Sasquatch Festival 2008 (Sat)

I will be attending first two days of the Sasquatch Festival this year. It's my first time going to a camping concert event, so I'm looking forward it, and at the same time, a bit worried since I don't know what to expect. But it should be a great show. I decided to pick out ten artists I am interested in seeing, and one of their songs.

R.E.M. - Hollowman

Album: Accelerate

Hollow Man is the second single off of their 13th studio album, titled Accelerate. Since this album is a lot more guitar driven and upbeat, it would be fun to see them perform this album live. I’ve also read that they have been playing some of their older stuff at the concerts lately. I'm still digging their single, "Supernatural Superserious".

Modest Mouse - Fire It Up

Album: We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

Modest Mouse was formed in Issaquah, Washington (20 minute drive from Seattle) in 1993. Growing up near Issaquah, I heard of them several times in my highschool years, but never paid that much attention, and now they are one of the biggest names in indie rock, and they’ve added Johnny Marr from The Smiths a couple of years ago. My favorite song by them is still Float On, but this song is pretty good, too.

M.I.A. - Boyz

Album: Kala

I reviewed M.I.A.’s song, “Paper Planes” in January of this year, but I still don’t understand the big deal about her. This album, Kala was voted as the best album of the year last year by numerous magazines and blogs. I can see that it is very artistic, creative and different from mainstream, but I find all of her songs to be annoying, kind of like this one. But I guess once I have several beers in me, I might get hooked. We’ll see how I feel about her after seeing her show live.

The New Pornographers - Challengers

Album: Challengers

I might be one of the very few people out there that gets Neko Case and Cat Power confused. They are both talented female musicians that sing slower paced songs but Neko means “cat” in Japanese, and I think that throws me off. The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock super group that consist of bunch of musicians from other bands and solo artists, such as Neko Case.

The National - Mistaken For Strangers

Album: Boxer

I started seeing their name a lot in the past six months or so, especially after the release of their fourth album, Boxer, which received a lot of critical praise. The National was formed by group of friends from Ohio. I am personally not a huge fan of this group as the lead vocalist’s voice puts me to sleep. But musically I can hear that they are a talented bunch.

Ozomatli - Can't Stop

Album: Don't Mess With The Dragon

I first heard of them when their song, “Saturday Night” was used on the 4th generation iPod commercial. I haven’t heard much about them recently, but have found that Ozomatli has released a couple of albums since then. This band blends all sorts of genre of music from funk, hip-hop, jazz and reggae with Latin flavor.

Okkervil River - A Hand To Take Hold Of The Scene

Album: The Stage Names

Okkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Back in September 2007, I reviewed their song, “Unless It’s Kicks”. I really liked that song, but I wasn’t too happy with their second single. But this song, “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene” from the same album is not too bad.

Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers [Acoustic]

Album: Asking for Flowers

Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian folk, country, pop musician that sings and writes her own music. She is often compared to her fellow Canadian singer-songwriter, Sarah McLachlan, but she hasn’t had that big break yet. This exclusive acoustic performance of this track is available for free download from Amazon MP3.

The Whigs - Right Hand On My Heart

Album: Mission Control

Hailing from Athens, Georgia (that brought R.E.M. and B-52’s), The Whigs signed to Dave Matthews’ record label, ATO Records. Mission Control is their second album release, and this particular track sounds a lot like combinations of bunch of good rock songs, but I can’t seem to put my finger on it. But I like it.

Newton Faulkner - Dream Catch Me

Album: Hand Built By Robots

Newton Faulkner is a British folk rocker that has been burning up the charts in the UK. Americans may compare him to the current American Idol contestant, Jason Castro as they both have dreadlocks, and play soft rock on acoustic guitars. If you are a fan of Massive Attack’s hit song, “Teardrop” you may be interested in hearing his interpretation of the song, which is also included on this album.