Monday, February 28, 2011

Wavves - "King of the Beach" Video



Official video features Snacks the Cat, weed, counterfeit money, a jewel-encrusted bong, and the beach. Everything you should have been expecting.

Stream Starfucker's 'Reptilians' In Its Entirety


Starfucker's sophomore album Reptilians is easily one of my favorite records of 2011 so far.

Check out my review here.

You can now stream the record in its entirety via the Soundcloud below.

  STRFKR - Reptilians by Polyvinyl Records

Saturday, February 26, 2011

LCD Soundsystem - "Dance Yrself Clean" Performed by Muppets



Unofficial, yet essential.

In response to a situation where scalpers scooped up many of the tix for his final show at Madison Square Garden show on April 2, James Murphy added 4 LCD Soundsystem shows at Terminal 5 on March 28-31. So hopefully everyone in the NYC area who wants to gets the chance to see LCD Soundsystem perform one last time.

Still don't understand why you feel you need to retire, James. But anyway, psyched for the MSG show.

TVOTR - 'Nine Types of Light' Album Art


Here's the album art for TV on the Radio's highly anticipated new record Nine Types of Light, which drops April 12.

You can listen to first single "Will Do" via the Soundcloud below.

TV On The Radio - "Will Do" by Interscope Records

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Panda Bear - Techno


Yes, Panda Bear is releasing another record, and it's still not Tomboy. "Techno" is a song that will be on Tomboy, but will first be released as a single on March 14, completing the series of singles that Panda started last year.

Tomboy will then follow on April 12.

Do we think this song will actually sound anything like techno?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

TV on the Radio Tour Dates


I can't tell you how excited I am for TV on the Radio's new record Nine Types of Light. A new record of course also means the band will be touring.

Here are some dates:

04/08 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
04/09 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theatre
04/10 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
04/13 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
04/16 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
04/17 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
04/18 - Toronto, Ontario - Sound Academy
04/20 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall
04/23 + 04/24 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
04/25 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
05/02 - San Diego, CA - 4th and B
06/22 - Zagreb, Croatia - T Mobile Inmusic Festival
07/03 - London, England - Wireless Festival
07/08 - Bilbao, Spain - BBK Live Festival

Monday, February 21, 2011

Wavves - Horse Shoes


Nathan Williams has released another new Wavves track called "Horse Shoes".

You can download it from the Wavves blog here.

This track, which features drumming by the awesome Zach Hill, was previously performed on the Wavves Daytrotter session.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Soundgarden Live on I-5


Soundgarden have reunited. They played some shows in 2010, and are recording new material for a 2011 album.

We're also gonna get a live album from the group. It's called Live on I-5. Drops March 22. The recordings are from a variety of performances in 1996.

So even if new material from the disappoints (hopefully not though), this release is virtually guaranteed to be awesome.

Here's the tracklisting:

01) Spoonman
02) Searching With My Good Eye Closed
03) Let Me Drown
04) Head Down
05) Outshined
06) Rusty Cage
07) Burden In My Hand
08) Helter Skelter (Beatles cover)
09) Boot Camp
10) Nothing To Say
11) Slaves And Bulldozers
12) Dusty
13) Fell On Black Days
14) Search And Destroy (Iggy And The Stooges cover)
15) Ty Cobb
16) Black Hole Sun
17) Jesus Christ Pose

You can get more specific details (exactly where and when the performance of each song is taken from) directly from the band here.

Community: Complisult + Explanabrag


Complisult - Mix between a compliment and an insult

Explanabrag - Sneaking in a brag about yourself while explaining something to someone

Swanson Pyramid of Greatness


This is awesome. In an episode of Parks and Recreation earlier this season, character Ron Swanson is coaching a kids' basketball team. He introduces them to the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness, a calibrated system of personal achievement that he's been working on for years.

Entries include:

  • Capitalism: God's way of determining who is smart, and who is poor
  • Greatness Itself: The best revenge
  • Discipline: The ability to repeat a boring thing over and over again
  • Intensity: Give 100%. 110% is impossible. Only idiots recommend that
  • Honor: If you need it defined, you don't have it

Donald Glover Is Childish Gambino


Donald Glover, who puts in fantastic performances every week on the NBC comedy Community (check out this week's episode, where his character Troy is put into a catatonic state when he encounters his hero LeVar Burton - "You can't disappoint a picture!") has a rap persona as Childish Gambino.

IAMDONALD

In his EP I Am Just A Rapper, Childish Gambino raps over songs from Sleigh Bells, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Yeasayer, and Neon Indian. This is pretty awesomely nerdy hip hop.

Kanye West - All of the Lights (Video)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Beach Fossils - What A Pleasure EP


Brooklyn band Beach Fossils released their self-titled debut last year. They escaped my notice then - I had heard about them, but they got lost in the shuffle. I blame their name - there were a lot of 'beach' and beach-related band names last year.

Anyway, Beach Fossils have now caught my attention with their new EP, called What A Pleasure. It's really good.

Here's the tracklisting:


01) Moments
02) What A Pleasure

03) Fall Right In
04) Out In the Way (feat. Jack Tatum from Wild Nothing)
05) Face It
06) Distance
07) Calyer
08) Adversity

What A Pleasure drops March 8.

Handsome Furs Tour Dates


Handsome Furs is Dan Boeckner, singer/guitarist for Wolf Parade, and his wife Alexei Perry. They've released two albums so far - Plague Park in 2007 and Face Control in 2009.

With Wolf Parade announcing they're going on 'indefinite hiatus', Handsome Furs may be Dan's primary musical outlet for the foreseeable future. It's rumored that they are recording their third album, to be released in 2011.

Some tour dates have been announced for the group. I saw them open for Spoon a couple of years back - it was a very enjoyable experience.

03/07 Recife, Brazil – Rec-Beat Festival
04/13 Boston, MA – Great Scott
04/14 Brooklyn, NY – Bell House
04/15 Richmond, VA – Gallery 5
04/16 Clemson, SC – Clemson University
04/17 Raleigh, NC – King’s Barcade
04/18 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie

Thanks go to Wolf Parade Fansite for the info.

Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective


If you're a fan of Deerhunter, you should definitely be familiar with frontman Bradford Cox's other project Atlas Sound, responsible for one of 2009's best albums, Logos.

You should also make yourself familiar with Lotus Plaza, the other project for Deerhunter's guitarist Lockett Pundt. Lotus Plaza have a single album so far - it's called The Floodlight Collective.

A lot of the special qualities that make Deerhunter the band it is can be found here as well. There's a dreamy, hazy, atmospheric nature to most of the songs.

Standout tracks include "What Grows?", "Red Oak Way", and "Quicksand".

Tracklisting:

01) Red Oak Way
02) Quicksand
03) These Years
04) Different Mirrors
05) Whiteout
06) What Grows?

07) Sunday Night
08) Antoine
09) The Floodlight Collective
10) A Threaded Needle

Soundgarden Are Making A New Record


Soundgarden, my all-time favorite 90's alterna-grunge band, reunited last year. I only heard about them performing in their native Seattle, and then for Lollapalooza in Chicago. I have been patiently waiting for an NYC performance.

You never know what's gonna happen with these reunions. Pixies have been reunited and touring for years now, but they haven't attempted to make a new record, nor does it seem like they have plans to do so anytime soon. This is perhaps for the best. A reunited band does a service by allowing more and more opportunities for their fans to see them perform, but you don't want to tarnish the band's legacy by releasing music that would be considered sub-par compared to the band's canon.

Well for better or for worse, Soundgarden intend to make a new record this year.

Here's the official message from the band's website:

OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, WE'VE BEEN BUSY JAMMING, WRITING AND HANGING OUT TOGETHER - EXPLORING THE CREATIVE ASPECT OF BEING SOUNDGARDEN. IT FEELS GREAT. WE HAVE SOME COOL NEW SONGS THAT WE ARE GOING TO RECORD VERY SOON. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT!
LOUDEST OF LOVE,
BEN, CHRIS , KIM AND MATT

Personally, I'm excited. Chris Cornell still has a one-of-a-kind amazing voice. I have faith that this band can make a quality record in 2011. Hopefully they won't let me down.

Also, please perform in NYC soon. Thanks.

MGMT - Qu'est-Ce Que C'est La Vie, Chaton? (Live At The Bataclan)


MGMT have released a mini live album of sorts. It's called Qu'est-Ce Que C'est La Vie, Chaton? That title translates to "What Is Life, Kitten?" Wacky.

Only 5 songs on this mini live album - the fantastic "Destrokk" from their early Time to Pretend EP, only "Weekend Wars" from their breakthrough debut LP Oracular Spectacular, and then "Flash Delirium", "Congratulations", and "Brian Eno" from their sophomore record Congratulations.

If you're a fan of MGMT and you haven't heard "Destrokk", you really must. I've honestly come to think of it as one of their best songs.

I would have killed for a full length live album, but this is a solid bite-sized taste of live MGMT.

Tracklisting:


01) Weekend Wars
02) Flash Delirium
03) Destrokk
04) Congratulations
05) Brian Eno

Radiohead - Lotus Flower (Video)



This is pretty much an "Optimistic" from Kid A type situation, where Radiohead have taken one of the only tracks from their new record that works as a standard 'song', so they can make it a single and shoot a video for it.

There's a whole meme of taking this video footage of Thom Yorke dancing and setting it to different music, for comedic effect.

Tyler the Creator - Yonkers



I know fuck all about hip hop, and I'm not gonna pretend otherwise. Nonetheless, the buzz surrounding this dude Tyler the Creator and his hip hop crew Odd Future has become too deafening to ignore.

This track and corresponding video "Yonkers" is hot shit. Yonkers, represent!

Mother Mother - Eureka


Mother Mother are a Canadian band that produces awesome power pop. Never before have I heard guy/girl vocals blending so seamlessly and beautifully at the core of a band's sound. These guys need to be on your radar.

Mother Mother drop their 3rd LP Eureka on March 15.

Here's the tracklisting:

01) Chasing It Down
02) The Stand
03) Baby Don’t Dance
04) Original Spin
05) Born In A Flash
06) Simply Simple
07) Problems
08) Aspiring Fires
09) Getaway
10) Far In Time
11) Oleander
12) Calm Me Down

Yeasayer - I Remember

Friday, February 18, 2011

Radiohead - 'The King of Limbs' Out Now


Christmas has come early for Radiohead fans, as the band's just-announced album The King of Limbs, which was set to be released tomorrow, is available NOW.

The King of Limbs

You can pay the $9 for the record, or you can stream it below.

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs by KROQ

Wavves - TV Luv Song


Wavves have released a fun little tune called "TV Luv Song". That Carl Winslow (from the sitcom Family Matters) artwork above is awesome.

Straightforward lyrics about wasting your time and not giving a shit, because you have TV, and that's all you need.

Wavves - TV Luv Song by Ragged Words

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Cut Copy - "Need You Now" Video


Cut Copy - Need You Now (Stereogum Premiere) from stereogum on Vimeo.

I'd say "Need You Now" is the finest cut from Cut Copy's new record Zonoscope. Well worth a listen, now with accompanying video.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Radiohead Press Photo



New album requires new photo of the band. Radiohead hanging out among the trees.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Deerhunter Live from SoHo


Last fall, in support of their fantastic new album Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter performed at the Apple Store in SoHo. Today a recording of that performance has been released on iTunes. It's all yours for $4.

Deerhunter iTunes Live from SoHo

Not surprisingly, the setlist is heavy on Halcyon Digest material, but it also includes previous highlights "Hazel St" and "Rainwater Cassette Exchange".

Here's the tracklisting:

01) Desire Lines
02) Hazel St.
03) Don't Cry
04) Revival
05) Helicopter
06) Fountain Stairs
07) Rainwater Cassette Exchange
08) He Would Have Laughed

Monday, February 14, 2011

The Amazing Spider-Man


The new Spider-Man flick starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker is called...The Amazing Spider-Man. This was the logical choice. They weren't going to call this Spider-Man 4, as it's a reboot, not a continuation of the three Tobey Maguire flicks.

The comic books have had a lot of different titles over the years, often using adjectives to describe the character, such as Spectacular and Amazing.

And that's Spidey in costume up above. Looks sleek. I like it.

Arcade Fire Win Album of the Year Grammy


I wasn't going to post about this, because the Grammys are worthless, but it is major news about a band I love nonetheless, so I can't ignore it.

Arcade Fire won a Grammy for Album of the Year last night. They were up against Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry (fucking seriously?), and Lady Antebellum (who? another 'lady'?).

This was definitely a surprise. I don't think many people expected them to win against superstars like Eminem and Lady Gaga. While I happened to really like Eminem's Recovery ("Going Through Changes" especially), I wouldn't call it one of the year's best. The rest of the nominees are albums I've never listened to, nor do I care to.

Some people were extremely surprised and displeased. Who the fuck are the Arcade Fire anyway? Such reactions on Twitter have been collected on a site, and the result is pretty hilarious.

Who Is Arcade Fire?

Anyway, besides generating a funny internet meme, what does this award mean? I can't pretend this is momentous. I've looked at the history of the Grammys, and they are absolutely fucking terrible at recognizing the best music out there. Even just looking at this year...I mean, great that Arcade Fire are here, and that they won best album of the year, but most of what I would consider to be the best music of 2010 is entirely absent from the proceedings. The Grammys don't mean shit. They're garbage. One Album of the Year title being awarded to a band that I consider worthy, for once, does not change my opinion on this matter.

Congrats to Arcade Fire. If nothing else, this certainly helps to increase exposure for an awesome band. I've seen some people try to amp up the significance of this though, and I just can't go along with that. This isn't some giant victory of indie music over the 'lamestream'. I refuse to acknowledge any significance to this award. If Eminem or Lady Gaga had won album of the year last night, my appreciation of Arcade Fire's music would be exactly the same. I don't feel some sort of legitimacy has been bestowed upon the music I listen to. Nor am I about to reject Arcade Fire, who were already on the brink, and will now be well on their way to mainstream success.

I leave you with this clip from The Simpsons:

Wavves - "Bug"



Watch Wavves debut new tune "Bug" above. Despite his stoner slacker image, Nathan Williams seems to be a very hard worker. By all rights he should be able to take 2011 off as far as recording, and be content only to tour and rest, but I honestly wouldn't be shocked if we see another Wavves record later this year.

Yeasayer - "I Remember" Video


Today's music news will undoubtedly be dominated by Radiohead's surprise announcement of their new record The King of Limbs, but that's not the only cool music item I woke up to this morning.

Yeasayer, who released a live record called Live At Ancienne Belgique on Christmas Day, are getting in the holiday spirit once again, releasing a video and an EP with remixes for their love song "I Remember", just in time for Valentine's Day.

You can watch the new video and download the I Remember EP from the band (for free) at their site:

Yeasayer

Radiohead - 'The King of Limbs' Drops This Saturday


Note to other bands: this is how you do it. Fucking surprise us with an album announcement! Radiohead have pulled a sneak attack once again.

Radiohead's new record is called The King of Limbs and is available digitally THIS SATURDAY, February 19. Five days from now. You can pre-order at the site below.

The King of Limbs

The record is also available as the *world's first* Newspaper Album. Two clear vinyl records, a CD, a purpose-built sleeve, and a shit-ton of artwork. This format is a bit pricey, but having ordered the deluxe set for In Rainbows, I can tell you the band puts together a damn fine piece of packaging.

I dig the spooky artwork and title. Tremendously excited to hear what new sound Radiohead have developed.

When In Rainbows came out, it was legendary for a similarly quick announcement and release, but also for a pay-whatever-you-want 'tip jar' pricing model. It appears that element has been dropped - it's $9 for a 320k high-quality MP3 copy of the album. I, for one, am happy to spend nine bucks on this, but others may make a bigger deal that they didn't stick with the model they pioneered. Unless there will be pay-whatever-you-want after the pre-sale, but that seems unlikely. 

Friday, February 11, 2011

Panda Bear - "Last Night At the Jetty"


Our first real taste of Panda Bear's new album Tomboy. "Last Night At the Jetty" had been released as a single in 2010, but the song has since been re-recorded for the album.

You can download the album version of "Last Night At the Jetty" for free over at P4K here.

The Strokes - 'Angles' Album Art Revealed


The Strokes have finally revealed the cover art for their forthcoming album Angles. Crossword puzzles and pointless stairs that go nowhere.

X-Men First Class Trailer



A 'prequel' set decades in the past, when Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto) were still friends, and not on opposite sides of a war. This trailer gives me hope that this will be the best X-Men flick since X2, by a wide margin.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Weezer Do State Farm Jingle


Weezer continue to supply the WTF moments. Their latest move is to record a jingle for State Farm Insurance. State Farm seems to be aggressively pursuing youth and coolness, judging from their latest ads, where young guys and gals make anything they desire magically appear simply by saying "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there".


The other part about this is, amazingly, this State Farm jingle performed by Weezer manages to sound like one of their best songs in years. Ridiculous.

Watch it on YouTube

Activision Kills Guitar Hero


Video game publisher Activision has announced that they are terminating the Guitar Hero series. The series had been receiving constant updates, and there was a new version in development for 2011. That title is now scrapped.

But not only that, Activision seems to be pulling the plug on the series entirely. One could argue that with downloadable content, there's no reason to have to keep making new versions - just have a steady stream of new songs available to download for the current games. But it doesn't seem like we'll even get that. The Guitar Hero series is simply dead. Activision blames "continued declines in the music genre".

This strikes me as kind of silly. I can't help but think that Activision overextended themselves with the Guitar Hero franchise.

The Kills - Satellite



While it's obvious that Jack White will not be returning to The White Stripes, as they have just announced their permanent dissolution, his Dead Weather cohort Allison Mosshart has returned to her original band The Kills.

The Kills have a new record called Blood Pressures dropping April 5. The video for the 1st single "Satellite" can be viewed above.

So what is Jack White up to? I could go for another Raconteurs record, please.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Cut Copy - 'Zonoscope' Out Now


Cut Copy's third album Zonoscope is out now, available at fine music outlets everywhere.

Cut Copy

The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness


The Strokes' new song "Under Cover of Darkness", first single from their forthcoming 4th record Angles, is going to be given away as a free download from the band tomorrow, February 9, starting at 2:35pm EST. That's...an oddly specific time. There's even a 'countdown clock' on the band's website.

The free download will be available for 48 hours. Definitely excited to get a taste of the new Strokes record. There's a 30-second sample of the song currently available, but I HATE 30-second samples, so I refuse to listen to it. Until tomorrow, then.

The Strokes

Monday, February 07, 2011

TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light


Awesome news. I'm sick of hearing about all these bands breaking up and playing their final shows. TV on the Radio are back!

TVOTR are one of my favorite bands. Their most recent effort Dear Science was easily one of the best records of 2008. Members of the band have been busy with side projects Rain Machine and Maximum Balloon, among other things. I would have been happy to hear news that the band had reformed and would be STARTING to work on a new album. But not only is the band back together, but they have an album done already (or at least nearly done).

TV on the Radio's latest record is titled Nine Types of Light, and will drop Spring 2011. Mere months away!

Also, the band will be performing at Radio City Music Hall on April 13. I'm so thrilled. 2011 is shaping up to be a great year.

Interscope Press Release

TV on the Radio Official Site

LCD Soundsystem - Final Show Tix


This is essentially an ad that no one is paying me for (honest!), but click on the lightning bolt above to be connected with tickets for LCD Soundsystem's final show ever on April 2 at Madison Square Garden.

Tickets go on sale this Friday 2/11 at 11am, and will be sold out virtually instantly, I'm sure.

Yuck - S/T


Yuck are a new indie rock band. They're on Fat Possum Records, the same label as Wavves. They've got a sound that hits old-school Smashing Pumpkins pleasure centers for me.

I was just saying how 2011 is already a great year for album art, with Starfucker, Cut Copy, James Blake and Toro Y Moi all impressing me with their cool album covers. That art up there is pretty gross, and fits their name. Well, at least the music is good.

Yuck are releasing their self-titled debut album on February 21.

Here's the tracklisting:

1. Get Away
2. The Wall
3. Shook Down
4. Holing Out
5. Suicide Policeman
6. Georgia
7. Suck
8. Stutter
9. Operation
10. Sunday
11. Rose Gives A Lilly
12. Rubber

Yuck Blog

The New Pornographers - "Moves" Video



Donald Glover from Community appears as a reporter, for some reason. Damn, that's a lot of coke. I never thought of using it as a pizza topping.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Starfucker - 'Reptilians' Review


Starfucker's sophomore record Reptilians is my early frontrunner for best album of 2011. If you like electronics-based music at all (MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, Passion Pit, and latter-day of Montreal are some reference points for me), you must check this out.

Starfucker (or STRFKR, if you prefer, which I'm sure is how the band will present themselves in public domain where profanity is not allowed) hail from Portland, Oregon. The band's sound employs electronics (synth, video game bleeps, beats) and spoken word segments along with traditional instrumentation and two talented vocalists.

Despite the heavy use of electronics, the resulting sound is incredibly warm and rich.

01) Born
Acoustic guitar intro leads into strange feedback noises, then a beat is introduced.

"So many people feeling troubled", the angelic vocals proclaim. "So many people evil killing." There are lots of problems in the world. What are we gonna do? Not sure if that question is answered, but we get some comforting keyboard sounds.

02) Julius
First single and major album highlight "Julius" starts off with some old-school video game bleeps and a shimmering, sparkling sound. Then we get an incredibly catchy synth line. Vocals kick in, different from the first song - I gather we have two vocalists here. Some heavy bass provides a backbone to all the synth. All the sounds crash and cascade into each other, and it is beautiful.

03) Bury Us Alive
Another highlight of the record. You should just listen to this album start-to-finish, but if you must start off with a song sampler, go with this song. An icy smooth synth trickles down, and is joined by a solid beat keeping the pace. A trumpeting sound effect kicks in for the chorus, reminds me a bit of the sound effect The Dandy Warhols employed in "We Used to Be Friends". Kicks things into high gear, makes you wanna dance.

"I know nothing ever keeps you safe for sure".

The chorus is simply "Oh, bury us alive" sung over + over.

LCD Soundsystem Final Show @ MSG April 2


Last year, when James Murphy was talking about the new LCD Soundsystem record This Is Happening, he said some things about it being the band's last. But I didn't really believe him!

Musicians say stuff like that all the time. James commented that LCD Soundsystem had taken over his life, that he wasn't able to take other opportunities that he might have liked to, such as producing records for Spoon and Arcade Fire. And granted, that would be pretty awesome if he could produce records for those bands, but they're fine making sweet records on their own - I wouldn't trade in LCD Soundsystem for James Murphy as a producer.

But it's not my choice to make, and it appears James was completely serious about ending LCD Soundsystem. Posters are circulating around NYC indicating that LCD Soundsystem will play one final mega show at Madison Square Garden on April 2. I believe the band has never played such a large venue - other than festival appearances, maybe, which is a different animal. It was kinda surprising when Arcade Fire did some recent shows at MSG, but it's becoming obvious that 'indie rock', such as it is, has reached that level.

LCD ending is a major bummer. This Is Happening is a fantastic record, one of 2010's best. There's no sign of 'yeah, he should probably end it now before he tarnishes the band's legacy'. There's no reason to believe James couldn't continue to make awesome LCD Soundsystem records for years to come, if that's what he wanted to do. And shit, what a devastating week! The White Stripes and LCD Soundsystem are both confirmed dead. It kinda feels like my favorite bands are being taken out one-by-one. Wolf Parade, White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem - who's next?

In a way, it's not a tragedy. All of these musicians aren't giving up on working with music entirely. I expect to see new records from Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown in place of a new Wolf Parade record. Jack White has a million different bands at this point - I'd like to see another effort from The Raconteurs, for sure. And James Murphy, well he'll be free to do whatever he wants to do, which could be producing other band's records, or it could be something else.


But it won't be the same. It sucks that we won't be seeing future records or performances from these three beloved musical outlets.

Hopefully James will take out LCD Soundsystem with a bang on April 2.

Friday, February 04, 2011

Yuck - Holing Out


Yes, there is now a band called Yuck. The band has members from New Jersey, Hiroshima, and London. A band of the world! They've got a shoegazey sound.

Yuck's self-titled debut record drops February 15.

Death From Above 1979 - Reunion Statement


Earlier this week we got an official statement from The White Stripes announcing their demise. Now we've got the opposite from Death From Above 1979 - an official statement on their reunion.

Check out the officialness here.

We know that DFA1979 are reuniting for California music festival Coachella. Not much is known beyond that. The statement doesn't have any further details, but at least suggests this is more than a one-off show. Come to NY for a show at least!

"Jesse and I have decided that what we can do together should not be denied...thank you all for sharing in our excitement!"

So to summarize the 'state of play':

  • Wolf Parade go from 'active' to 'indefinite hiatus'
  • The White Stripes go from 'indefinite hiatus' to 'broken up for good'
  • DFA1979 go from 'indefinite hiatus' to 'active'

The Streets - Computers and Blues


Everyone's pulling a 'this is my final album' these days. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem has said that last year's This Is Happening may be the last LCD record we ever hear. Now Mike Skinner of The Streets is saying the same about his new album Computers and Blues.

I've never written about The Streets on this blog before. Mike Skinner makes British 'hip hop' music using the moniker. He's funny and tells good stories with his music. I'm a big fan of his third record The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living, but I was a bit disappointed with his last effort, Everything Is Borrowed. Hopefully The Streets will go out on a high note with this one.

You can stream Computers and Blues in its entirety via UK website The Guardian here.

Beavis and Butt-Head Return This Summer


Let's kick the 90's nostalgia into full gear!  MTV has announced that Beavis and Butt-Head will return to their station this summer.

Before Mike Judge directed one of the best movies ever (Office Space), or created another animated series I don't particularly care for (King of the Hill), he created Beavis and Butt-Head, a show about two stupid teenagers who sit their asses on the couch and make fun of music videos, as well as get into misadventures doing stupid things.

I absolutely loved this show as a kid. Definitely psyched to see it revived. It will be cool to see Beavis and Butt-Head take on modern music videos.

Toro Y Moi - 'Underneath the Pine' Leaked


Toro Y Moi's sophomore record Underneath the Pine has leaked. Go find it.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream (Video)


I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to read that song title again with a straight face, after watching last week's episode of Archer - 'Wilhelm' is used to refer to penis.

James Blake's pretty great self-titled debut record drops next Tuesday, February 8.

Check out my review of it here.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

The White Stripes Are Officially Over


The White Stripes have been on hiatus for a while now, and they haven't released an album since 2007's Icky Thump. Nonetheless, I always figured that Jack and Meg White would reunite and record a new album sooner or later.

Now it seems that Icky Thump is the last album we'll ever hear from the group, as it's been announced that The White Stripes are officially done.

"The White Stripes would like to announce that today, February 2nd, 2011, their band has officially ended and will make no further new recordings or perform live."

The statement indicates that the only reason this decision has been made is to preserve the band's legacy.

"The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want."

You can read the full statement here.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Best Coast + Wavves - NPR In Concert


Wavves and Best Coast are touring together. They played a show tonight at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

NPR hosted a webcast of the show, and now you can download a recording of either set.

Check it out here.