Merry Happy

I stumbled across Kate Nash last November when her adorable little ditty "Merry Happy" closed out an episode of MTV's Parental Control. Now that I have risked my credible career as an indie music reviewer by dropping the wretched letters "M-T-V".. but frankly my dear readers, my discovery of Kate Nash has made me so happy and oblivious that I don't really give a damn. I was bopping along to her songs on my IPod five minutes after I first heard this single.

Kate Nash is an agreeable study in music evolution. Not that her lyrics or music are that odd, or cutting edge, although her video for Pumpkin Soup employs a host of Muppet back-up dancers, and Nash herself, with a defiant face of smeared lipstick. The ridiculous English major in me compares her to a Post-Modernistic revolution, a deconstruction of pop. Artistically, Kate Nash seems to simultaneously mock and revere the pop scene both in her native UK and the States. Her music plays hopscotch in the train wreck of a music biz that has both killed and forcefully resurrected one Britney Spears, and it's all quite hilarious.

Mainly though, I just love that Nash hurls epithets like "D**khead" through her album and still manages to sound like a precocious young Brit offering you a scone.

Sake, Sake, Sake....BOMB!

Okay, so the combination of food and art is not exactly the newest idea in the book. I mean, what restaurant doesn't have a few good music mixes in the background? At the risk of tooting our own horn though, we did think a sushi/screening was on the more creative cusp of our ideas. A sit-down meal and screening with friends in a private room, paired with spicy tuna and some miso was among one of our better plans. We did not account, however, for the raucous group next door, who so graciously punctuated our evening with the cry "SAKE SAKE SAKE.....BOMB! followed by the silence of ten collegians chugging their Sapporo. In the end, however, we think it added character to the evening. Despite the joyous interruptions of next-door's drinking cheers, we were able to enjoy a screening of an Asthmatic Kitty film- Castanets: Tendrils. The documentary employs the talented Brooklyn based Mia Ferm, photographer and Castanets contributor. Ferm creates a gorgeous amalgation of earthy, raw folk tunes and Brooklyn ambience. Lyrics by band member Raymond Raposa weave through several new presentations of Castanets' songs, and the raw sketches of video and acoustic guitar combine to a vision of a community in music.

Parties never really go well without gifts, and randomly drawn members of the screening were gifted with Grampall Jookabox's sophomore album Ropechain, as well as an Asthmatic Kitty sampler (Vol. 2) featuring artists such as The Curtains and Half-Handed Cloud.

love. sarah.

Girls About Town

So, turns out pounding the well maintained cobblestone of Pearl Street is actually fun. My beloved friends are much more adjusted to early Saturday mornings, but for me, I prefer to eat, speak and love after 8am. Coffee, as it turns out, helps fuel these early morning adventures. So, faithful blog followers, I predict you are now asking yourselves :

"What did we do?

"Who took pictures?"

And most importantly,

"How much coffee did it take for Sarah to get out of bed at 6am? On a Saturday?!"

Well, to answer your fervent questions : (a) promoting artists signed by Asthmatic Kitty Records, (b) a very talented friend named Emily Lewin, and (c)a massive amount of coffee most likely discouraged by the FDA.

The Boulder/Denver music scene is both rich and unrecognized. All artists on the posters are signed by a record company started by revolutionary talent Sufjan Stevens. If you are unfamiliar with Asthmatic Kitty Records, you should check out their website at http://www.asthmatickitty.com/. The artists we are promoting? The very talented Shara Worden, Grampall Jookabox, and Castanets. Check out their websites for more info:

Shara Worden:

http://sharaworden.com/

Grampall Jookabox:

www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com/artists_grampalljookabox.php

Castanets:

http://www.asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=2

love. sarah.

What is Boulder Noise?

Perhaps you already know. If you don't, let us explain:

Besides a really witty pun for a name, we are a group dedicated to the music/art/life scene in Boulder, Colorado. And everywhere else. We just happen to live in Boulder.

Our belief is simple: If you support good music, then people make more of it.

There it is. One sentence.

But it gets a little more complicated than that.

Here are some concepts to think over:

We believe that true artists don't demand their dressing room stocked with color-separated M&M's, nor do they throw stacks of cash at their dancers in music videos. They aren't manufactured by record labels.

Artists are real people, with real faces, and real talent. They have a conscience. They have bad hair days. They have an audience.

And they have our attention.

love. sarah.

Boulder Noise

Welcome to all things music, all things Boulder.

This little portal is a venue to promote and publicizing up and coming artists in the Greater Denver area on the indie music scene.

They speak for themselves.

Enjoy!