10 to Spin | Bear in Heaven

Bear in Heaven will be releasing their new album, I Love You, It’s Cool, on April 3rd via Dead Oceans/Hometapes. But, you can hear it now. Sort of.

The trio from Brooklyn began streaming their latest finished project back on December 11th, only they slowed down the playback by about 400,000%, so all you’ll hear is a sound reminiscent of Wilco’s “Less Than You Think.” The LP is nearing the end of Side A, if you want to have a listen.

If you want a taste of something more recognizable, they’re offering that, too. Here’s a Lovelock (Steve Moore From Zombi) remix of a track from I Love You, It’s Cool, “The Reflection Of You.”

Finally, Bear in Heaven will be performing at the Luminary Center for the Arts on April 1st. Tickets are only $12 and can be purchased here. And as you St. Louisans might know, The Luminary is planning a move to Cherokee Street, but needs your help. You can donate via Kickstarter, but you only have four days left to do so. Do it now!

We were lucky to have Bear in Heaven recently participate in our 10 to Spin series here at Speakers in Code. Enjoy the tunes below!

We played over 200 shows to support our last record.  What does that mean? It means A LOT of time in a van.  The road has been on our minds a lot lately, so, here’s a grab bag of sentimental faves from the van.  Songs that have their own story and meaning to us, or simply, just road related.

On the Road Again – Canned Heat

Pretty sure this gets played every time we exit the Holland Tunnel and are truly, officially, on the road.  Our best bud Dan Donahue made a mix, called Danned Heat.  A filtered mix of only the Blind Owl tracks from Canned Heat. A van essential.  We included this Wade Nichols edit instead of the original, because, it’s incredible.

For a Reason – Lifetones

I think this song has made it on to every mix we’ve ever made. A band favorite, and just a good way to look at life.

On the Road – Azita
I’d like to hire someone, to make it go alright… get me on the road.  This one goes out to Aaron Treptow, the FOH/TM of our dreams. 

North Carolina Highway – Gerald Jay King
Gerald Jay King was a MySpace discovery 5 or 6 years ago.  300 clicks into top friends on MySpace, we found Gerald.  Blue collar New Yorker in his 60s? 70s?  Open mic night kinda guy with the voice of Neil Young from the bottom of the sea. 

Puppies and Babies – The Arts of Life Band
Pitchfork Festival 2009.  We did an intense 3 hour long press session, bouncing between interviews in the intense summer heat.  We just finished when these folks grabbed us and asked for another interview.  What followed was the most joyous interview we’ve ever done to date.  We met the band, and interviewed each other.  Read about The Arts of Life band here, and learn about how incredible they are.  
http://www.artsoflife.org/the-arts-of-life-band/

Truckin’ – Grateful Dead

Self explanatory.

Me and Paul – Willie Nelson

Absolute classic tour anthem. Filled with some perfect kick drum fills, but the lyrics say it all.
It’s been rough and rocky travelin’,
But I’m finally standing upright on the ground.
And after takin’ several readings,
I’m surprised to find my mind’s still fairly sound.
I thought Nashville was the roughest,
But I know I said the same about them all.
We received our education
In the cities of the nation, me and Paul.

Ship of Fools – John Cale

We were lucky enough to tour Australia with some really incredible bands.  It was a magical time.  This song was the soundtrack, and an apt description for a plane full of hungover hilarious musicians.

Animal Tracks – Mountain Man

We toured with these ladies for a couple of weeks last year, and fell in love with them.  Unfortunately they couldn’t make do the entire tour, so instead, we played their album non stop for the next 4 weeks.  We camp a lot on tour, I wish we could sing like this around the fire.

Life Lessons 101 – DJ Exquisite

Have you heard of DJ Exquisite? HAVE YOU HEARD OF DJ EXQUISITE???!!  We met this mad man at an instore at Wreckless Records in Chicago.  He seemed like the kind of dude who hangs in the record store for 4-5 hours and then buys 1 record.  He clung on to us, wanted to know if we were from Brooklyn, Indiana and then gifted us his mix tape.  Can’t tell you how much play this album got in the van. Basically an everyday thing.  Jon even remixed this track.  Til the world blow up, AND BEYOND.

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