Discover Friday: Girl in a Coma

So.....the radio station I was raving about a few weeks ago....it devolved into typical radio station bullshit, like repeating songs I enjoyed until I wanted to stab my ears, pretentious Whole Foods commercials, and ticket giveaways. Okay, that last one isn't so terrible but I don't ever seem to win those things so fuck 'em. Long story short: I need to start a pirate radio station or something.

Anyway, several good things came out of that post. 1) The radio station retweeted the link, so I now have several new readers, 2) those readers are local and were also kind enough to retweet said post, and 3) some of those people (namely, a person named @DoyleSATX, to whom I will be forever grateful) provided the names of some awesome bands that I didn't find in my cursory Google search for San Antonio music. To those bands....be patient, you will each be written about soon, je promis.  That was a few weeks ago and I apologize for the delay....my day job as a technical writer has been somewhat draining. Today, I literally had to explain to someone that semicolons cannot be used in place of commas. I'm serious. This is my life now.

To start off this Discover the Awesomeness of the SA Music Scene campaign, I wanted to introduce to y'all to a new favorite - Girl in a Coma.

Credit Daniela Rojas
I got this from the Press Kit area, I hope that's okay...Please don't Taylor Swift Me...

I've been think a lot about why I like them so much, mostly while listening to "El Monte" on repeat.  Upon further in-depth analysis, I've boiled it down to this -- these girls' style incorporates: good old alternative indie a la The Smiths (they list Morrissey as a big influence), some post-punk goodness (I heard "Love Song" on the radio - the Cure version, not the 311 cover -- and I was like, "yeah, they sound kind of like that...sometimes), hints of surf rock (similar to The Pixies....especially the "naming songs in Spanish but singing them in English" thing), and the occasional rockabilly twang.  At first listen, Nina Diaz's voice sounded familiar but I couldn't quite place it. It was driving me crazy. The closest artists I can compare it to would be with Sia and Lorde, a sort of mid-range croon that you could imagine at home in the background of a 1950s dance hall.

Girl in a Coma released their first album, Both Before I'm Gone, in 2007 and was a success, landing them on Billboard's Heatseekers chart at #23.  Their first single, "Clumsy Sky," won an Independent Music Award.  They are signed with Blackheart Records, which may sound familiar - it is the record label founded by Joan Jett, patron saint of female rockers. Since then, they have released three more albums, including one with only covers. That album includes covers of two of my favorite songs.  First, there is "Walking After Midnight" by Patsy Cline, a go-to for me when I'm feeling particularly lonely, which GIAC's puts a sultry rockabilly twist on. Second, they did a cover of "As the World Falls Down," which is everyone's favorite song from Labyrinth (if it's not, then you have no soul). It turns David Bowie's glam rock lullaby into a dreamy indie ballad and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Definitely a great band in my book. I'm sure they're going to keep being awesome and I'm excited to hear more of their work. When pay day rolls around, I'll spend a few bills to help these ladies keep rockin' ....and I hope you'll feel inclined to do the same. Check out more GIAC stuff here.

Enjoy the following song and keep on listening, Music Sluts!

They said it was a myth....

So, as you may know, for 'lo these past 300 years, I've been on an epic quest for a radio station that doesn't make me want to spoon my eyeballs out, a la Fish Mooney. ::sorry...spoilers:: Awhile back, I even lamented the fact that San Antonio radio stations were worse than the ones in Podunk, AZ. Well, I think I may have found the exception to the rule.

It was a cold February day and, as per usual, I had forgotten to connect my mp3 player or phone to the jack and I was already barreling down Highway 90. Haphazardly, I began pushing the seek on my radio and, after a few stations, the search landed on a station that was mostly static with a hint of awesome. I figured it was a college station with shitty reception so I kept searching....and ended up listening through "Raspberry Beret" for the umpteenth time. ::sigh:: I used to like that song so much....

Fast forward to three days ago....I'm on my way to the gym and again, my radio lands on 103.3 but this time, there's no static and it's basically playing everything in my music collection....well, not the questionable stuff, but considering it's an alt rock station, I guess it's too much to ask to have them play the stray Selena Gomez song. Although, that would be fun...if for no other reason than to troll the hipster snobs who would probably also enjoy this station.

In summation, The App -- that's the "name" of the station -- plays the requisite amount of Weezer and Phoenix, an acceptable quota of early 90s grunge, very little repetition, and a bunch of new stuff I'm digging. And, for the next 10,000 songs, they are commercial free. Fuck yeah. I mean, I don't begrudge radio stations commercials, because they kind of need that shit to survive but, honestly, like everyone else, I don't enjoy commercials. Especially that damn "Cutie Curl" one. Fuck those guys, even if their product is amazingly delicious and healthy.

Anyway, here are few songs that they play that have found their way onto my list (i.e., the ever-growing list of music that I don't have enough storage space for). Enjoy!

"Beggin for Thread" by BANKS

"Cigarette Dreams" by Cage the Elephant

"Dangerous" by Big Data feat. Joywave

There's more but I think that's enough for now. Happy Saturday, Music Sluts!

Oh, and by the way, tomorrow is Daylight Savings Time. I won't get into how much I hate this antiquated bullshit but I will remind you to go to bed early tomorrow so your Monday isn't all fucked up. I wish I was back in Arizona....then I wouldn't have to deal with this nonsense....