great a song was when you could just post the mp3 or YouTube.

Who are your favourite three artists?
Radiohead. Rolling Stones. The Libertines.

Pick just one artist as a tip to break through in 2008
Ida Maria

Is there a band or track that you were first to feature in the blogosphere that you are particularly proud of?
I think this happened more often with my first blog, Glamorama. The blogosphere was a smaller, friendlier place then, and you didn’t have the same swift synchronization of opinion. With Interpol, a friend of mine played me an EP of theirs way back in 2000. I saw them in early 2002 before they were signed. So while there might have been some New Yorkers talking about them, I was probably the first to bring them to a wider audience. Same goes with The Libertines. Of course, they had a boat load of NME hype, but I was an early champion of them outside of the UK, much to the consternation of some other bloggers. More recently, I was probably the first blogger outside of LA to feature Foreign Born.

What would be your dream job in music?
I’m a drummer. I was out in LA for a while trying to ‘make it’. But the more I saw of the industry, the less I wanted to be a part of it. For me it always goes back to the Andre Kertesz quote: “I am an amateur and I intend to stay that way for the rest of my life.” I’ll always be involved in music. It just won’t be a paying gig.

Read the whole interview in the latest issue (8/7/08) of Record of the Day (subscription required).

Listen/Download:
"Radio America" by The Libertines

Off to Korea

I'm off to Korea for a business trip. Regular posting will resume in 10 days or so.

One Night in Bangkok

I just got back from a business trip to Thailand. Regular posting will resume shortly...

The Dead Flowers Artwork Contest

For a long time now, I've been thinking about a way to get some original artwork for Dead Flowers. What better way, I finally concluded, than to go directly to the visitors? It's very simple, really: I'm tired of ripping off Marcel Dzama's work (as brilliant as it is), but I'm not talented enough to come up with a design myself.

Here's what I'm looking for:
-A banner
-An avatar/logo
-A background (optional)

What should it look like? I'll leave that up to you. But you might draw inspiration from some of the following:
-The existing (unlicensed) artwork from Marcel Dzama
-The song "Dead Flowers" [Lyrics Link]
-The Rolling Stones, circa late 60's/early 70's
-Anglophilia/Britpop

Now Dead Flowers hasn't suddenly become a money-making proposition (quite the opposite, really), so I can't offer much. But here's what the winner gets:
-A physical (or digital if you prefer) copy of "Sticky Fingers" by The Rolling Stones (from which the song "Dead Flowers" is taken)
-Prominent billing on the site and links to your website/myspace/facebook, whatever
-Exposure on a site that, when I can be bothered to update, can have anywhere from 500 to 1,000 visitors a day.

Send your submissions to mike at sendmedeadflowers dot com. Feel free to forward this post to anyone you think might be interested. The winner will be announced at the end of January. Good luck...I look forward to seeing your work!

Listen to "Dead Flowers" by The Rolling Stones:

[Download the MP3 Here]

One Year of Dead Flowers

Let me thank all the people that have visited Dead Flowers this past year--I've had a lot of fun with the site. It started out as merely a vehicle for youtubes--I thought I had had enough of rock journalism after my last site, Glamorama. Much to my surprise, as the site has developed, I have rediscovered my love for writing about music. Hopefully that's coming through in the reviews and other features. Here are some of the moments I'm proudest of from Dead Flowers, year one:

Reviews
Radiohead: "In Rainbows"
Babyshambles: "Shotters Nation"
Interpol: "Our Love to Admire"
The Veils: Live in Chicago

Interviews
Matt from Foreign Born
Hildur from Amiina

Features
From the Shadows: Jimmy Miller
10-Song Introductions: The Libertines
10-Song Introductions: Belle and Sebastian

While you're browsing through the archives, make sure to pick up any mp3s that you missed. With the exception of those songs found in features and reviews, I'll be deleting the old crop of mp3s to free up ftp space and avoid copyright issues.

Sorry for the recent lack of posting--I've been busy with an exhausting move. However, year two of Dead Flowers will begin promptly on Monday. Some of the things I have on tap are 10-Song Introductions: Pulp, and reviews of The Raveonettes' "Lust Lust Lust" and Sigur Ros's "Hvarf/Heim".

Cheers
-Mike

Listen to "Dead Flowers" (alternate version) by The Rolling Stones:

[Download the MP3 Here]

Vacation Time

Dead Flowers is taking a much-needed summer break until after Labor Day. If you're in need of music, please feel free to stroll through the archives: most, if not all, of the mp3s should still work. Also be sure to subscribe to the feed so you'll know when I'm back in action.

Cheers,
-Mike

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Listen to "Remember" by The Raveonettes:

[Download the MP3 Here]

Dead Flowers: Now Powered by FeedBurner

Hello friends. This is just a quick note to tell you that the Dead Flowers feed is now being delivered by FeedBurner. This will give me more possibilities when it comes to delivering content, so I heartily recommend switching over by clicking the link below.

Cheers,
-Mike

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MP3 Help

Hello friends,

Just a quick note on mp3 streaming. As you may have noticed, the Google audio player I've been using seems to be out of commission. Either they figured out what I and others were up to (using their flash player for our own selfish ends), or it's just some routine change in the software. In any event, I think the lack of a flash player takes away from this site's functionality.

The problem is, I'm not competent enough in programming to cook up a new solution. I've seen other sites using decent flash players, but these seem customised for WordPress, while I'm on Blogger. Ideally, I'm looking for a player than I can easily embed in each post. I have FTP space, so I can host the flash player if need be.

If you have any idea how to remedy the situation, please drop me a line.

Cheers
-Mike
mike@sendmedeadflowers.com

Update: I figured it out. Thanks to the good folks behind the JW MP3 Player.

The Dead Flowers Jukebox is Now Online!

If you'll cast your eyes over to the upper-right-hand portion of the site, you'll see a new feature: the jukebox. Thanks to the good folks at Project Playlist, you can listen to around 75 tracks of music handpicked by Dead Flowers. You'll find songs by The Rolling Stones (naturally), Interpol, Sigur Ros, and many more. It's still a bit buggy, so if for some reason it doesn't come up, try reloading the page. Enjoy and feel free to email me with suggestions.

Commenting on Comments

Let me just give a quick thank you to everyone who has commented on posts.  Somewhere in the transition from old blogger to new blogger, I had almost 100 comments waiting for moderation!  And I thought nobody was paying attention.  Anyways, thanks for visiting.

-Mike
April '07