Two Thousand and Ten! When did it start? How is it already over? If you didn't know, I kinda like music. ALOT. Sort of overly obsessed. This year brought in some serious gems. Any other year the National would have been my #1 album, but Arcade Fire and LCD had to put out some amazingness that just blew mind. Does it get any better than when "Dance Yrself Clean" clean breaks? Does it get any better than putting headphones on and listening to The Suburbs all the way through like 90 times in a row? And why isn't Robyn my girlfriend yet? FYI, Damon Albarn is genius. Blur better play the U.S. in 2011. Champ by Tokyo Police Club is definitely the most underrated album of the year. And the Walkmen keep churning out albums that make me feel like I should be driving across the country on a deserted highway. When Chris Keating of Yeasayer sings the following on "Ampling Alp," you just know that everything is right in the world and 2010 was indeed an amazing year for music. "Now the world can be an unfair place at times/But your lows will have their compliment of highs/And if anyone should cheat you/Take advantage of or beat you/raise your head and wear your wounds with pride." Nuff said. Thank you 2010.
1. Arcade Fire-The Suburbs 2. LCD Soundsystem-This Is Happening 3. The National-High Violet 4. Robyn-Body Talk Trilogy 5. Gorillaz-Plastic Beach 6. Local Natives-Gorilla Manor 7. Yeasayer-Odd Blood 8. The Walkmen-Lisbon 9. Tokyo Police Club-Champ 10. Hot Chip-One Life Stand 11. Wild Nothing-Gemini 12. The Golden Filter-Voluspa 13. Miami Horror-Illumantion 14. Fitz and the Tantrums-Pickin' Up the Pieces 15. Twin Shadow-Forget 16. Surfer Blood-Astrocast 17. Vampire Weekend-Contra 19. Sleigh Bells-Treats 20. Diamond Rings-Special Affections 21. Die Antwoord-$.O.$. 22. Tame Impala-Innerspeaker 23. The Soft Pack-The Soft Pack 24. Secret Colours-Secret Colours 25. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-Beat The Devil's Tattoo
***Kanye should be on this list but I've only had it for 3 weeks now, so it's tough to say where it would fall.
Honorable Mentions: Rusko-O.MG.! BBU-Fear of A Clear Channel Planet Gaslight Anthem-American Slang Best Coast-Crazy For You Frightened Rabbit-The Winter of Mixed Drinks
A few people have accused me of only listening to one type of music--dance music. That's an extremely false accusation. I listen to all different kinds of tunes on a daily basis. Just today I've listened to the Walkmen, LCD, The National, Hussle Club, Bowie, BRMC, The Horrors, Syl Johnson, Foals, and The Golden Filter. There's no method to my madness! I love it all. If you pigeon-hole yourself to only listening to one type of music, you're making a mistake in life. You're also dumb, ugly, and empty inside. God gave us all these different music genres so they could be heard and enjoyed. The least you could do is have an open mind and explore the wonderful gift that is music.
Although I'm not an expert in the genre, I do indeed like cutting a rug to some good soul music. As of late, there's been somewhat of a trend of white guys getting on the soul train and taking it for a ride. Mayer Hawthrone, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, and Los Angeles-based Fitz and the Tantrums are just 3 examples of why white guys singing soul music is kinda the new black. Though only time will tell where the above mentioned fall in soul's history, on "Pickin' Up the Pieces," Fitz and the Tantrums do it real and perfectly. Soul music comes from the soul and hits you in the soul. With lyrics like "I am oh so tired of loneliness/But the world don’t change" and "But i’m inclined to tell you somethin’/you never show me how you cared for me," this holds very true. I feel like my soul is getting stung by a punch from Ali while I'm simultaneously floating like a butterfly from such a grooving rhythm that the Tantrums provide. To top off it off, "Pickin' Up the Pieces" has dueling vocals. Dueling vocals always get me, but guy/girl dueling vocals are the best. On the second verse, backup vocalist Nicole Scaggs almost outshines Fitz on what is one hell of a track.
I was gonna blog about something else today, but then I heard this song. New Cut Copy! It sounds so very Australian. As I was explaining to a friend, via email, who could not access the track due to their work taking all the fun out of work, and blocking quality music sites, I told him "Take Me Over" sounded like this....
"The beginning sounds like Men at Work. Then it starts sounding like Cut Copy with OOOOOOOh's and AHHHHHHHHHH's. Then it sounds like Men at Work and then it sounds like Cut Copy again."
So good. With Hearts on Fire, I reach out to a vegemite sandwich.
Shit Robot, aka Marcus Lambkin, has put out one of the finer dance records this year, his long-awaited debut, From the Cradle to the Rave(DFA Records). Although the title of the album leaves something to be desired, the music and beats on the album do not disappoint. This should come as no surprise, 'cause pretty much everything that comes out of the DFA factory turns to gold. And with guests like Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip and DFA master sensei and LCD Soundsystem frontman, Mr. James Murphy, Shit Robot has made sure his contribution in the DFA gold-making process is a success.
Upon listening to From the Cradle to the Rave, one would think that Taylor or Murphy might steal the show on the album. This does not hold true, however, as Nancy Whang (LCD Soundsystem and The Juan Maclean) completely steals the show with her vocals on the standout track, "Take 'Em Up." Full disclosure: After seeing LCD Soundsystem 7 times this year(nerd or awesome? Probably both), I have developed quite the crush on Ms. Nancy. She's one of those girls that's cool without even trying. On this track, her almost seductive vocals make staying at the party for way too long sound like a good idea. Note: When you think it's time to leave, LEAVE. If you're not convinced of Nancy's charm, wait till the 4:37 mark where she kinda crushes it with a Deborah Harry-like rap that's also very reminiscent of her vocals on LCD's "Get Innocuous."
Watch the awesome video for "Take 'Em Up" and Nancy in Rotoscope below! Btw, more girls need to start wearing puffy Zubaz-like pants. You just got own it like Nancy does!
Girl Talk released his new album today. For free. It's called All Day. You'll probably have an easier time downloading the album right here then through the Illegal Art website. So, yeah, download it.
Tracklist: 01. Oh No 02. Let It Out 03. That’s Right 04. Jump on Stage 05. This Is the Remix 06. On and On 07. Get It Get It 08. Down for the Count 09. Make Me Wanna 10. Steady Shock 11. Triple Double 12. Every Day
If you've visited us before, you'd know that we have been big fans of Diamond Rings(John O'Regan) since his infancy. We were instantly captivated by his first single "All Yr Songs" and mesmerized by the NBA jerseys that filled the accompanying video. Now, John O. is back with his debut album, Special Affections, which is filled with 10 tracks that I will now coin as Bedroom Polaroid House.
The album is filled with many gems, but Special Affections' standout track is clearly "Something Else." With a killer homemade beat and a super catchy guitar riff that reminds me of New Order's "Ceremony," Diamond Rings' admiration for a special someone comes off so sincerely with that mild lisp that accentuates many of his lyrics. There's a serious innocence that fills all of John O's vocals throughout the album that makes it extremely difficult not to like Diamond Rings and Special Affections, so it should come as no surprise that his music and eye make-up are currently garnering so much buzz. Bedroom Polaroid House, FTW!
Epic and Banger. These are two words that have been extremely misused in describing music as of late. Daft Punk at Coachella '06 equals epic. Band of Horses at the Metro, not so much. Queen at Wembley '86 equals epic. Weezer at the Aragon, probably not. Actually, definitely not.
Banger. The remix that your friend made the other day, not really (though i do give them credit for trying 'cause remixing is not an easy task). "The Tangible Presence of the Miraculous" by The Crystal Ark? Yes. Total banger.
Released on DFA, Gavin Russom has created a track that is both epic and a banger. If you've seen LCD Soundsystem before you may recognize Gavin as the multi-instrumentalist with the involuntary "business in the front, party in the back" look, and on this track he takes the lead, creating a 12 minute plus monster. With a pulsating Brazilian influenced beat and sensual Latin vocals, "The Tangible Presence of the Miraculous" is dance floor ecstasy in non-pill form. At around the 8:32 mark, your life as a music fan peaks in glee as you and the dance floor are, indeed, ON FIRE. BOOM!
I have a new favorite Chicago rock band. They're called Secret Colours and they rule. Call them psychedelic, call them shoegaze or just call them awesome, Secret Colours combine all these elements to make music that would get Anton Newcombe so excited, he might kick you in the face. Sure, they sound a bit like the Brian Jonestown Massacre, but the BJM sound like a bunch of other bands too, so quit making comparisons and let's enjoy the fact that both bands pay homage to sounds of the past and they both do it well.
On "Some Might Say," my favorite track off of Secret Colours' self titled debut, the dreamy instrumentation and the buried vocals exemplify Secret Colours' divulgence into the past. With the vocals at a whisper you're put in a relaxed state of mind throughout the song until you're hit with a bomb of distortion and a rocking guitar solo. That's how I like my rock 'n' roll. Dreamy and distorted. Pretty much, if you sound remotely like the Jesus and Mary Chain, I'm gonna like you. Secret Colours, I like you. You may sound like the past, but you're presently my new favorite Chicago band. Way to go, dudes!
Secret Colours play Subterranean on Friday at 9pm. $8.
Gorillaz did Letterman last night. They also did a little mini-concert at the Ed Sullivan for some very lucky people and not suprisingly they brought along some guests. We don't need to go too much into detail cause I'm sure you already know it was awesome. Damon Albarn is a genius, and despite their age, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon look as cool as ever. For real.
Duck Sauce, the DJ duo consisting of A-Trak and Armand Van Helden, are about to drop their second single, "Barbara Streisand" on Fool's Gold Records. Guess what? It's hot. Repetitve? Yes. Hot despite the repetition? Double Yes. And what does a hot track need to take it to the next level? A hot video with like EVERYBODY in it and New York City as its playground. The only thing that this video is missing that would break the thermometer is me, but I'm told I'll make the director's cut extended mix....
So the story goes like this....David Sitek, aka the white guy in TV On The Radio, starts making a solo album, tries to sing over his self produced music and sounds like shit. Lucky for him, he's got some cool friends with better voices and enlists them to guest on his side project, Maximum Balloon. It's no surprise that this album is pretty amazing. After all, Sitek has been the man behind the production on TVOTR's three studio albums, arguably some of the best and innovative music from the previous decade. The pretty amazing part becomes even more amaze when the guests include David Byrne, Karen O, Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon, and Tunde and Kyp from TVOTR.
"I'LL SHOW YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT THE ABOUT THE END OF TIME..."
Though the previous vocalists mentioned above do a great job on their respective tracks, it's Katrina Ford, singer for Baltimore based band Celebration, that steals the cake for me on "Young Love." Behind some of Sitek's thumping drum and synth beats, Ford's voice sucks you in, and orders you to join her in the "big parade," full of better times, big dreams, and hopefully a lot more albums produced by David Sitek, which all pretty much rule more than a ruler. Check the mp3 below for personal verification of awesomeness.
....and we're back! I've been accused of severely lacking posts this summer, and, well, the accusations are true. I've been busy working, watching the World Cup, and attending many concerts(anybody see the Strokes at Lollapalooza? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. JULIAN!). Anyways, as the summer days get shorter, and the sun disappears only to be replaced by the miserable, dark Chicago winter, I promise to be a better blogger and provide you with some quality hits. Cause we're all about the hits over here....
So, what's the feel good hit of the summer? Everybody has been creaming in their pants since Cee-Lo dropped "Fuck You" last week, and, sure it's a catchy little number, but I'm sure after you hear it a gazillion times like you heard "Crazy" you won't feel the same way in a couple months. Enter "Holidays" by Miami Horror.
For the past few years, Australia has been kind enough to dance floors around the world by giving us Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Midnight Juggernauts, etc... With its first full length, Illumination, Benjamin Plant, the main man behind Miami Horror, promises to join his fellow countrymen in musical goodness, and with Illumination, he has perhaps surpassed his compadres. "Holidays" is an instant dance floor classic. It's a disco-house-funk nugget whose bass line screams of urgency. Like, you urgently need to get on the dance floor and forget about whatever is going on in your life, and cut some serious rug. Lyrically, Plant does an amazing job of matching the music's immediacy. While listening to this track, you can close your eyes and envision an entire dance floor getting down and shouting, "I DON"T KNOW JUST WHERE YOU CAME FROM, BUT I NEED YOU NOW!!!"
By now you've probably had the new LCD Soundsystem album for months and months, but it officially came out today. Mr. Murphy was very hurt last month when he got news that This Is Happening had already been leaked to the interweb, begging not to share LCD's third, and most likely last album with your friends and to wait till the proper release date to hand it out. I'm not sure how well those pleas were heard, but since today is the day, I will now give you my favorite track off what is currently my favorite album of 2010. "JUST DO IT RIGHT. MAKE IT PERFECT AND REAL."
If this is LCD's last album, they are going out with a serious bang by having "Home" as the last track on the album and the last song that the public will get to hear from them. Sure, you can hear the Bowie and Talking Heads influences lightly sprinkled throughout the album, and "Somebody's Calling Me" does sounds too much like "Nightclubbing" by Iggy Pop, but "Home" is pure LCD. Ok, so maybe "Home" does sound a little Talking Headish, but you tend to forget that when James Murphy delivers such sensible lyrics that, well, hit home. I find it kinda awesome that Mr. Murphy is leaving us with what I believe is his most personal track by LCD to date. It leaves you hanging and makes you wonder what else James could have had up his sleeve for his band. I suppose this is his intention, to leave us wondering and to go out on top, cause this could be it. And it is happening. LCD's swan song. James is going home. Forget your past, this is your last chance now. Grab your things and stumble into the night...
My initial reaction to hearing Die Antwoord (Afrikaans for "The Answer") for the first time was something like this, "This is fucking weeeiiiirrrrd." Consisting of Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and DJ Hi-Tek, Die Antwoord is taking weird to a whole new level and everyone seems to be loving them for it. Freshly signed to Interscope, the South African threesome have build a massive buzz on the interweb by releasing weird ass videos and their weird ass album, $O$, for free consumption. Much has been said about if Die Antwoord is for real or a joke, but it doesn't really matter when the joke sounds completely original and like nothing that's out there right now. Hells, they only played a 20 minute set at Coachella and it was one of the most talked about sets of the weekend. Maybe the joke's on Die Antwoord.
"FUCK. THIS IS LIKE THE COOLEST SONG I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY WHOLE LIFE"
Of all the songs on $O$, "Enter the Ninja" seems to be the most accessible, i.e, the least weird track on the album, mainly cause you can almost understand everything that they're saying. Check the mp3 and video below and decide for yourself if Die Antwoord is worth the hype. Personally, I'm in ninja.
It's been two weeks since the culmination of Coachella 2010, and I think we're finally prepared to put into words what we saw over a course of 3 beautiful days in the sun. When the lineup was released late in January we released a gasp of "oh, no you didn't Coachella?" which was followed by a gasp back from Coachella with a "oh, yes we did." And did they ever... Not surprisingly, the 11th edition of Coachella sold out, making it only the 4th Coachella ever to do so. Double not surprisingly, there was alot people in attendance this year. 75,000 to be exact. Each day. That's alot of people. With that said, I never waited more than 5 minutes for a bathroom, or 2 minutes for water. Apparently, there were alot of complaints via the internets about wait times, etc., but I didn't really see it. I dunno, maybe those people were at another festival.
Anyways, the music! Over a three day span, I was able to catch 37 bands ranging from the hottest rapper in the game and his girl wearing his chain(Jigga and B), to Colombian rock(Atreciopelados), to the geekiest white guy in the history of music, and no I'm not talking about Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Erlend Øye. Apart from Wale singing "Use Somebody" (really? btw, you were 45 minutes late. Did you really have to drop Kings of Leon? You're suppose to be rapping. Bad idea, dude), and the sound during Passion Pit (no fault of the band, but their audio guy kinda struggled to get a good mix throughout the set) everybody that I saw ranged from really good to amazing.
My Favorites:
LCD Soundsystem:If I was forced to pick a favorite for the entire weekend, it would have to be LCD and Mr. James Fuckin' Murphy. In the no pressure spot of playing before Jay-Z on the mainstage, Mr. James and his crew delivered by throwing down some serious and epic disco jams. Jumping up and down to "All My Friends" with all my friends was quite touching, but it was the intensity of "Yeah" that really threw LCD's peformance over the top for me. LCD Soundsystem is from the future.
Them Crooked Vultures: I won't say that I was surprised by this set, cause that would be really ignorant of anyone to say, being that there's members of Nirvana and Led Zeppelin in TCV, but I guess I was surprised at how they totally brought the rock thunder like I've never seen it brought before. TCV's set started with John Paul Jones playing slide on a 9 string bass. That's not a misprint. Do I need to say more? I think not, but I will cause I feel bad for the bald guy playing rhythm guitar that wasn't in Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, or Queens of the Stone Age. Actually, I don't feel bad when I come to think of it. That guy has a pretty sweet job!
Major Lazer: Going into Coachella 2010 I didn't know who would be best musically, but I was pretty certain that Major Lazer was gonna be the biggest party. Need proof? Please watch the video below. From the second that Diplo and Switch dropped their first beat, the entire Mojave Tent went absolutely apeshit. Led by their front/hypeman Skerrit Bwoy, who is absolutely insane, and dancers whose moves are best reserved for a futuristic strip club (I've never seen dance moves like this in my life! The physics of them is just impossible) Major Lazer had everybody jumping and screaming like the world was about to end. It would have been a really good way to go out. Pon de Floor!
The Specials: Who said Ska is dead?!? A fully reunited Specials brought it back to life in the desert in 2010. The Specials were impeccable in their performance and in their style with those fresh suits and those Fred Perry's as the sun went down on Friday evening.
Club 75: Busy P, DJ Medhi, Cassius, and Gaspard from Justice. Five French men. All dressed in white. The set started by Busy P melancholically exclaiming into the mic, as only a French man could, "Welcome to Paris." From there on it was a 90 minute Parisian dance party on a Sunday afternoon. And, yes, i stayed the entire 90 minutes.
Favorite thing I heard at Coachella: As Jay-Z held court on the mainstage he tried to connect with the indie crowd by trying to get everybody to make some noise for some of his favorite bands that were playing throughout the weekend. "Let's hear it for Passion Pit! Let's hear for Grizzly Bear! Let's hear it for The Yeasayers!" The Yeasayers?!? Oh, Jigga, you're so cute sometimes. To his credit, Jay, with Beyonce, was spotted throughout the weekend checking out all the indie bands that the kids love these days. You know, the XXes, The Beach Houses, The Grizzly Bears...
Favorite personal moment of the weekend: Standing at the way back of the Gobi tent watching the Whitest Boy Alive(Erlend, you are the whitest boy alive, by far) and turning around and realizing that to the left of me I could see Jay-Z performing and then turning to the right and realizing that I could see John Lydon(aka Johnny Rotten) grimacing at the crowd,with the rest of Public Image Ltd. behind him, like only Johnny Rotten can, and realizing this will never happen again and this is fucking awesome.
All in all, my 6th Coachella in a row was a great success, and again my favorite weekend of the year. Thank you to Goldenvoice for putting on the best festival in the U.S., and maybe the world. And a super-duper-uber thank you to all my Coachella friends that I get to share this experience with year in and year out. You guys are the best! Cuddle Party Forever!
It's been a minute since our last post, but there's a real good reason for that. We've been criss-crossing the country in search of the perfect follow-up to "She Comes Alive." I think we found it! Our journey finally landed us in the always sunny, Buffalo, New York. Like Portland, Buffalo has given us some great things. What they are, I'm not totally sure, but I'm sure they're all great. Well, they did give the us the Buffalo Bills of 90s, who went to 4 Super Bowls in a row, and lost them all, most notably Super Bowl 25, when the kicker missed a game winning field goal, "wide right". This helped spawn Buffalo '66, which gave us Vincent Gallo, who also gave us The Brown Bunny, which is probably the most uncomfortable movie you will ever watch.
The Tins is a Buffalonian three piece that use guitars and synth sounds, combined with dueling vocals to help create a immediacy in their sound. "The Green Room" is the complete opposite of "She Comes Alive." In the latter track, the joys of love are celebrated with the the blinders on. The too good to be true part of a relationship. "The Green Room" is the part when it's all over and fallen apart. At about the 3:40 mark, the song and protagonist breakdown, completely aware that he wishes nothing but the worst to whomever just broke his heart/ruined his life. It's a little sad, it's a little sad. But we've all been there. We've all been a little "She Comes Alive" and a little bit of the "The Green Room." It's the best part of life! And it makes for amazing songs...
Portland has given us some great things throughout the years. What they are, I'm not totally sure, but I'm sure they're all great. Well, they did give us Arvydas Sabonis (via Lithuania), and that's more than enough when it comes to giving. Enter Baby Monster. Baby Monster just dropped this nugget of bouncy, electronic goodness that would even make Arvydas Sabonis blush. Really, it's that good. "She Comes Alive" is a love song. We've all been there before...in love with that special someone... like she's the only one in room... before she ruins your life 3 months later! I kid, I don't even know what I'm talking about cause it usually only takes 2 months. Anyways, if you're falling for someone right now and in that honeymoon period, this should be the soundtrack to your blindness.
Kid Sister just released this video for her next single, "Day Dreaming." This track finds Kid Sister singing a little bit more than rapping, but it still works for me. She's adorable, and this video is further proof of that. The Soul Machine, Cee-Lo Green(Gnarls Barkley) does some guest backup vocals, and Flosstradamus pops into the video, too. Kid Sis can make my donuts anytime! Like this...
I think I may have found my anthem for my summer of unemployment. Combining a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-esque bass line and a song title that would make Morrissey and Marr jealous, NYC's Hussle Club is about to make some serious noise with "I Have High Expectations For What I Want To Be But In The Mirror I Don't See Them Staring Back At Me," leading the way. Hussle Club is the sole creation of Prince Terrance, who's kept the backbeat for numerous bands, including Santigold and Major Lazer. Could you really be just a drummer with the name Prince? Never. On "High Expectations," Terrance goes on some post new wave tip while lyrically connecting with a generation of disenchanted hipsters. It's at the chorus filled with handclaps and sleigh bells that you realize no matter happens in life, everything will be alright in the end. At least that's what I keep telling myself...
Hot Chip just released a hilarious new video for "I Feel Better," finally putting the Hot Chippers in the boy band light that they deserve. They're total heartthrobs. In my eyes, this is the standout track off of One Night Stand. When the beat drops a minute in, I feel like I'm being transported into a scene in Trainspotting. You know, when Renton moves to London? Exactly. Watch the video below.
Moz just released this little video to coincide with his b-side compilation from last year, Swords. The video finds Morrissey walking through the streets of Moz Angeles, and hanging out with a couple of his band members at a cemetery. Where else would Morrissey hang out with his band members? Duh. Gangs, Latins, L.A., and death theme this track, which can almost be seen as a prequel to 2004's, "First Of The Gang To Die." Rest in peace, Hector.
Our favorite Canadian, John O, aka Diamond Rings, has just released a new single this week on the German imprint, Tomlab. "Wait & See" finds Diamond Rings taking a more serious tone compared to his first single, "All Yr Songs." He's changing all the rules while hanging out with all the freaks and ghouls. A long way from sharing his warmest sweater with his favorite person in "All Yr Songs." Regardless of the tone in the lyrics, "Wait & See" is just as infectious as his previous single. Diamond Rings has quite the future ahead of him if he keeps on delivering all these catchy tunes. Look for his full-length debut, Special Affections, this spring on Tomlab.
I'd post an mp3 of "Wait & See," but it's only 1.98 on Itunes (with a kick ass Sebadoh cover for a b-side!). Don't be cheap. Support the artist. He needs money for eye make-up.
Diamond Rings will be opening for Think About Life this Sunday at Schubas. 8pm. 8 bucks. Diamond Rings will also be playing a handful of shows at SXSW next week in Austin, TX.
Check the video for "Wait & See" below. Someone asked me the other day how I would describe Diamond Rings, and I responded with a cross between Christian Laettner and Ziggy Stardust. What do you think?
LCD Soundsystem will be releasing a new, yet to be named album this spring, and gave some peeps at the Yves Saint Laurent fashion show a preview of a possible, forthcoming track. No repetitive lyrics on this one, just some pretty straight, sick, and hauntingly epic beats. On April 17th, Mr. James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem will bring the funkiest dance party the Coachella mainstage has ever seen. Yours truly will be in attendance and can not wait to report back.
Check the track and fashion below. Nice dress, Yves!
This weekend's SNL was probably one of the best in a long time. It helps that Zack Galifianakis is absolutely hilarious, but it also helps when the musical guest flourishes in what can sometimes be a shoddy audio mix. Vampire Weekend overcame the audio troubles of past musical guests, and delivered pristine versions of "Cousins" and "Giving Up the Gun." It was on the latter that VW showed a national audience that they are worthy of the hype, and probably gardnered even more haters. Don't hate the player, only hate the Polos...
Chicago's own BBU (Bin Laden Blowin' Up) just released a brand new mixtape playing homage to Public Enemy's, Fear Of A Black Planet. Fear Of A Clear Channel Planet finds BBU delivering some politically infused lyrics combined with that Chicago hip-hop/juke sound that I love. Add to that some Rockwell samples, a little Common and Lily Allen, some Justice, and shout outs to Bad Brains, Black Star and Too Short, amongst repeated shout outs to Chicago and you got yourself the right ingredients for a serious mixtape. Who da fuck is you?!? CHI-TOWN BLOWIN' UP!
Oh, Canada. You may have lost your hockey game last night, but you should feel like winners for having Dan Snaith, aka Caribou, as one of your citizens. On 4/20, via Merge, Caribou will be releasing Swim, the follow up to the Polaris Music Prize winning, Andorra. If "Odessa," the first single from Swim, is a preview of what to expect from the forthcoming album, we are in for a real treat. Sounding suspiciously like Erlend Øye, Snaith juxtaposes a love lost/abandoned with one of the most infectious beats that 2010 has seen so far. Be warned, this song will get stuck in your head for days.
To accompany the release of "Odessa," Caribou has just put up a video where we follow a female protagonist through a not so winter wonderland of half dissolves, which for full effect would be best viewed on 4/20, the release date for Swim. Watch below.
Oh, Valentine's Day. As we sit here on this Valentine Sunday alone, blogging, eating Bon Bons and watching sad movies, we realize that love is hard and indeed, a battlefield. Lucky for us, hundreds of men and women have been able to describe these emotions and feelings through song and lyric. Music is not one dimensional when it comes to love. Can't express your love to someone? "Open Arms" by Journey can help you. Heartbroken, miserable, trying to hang on? This happened to Bob Dylan (and you). That's why he wrote, "Most Of The Time."
Enter Mayer Hawthorne. Michigan born, and L.A. based, Mayer Hawthorne is quickly making quite a name for himself in the love game. His debut album, A Strange Arrangement, was released last year on Peanut Butter Wolf's, Stones Throw Records , after PBW got some of Hawthorne's demos, with PBW initially thinking they were tracks from the past. Channeling Motown, Hawthorne goes through all the different varieties and flavors of love on A Strange Arrangement. Hawthorne does the Motown sound so well, that you almost forget that the album was made in 2009, and, more so ,that he's a nerdy looking white guy. But love is colorblind! And these are modern times where anything is possible! This album is the real deal. Buy it!
Look for Hawthorne this spring opening up for Passion Pit.
Watch video of Hawthorne's first single off of, A Strange Arrangement, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" below, hearts included. And check Hawthorne and his band doing my favorite track, "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't That Pleasin' Nothin' " on Jimmy Kimmel.
Hot Chip, one of my favorite bands, played "Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon" last night. As if that wasn't good enough, the legendary Roots (not to be confused with the legendary music journalist, Snooki) backed them up on "One Life Stand" off of the brand spanking new album by the same title. One Life Stand will get its official U.S. release on Tuesday. Though it will never live up to the greatness that is The Warning (one of my favorite albums of the previous decade), it does sound a bit more cohesive than their last release, Made In The Dark. I am not, by any means, saying that Made In The Dark was a bad album. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's got some serious jams, but it was a very slight comedown from The Warning. Just a little, tiny comedown.
Picking a favorite between the last three Hot Chip albums is like picking a favorite between Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant during the Chicago Bulls championship runs throughout the 90's. Though they all have their redeeming qualities, Horace's goggles, Scottie's smooth character, we all know that Michael was the greatest, just like The Warning will always trump all other Hot Chip albums, now and forever.
Yeah, I'm not lying. This is why television was created. For moments like this. I'm pretty sure Phoenix's career is now complete. A Grammy and a interview by the legendary music journalist, Snooki.
The boys of Midnight Conspiracy have hit a dinger with their new remix of Chromeo's, "Night By Night." In honor of its release, LOUIS KHA, 1/3 of Midnight Conspiracy, was kind enough to answer some questions for the third edition of "Together Through Megabytes." Results below.
MRLT: How did the remix for "Night by Night" come about?
LOUIS KHA: Graham was actually working on another remix, and I took what he had and just randomly started playing with it, mixing it into other songs as part of a mix tape. And miraculously, it sounded fantastic with Chromeo's Night By Night. So it got reworked and we sent a rough copy to Dave from Chromeo and he loved it! It was funny because we had 2 remixes of the same basic underlying instrumental. We debated for awhile what to do with it, and in the end decided to release it as a Chromeo remix. We might go back and release the other remix one day. We'll see haha.
MRLT: What else does Midnight Conspiracy have cooking in terms of remixes, parties, shows, casseroles, etc?
LOUIS KHA: The next remix we'll release will be a dubstep take on Esser's Headlock. That should be out in a few weeks. After that we have on deck official remixes for MSTRKRFT, Editors and Cool Kids x Hey Champ to name a few. Plus Crystal Castles will feature a remix we did of Crimewave on their upcoming remix album, which should come out around the same time as their original album, whenever that may be.
In terms of parties, we've really been focusing on this new party called Delorean Nites on Feb 6 at Lincoln Hall. Headlining will be Designer Drugs along with Skyler, Broken Disco 1980 and Punky Fresh.
We've been trying to do less gigs in hopes of really focusing on making this a huge party. You know how all those other cities have giant electro parties at concert venues with stages and all you see is straight up crowd surfing mayhem from the likes of Steve Aoki and Le Castle Vania? Well, we're really trying to bring that to Chicago. We feel that's lacking in Chicago. And Designer Drugs is perfect for the first party. They play really hard, banging electro, so it's going to be crazy. Plus they've been gaining a lot of momentum. They recently sold out a 1000 plus venue in El Paso, Texas of all places!
And hopefully the size of Lincoln Hall will be able to support bringing in larger electro DJs that often overlook or skip Chicago on their tour because the market isn't big enough here. And we made it 18+. The kids tend to make it crazier, and plus it's good to expose the youth to the music and artists that you really want to push. They're more open minded and going to be the ones that determine the future of electronic music, or of anything for that matter.
We've made a mix tape for the party which features 2 of our remixes and should be representative of the kind of music to expect.
MRLT: You go by the name of Midnight Conspiracy, you play a night at Angels and Kings called "Disappear Here," and you're now doing "Delorean Nights" over at Lincoln Hall. I'm sensing a sort of "dark" theme here. What's up with that and are you guys open to sunshine and playing beach parties?
LOUIS KHA: I see you've caught on to the dark theme. The 90s were happy and full of sun-worshiping candy ravers. The 2000s kind of smacked everyone back and made them aware of the worlds troubles. If the 90s and 2000s were like the roaring 20s where everyone got rich off of the fed's excessive liquidity orgy, and everything came crashing down at the end of the last decade, then the 2010s will be like the depression of the 30s. Hence, the dark theme. That being all said, one of the set of Mikul's T-shirt and album cover designs for us is in the style of bright, colorful cartoony art. So that really set us back in terms of going for this dark theme. Ooops.
Last night, Los Angeles was lucky enough to witness this little band from Oxford, England called Radiohead perform in front of a very intimate crowd of 1,300. In town recording new material for their upcoming album, Radiohead decided to do their part and contribute all ticket sales to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Fans paid a minimum of 452 dollars a ticket towards a great cause and their Radiohead addictions.
Due to distance and 452 dollars we were not able to attend. However, our dear friend and L.A. correspondent, Chris Johnson did! Here's what he had to say...
"The setlist was created by the gods and the sound was better than I have ever heard them, easily. My favorite show is still Liverpool the day Kid A came out, but this is easily a close second. The band was just having a blast, the sound was phenomenal, seeing Radiohead with actual walls was just ridiculous."
Well said, Chris. Setlist and video below...
01 Faust Arp 02 Fake Plastic Trees 03 Weird Fishes/Arpeggi 04 The National Anthem 05 Nude 06 Karma Police 07 Kid A 08 Morning Bell 09 How To Disappear Completely 10 A Wolf at the Door 11 The Bends 12 Reckoner 13 Lucky 14 Bodysnatchers 15 Dollars & Cents 16 Airbag 17 Exit Music
Encore #1 18 Everything In Its Right Place (Thom) 19 You And Whose Army? 20 Pyramid Song 21 All I Need
Encore #2: 22 Lotus Flower 23 Paranoid Android 24 Street Spirit (fade out)
You probably missed this one if you don't live in Canada. Ms. Emily Haines does a wonderful acoustic version of "Help I'm Alive" off of Metric's latest album, Fantasies.
It's that time of year again... In about 12 hours or so we will all know the lineup for the 2010 edition of Coachella aka Disneyland for music lovers. I have been to many festivals around the country and year in and year out, Coachella always comes out on top. It's like Christmas, Prom, your birthday, and the last day of school combined. This festival has done it all.
Pixies reunion-Check Madonna-Check Radiohead-Check Black Star-Check Gang of Four reunion-Check Rage Against the Machine reunion-Check Prince-Double Check Daft Punk-Triple Check
Seriously, the last two on that list are my #1 and #2 shows of all time. Daft Punk, who had not played in the U.S. in years, took all the money Coachella gave them and spent it on kick ass robot suits and a ridiculous stage set up. I'm sure everyone inside that tent was expecting a great time, but I don't think anybody had any idea that two guys in robot suits were gonna play from the middle of a pyramid that lit up. I will never forget turning around during Daft Punk's set and looking at all the faces behind me that were simultaneously expressing total awe and pure joy. You could hear people randomly screaming out, "Oh, My God!" as if God was actually on stage. And then in '08 he was. His name is Prince.
I could go on and on about Coachella's past, but it is Coachella 2010 that is upon us. Though the fully confirmed lineup will not be out till the early morning it is most likely that you will see all of these bands on the poster...
Muse, Gorillaz, Phoenix, Passion Pit, Miike Snow, Echo and the Bunnymen, The xx, Delorean, Faith No More, Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, The Beastie Boys, The Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend, Devo, Yeasayer, Spoon, Mayer Hawthrone, Deerhunter, The Ravonettes, Beach House, and Them Crooked Vultures. And that's only 22 bands! There's about 80 more that I haven't mentioned (not that I know who they are, but Pavement and Thom Yorke might be on there...). Rumors are flying as to who will be the last headliner (Muse and Gorillaz are the other two supposedly) Names being thrown around include Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones, and definitely not David Bowie. In other words, this year is looking pretty amazing.
Like I said before, nothing is set in stone till that poster appears on the Coachella website in a few hours. We will just have to wait and see... Tune in.
Till then watch some of Daft Punk's set from Coachella '06, my #1 concert of all time. I get goosebumps from head to toe every time I watch this.
Blur is set to release "No Distance Left To Run," their documentary chronicling last year's reunion, on February 15th on DVD. Included with the documentary will be another DVD of Blur's massive reunion show in London's Hyde Park. If you can't wait till February, I highly suggest you head over to Itunes and purchase "All The People," which is the audio portion of said reunion show. "All The People" has been available for a couple months now and it is most definitely worth a purchase. Nothing like hearing 50,000 people singing all the words, but also all the guitar parts. This is probably my favorite live album ever and if I would have put live albums on my top albums list for 2009, it would have been at the top, it's that good. I get major chills every time I hear the crowd singing along to "The Universal." A small crime that Blur decided not to bring the reunion to the States. Can't one of these festivals pay them a boatload of money and get them over here? What the french, toast? Trailer for the Hyde Park show below.
I would feel pretty ridiculous blogging about something else other than the earthquake in Haiti. I had plans of posting a review of the new Vampire Weekend album today, but it would seem foolish and frivolous of me to talk about something like that when so many people are suffering right now. Some people are estimating over 100,000 deaths. That's alot of human lives. That's alot of fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters whose lives have now been torn apart. This is a massive tragedy.
My cousin who has been living in Haiti for the past 5 years tells us that there is nothing. No food, water, nowhere to sleep and that everything is just destroyed. Anyways, don't want to sound too preachy, but I do want to say that if you stumble on this blog today and are reading this and you haven't donated yet, please do. A few dollars can go along way in the such a poor country, the poorest in the western hemisphere. Instead of buying a couple songs on Itunes or eating out, use that money to help the people of Haiti. You know you can afford it. They need that money more than we will ever know.
Here's some links and info of where you can donate. Sometimes it's as easy as just texting a few numbers.
Text YELE to 501501 to automatically donate 5 dollars. YELE is a foundation run by Wyclef John.
Text HAITI to 90999 to automatically donate 10 dollars to the Red Cross.
Partners in Health. If you're curious about Partners in Health and Haiti I suggest you pick up "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracey Kidder to get a feel for the situation in Haiti.
This video has already received a WTF from Pitchfork today, but what they fail to mention is that it's got some serious Chicago roots. The lyrics were written by Mike "MikeShot" Warzin and his homeboy Brandon Pierce. Together they will be famously known as Night Sweat. Though MikeShot now resides in Portland, he is a Chicago native, and a very serious Bulls fan (and he might be the only other straight man that I know that likes shoes as much as I do). We like this, and without getting into too much detail, you should most definitely keep an eye and ear out for Night Sweat in the future.
Guess what else? The music for "Electric Glide" was done my Chicago's own, Flosstradamus!
2010 will not only be filled with amazing albums, but also some pretty sweet music documentaries. Between the Blur reunion doc and the White Stripes, Under Great White Northern Lights, music nerds will be rushing to theaters to get their rock on as they daydream of being Damon Albarn or Jack White.
Under Great White Northern Lights, follows Jack and Meg White through a 2007 tour of Canada (Canada is the country right above the United States) as they play weird places like bowling alleys, hockey rinks (duh), and igloos. Ok, maybe I'm lying about the last one, but they do play "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" on a bus. How cool, weird and Jack White is that? They also play a show that consists of one note. Not one song, not one verse, just one note. Just one... Thanks guys! While all this rock n' roll is occurring, Meg White is falling into a quiet depression which eventually leads the current hiatus that the White Stripes are on. Folks, what we got here is a movie! Can't wait. Trailer below.
If you are an owner of a sound file and would like it removed, please contact us. Also, if you like what you hear, there's a reason for that. It's really good, and we approve. Buy the records!
Two Thousand and Ten! When did it start? How is it already over? If you didn't know, I kinda like music. ALOT. Sort of overly obsessed. This year brought in some serious gems. Any other year the National would have been my #1 album, but Arcade Fire and LCD had to put out some amazingness that just blew mind. Does it get any better than when "Dance Yrself Clean" clean breaks? Does it get any better than putting headphones on and listening to The Suburbs all the way through like 90 times in a row? And why isn't Robyn my girlfriend yet? FYI, Damon Albarn is genius. Blur better play the U.S. in 2011. Champ by Tokyo Police Club is definitely the most underrated album of the year. And the Walkmen keep churning out albums that make me feel like I should be driving across the country on a deserted highway. When Chris Keating of Yeasayer sings the following on "Ampling Alp," you just know that everything is right in the world and 2010 was indeed an amazing year for music. "Now the world can be an unfair place at times/But your lows will have their compliment of highs/And if anyone should cheat you/Take advantage of or beat you/raise your head and wear your wounds with pride." Nuff said. Thank you 2010. 
