<3
Grab a free download of Beat Radio’s cover And In the End Shoot Back originally by The Diggs
i’m definitely not complaining but it feels strange not to take note and comment on how it’s a totally weird time in the music business where there are all these services out there offering to help you get more followers or subscribers or whatever, or to have your song or album premiere on some internet website, but at the same time people aren’t even pretending that it’s going to translate into sales or recouping the investment. So, essentially, having followers/subscribers/whatever is the be all and end all, which is fine because we all really want people to hear our work. But does anyone really hear it this way? Or does everyone just have like 7 tabs open in firefox and listen to the first 30 seconds of every song while uploading gifs of cats to tumblr?
One of the fun things about our Kickstarter was that some of our backers picked cover songs they wanted us to record for them. This is such a brilliant song, that I first came to know through the Steve Martin Movie “The Jerk.” Big thanks to Brian Berger for commisioning this one, and to our friend Sarah Wood for singing it with us. Sarah sings in a rad band called Mount Sharp (mountsharp.bandcamp.com) which you should go listen to now!
Here’s a link to the amazing version from the film, by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqtmXnQZ6Qk
“Tonight You Belong to Me” is a popular American song, written in 1926 by lyricist Billy Rose and composer Lee David. Our cover is available as a free download at Bandcamp.
We’re releasing our song “Chasing a Phantom” as the 3rd single from our Hard Times Go LP, and you can now download the song for free at our Bandcamp page.
I wrote the song after being haunted by a line of dialogue from one of the episodes in Season 5 of Mad Men. I spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to an artist, and the struggle between art and commerce, notions of success, etc. I guess that’s what this song is about. It’s about finding some sort of peace with your ambitions, letting them go, only to get more honest with yourself and acknowledge that you never really let them go. Or you know, whatever.
Here are the lyrics:
September collapses
it feels like forever, it’s bringing you down
the phantom you’re chasing
will bend and retreat into patterns of sound
and secret transmissions
they’ll make you a crown out of radio wire
before you set sail on
an ocean of fire
Come back and find me, I’m waiting for you
Here in the half light, I’m waiting for you
Where everything’s perfect
and everything’s empty and everything’s fine
we’re perfectly empty
it’s best that we all try and have a good time
the ones who burn brighter
will have no ambition for fortune or fame
but i know you better
because we are the same
Here in the half light, I’m waiting for you
Come back and find me, I’m waiting for you
Come back and find me, I’m waiting for you
Here in the half light, I’m waiting for you
<3
I’m on your side
Be on my side
Cause I’m on your side
Be on mine
<3!!
Earlier this week, I received my third installment of Merchbox that included Beat Radio’s Mixtape of a Memory, a limited edition compilation comprised of the band’s earlier work, which I listened to on my ride to work this morning. Their sound – dreamy, bittersweet and nostalgic is reminiscent of Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, and I found myself sinking into this happy-sad feeling with each listen. Pretty Much Amazing theorized this was the type of music Holden Caulfield would have on his iPod and I could not agree any further. Here is Beat Radio covering Robyn’s “With Every Heartbeat.” You can also listen to their other cover songs below and purchase Mixtape of a Memory here.
Beat Radio covering Japandroids – The House That Heaven Built
Beat Radio covering The Weakerthans – Left and Leaving
Beat Radio covering Best Coast – When I Am With You
Beat Radio covering the Hey Arnold! theme song (not really a cover song per say, still awesome)
<3!!
Love Beat Radio! They are helping me through a very hard to focus day at work… although, they are not helping me focus… just making my daydreams better.
Working an the acoustic #hardtimesgo LP for our kickstarter backers. Had to break out the tenor guitar for the first time in forever
made this video for our Hurricanes, XO remix with weird archival footage.
Chris Whitley’s Dirt Floor is one of my favorite albums.
