'tis the TWEE-SON!

so we find ourselves in the [12th] twelfth month of 2009. and you know what that means. another compilation!

our friends at the filipino indie pop scene have assembled a rousing group of songs to get you in the christmas spirit! and whether you've been naughty OR nice [some might say that is nice to be naughty & naughty to be nice. haha] dale marquez, the FIPS & we have wrapped up a dozen christmas treats for you to listen to. so go deck those halls & stuff your stocking! [uhhh, that sounds kind of vulgar, doesn't it?]

HOLLY, IVY & MISTLETUNES!
128 kbps : here. or here.
192 kbps : here. or here.

01 just like christmas [low cover] the wentletraps
02 december sugarspun
03 one christmas catalogue [captain sensible cover] apple orchard
04 christmas [baby, please come home] [darlene love cover] the jealous sea
05 away in a manger [traditional] archaster
06 christmas is all around [cover of billy mack cover of the troggs] scattered pearls
07 blue december [the pearlfishers cover] that lingering feeling
08 undercover angel soft pillow kisses
09 parang awa mo na, bayaran mo na utang mo love in athens
10 snowfall some gorgeous accident
11 snowglobe self portrait
12 winter wonderland [traditional] mary anna logue

sleeve design by connie francis [carnival park/melody style apartment]

maligayang pasko!

***************************************************************

ps : here's a review by sean brilldream!

the golden SEA of jealous TEARDROPS!

i hopped an aeroplane to san francisco, CA to visit taylor [09 october 2009] for a week. in berkeley on 15 october 2009 we met up with ryan & lorelie marquez [congratulations on the recent nuptuals!] of the always brilliant indie pop duo golden teardrops.

you may recognise ryan & lorelie from the various other bands that they're involved in : apple orchard, the haircuts, spring boutique, under shooting stars, sodajerk, etc. they are both very active members of the filipino indie pop scene.

we caught up with each other over chai tea/coffee & [later on, across the street] soft tacos. taylor tried out her newly purchased wig [from the halloween store] as we discussed web design [lorelie is designing our new site] & a few new jealous sea songs. [ryan & lorelie are [2] two lucky souls that have heard what taylor & i have been working on lately. they've all been under wraps.] both of them were quite delighted with the results!

we really like these kids; they're great people who make great music. if you haven't heard them yet--stop what you're doing & take a listen!

write [side] UP!

i admit that i've taken a wee bit of a break from blogging. but let's not dwell in the past. let's get right back to where we started from!

back on 23 september 2009 we received a nice little writeup on the indie handbook blog.


in their own words : the indie handbook was created by confused genius twentysomethings eric roberstson & kristin garrett. eric & kristin both graduated with b.a. degrees in music, with which they have found they can do anything! [anything requiring cheap labor!] at least they know fantastic music when they hear it & are using their degrees & raw talent for the good of all.

we even shared the blog post with lovely bands in their own right sky larkin & bombay bicycle club!

kristin & eric, thanks so much for your support! we will do the same!

email them @ the.indie.handbook@gmail.com.
join them on facebook.

are you ever coming home...or should i learn to live without YOU?

trib•ute [trĭb'yūt] n. 1. a gift, payment, declaration, or other acknowledgment of gratitude, respect, or admiration : recorded a cover compilation as a tribute to their musical influence.

alright, alright. so i adjusted the example a wee bit. :)

it's old news to those in the know. but it's sad news, nonetheless. after [16] sixteen brilliant years together aussie indie pop legends the lucksmiths have called it a day. all good things must come to an end eventually. [unless you're the rolling stones. in which case you are nothing but a sad shadow of your former selves churning out the annual greatest hits perfomance promoting your embarrassing album of "new" material.] not unlike my heroes, the jam, who stepped out of the limelight whilst still producing relevant music.

the indie pop scene will definitely feel the effects of their departure.

dale marquez [apple orchard, some gorgeous accident, sonnet lviii] has [once again] organised a brilliant compilation of bands to pay fitting tribute to the luckies. we're honoured to have played a part in "music to hold hands to." we hope that it serves its purpose as a farewell/love letter to our melbourne lads : tali, marty, mark & louis.

thank you for the music.

music to hold hands to : a tribute to the lucksmiths [1993-2009]

01 "the chapter in your life entitled san francisco" the jealous sea

02 "i prefer the twentieth century" fantasy lights

03 "caravanna" grace period

04 "the great dividing range" apple orchard

05 "untidy towns" under shooting stars

06 "guess how much i love you" archaster

07 "the shipwreck coast" candyaudioline

08 "successlessness" gustav hz

09 "little athletics" that lingering feeling

10 "sunlight in a jar" slumbook

11 "midweek midmorning" archway close

12 "there is a boy that never goes out" slow hello

13 "honey honey honey" golden teardrops

14 "young & dumb" her boychart

15 "the art of cooking for two" scattered pearls

16 "the sandringham line" the wentletraps

17 "california in popular song" land of ill earthquakes

18 "take this lying down" soft pillow kisses

19 "pin cushion" self portrait

20 "music to hold hands to" dewdrop fountain

21 "synchronised sinking" the impossible kid

sleeve design by connie francis [carnival park/melody style apartment]

[128 kbps] download here. here. or here.

[192 kbps] download here. here. or here.

extended PLAY.

we have a new song, "sunshine [after the rain]" on the series two records/eggnog records split [3] three inch CD/EP club compilation number [2] two! [whew! that was a mouthful, no?] you can preview it on our myspace page. heck, if you like it--add it to YOUR page! hehe.*

we share the release with the winter club [UK],the art deparment [USA], the simple carnival [USA], my pet goat [sweden] & new year ruse [UK].

it's a limited pressing of [50] fifty available for purchase to anyone worldwide. that's [25] twenty-five per label. so if you're going to order [1] one, you'd better do it soon!

the price is the same from either location. you can buy it by sending [25] twenty-five USD to : seriestworecords@gmail.com OR orders@eggnogrecords.co.nz. price includes international shipping costs.

we've received invites on our myspace that have made our day.

and last.fm has turned the corners of our mouths upwards as well.

in short [to quote a favourite song of ours] "we can't stop smiling & we don't know why we'd want to anyway..."

*we've removed "sunshine" from our myspace page as of 10 august 2009. we feel that the mix does not properly represent the song. fret not, as we are in the process of re-recording it. :)

work is a [4] four letter WORD.

[3] three months. yeah. it's been [3] three months & [7] seven days since the last post.

time to play catch up! haha. i guess it was a combination of laziness & busyness. [or business, depending] in varying degrees & percentages. this lapse in entries doesn't mean that we haven't been working. quite the contrary. there's always something cooking inthe jealous sea kitchen!

where to start? hrrrm...

01. we got to meet dale, ryan & lorelie of apple orchard/golden teardrops fame [they are extremely cool indie pop kids!] at the camera obscura show [08 june 2009] at the fillmore. [if we look starstruck, it's 'cause we were. tracey & co. were amaaazing!] and if you haven't already checked out apple orchard's & golden teardrops's music--do yourself a favour. click the links. you won't regret it!

[l to r : taylor, me, ryan & lorelie]

[l to r : taylor, me, dale & ryan]

02. we've been getting some podcast/internet support from various sources as well. the lovely kids at this elegant chaos & one step beyond/pop on paper have been great to us. thanks so much guys!

i guess that's as good a place to start as any. we're definitely not finished yet! hehe. be sure to swing by all the pages mentioned. we're guarantee that you'll hear something you like! :)

one step BEYOND.

it's messages like this that make me smile. we had [2] two of our songs played on one step beyond, a podcast based in leipzig in march of this year. i found the above in my last.fm inbox a few days ago. it was inspiring to hear that "moving targets [eventually get hit]" was a "kind of underground hit." success in europe? not out of the question now, i suppose. i'm always surprised when we make fans that are so encouraging. thanks so much sindyan! we'll be grinning indefinitely. :)

so you had better do as you are told. you better listen to the RADIO!

google-ing one's self. i know, i know. sounds kind of naughty & risqué, no? i suppose it could be. haha. it's interesting to see what you'll find. it's a hit or miss kind of thing, really. but sometimes...you find gold.

our song "a boy, a girl & a rendez-vous" [which was recently featured on the eardrums pop BIRDSONGS, BEESONGS VOLUME B compilation] made it onto dj dave's playlist for 14 april 2009! the STEREOPHONIC HI-FI HAPPY HOUR is his radio show that resides at the U [the university of missouri-st louis student radio] on tuesdays 7-8 pm. we shared the slot with brilliant artists such as : the jesus & mary chain, cornershop, the apples in stereo & it's a musical.

this makes us extremely happy. more airplay in more places is awesome. hopefully we'll make more friends/fans as a result. we'll keep our fingers crossed. :)

volume BEE.

if [1] one free compilation featuring us this month wasn't enough for you guys & gals--then thank your lucky stars! 'cause here's another!


the new spring compilation from our friend, knut b. lindbjör's eardrums pop "BIRDSONGS, BEESONGS" is now available. so far, [2] two volumes have been released. we are on volume B. or volume BEE, i suppose. haha.

01 promise and the monster - words

02 parachutes - tree roots turn to forts

03 charlotte & magon - i love you, you are my friend

04 martin carr - why you gotta bring me all this rain

05 monobird - exploding view

06 THE JEALOUS SEA - A BOY, A GIRL & A RENDEZ-VOUS

07 no kids/mount eerie - prisoner of desire

08 the electones - the huntress

09 cryptacize - mythomania

10 seeland - pretty bird [alt. version]

11 looking glass - ah la la

12 blue roses - doubtful comforts

13 tailor made for a small room - pleasant hill

14 montt mardié - castle in the sky

15 tim & sam's tim & the sam band with tim & sam - inside the egg

16 arthur and martha - japanese kiss

17 wild honey - the house by the sea

18 wisdomtooth - bandits

19 tramontana - low rise

20 aquella illusion - buscador

21 jonathan johansson - du sa

our contribution is named after a red roses for me compilation that featured aberdeen's cover of biff bang pow's "she never understood." our song is about a couple separated by several degrees. [time/distance/where they are in life] it works on different levels, really. it's also the only jealous sea song [so far] to feature the "spoken word bridge" made popular by several 60's soul songs. if it worked for belle & sebastian, why wouldn't it work for us, right? hehe.

ps : if you download anything from the eardrums pop site, please give something back. thanks so much!

so love me, hold me. 'cause i'm FREE.

UNDER THE COVERS, the [3rd] third volume of dale marquez's mp3 compilation series, is [finally!] up for download. this time around [21] twenty-one filipino indie pop bands participated.

we're quite fond of track number [12] twelve. hehe.

nocturnal we - femme fatale [velvet underground]

golden teardrops - if i needed someone [the beatles]

carnival park - portland, oregon [the cat's miaow]

scattered pearls - the lucky one [au revoir simone]

that lingering feeling - abandon ship [april showers]

the fantasy lights - loveless [new order]

superminty - time thief [pale saints]

some gorgeous accident - brighter [the railway children]

lovely days and loud hurrays - before we begin [broadcast]

so the jerk - hole in my heart [bmx bandits]

farewell isobel - keep your love [the loveninjas]

the jealous sea - toy tambourine [aberdeen]

soft pillow kisses - over the rainbow [the crooner]

the wentletraps - just like honey [the jesus and mary chain]

apple orchard - appetite [prefab sprout]

camera shy - afterhours [velvet underground]

radiomanila - saving all my love for you [marilyn mcCoo and billy davis, jr./whitney houston)

candyaudioline - nothing much to lose [my bloody valentine]

sonnet LVIII - skyscrapers of st. mirin [live] [the close lobsters]

sarah sitting - why baby [live] [aislers set]

lazy lorelei - know who you are at every age [live] [cocteau twins]

you can download it from either of these links :

un
deux

the music may be free, but this compilation is priceless!

what you give is what you GET.

proof that the internet brings the world a little closer together : our friend sindyan in sachsen, germany was nice enough to include us on his 02 march 2009 podcast of one step beyond.

our songs "all over town" & "moving targets [eventually get hit]" set sail on the internet airwaves via his leipzig based radio show. we kept good company with the likes of : of montreal, phoenix, teitur, crystal stilts, wire, morrissey, television personalities, cause co-motion, bobby sheen, camera obscura, el perro del mar, the pains of being pure at heart, the saturday people, action painting!, heinz strunk, yeah yeah yeahs, gentle touch, whomadewho, steve cradock & primal scream!

you can download the set & enjoy the great bands/songs that were played :

part [1] one
part [2] two

it was great working with him & we really appreciate the overseas support! these guys are class acts! mit tiefer fankbarkeit!

the sincerest form of FLATTERY.

as we are fans before we are musicians--paying homage to one of our influences is a welcome thing. we recently recorded a song for dale marquez's long awaited follow up to last year's brilliant "strange carousels" online compilation. [which is still available for download] it is tentatively titled "under the covers." [it is not yet available for download, but we'll let you know as soon as it is!]

so, the theme this time around? ding-ding-ding! you guessed it--cover songs!

our contribution to the project was an attempt to do right by one of our most favourite bands in the entire world : aberdeen. [if you've never heard them, we strongly urge you to do so. their music changed our lives!]

the song : "toy tambourine." i think that we did quite well. we even got a thumbs up from mr. john girgus himself. no compliment could be worth more. :)

[10] ten things i [don't] hate about YOU.

these are the remains of an interview that will probably not go to press. a plague of miscommunications & lost emails being the cause. the questions were asked/answered during the summer of 2008. i always think of q & a sessions to be a time capsule of who you were at the time [not unlike a journal entry--or a song, for that matter] so i thought it deserved to be posted. maybe you'll learn a thing or [2] two! or [10] ten, rather. hehe. enjoy!

01. What's your favourite 7"?
ronnie : there are so many to choose from! hrrrm. how do you pick JUST one? of course i'm proud of my 60's soul, jam/style council/weller, elvis costello, smiths, my bloody valentine & jesus and mary chain singles. though recently i'm quite fond of my aberdeen "fireworks," the chamber strings "make it through the summer" & rocketship "hey hey girl" vinyls.

02. Best song you think you've written?
ronnie : best? that's a matter of opinion, isn't it? it changes from day to day for me. i'm proud of ALL of the songs that we've written. but the songs that have been lodged in my brain as of late : "moving targets [eventually get hit]," "the games we play" & a new song that i'm working on called "[winter, spring, summer] all fall down."

03. Best song you think someone else has written?
ronnie : another near impossible question to answer. ha. i'm sure i'll change my mind by the time this reaches press, but i'll give it a go. right now it's between "there is a light that never goes out" [morrissey/marr] & "god only knows" [wilson/asher]. i'm quite taken with "it's no wonder" [junior] & "toy tambourine" [arzy/girgus] as well. i wish that i'd written those songs. again, those are just off the top of my head. there are so many brilliant songs out there that it's difficult to pin down a definite answer.

04. Describe what you'd want someone to think of when they hear your band.
ronnie : fireworks & crashing waves. being in the middle of a rainstorm on a sunny day. j/k. seriously though, we obviously have our preconceptions about what our songs mean to us. we try to make them accessible to everyone--in terms of music & lyrics--so anyone can relate to them. we just want people to enjoy what we do.

05. Favourite show you've played?
ronnie : unfortunately, we're still a studio project, so no shows yet. the most important thing right now is to continue to write songs/record/release them. we'll work our way up to live shows. we promise. :)

06. Biggest [non-musical] influence on your band?
ronnie : the nouvelle vague [french new wave film]. jean-luc godard, in particular. what a visionary he was! i'm also a huge fan of chris marker. brilliant films, that man. mod fashion, pop art & coffee also top the list. under the influence of caffeine? you bet your knickers, i am! hehe.

07. [5] Five favourite things off the top of your head?
ronnie : since people/animals are not things, i suppose that i can't list them. [though it goes without saying that taylor, my family, my pets & my friends would occupy the top [4] four spots, easily] so favourite things, eh? [in no particular order]
[1] my home movies/photographs/artwork. [2] my acoustic guitar which i've had since since high school. [3] my records/cds. [4] my celebrity guitar pick collection--which consists of a pick used by paul weller on his "illumination" tour & another used by kelly riles of velocity girl during their last ever show--acquired from each show, respectively. [5] my childhood books. ahhh, memories.

08. What's the best story you have, music-related or not?
ronnie : let's see what i have in my bag of tricks. [a] i met winona ryder when she was walking out of a bookstore café the same night that i saw allen ginsberg do a poetry reading in baltimore, MD. [b] i got caught in a tug-of-war over morrissey's prada shirt when he played the morocco shrine center in jacksonville, FL. [c] paul weller gave me the nod when he heard me singing the backing vocals for "long hot summer" at the top of my lungs at the 9:30 club in washington, DC. [d] kelly riles from velocity girl borrowed my guitar pick at the last velocity girl show. *see the previous question for more details* [e] kevin barnes of of montreal dedicated & played a zombies cover [can't remember which song] for my then band [the impact!] when we opened for them at room 1026, pensacola, FL. [f] i met taylor. then we started the jealous sea. :) take your pick.

09. Has anyone ever made a crush mixtape for you?
ronnie : i'm usually the mixtape/cd maker--rather than recipient. they're not as easy to make as one might think. there are rules to follow, y'know? i guess i should say mixtapes/cds are easy to make. GOOD ones are not. in fact, i recently made one for taylor. it's been the soundtrack to her first few weeks in san francisco. speaking of which, it's time that i made her another one...

10. Anything else?
ronnie : if you haven't already heard us, stop by www.thejealoussea.com. it'll link you to our myspace & blogger pages as well. we're eternally grateful for being a part of this close-knit scene/family. everyone is so supportive of each other, which is refreshing. let's keep it that way people! we all want the same thing, so DON'T STOP THE INDIE POP!

going...going...GONE!

so what exciting things does the first month of the new year hold in store? thusfar :

[1] one. we have a free download for our loyal fanbase! an abandoned recording session from last summer yielded this version of "the games we play." we are currently re-recording it for future release. [we had shelved this incarnation for reasons we'd discussed earlier, but we thought that YOU should enjoy it in the interim! ]

[2] two. claude c. from pop song romance is preparing to release his very [1st] first music compilation entitled "all the girls i've ever loved" [24 january 2009]. it'll be available for pre-order on his page/website in the next week--complete with a paypal link if you'd like to order a copy. [u.s. orders are $8.00. international orders are $12.00.] each order comes with a button & a sticker. [as if the music wasn't cool enough already!] we are honoured to have our song "going, going, gone" alongside other brilliant tunes by pocketbooks, anne bacheley, summer cats, camera shy, komon & a slue of other amazing bands!

here's the tracklisting once again, just in case you've forgotten :

01 "edit all the sad parts out" not french

02 "tiny moth" lji

03 "anita" one happy island

04 "don't stop" pocketbooks

05 "spinning flipping" camp out

06 "stephanie & micheal" scream club

07 "you light me up" radio spectacular!!!

08 "hosikuzu loneliness" naivepop or petitfool

09 "i'm your band" the knight school

10 "simple way" the motifs

11 "when i need someone [rocketship remix]" surefire broadcast

12 "going, going, gone" the jealous sea

13 "on returning" anne bacheley

14 "coolest boy on the block" japanese pop songs

15 "too early" hey chica

16 "tender forever" scary monster

17 "in plain text" moogle charm

18 "bedwetter" summer cats

19 "after hours" camera shy

20 "pop song '91" very truly yours

21 "light blue car" dolly's pillbox

22 "emily" uni & the ding! string trio

23 "gbg 123" bonnie & clyde

24 "springtime told me" komon

25 "where do all the good ones go" megamoog

we think that track [12] twelve ROCKS! and so does claude! in fact, so does the cd cover! :)

should auld acquaintance be FORGOT?

happy new year!

we can't believe it's 2009 already--almost through the first decade of the 2000's. that's a scary thought, innit? only [3] three more years left, if you subscribe to the whole 2012/end of the world thing. haha.

we are in the midst of recording songs for various projects. a cover song for dale marquez's new online compilation. [3] three songs for the postponed/long overdue cloudberry 7". another [3] three for a single that we may put out ourselves [on stay-pressed records]. and a few just for fun. :) taylor heads back west in a few days, so we've been maximizing creativity. thank goodness for home recording. it's a drag being at the mercy of a studio/engineer. ie, scheduling can be a pain in the arse. there's just something a tad bit comforting about being able to record at your own convenience.

we hope you guys are having as productive a time as we are. if not--there are ways to remedy that situation. it is the new year for chrissake!

a mantra we can ALL recite : resolution is REVOLUTION! [or something like that]