Music Friday: Fort Wilson Riot plays "Love Song for Mabee Burlingham (Pieces of the War Part 1)"

I blogged a couple months ago about Fort Wilson Riot's new album and current tour. (Full disclosure: Jacob Mullis, who's half of FWR, is also my former bandmate.)

I love their new video -- a stripped-down, black-and-white, live-in-the-studio performance of the second-to-last song on their new album, "Love Song for Mabee Burlingham (Pieces of the War Part 1)":



(Thanks to "jamie" for posting it in the comments of the previous post.)

Let me tell you about the awesome musicians I know, part 3: Polydream (with free mp3 downloads!)

Continuing with the shameless plugs for music being made by friends of mine, it's ... Polydream.

That's them in the photo, which I took one afternoon by the lake in our hometown of Madison, Wisconsin.

Their drummer, Brit Rice (top left in the photo), is someone I've played in a few different bands with over the years, not to mention countless random jam sessions and State Street outings.

As far as their music, think: U2, Coldplay, Tom Petty, Death Cab for Cutie.

You know -- clean, crisp, optimistic rock music. The anti-grunge!

Other influences they cite: "the sky, the world, life, ladies, love, mountains, being on mountains, newspapers, domestic and international issues, you."

You can download 2 Polydream songs for free:

1. The anthemic "Catch Me If You Can." (If you're using a PC, you can download the song by right-clicking the link and selecting "Save Target As." If you're using a Mac, "control"-click the link and select "Download Linked File.")

It's the kind of song that you hear and think: "Wait a minute, I can't believe that song hasn't always been around." That's a very good thing.

And it features a children's choir! So I give them points for incongruity.

2. "Hollywood." (If you're using a PC, you can download the song by right-clicking the link and selecting "Save Target As." If you're using a Mac, "control"-click the link and select "Download Linked File.")

This song is so packed with imagery, expression, and a sense of motion -- I always picture an animated cartoon accompanying the lyrics when I listen to it.

Like a few of their other songs, "Hollywood" almost sounds like country, which would be amusing if you knew these guys.

I've been repeatedly listening to their new album, Send Me to the Sun, which you can buy on iTunes (or buy a physical CD here). I'm obviously biased, but I mean this: if you listen to the two sample songs linked above and you enjoy them, you cannot go wrong getting the whole album. While there are no weird curveballs -- those two songs convey the overall feel of the album -- there also aren't any two songs that sound alike. There are no "duds," and I don't think there's even a single moment where they don't stay committed to their characteristic sincerity and uplift.

If you're interested in background info, interviews, or reviews, see their Wikipedia entry. And here's their MySpace profile, which has free streaming songs, etc.

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I'm in a never-ending, years-long argument with Polydream's singer, Jon Knudson (the fellow in the red shoes up there), about his embrace of Naderism -- or, the refusal to support the party most capable of implementing your own policy preferences instead of an unattainable ideal.

I shouldn't really single Jon out. I had this debate with probably 20 or 30 friends in 2000, when most residents of the far-left town of Madison were considering if not outright supporting Ralph Nader. (You saw more Nader yard signs than Gore and Bush yard signs put together.)

You have their counterparts in Florida to thank for all the Bush administration's actions and inaction, and the missed opportunity to have an intelligent, environmentalist president who believes a woman has a right to choose what to do with her own body, believes that "gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women," and would have appointed two of the nine Supreme Court justices if he'd served a full two terms. Yes, let's remember the actual contributions that have been made by the far left in America: you have them to thank for the United States' environmental policies of the past 8 years, tax cuts overwhelming slanted toward the rich, and the deaths of who-knows-how-many innocent people in the Iraq war.

To my friends who supported Nader in 2000: have you discerned the subtle differences between Bush and Gore yet?

Admittedly, this is a transparent ploy to get Jon to show up in the comments section.

Oh, and sorry, Polydream guys, to turn this post about your music into a political tirade.

But hey ... at least I plugged your band.

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RELATED: Reality for Hillary Clinton supporters.

Let me tell you about the awesome musicians I know, part 2: Fort Wilson Riot

Yet another great band I know personally: Fort Wilson Riot.

Jacob Mullis was the frontman for our band in middle school and high school, and he now plays guitar for Fort Wilson Riot. He also does some singing, along with their female lead singer -- that's the two of them over there in the picture. (Nice depth of field!)

The live show for their last album was an extended theatrical performance. An "indie-rock opera," as they call it. Pretty ground-breaking stuff.

If you like St. Vincent, who I blogged about before, you should definitely give Fort Wilson Riot a listen.

My former bandmate is the bespectacled fellow in this video -- an exquisite minute-and-a-half of music that I've been having trouble getting out of my head:



That's an excerpt from their song "An Imagined Civil State." You can download the whole song for free here, and you can buy the whole album, Idigaragua, here.

To my Minnesotan readers (I know there are some of you out there): they play in Minneapolis on a regular basis. So if you're in the mood to see some interesting live music from a band you hadn't heard of before, here's your excuse ("Well, I saw this blog post about them, and...").

(Photo of Jacob and Amy by Alexa Jones, from Fort Wilson Riot's MySpace.)

Let me tell you about the awesome musicians I know, part 1: Locksley

For the next few Music Fridays, I'm going to plug some friends' bands. First... Locksley.

Locksley's old bassist, Aaron Collins (who left the band earlier this year but can be seen/heard in a lot of their music that's been released), used to come to my band's shows when we were in high school and watch my guitar playing to pick up ideas. So I have to take credit for the lion's share of their success.

And the drummer, Sam Bair, was our roadie long, long ago. Thanks for all your hard work, Sam!

They describe themselves as "Beatles mixed with modern garage rock," which is pretty accurate. You can hear a few of their songs on their MySpace profile.

My favorite song of theirs is "Don't Make Me Wait," which has been used in commercials for Payless and AT&T (according to their Wikipedia entry). I particularly like the subtle change in mood that you get in the bridge (the part beginning "Would you like a city by the sea?"). That little section of the song has a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it quality reminiscent of some of the Beatles' early songs. And I don't give out much better compliments than comparing people's songwriting to the Beatles.

Watch the ebullient video here:



Remember when rock music didn't have to be dark or ironic, and the fact that it made you feel good was good enough?