What do you get when you mix burning trees, hospital flavored water, freeze dried chicken, hips that feel like you've just placed second in the World Hula Hoop Championships and a three liter box of pink wine? A three day trip on the Appalachian Trail!

So this weekend, three of my good buddies and I spent three iodized water / pink wine fueled days of adventure backpacking a stretch of the Appalachian Trail. On our journey, we gazed out atop rocks at the glorious town of Hagerstown, we burned whole trees to piles of ashes and we ate lots and lots of Ramen Noodles. So in honor of three noble men conquering the mountain, here's the Heartless Bastards w/ The Mountain.

Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

Two years after Tricky released "Overcome" off of their album Maxinquaye, Fiona Apple releases her 1997 single "Sleep to Dream" off of her album Tidal.

So today, like magic, I hear "Overcome" followed immediately after by Fiona's "Sleep to Dream" and it occurs to me that those beats are similar. A little too similar. Granted Tricky's version is a bit faster, to my paranoid ears they sound one in the same! That's stealing Fiona! You whoreish thief!

You decide.

Here 'em

Popup, another gem out of Glasgow! Their album, A Time & A Place, currently can be downloaded for free (Residents of North America only) on their myspace page. W/ a vast spectrum of tempo and super-cool accents, this is a pretty fun group to listen to.

Popup - Chinese Burn

Popup - In Her Day

What a strange weekend. We started in the worst places we could ever think to be on a pre-St.Patrick's weekend in Baltimore, Power Plant Live and James Joyce Irish Bar. After fighting our way back to our neighborhood we ended up at the newly renovated Gin Mill on Boston street. Finally, after being verbally attacked by frothing rabid twat conservatives, we retreated to a friend's house where we could self medicate w/ a three liter box of chicken wine. After a day like that, it makes you appreciate the friends you have. This one's for you girls!

Animal Collective - My Girls

Friday the 13th. What is it about this unlucky, slightly evil day that makes everything a bit off? Plans are changed, courses are replotted, people around you seem preoccupied and for some reason you're unable to regulate your core body temperature... Maybe it's just me. Yeah, it's probably just me.

Anywho, today I crawled around the Internets looking for some local bands worth a listen. I came across Thrushes. Their reverbery, slow-paced, drone-rock sounds just felt like a perfect fit today.

Thrushes - Heartbeats

Thrushes - Into the Woods

Here's quite an acquired taste, Thinguma*jigSaw — an indie, singing saw-playing, self-coined, splatterfolk group out of Norway. I've yet to get their album (awakeinwhitechapel), but these songs definitely will get you acclimated to this off-kilter, slightly creepy genre.

Thinguma*jigSaw - Walking the Cow

Thinguma*jigSaw - Redlightcockfight

The Cloud Room was first introduced to me by one of my digital video professors back in school. His girlfriend, at the time, was working as a flight attendant and had the whole band on the plane. She obviously had never heard of them but apparently they were super-nice guys and gave her a CD.

I took to Hey Now Now. The first time I heard it, I felt it was destine for a movie soundtrack. It kind of has an 80s-vintage feel to it.

The Cloud Room - Hey Now Now

In these tough economic times, I think everyone who is still employed should be thankful. Even when your day is filled w/ client-tastrophes and passing deadlines... 22 grand job, In the city that sounds nice, it's alright, it's alright, in the city it's alright.

The Rakes - 22 Grand Job