June 5, 2009

Shattered and Blue

heaven.jpg

Chainsaw Sally sends a guy to the Afterlife® and guess what? He finds it preferable to the during-life.

I don't know anything about horror movies but former Next Window drummer JimmyO does: he makes them. Chainsaw Sally is a character created by April Monique Burril and JimmyO.

Shattered and Blue is a song by The Misbelieves. Download MP3 (6.5 MB) FLAC (23 MB)

Recorded on Music Street and © 2009 Music Street Music

June 1, 2009

Perfect Sun

ps1.jpgps2.jpg

It reflects off a boy on the verge of forgetting he has the whole world by the tail. He can still name his monsters in roughly the order that they were first met and defeated. When a man selling Jesus spits hate at his brother, he knows one of these things is not like the other. He's cracked the strong magic that got him this far. He knows love was all that he needed.

Download: MP3 (8 MB) FLAC (33 MB)

Recorded on Music Street and © 2009 Music Street Music

April 5, 2009

David Keith - "Mr. Universe Has Got the Blues"

paranoid_in_bahrain2.jpg

Former Bicycle Thief and current Misbelieves collaborator, David Keith, has written and recorded a new song. It's brilliant -- I can't get it out of my head, and I suggest you get it in your head too. Listen to "Mr. Universe Has Got the Blues" at The Fever of Phineas.

February 1, 2009

Covers

we_dof.jpg

I love covers! The way a pop song can be bent to create something new that changes the way you hear the original. So it's very satisfying to hear covers of my songs. Here are a few recent covers of some very old songs.

The Arcturus recorded a version of Bicycle Thieves' Different Movies
Be sure to check out the other songs by The Arcturus. "Worst Ever" is one of my favorites.

Dino Guy recorded three songs from the Next Window era: No More Than The Rain, The Right Thing To Say, and The French Have A Word For It. It's especially cool to hear the first two because they never got a proper demo treatment, and were only played live a handful of times.

Big thanks to the responsible parties for sharing these recordings, it means a lot to me. I encourage anyone with the inclination to create covers, mashups, or parodies of anything on this site, and will happily post them here.

November 25, 2008

The Misbelieves record classic theme song

webpagepix3.jpg

As anybody within spitting distance of a telegraph or carrier pigeon knows, Bonnington Truce is on the move after decades dormant. The Misbelieves have honored the occasion by recording a loving recreation of the theme song to Bonnington Truce's long-lost and lamented Saturday morning TV show, "Come On Now Kids Yeah It's Bonnington Truce!"

Download: MP3 (6.5 MB) FLAC (24 MB)

Archeology: The first voice in the song is Earl Lundy's, wondering why nobody was dancing during Next Window's set at the Avanti Theatre in Hattiesburg, March 5th, 1982. The sampled "Yeah"s throughout the song are Earl, Patrick Wallace, and Ben Young during Chariot Choogle later the same night.

Accuracy: Jeff is, in fact, the leader of the band.

This is for Adam Ford and all of our kids
.

April 13, 2006

Just The MP3s, Please

Here is every song on the site listed from newest to oldest:

The Misbelieves - 2009

Shattered and Blue (6.5 MB)
Perfect Sun 8 MB mp3

The Misbelieves - 2008


Come On Now Kids Yeah It's Bonnington Truce!
6.5MB mp3

Popsicle Thieves - 2003

Touch You Natalie Jane 5MB mp3
FYNJ 5.5MB mp3

Bicycle Thieves: 2001 - The "a" CD

Fall In The Sea 1MB mp3
Jewel 8MB mp3
Cavalier 9.5MB mp3
Winter Coat 4.5MB mp3
Kansas 3.5MB mp3
Cavalier (Alternate Mix) 8.5MB mp3

Jetsam:
Private Detective 3.5MB mp3 (David's original recording of the song that eventually became Winter Coat)
Kansas (early version) 2MB mp3 (an early rough sketch of Kansas)
Listen 600KB mp3 (Brian's Great Grandmother, Mary Jane Musick, talks about some people who went to Kansas in a wagon and had guts)

Bicycle Thieves: The '90s - 4-track demos

The Fault 5.5MB mp3
Zoo Song 8.5MB mp3
Well To Wonder 6MB mp3

Jetsam:
Song 3 9MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)
Processed Flute Thing 4.5MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)
Maybe Song 6MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)
Song 4 7MB mp3 (Instrumental mix of an unfinished song)

Bicycle Thieves: June, 1996 - Acoustic recordings

I Am The Satellite 5.5MB mp3
Zoo Song 5.5MB mp3
The Fault 5MB mp3
Well To Wonder 5MB mp3
See Ruby Falls 4.5MB mp3

Bicycle Thieves: 1987 - 4-track demos

Someone Might Sell You One 5MB mp3
No Spaceships 2.5MB mp3
Longer Than a Line 4MB mp3
Different Movies 4.5MB mp3
Love and Gravity 4MB mp3
Homing Drive Chain Me 8MB mp3
See Ruby Falls 4.5MB mp3


Bicycle Thieves: 1984-1985 - 4-track demos

I Am the Satellite
8MB mp3
Beg 5MB mp3
Hide 5MB mp3
Ode to the Monochord Drone 6MB mp3
Still Too High A Lie 8.5MB mp3
Experience Church 6.5MB mp3
In Case Of Magic 7.5MB mp3
Optimism Never Fails 6.5MB mp3
Pictures Of Time Well Spent 5.5MB mp3

Jetsam:
I Am The Satellite (early mix) 7MB mp3 (early, mostly instrumental mix of I Am the Satellite)

Bicycle Thieves: 1984 - 4-track demos

Difficult Decision 5.5MB mp3
Follow Forever 6MB mp3

Next Window: 1983 - Junk Room Studio:

Your Color 5MB mp3
Guidance Counselor 6MB mp3
On and On the Love Song 5MB mp3

Next Window: 1983-1984 - 4-track demos

Big Bang Theory 7MB mp3
Pocket Full of Posers 4MB mp3
General Consensus 5.5MB mp3
The French Have a Word for It 4MB mp3
Get That Discipline 5MB mp3
Go Home 4MB mp3
To Those Who Wait 5MB mp3

Jetsam:
Pocket Full Of Noise (JimmyO and Brian working hard in the studio) 2MB mp3
General Consensus (drunkapella version, with dialog) 6MB mp3

Next Window: 1984 - Live at The Maxx

General Consensus (live) 6.5MB mp3
Your Color (live) 5MB mp3
Big Bang Theory (live) 6MB mp3
Get That Discipline (live) 5.5MB mp3
Pocket Full Of Posers (live) 5MB mp3
Or Not To Be (live) 4MB mp3

March 8, 2006

'Lieves Roots: 1978-1984 - Next Window

anvil.jpg
In the moist days before the beginning, before what was became what should never have been, there was a band with an even worse name than Next Window. No, we're not kidding. This earlier band had a name that was at least 5 crap units crapper than Next Window. So bad, in fact, that it just barely beat out Phase 3 and Starchild in our hunt for the perfect band name. The name I refer to shall never be mentioned on these pages (at least not by official Misbelieves personnel) but for the perversely curious we'll offer this hint: The name was an object found almost exclusively in Roadrunner cartoons. Falling.

One of the most frequent comments we get about Next Window is that their sound is somehow more corporeal than the later Misbelieves-related bands. That's weird, right? It's a strange thing to say about music, which after all is just a bunch of waves floating through the air. All we can figure is that it has something to do with the spirited and melodic bass playing of Ron Schmidtling and the truly brilliant and sometimes frightening drumming of JimmyO, both of whom gave the core Misbelieves line-up a raw energy that we've never quite managed to recapture.

Here, then, is the Next Window story presented in searing Chronological Order® !

Continue reading "'Lieves Roots: 1978-1984 - Next Window" »

March 6, 2006

'Lieves Roots: 2003 - Popsicle Thieves

POPSIC-.jpg

Popsicle Thieves were formed, in part, as a way for us to try to make some sense of Bicycle Thieves' demise. Although Popsicle Thieves released only one single in their year of existence, that single effectively puts a lid on the Bicycle Thieves era and forms an essential bridge to the upper 8th ward sound of The Misbelieves.

You can download the a-side, Touch You Natalie Jane (5MB mp3) and the b-side, FYNJ (5.5MB mp3). Both songs were recorded on Music Street and are © 2003, Music Street Music.

'Lieves Roots: 1984-2001 - Bicycle Thieves

P5100433.jpg

There's no glamorous way to put this: Bicycle Thieves is just Brian after his band left him. While you're wiping away the tears we should clarify that Brian didn't start using the name Bicycle Thieves until he saw Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette in graduate school, sometime during 1991 or 1992. Through a complex series of legal maneuvers, Brian was able, retroactively, to gather the entirety of his post-Next Window work under the Bicycle Thieves umbrella. It is still unclear whether the enormous expense of this action was justified, especially in light of the fact that at any given time there appear to be no less than 5 different bands named after Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette.

Here, then, is the entire Bicycle Thieves saga, presented to you in vivid Reverse Chronological Order® !

Continue reading "'Lieves Roots: 1984-2001 - Bicycle Thieves" »

March 5, 2006

Wrockin' the reckage of the mighty 8th Ward!

loquats.jpg

This is the official site for one of the Upper 8th Ward's most misunderstood rock bands, The Misbelieves. Here you will find news and downloads for future Misbelieves releases, as well as a selection of recordings from earlier Misbelieves-related bands, including Next Window, Bicycle Thieves, Popsicle Thieves, Icicle Thieves, Tricycle Thieves, Pineapple Thieves, and David Bowie®.

If you're looking for a particular song or band you can use the search box at the upper right, or select the band name under 'Lieves Roots in the Categories box to the right. Or, if you want to skip the verbiage altogether and just download songs, you can click Just The MP3s, Please.

Peace + love, from Music Street, Gentilly Terrace, 8th Ward.