Friday blurbs (one more time)...

To be honest I was quite affected yesterday by Michael Rasmussen being fired by Rabobank and then pulled from Tour De France. Certainly Michael Rasmussen didn't do things by the book, but I still thought or hoped that you had to be proven guilty, before anything like this could happen. Lots of the things he has said and done do indeed indicate that something could be wrong, but not necessarily that something IS wrong. Please, please. Someone show me some kind of evidence!

Big thanks to Jonas for the info last night that the sales of tickets for the Kent concert on December 8 in Copenhagen had begun. So now I'm the lucky owner of two tickets and looking forward to another encounter with the best band in the world. Peter has asked me for a few tickets as well, so I'm also looking forward to seeing him in Copenhagen :)

I'm going to see Grand Avenue in Tivoli Gardens tonight. I'm the dude in the back with the beer!
+ What's On Your Mind (found this one over at Soundvenue - hope they don't mind me posting it!)

Tower of Foil will release a new 3 track EP Faster Than Your Eye on Friday, August 10. I've been given permission to post the title track a few days prior to the release, so check back on August 6. And you really should, because it's an absolute beauty!
+ Highland Lullabies (title track of the band's 2006 EP)

Like a few other bloggers Peter is hyping Mono in VCF. No wonder - this is great stuff!
+ Spider Rotation

The other day the incomparable blog Indie MP3 recommended Swedish one-man-project Nixon. Wonderful indie pop with an electronic twist that reminds me a bit of Le Chevre (songs). And Indie MP3 has more interesting news today.
+ Her Dreams

UK Nick Drake influenced indie/folk/acoustic trio The Greens has recorded a new tune called Q & A. Quiet and beautiful.
+ Q & A

J.A. recommends the solo track So Wrong So Right by Budapest front man John Garrison. Apparently the band split in 2006, which I probably should have known, but embarrassingly have to admit that I didn't! A few of the band's older tracks are available as free downloads from the band's Myspace profile and especially the wonderful Is This The Best It Gets is an all time favorite (to be more specific I think it's one of the best songs ever written!). And Censored Memories (off to Myspace you go, if you want that one) isn't bad at all either!
+ So Wrong So Right
+ Is This The Best It Gets

Several blogs are recommending/hyping 2080 by US band Yeasayer. And it sure is a fantastic track by a band that has been compared to Midlake and lists Peter Gabriel and Fleetwood Mac among the influences. Released on new label Now We Are Free.
+ 2080

Peter Schallgrenzen recommended The Beauty of o.k. the other day in his blog and today I'm going to do the same. So if you're interested in listening to some really cool stuff (and of course you are) I suggest that you check out this excellent indie rock quartet from Hamburg. This is dark, grand and epic in an Interpol / Radiohead / Kashmir kind of way (with some Kent added to the mix as well).
+ A New Apart
+ Cluster