draindesert

Top 25 Albums of 2011 - Just the List

2012-01-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

01) Cut Copy - Zonoscope

02) Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine

03) Neon Indian - Era Extraña

04) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

05) Atlas Sound - Parallax

06) M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

07) Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

08) The Antlers - Burst Apart

09) Gauntlet Hair - Gauntlet Hair

10) Nerves Junior - As Bright As Your Night Light

11) TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

12) Starfucker - Reptilians

13) Mother Mother - Eureka

14) Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital

15) Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

16) Destroyer - Kaputt

17) Washed Out - Within and Without

18) Active Child - You Are All I See

19) Mister Heavenly - Out of Love

20) Radiohead - The King of Limbs

21) Caveman - CoCo Beware

22) James Blake - James Blake

23) Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

24) Wild Beasts - Smother

25) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical

Porcelain Raft - "Unless You Speak from Your Heart" Video

2012-01-27T09:53:00.002-05:00

Unless You Speak From Your Heart from Porcelain Raft on Vimeo.

Porcelain Raft - 'Strange Weekend' Album Stream

2012-01-21T15:05:00.002-05:00

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Ffunny Ffriends" Video

2012-01-08T12:21:00.001-05:00

Youth Lagoon - "July" Video

2012-01-04T21:38:00.002-05:00

Youth Lagoon - July from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

Top 25 Albums of 2011

2011-12-31T18:11:00.017-05:00

An inordinate amount of my favorite albums this year were debut releases. While that might mean 2011 was a relatively light year on fantastic albums from established acts, it's cool to have some new blood.

25) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical

After the disappointing 'difficult second album' Some Loud Thunder and a long hiatus, Hysterical is an enjoyable effort from a band I wasn't sure I'd ever hear from again.

24) Wild Beasts - Smother

"Lion's Share" is great.

23) Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

I've seen this record topping a lot of lists at #1. I just don't find it as compelling or exciting to place it that highly, but there is some beautiful music here. "Holocene" is a great song.

22) James Blake - James Blake

Although officially released in 2011, I most listened to James Blake back in December 2010. Admittedly, I have to be in the right mood for this, but it is an interesting sound. Kudos for showing me that it's possible to use auto-tune and have it not be terrible.

I don't know shit about dubstep, and I don't really plan on rectifying that anytime soon, but James Blake has established himself as an artist of interest.

21) Caveman - CoCo Beware

"Thankful" is fantastic.

20) Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Damn that album art is cool.

I was disappointed by The King of Limbs upon first listen, and I can't say my feelings about this record have radically changed. Previous record In Rainbows showed us that Radiohead could be post-Kid A weird and could still rock out (see "15 Step"). The King of Limbs was essentially Radiohead telling me "but we don't want to rock out".

I still hate opening track "Bloom", which remains insufferably minimal and clicky and totally non-musical.

So how is this one of my favorite records of 2011? Well it's still Radiohead. Thom Yorke's voice is still amazing. Not to turn a positive into yet another complaint, but I'd have to say Radiohead are coasting on Thom's voice with this record. You don't have a great singer on here and a number of these songs would be dismissed immediately.

Anyway, this album is saved for me by Side B, starting with 'single' "Lotus Flower" and especially the hauntingly beautiful piano-driven track "Codex", one of my favorite songs of the year.

19) Mister Heavenly - Out of Love

I won't really get into how Mister Heavenly are a supergroup of sorts. I was interested because of Nick Thorburn's (Unicorns / Islands) involvement, and I was not disappointed.

This group/record coined the term 'doom wop', which I guess means it has a poppy sound but with some menace underneath. Some fun and catchy songs.

18) Active Child - You Are All I See

Active Child employs harp and electronics in his dream pop music. "Hanging On" was a monster song for me, loved it. And "Playing House" featuring How to Dress Well is an interesting slice of alternate universe R&B music.

Ultimately I might have liked the overall direction on Active Child's EP better, but this is a solid album with a handful of great songs. I'll be excited to see what he does next.

17) Washed Out - Within and Without

As with Active Child above, Washed Out's debut LP Within and Without is not as impressive as his EP Life of Leisure. I've heard this effort described as 'lazy', and I can't really refute that. Still, songs "Amor Fati", "Eyes Be Closed", and "Before" are great 'chill' electronic music.

16) Destroyer - Kaputt

I'm a big fan of Dan Bejar, but I will admit I generally like him better when he's collaborating with A.C. Newman in The New Pornographers. Kaputt might be the best Destroyer record though.

15) Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

Youth Lagoon's debut record The Year of Hibernation was a surprise for me, and it took me a little while to get into it. Vocals being distorted and buried under reverb and other effects is very much in vogue nowadays, but even still, this dude from Youth Lagoon, his vocals are ultra fragile. If he's 'hibernating', his vocals are coming to the song from a distant place, from deep inside a cave somewhere.

Anyway, this makes it a bit difficult to connect with the vocals at first. But you let the songs play. A typically used song structure here is the song starts off slowly and builds, and then the undercurrent explodes. And those buried vocals nonetheless manage to effectively convey some powerful emotions. Now I'm really enjoying this.

14) Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital

I was very sad to hear about Wolf Parade's 'indefinite hiatus', and while I still am, Handsome Furs, which features Dan from Wolf Parade and his wife, came along with by far their best record yet, giving me hope for a post-Wolf Parade career.

There are some interesting themes in the lyrics, about being in another land, about censorship and oppression.

"Memories of the Future", "When I Get Back", and "Repatriated" are favorite tracks of mine.

13) Mother Mother - Eureka

This Canadian band is massively underrated, at least here in the US. Some of the best alternating male/female vocals I've ever heard, wonderful pop sensibilities. Every song on here is super catchy. If you like say, The New Pornographers, absolutely check this out.

12) Starfucker - Reptilians

I wrote a lot about this record when it first came out, so I'd best simply direct you to my review.

11) TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

TV on the Radio return, and they're not producing edgy spacey music so much anymore. No, here on Nine Types of Light, they're more into balladry. Still it's damn good stuff. Easily one of the most underrated albums of the year.

10) Nerves Junior - Bright As Your Night Light

Another fantastic debut record. Thanks go to We Listen for You for making me aware of this band. They remind me of Radiohead in some ways, but maybe with a bit more swagger? There are some spacey electronics, but they are used more to add additional texture, rather than being the driving force of the songs. Just listen to this record.

09) Gauntlet Hair - Gauntlet Hair

And yet another debut. Gauntlet Hair have some of the tribal singing elements that remind me a bit of Animal Collective, but way more rockin'. Strong percussive grooves, fun and very energetic songs.

"Lights Out" especially is amazing.

08) The Antlers - Burst Apart

I completely ignored Antlers' previous record Hospice, and I still haven't quite put the time in to try and get into it, but I love this record, Burst Apart.

Emotional, tightly crafted songs.

07) Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Girls have a more 'straightforward' rock sound than most groups I would rank as my favorites. As in, they don't do electro-pop or none of that stuff that I'm often drawn to. But Girls make well-crafted music that comes off as genuine and heartfelt, and that stands on its own.

06) M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

The criticism that applies to virtually every double album ever released also applies here - there is some filler. But M83 was going for big and epic here, and he achieves it. The level of imagination is high, and there are some gorgeous sounds.

"Midnight City" might just be the single of the year.

05) Atlas Sound - Parallax

What would a year end list be without a contribution from Bradford Cox, the insanely prolific frontman of Deerhunter who releases his solo material under the moniker Atlas Sound?

Bradford has never done such singer-songwriter material before. This doesn't have quite the same edge for me as Logos, which is likely the point - this is far and away the most accessible Atlas Sound record.

"Te Amo", "Mona Lisa", and "Angel Is Broken", among others, are beautiful.

04) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Whoa, where did this come from? Unknown Mortal Orchestra, or UMO, have a sound that feels both vintage and modern, kinda bluesy, with a really deep low end.

"Jello and Juggernauts", "Ffunny Ffriends", and "How Can U Luv Me" are all fantastic.

03) Neon Indian - Era Extraña

With Era Extraña, Neon Indian delivered for me on the promise of Psychic Chasms, made more of a pop record, with perhaps some darker material underneath. Alan Palomo gave us more of the pure pop he was working with in VEGA, and he really hit my pleasure center with those bleeps and bloops and synths.

"Hex Girlfriend" is my favorite. "Polish Girl" is crazy catchy. "Arcade Blues" has grown on me to become another favorite.

An incredibly addictive listen overall.

02) Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine

What a fucking year for Toro y Moi. 2010 saw Toro emerge as a promising new artist with his debut Causers of This. His brand of electronic-based music was grouped together along with Neon Indian, Washed Out, Small Black, and others under the 'originally a joke' term 'chillwave'.

Toro resurfaced quickly in 2011 with Underneath the Pine, switching it up and exchanging his electronic samples for more standard instrumentation, going for a more organic feel. And it fucking works. The sound is lush, really paints an atmosphere. Toro definitely proved for me he is not to be pigeonholed in any one sound, and he gave us some great songs in the process.

The funky "New Beat", "Still Sound", and especially my favorite cut "How I Know" are all great.

To say nothing of the fact that Toro y Moi followed this up with the EP Freaking Out, which is something of a mix of the styles from Causers of This and Underneath the Pine, and is also fantastic.

01) Cut Copy - Zonoscope

Cut Copy's Zonoscope came out early in 2011, and I can't say that it jumped to the top of my list immediately. Over the course of the year, however, my love for this band and this record grew. Ultimately, I have to say this is my most consistently enjoyable collection of songs to be released this year.

Yes, the record is somewhat front loaded, though I honestly I can't imagine being in a band and not putting my best foot forward when making a record. Also, late track "Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat" is amazing. 15-minute song "Sun God" might stretch on for too long, but is an interesting experiment, and works as a closer.

"Need You Now" and "Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution" are absolute bliss.

Finally, that album art is just the best.

Top 100 Songs of 2011

2011-12-29T09:38:00.005-05:00

In alphabetical order by song title:

01) Cults - Abducted
02) Youth Lagoon - Afternoon
03) Girls - Alex
04) Toro y Moi - All Alone
05) MGMT - All We Ever Wanted Was Everything
06) Washed Out - Amor Fati
07) Atlas Sound - Angel Is Broken
08) Neon Indian - Arcade Blues
09) Nerves Junior - As Bright As Your Night Light
10) Mother Mother - Aspiring Fires
11) Destroyer - Bay of Pigs
12) Washed Out - Before
13) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Bicycle
14) Cut Copy - Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution
15) Mister Heavenly - Bronx Sniper
16) Wavves - Bug
17) Starfucker - Bury Us Alive
18) The Go! Team - Buy Nothing Day
19) Youth Lagoon - Cannons
20) Nerves Junior - Champagne & Peaches
21) Destroyer - Chinatown
22) Radiohead - Codex
23) Starfucker - Death As A Fetish
24) The Antlers - Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
25) Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed
26) Neon Indian - Fallout
27) Mother Mother - Far In Time
28) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffriends
29) The Antlers - French Exit
30) Cults - Go Outside
31) The Strokes - Gratisfaction
32) Active Child - Hanging On
33) Cut Copy - Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat
34) Dom - Happy Birthday Party
35) Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
36) Neon Indian - Hex Girlfriend
37) Bon Iver - Holocene
38) Girls - Honey Bunny
39) Girls - How Can I Say I Love You
40) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - How Can U Luv Me
41) Toro y Moi - How I Know
42) Mister Heavenly - I Am A Hologram
43) The Antlers - I Don't Want Love
44) James Blake - I Never Learnt To Share
45) Wavves - I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl
46) M83 - Intro
47) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Jello and Juggernauts
48) Starfucker - Julius
49) Youth Lagoon - July
50) Nerves Junior - Kale
51) Destroyer - Kaputt
52) TV on the Radio - Killer Crane
53) Gauntlet Hair - Lights Out
54) James Blake - Limit To Your Love
55) Wild Beasts - Lion's Share
56) The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
57) Handsome Furs - Memories of the Future
58) Broken Bells - Meyrin Fields
59) M83 - Midnight City
60) Surfer Blood - Miranda
61) Mister Heavenly - Mister Heavenly
62) Atlas Sound - Mona Lisa
63) Gauntlet Hair - Mop It Up
64) Nerves Junior - Nails To Scratch With
65) Cut Copy - Need You Now
66) Toro y Moi - New Beat
67) Kanye West & Jay-Z - Niggas In Paris
68) Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx - Nightcall (Drive Soundtrack)
69) Kanye West & Jay-Z feat. Frank Ocean - No Church In The Wild
70) Wavves feat. Best Coast - Nodding Off
71) Cults - Oh My God
72) Mother Mother - Original Spin
73) The Antlers - Parentheses
74) Active Child feat. How To Dress Well - Playing House
75) Neon Indian - Polish Girl
76) College feat. Electric Youth - A Real Hero (Drive Soundtrack)
77) Handsome Furs - Repatriated
78) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Same Mistake
79) Toro y Moi - Saturday Love
80) TV on the Radio - Second Song
81) Panda Bear - Slow Motion
82) M83 - Steve McQueen
83) Toro y Moi - Still Sound
84) Cut Copy - Take Me Over
85) Atlas Sound - Te Amo
86) Dom - Telephone
87) Atlas Sound - Terra Incognita
88) Caveman - Thankful
89) Gauntlet Hair - Top Bunk
90) The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness
91) Purity Ring - Ungirthed
92) Jonathon Coulton - Want You Gone (Portal 2)
93) Handsome Furs - When I Get Back
94) Cut Copy - Where I'm Going
95) The Joy Formidable - Whirring
96) Kanye West and Jay-Z feat. Mr Hudson - Why I Love You
97) James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
98) TV on the Radio - Will Do
99) of Montreal - Wintered Debts
100) TV on the Radio - You

of Montreal - 'Paralytic Stalks' Details

2011-12-28T16:48:00.005-05:00

I was disappointed by recent oM releases False Priest and thecontrollersphere. However, this new record is being hyped as a 'back to basics' release, and preview cut "Wintered Debts" suggests that might not be bullshit - it's quite good.

The new LP is called Paralytic Stalks, and it drops February 7.

Tracklisting:

01) Gelid Ascent
02) Spiteful Intervention
03) Dour Percentage
04) We Will Commit Wolf Murder
05) Malefic Dowery
06) Ye, Renew the Plaintiff
07) Wintered Debts
08) Exorcismic Breeding Knife
09) Authentic Pyrrhic Remission

Typical weirdo song titles. I especially like "We Will Commit Wolf Murder".

The relatively short tracklisting is also encouraging - hopefully suggesting this record is tighter and more focused.

The Shins - 'Port of Morrow' Details

2011-12-28T14:23:00.001-05:00

The Shins are back! After frontman James Mercer's time with Danger Mouse as the group Broken Bells, The Shins are set to drop their 4th LP Port of Morrow in March.

Intrigued to hear what The Shins circa 2012 sound like - it's been a while.

Tracklisting:

01) The Rifle's Spiral
02) Simple Song
03) It's Only Life
04) No Way Down
05) September
06) Bait and Switch
07) Fall of '82
08) For a Fool
09) 40 Mark Strasse
10) Port of Morrow

The Walking Dead - Season 2 Trailer

2011-07-24T18:42:00.002-04:00

The Walking Dead returns this October. Excited.

Neon Indian - Heart: Decay (Video)

2011-07-24T17:25:00.005-04:00

NEON INDIAN - HEART : DECAY from gorillavsbear.net on Vimeo.

Neon Indian's sophomore LP Era Extraña (dropping September 13th) includes 3 tracks with a 'Heart' theme. You can preview one of these tracks, titled "Heart: Decay" in the video above.

I loved Psychic Chasms, and this is easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year.

Atlas Sound - "Cherry Incognito"

2011-05-17T15:12:00.001-04:00

It's been over 2 months since I've posted anything - madness! Sorry to anyone who reads this blog. Sometimes I will keep up with posting, and other times I will not.

Anyway, my favorite Bradford Cox performed a brand new Atlas Sound song at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in England last weekend, and someone was gracious enough to record the performance and put it up on YouTube.

Check out the video above. And thanks to P4K for the heads up.

TV on the Radio - "Caffeinated Consciousness" Free Download

2011-03-11T11:11:00.001-05:00

"Caffeinated Consciousness", the 2nd song to be released from TV on the Radio's new record Nine Types of Light, is now available for free download.

Check it out here.

Nine Types of Light drops April 12.

Toro Y Moi - "Blessa" Video

2011-03-05T12:27:00.008-05:00

This is hardly new. It's the video for the very first song off Toro Y Moi's first record, Causers of This. Meanwhile, his (awesome) sophomore record Underneath the Pine just dropped.

I'm just way into Toro Y Moi right now, and this is new to me. And it's a great video.

MGMT - Congratulations Remix EP

2011-03-04T19:30:00.002-05:00

I've been very vocal about the fact that I absolutely love MGMT's sophomore record Congratulations from last year, and was frankly baffled by the fact that a lot of people hated it.

And so, despite the fact that I'm not too thrilled with the concept of 'remixes' in general, I'm excited to hear that MGMT are releasing an EP with 3 remixes from their latest record.

It's called Congratulations Remix EP, which is as self-explanatory as it gets. Drops March 15.

Tracklisting:

1) Congratulations (Erol Alkan Rework)
2) Siberian Breaks (Ed Banger All Stars Remix)
3) Brian Eno (Cornelius Mix)

of Montreal - thecontrollersphere

2011-03-04T19:07:00.002-05:00

of Montreal have sneak attack released their latest work, an EP called thecontrollersphere.

Here's the official word on the EP:

"A mini-album of sorts, thecontrollersphere is a folk album only in the way of Montreal could envision a folk album.

Clocking in at 23 minutes, thecontrollersphere includes the long-awaited studio version of live favorite "Black Lion Massacre" -- a pulsing sonic freakout that is the darkest and noisiest song Barnes has ever written and serves as thecontrollersphere's mission statement."

A mini-album of sorts, eh? Well I actually love the EP as a format of music, so I'm not complaining. Sometimes you don't have a full 40 minutes to an hour to listen to a full album, and then an EP can be perfect.

You can purchase thecontrollersphere from Polyvinyl Records here.

Physical release date is April 26, but you can download the 320kbps MP3s right now. Available in black or limited edition blue vinyl.

Finally, here's the tracklisting:

1) Black Lion Massacre
2) Flunkt Sass vs the Root Plume
3) Holiday Call
4) L'age D'or
5) Slave Translator

Starfucker - "Quality Time" Video

2011-03-02T21:26:00.003-05:00

Starfucker /// Quality Time from Liberum Pictures on Vimeo.

Thanks to Pretty Much Amazing for the heads up.

The Strokes - "Under Cover of Darkness" Video

2011-03-02T19:51:00.000-05:00

Kurt Vile - Stream 'Smoke Ring for My Halo'

2011-03-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

Kurt Vile's new record Smoke Ring for My Halo drops next Tuesday, March 8.

NPR has the record available for streaming in its entirety. Check it out here.

Broken Bells - Meyrin Fields EP

2011-03-02T10:30:00.001-05:00

One has to wonder if The Shins are ever coming back, at this point. Their third and most recent LP Wincing the Night Away dropped a little over 4 years ago. There was news of changes in the band's lineup. And now Shins frontman James Mercer has formed a new project with producer Danger Mouse in Broken Bells.

Broken Bells released their self-titled debut last year, and now they have a new EP. It's called Meyrin Fields EP, and contains 4 tracks.

Here's the tracklisting:

1) Meyrin Fields
2) Windows
3) An Easy Life
4) Heartless Empire

Meyrin Fields EP drops March 29.

Broken Bells

Wavves - "King of the Beach" Video

2011-02-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-28T16:30:00.000-05:00

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

LCD Soundsystem - "Dance Yrself Clean" Performed by Muppets

2011-02-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-26T11:37:00.000-05:00

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

Panda Bear - Techno

2011-02-23T20:06:00.002-05:00

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?

TV on the Radio Tour Dates

2011-02-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

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

Wavves - Horse Shoes

2011-02-21T13:34:00.001-05:00

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.

Soundgarden Live on I-5

2011-02-20T12:53:00.003-05:00

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

2011-02-20T12:10:00.000-05:00

Complisult - Mix between a compliment and an insult

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

Swanson Pyramid of Greatness

2011-02-20T11:53:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-20T11:10:00.001-05:00

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)

2011-02-20T10:48:00.001-05:00

Beach Fossils - What A Pleasure EP

2011-02-19T23:41:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-19T23:21:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-19T22:48:00.003-05:00

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

2011-02-19T21:52:00.001-05:00

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:

OUR GOAL FOR 2011 - LET'S MAKE A RECORD

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)

2011-02-19T21:24:00.004-05:00

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)

2011-02-19T21:10:00.004-05:00

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

2011-02-19T20:17:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-19T20:04:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-19T10:02:00.002-05:00

Radiohead - 'The King of Limbs' Out Now

2011-02-18T15:36:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-18T15:29:00.001-05:00

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

Cut Copy - "Need You Now" Video

2011-02-17T09:44:00.001-05:00

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.

Radiohead Press Photo

2011-02-16T22:42:00.000-05:00

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

Deerhunter Live from SoHo

2011-02-15T17:25:00.002-05:00

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

The Amazing Spider-Man

2011-02-14T19:13:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-14T12:39:00.002-05:00

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"

2011-02-14T07:56:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-14T07:42:00.008-05:00

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

2011-02-14T07:11:00.009-05:00

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.

Panda Bear - "Last Night At the Jetty"

2011-02-11T15:25:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-11T10:43:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-11T10:39:00.000-05:00

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.

Weezer Do State Farm Jingle

2011-02-10T12:54:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-10T10:31:00.005-05:00

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 'music genre' will continue to be just that - a genre of video games. It's not going to go away. There are other series that will continue to carry the torch, such as Rock Band, but Guitar Hero has the most recognizable and bankable brand in this sphere of gaming, and Activision would be fools to just throw it away.

In these types of games, you interact with well known songs using a plastic instrument. It started off with just a guitar, but drums, microphones, keyboards and turntables followed. You are given a 'track' that shows you what you are going to play next.

Some people would deride these types of games, saying "Why don't you just go learn to play real guitar?". That definitely misses the point. Anyone who truly wants to make music, yes, should go ahead and pick up a real instrument. These games are about having fun, something you can just pick up and play. There is an element of simulating 'being a rock star', but that's only part of it.

It's a 'rhythm game'. You're not gonna learn how to play the song that you're 'playing' in Guitar Hero, but you are picking up on the rhythms. I found that these games can enhance my enjoyment of songs that I love.

Anyway, these music games hardly need me to defend them. Their popularity exploded several years ago, and they were everywhere. People who don't give a shit about video games and never play them still gave Guitar Hero a try. This shit was hot. That's why I laugh when Activision cites "continued declines in the music genre". Did they really think that level of popularity was sustainable?

Well, whether they thought it was sustainable or not, Activision milked this series to death. It would have made sense to come out with one new version of the game every year, like they do with the Madden series, and support the existing titles with downloadable content. Instead, Activision just released game after game after game in the series.

All of these were released in only a handful of years:

Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Van Halen
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Guitar Hero Smash Hits
Band Hero
DJ Hero
DJ Hero 2

Wikipedia's entry on the series has a interesting section titled 'Oversaturation'.

So Activision oversaturated the 'music game' market, and now there are likely a ton of plastic instruments just sitting on store shelves. There's a separate issue of licensing fees - all the money it takes to use all of these popular songs. Nonetheless, people have a lot of fun with these games, and a year or or so ago, the Guitar Hero name and brand were unstoppable. The fact that they couldn't continue to make this series profitable is a major fail on Activision's part.

Like I said, we still have Rock Band, and I'm sure other music game titles will arise as well. Hopefully they'll do a better job of providing quality content to players, and won't just milk the genre in the laziest way possible.

The Kills - Satellite

2011-02-10T10:12:00.001-05:00

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.

Cut Copy - 'Zonoscope' Out Now

2011-02-08T17:07:00.001-05:00

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

Cut Copy

The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness

2011-02-08T10:56:00.000-05:00

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

TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

2011-02-07T19:16:00.003-05:00

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

2011-02-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-07T13:07:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-07T09:39:00.001-05:00

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.

Starfucker - 'Reptilians' Review

2011-02-06T15:49:00.011-05:00

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.

04) Mystery Cloud
Fast-paced drumbeat. More smooth synth. At the halfway point, there's a 'ding-ding-ding!' and an explosion of gorgeous sounds.

The song winds down and then we get this spoken word segment. There's humming electronics in the background while some dude tells you that one thing everyone should do in their life is consider death.

"To observe skulls and skeletons and to wonder what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up...ever".

The dude likens this to manure, which is vile and disgusting, but necessary to make plants grow. Similarly, pondering death may be gloomy and unpleasant, but it has a positive effect on one's life. HOW the contemplation of death is supposed to have this effect is not exactly explained, but I can fill in the gaps - thinking about death and your life ending can make you realize that every moment in your life is precious, and all that jazz.

This leads us into the next song...

05) Death As A Fetish
Another catchy-as-hell synth.

"And I will never be good enough, quietly."

Then there's the phrase 'death as a fetish'. What exactly does this refer to? Goth culture, where death and skulls and darkness are definitely fetishized? Or is it more general?

06) Astoria
A bit of an antidote to all the synth we've been getting, perfectly timed, this song just starts off with a simple bass line.

"Simple life...I want a simple life".

Squiggly electronics do kick in after about a minute, but it is good to get that little break. The song as a whole is short and sweet.

07) Reptilians
The heart of this title track is a solid bass line accompanied by a beat. Other sounds creep in and out around it.

08) The White of Noon
This song is more atmospheric than tracks before it. Steps into the background a bit rather than slamming you with sounds. Droning vocals about dreaming and loving.

09) Hungry Ghost
Another spoken word segment starts this one off.

"If you are aware of a state which you call 'is', or reality, or life, this implies another started called 'isn't', or illusion, or unreality, or nothingness, or death."

Ah, philosophy. This seems related to the life/death balance touched upon earlier. Life only has any meaning because we die.

Then we get some cool fucking synth to munch on along with our philosophy lesson. And that's it, that's the song.

10) Mona Vegas
A latter half of the album highlight. The synths are more steady and stretched out rather than being fast-paced and frenetic. The vocals take center stage. This song builds and releases.

"We are the only ones...high as a desert night."

11) Millions
After "Mona Vegas" slowed things down and got a bit more emotional, "Millions" brings in some silly synths and just gets down, wants to have fun.

12) Quality Time
Another spoken word intro - spectrum of life, woven tapestry of many dimensions. Then, hells yes, a slammin' beat that reminds me a bit of LCD Soundsystem's "Tribulations". No vocals. It all sounds very triumphant, and fittingly closes the album.

There are two 'bonus tracks', but "Quality Time" ends the album proper.

This album is addictive and does a great job of cheering me up when I'm feeling down. The whole thing sounds absolutely gorgeous. You could easily score a dance party with this record, or you can just sit back, relax, and absorb it all. I can't recommend Reptilians enough.

LCD Soundsystem Final Show @ MSG April 2

2011-02-06T13:25:00.007-05:00

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.

Yuck - Holing Out

2011-02-04T15:58:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-04T12:49:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-04T10:45:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-04T09:50:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

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

James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream (Video)

2011-02-03T15:38:00.002-05:00

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.

The White Stripes Are Officially Over

2011-02-02T14:14:00.003-05:00

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.

Best Coast + Wavves - NPR In Concert

2011-02-01T00:04:00.001-05:00

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.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

2011-01-31T20:30:00.002-05:00

Fleet Foxes kinda disappeared there for a while. I guess it was only in 2008 when they released their self-titled debut, which is an appropriate number of years in between albums, but we really hadn't heard ANYTHING from the band since.

Well, now Fleet Foxes are back. Their sophomore record Helplessness Blues drops May 3.

The title track is available for streaming and downloading below.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues by subpop

Toro Y Moi - New Beat

2011-01-31T20:23:00.000-05:00

A second cut from Toro Y Moi's sophomore record Underneath the Pine is available for your listening pleasure. It's called "New Beat".

Toro Y Moi "New Beat" by carparkrecords

Underneath the Pine drops February 22.

Dead Space 2

2011-01-29T00:31:00.060-05:00

Dead Space 2 was released this week for Playstation 3 and XBOX 360. I played some of the original Dead Space and loved it, but for some reason I held off on making a purchase until the sequel came out.

At any rate, I picked up Dead Space 2, and it's nothing less than an incredible gaming experience so far. The biggest compliment I can give this game is that it takes the 'survival horror' mantle from the Resident Evil series of games and runs with it.

If you're not really a gamer, and/or you only know Resident Evil from the godawful series of movies they made, you do not know Resident Evil. Forget about that shit - the movies don't even remotely resemble the games. No offense, Milla Jovovich - you are stupid hot and I'm sure you have talents. But those movies are terrible. The original Resident Evil game was revolutionary at the time - a video game that was genuinely scary to play.

In Resident Evil, you played a special forces cop (You were part of a team called S.T.A.R.S.; I do not recall what the acronym stands for and I'm not looking it up) investigating a spooky mansion. Turns out the mansion is riddled with zombies, thanks to a virus unleashed by the nefarious Umbrella Corporation. You're armed with guns, but only have a limited number of bullets. The zombies lumber along nice and slow-like, but underestimate them at your own peril...a gang of them can surround you pretty easily, and then you are fucked. Before you know it, they are feasting on your brains.

As you progressed through Resident Evil, greater threats would emerge. Like zombie dogs. Those were a bitch, and they sure as hell weren't slow. There would be moments of terror - you'd just be walking down a hallway, no enemies in sight, and then holy shit, two zombie dogs crash through the window behind you! Now you don't know when you're safe, or when something's gonna suddenly appear to rip out your throat.

The idea with 'survival horror' games such as Resident Evil and now Dead Space is to take the thrill from watching a horror or intense action movie and take it the next level. You're not just watching some poor soul running for your life - you ARE that poor soul running for his life.

Not having played the first Dead Space game to completion (I played my friend's copy for about a half hour), I don't know the whole story here, but I know enough. You play a dude named Isaac. Your wife is dead and you are in space. You encounter a nasty breed of aliens known as Necromorphs, and shit hits the fan. People are getting brutally killed by the Necromorphs all around you. Isaac has encountered these creatures before, and the experience essentially drove him insane. So yeah, you have madness to deal with too.

It probably goes without saying these days, because most modern games aim for this, but damn, this game is cinematic. Competes with major motion pictures for pure visual thrills. Looks gorgeous. Those 'terror moments' I mentioned above from Resident Evil are here in spades. Sometimes they are an imminent threat, other times they're fake-outs. *CRASH!* "What was that? Oh, a damaged structure collapsed. But no evil aliens in sight. Guess that was just a fake-out scare...oh my god, there's 3 of them!"

These Necromorphs are some nasty fuckers. They're a bit like giant insects - think Starship Troopers (awesome movie). They have a lot of legs. They vomit acid at you. If you let them get close, oh boy, they are gonna tear you to pieces, real fast.

You are far from defenseless - at least, after the first couple of minutes. I was slaughtered by a Necromorph almost instantly at the very start - at this point you are still in a straight jacket (Your character is insane! You start in an asylum. In space.). For those first few minutes of the game, all you can do is run. Run away! You must flee! I was still getting used to the controls and let one of those bastards get me (excuses, excuses).

A bit later, you are armed with telekinesis. Not sure exactly how that's explained - I imagine I will learn when I go play the first game. But you have the power to pick up objects with your mind and toss them - at your enemies or whatever. You have psychic powers! You would think that maybe that wouldn't work too well with the madness and all. Maybe it won't. We'll see. The trick is that something actually has to be around for you to manipulate and turn into a weapon, and you have to spot it. It is very cool to see a pipe lying on the floor, levitate it with your mind, aim it at the beastie in front of you, and *woosh* impale it with the pipe.

You are also given more conventional weaponry - yes, you get guns. There's an interesting change in the dynamic though, vs. most other shooting games I've played. You are NOT trying to shoot these Necromorphs in the head, primarily. Who would have thought I wouldn't always be aiming for the head shot?! There's YEARS of training I have to undo now.

It's not that shooting the Necromorphs in the head doesn't hurt them, and wouldn't eventually kill them. It's just not gonna do the trick *fast enough*. Meanwhile, that thing is running towards you at full speed, and when it closes the gap, you are done. So the tactic, as I've learned thus far, is to shoot the Necromorphs in the legs, disable them, cripple them. Get it so they're lying on the ground with no legs, and now the tables are turned - they are defenseless.

At this point, you run in for the kill. That is, if you don't have other Necromorphs who are still fully mobile to worry about. (If that's the case, you should probably take care of them first). This is another nice touch to the gameplay of Dead Space 2 - it's very visceral. You're not shooting at these creatures from a safe distance with your sniper rifle and then calling it a day. Shoot first - to disarm. Or dis-leg, as the case may be. Then you run in and STOMP THE SHIT OUT OF THAT FUCKER.

You do have a 'pistol whip' type move that comes in handy, but when you wanna make sure an evil alien is good and dead, nothing beats stomping it over and over with your boot. Stomp that thing to a pulp, like the damn dirty insect is. Great way to take out your aggression. You feel it squish and splatter all over the floor. You know the thing is dead when you are rewarded with an item / power-up. Doesn't mean you can still stomp it some more, just to be extra sure! BUT you probably have other things to do, like killing other Necromorphs, restoring your sanity, etc.

Rescue other people? That doesn't seem to be a top priority, at least not yet. Every person I've encountered in the game thus far is good and dead. There's even one moment when a man screams to you for help, and Isaac is like "hold on, I just need to get this gun", seems to take his time with that task (it's a plasma cutter he has to pull off of a crane, or something like that, so it does take a bit of time) while the man is brutally gutted by a Necromorph. Then Isaac is like "I'm locked and loaded - now I can help". But that dude is already super dead, nothing's gonna help him now.

"Thanks a lot, jerk" -The spirit of that dead guy

These are only my early impressions - I'm still in the first chapter! But I had a lot to write about just with my experience so far. We'll see how the game develops as I continue - does it tell a worthy story? A coherent story is not essential for a good video game, but when it's highlighted as it is here, it should be pretty decent. Will Isaac regain his sanity, or at least learn to deal with his insanity?

Another question: Will Dead Space 2 maintain the fear and shock throughout the game, or will it get boring? (I would say that's unlikely). Right now I'm fighting one type of Necromorph with one type of gun. Still pretty thrilling with just these basics, but I'm certain I'll be seeing a variety of both baddies and weaponry.

One more point - I work in market research, so the marketing of this game is interesting to me (Sorry if it's not interesting for you - go click on another one of my blog entries! You're done with this one. Hope you liked it. I mean, continue if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you).

Electronic Arts have decided to market Dead Space 2 not by claiming that you'll love it - rather, they tell you that your mom will hate it. Yes, they're dragging your mom into this. You just wanna see this cool new video game, and they're talking shit about your moms. But this isn't a 'yo momma' joke (well, maybe it is). EA want to convey that this game is repulsive, and terrifying, and violent, and all the qualities that would make a mother despise this game are exactly the qualities that YOU want to see in this game.

You mom's hate = Your love [for video games, and ?]

Where else is this true? Does this rule similarly apply for movies, TV shows, food, girlfriends/boyfriends, regular friends, after-school activities, vacations, places? You could write a thesis on this (and if someone would give me an advanced degree in return, I'll do just that).

It's decently clever. Who wants a mom-approved video game? Nobody, that's who. I mean, I guess if your mom has any knowledge / power / control over the types of video games you play, you're kind of fucked. But kids are pretty crafty. And the forbidden nature of a game (or ANYTHING) will only make them want it more. They'll find a way to get their hands on Dead Space 2 - they're not gonna miss out on this.

Also, a lot of parents will just buy the game for their kids without even taking a look at the content. We know, as EA has told us, that the moms will absolutely hate Dead Space 2 once they see it for themselves, and they may forbid their kids to ever play it again, but they've already bought it, it's too late! EA already has your money. I guess EA isn't counting on these mothers hating the game so much that they take it back to the store and return it, trade it in for Epic Mickey or something.

So why does EA have to go with this workaround solution? Surely they're not REALLY looking to earn the enmity of mothers everywhere. That can't be the end goal of this enterprise - there's no business in mother hatred. Wouldn't it be easier just to say "You shoot the fuck out of horrible aliens! It's scary and intense and will get your blood pumping - you'll love it! Violence and thrills and space - it's everything YOU want in a video game!"

Well, as we all learned from Inception, you have to be subtle when putting an idea in someone's head, or it simply won't take. The person will realize that the idea wasn't his to begin with, and will reject it. You have to make someone think that he came up with the idea himself for it to stick. (As an aside, we still have no gender neutral pronoun for 'person', and it's 2011? C'mon people, we have to develop this English language a bit more).

So EA simply makes the assertion that moms will hate Dead Space 2. They even have a website that says it quite directly:

http://yourmomhatesthis.com/

That's the website. 'Your mom hates this' *dot com* takes you to a Dead Space 2 trailer. You're crazy for this one, EA!

Anyway, you receive the suggestion that your mom will hate Dead Space 2. EA anticipates that you yourself will be aware of the idiom that your mom's hate = your love. Thus it will dawn on you: this game, which my mom would totally hate, is really cool. I MUST purchase it. And there ya go, EA just performed inception on you, and all without entering a shared dream state, and confronting terrifying dream representations of your dead wife.

Now that you know EA's plan, you can resist this inception, and wake up from the dream! But why would you want to? Dead Space 2 is awesome, you should totally buy it.

Yeasayer - Live At Ancienne Belgique Review

2011-01-28T21:40:00.002-05:00

Explaining the band name Yeasayer to a friend: "You know how there are naysayers? Well..."

Yeasayer released Live At Ancienne Belgique on Christmas Day 2010. You can download it straight from their website, and like with Radiohead and Progressive Insurance, you are free to name your own price.

"Dear Wonderful Fans, To celebrate the close of 2010, your amazing support, and numerous requests, we have decided to unlock the Yeasayer vault and release this live show recorded at the lovely Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. We are letting you, the fans, name the price. See you in 2011. – Much Love, Yeasayer"

Yeasayer's sophomore record Odd Blood was one of my favorite albums from last year. Others didn't like the record quite as much. A common criticism is that it's uneven. I don't quite buy it, as I find the record to be an incredibly enjoyable listen from start-to-finish. If that's what you thought though, Live At Ancienne Belgique gives you the best material from Odd Blood, along with highlights from their debut record All Hour Cymbals, in a different package. The live performances are great, and the recording is high quality.

01) Madder Red
The familiar opening chords, with a bit of a looping effect. The sound of a cheering crowd to remind you that you're listening to a live record.

"It's getting hard to keep pretending I'm worth your time."

The chanting vocals kick in and give me a surge of joy. I love this song.

02) Rome
A fun stomper of a track, I consider this another Odd Blood highlight.

"Rome is gonna be mine. It's just a matter of time."

Whereas the performance of "Madder Red" improved upon the Odd Blood version with those chanting vocals, the beat that forms the backbone for "Rome" is a bit a muted here, and not quite as effective as it is on record. I like the way they mix it up with a stop-and-start effect towards the end though.

03) Wait for the Summer
Alright, time for a classic from their debut record. A drawn out hazy droning effect starts us off.

"We wait for the summer, we'll sleep when we wanna. Don't tell your mother."

Our two vocalists sound absolutely wonderful here. Powerful, and they unite so well. The extra emphasis on the "Sink into the river!" line really works.

After the song, we get some banter. Brussels is a beautiful city, thank you very much, blah, blah, blah.

04) Tightrope
Tightrope! Yeasayer's most notable non-album track (from the Dark Was the Night compilation) has a home. The band plays around with a weird insect noise for a bit before the song really starts. It's just starting to get annoying when we're hit with the opening synth chords, and I'm in heaven.

"So you're wishing that you never did all the embarrassing things that you've done. And you're wishing you could set it right. And you're wishing you could stay the night. But then I go again, wishing never solved the problem. If you wanna get it big time, go ahead and get it big time."

One of the band's best songs, this performance does not disappoint.

05) Red Cave
This a feel good song, kind of meandering along. What positive lyrics!

"I'm so blessed to have spent the time with my family and my friends I love with my short life I have met so many people I deeply care for."

Once again, the vocals break out, and are delivered even stronger than on the All Hour Cymbals version.

06) Grizelda
The closing track for Odd Blood. Not sure if this would be considered a highlight, but really, I love most tracks off that album. This version doesn't deviate much from the version of the record. Those flute sounds are a bit more striking here though.

07) Sunrise
Major All Hour Cymbals highlight. Has that vaguely mystical 'in the desert' kind of sound that the band cultivated more in their debut. They get a beat going first, and then the intro for the song starts to creep in, before the drums and keyboards really kick things off.

Another strong performance. Some more banter: a few years ago, the band played the 'little room' in the same venue, and never thought they'd be playing the main stage. Of course now they are.

08) Mondegreen
This is one of those weirder songs off Odd Blood that I'd imagine isn't as well liked. But it's gloriously weird! I love it. That guitar riff is delicious. Some more stomping and some staccato type vocals. Are those trumpets towards the end?

09) Strange Reunions
Boy do I relate to the lyrics of this song. Friendships with my exes have been a strain on my life for years now.

"Don't ask me for any favors, and I won't ask how you're doing. Leave me alone now, 'cause after all now, living with you is a nuisance."

The band thanks Suckers for opening for them. I've never listened to that band - I guess I should.

10) O.N.E.
Easily one of the best songs off of Odd Blood, this one is undeniable. Awesome sparkling sound effect, clanging drums.

"Hold me like before, hold me like you used to, control me like you used to. NO! You don't move me anymore. And I'm glad that you don't, 'cause I can't hang it anymore".

The crowd claps along. This song is so much fun and jam packed with energy, all of which is expertly delivered in this performance.

11) Ambling Alp
Yeasayer close out their regular set with the first single from Odd Blood. It's an anthem.

We start with a trickling water effect. Some chanting and clanging. Then a howl, and some groovy guitar.

"You must stick up for yourself, son. Never mind what anybody else done."

The live performance contributes to the general epicness of this song. Once again, the flute sounds are striking, and add a nice touch.

12) The Children
This is an odd choice for the encore. Sung entirely in a robotic voice, "The Children" is the Odd Blood opener, and works there for setting the tone and warming you up for "Ambling Alp". Here the order is reversed, and it's not quite as effective.

13) 2080
Now that's more like it. Perfect song to finish with. "2080" grooves and then explodes.

"It's a new year, I'm glad to be here. It's a fresh spring, so let's sing. In 2080, I'll surely be dead, so don't look ahead, never look ahead."

I desperately needed a live version of this song. There's no cute children's chorus to mimic the vocals at the end, but our vocalists' intensity here more than makes up for it.

Finally
A welcome Christmas gift from one of my favorite bands. I wish all the bands I listened to released a live record like this. Live At Ancienne Belgique gives me an alternative to the two studio records, and further fuels my love for the band.

James Blake - S/T Review

2011-01-28T19:33:00.004-05:00

As a preface to this review, let me tell you that I am generally unfamiliar with the genre of music known as 'dubstep'.

Help me out, Wikipedia:

"Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South East London. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals."

Thanks, Wikipedia! Electronic artist James Blake released 3 EPs back in 2010 (all the way back!) that I understand are considered to be dubstep: The Bells Sketch, CMYK, and Klavierwerke. I would say they fit that description above pretty well.

In 2011, James Blake is ready to release a proper LP, and while his sound retains some elements of his previous work (I would say the tightly coiled productions and reverberation are definitely still here, and there is some 'clipping'), I'm not sure this quite qualifies as dubstep anymore. Vocals are no longer merely 'occasional' - he sings for most of the song, on every song. So I'd say James is an artist who started off making dubstep, and is now moving on to make straight up pop music, keeping certain elements of his old style. Post-dubstep then? Possibly. I'll leave that up to the dubstep experts to decide.

James Blake (the album) is a very impressive debut of electronics-based arty pop music. A lot of these songs are slow and restrained, but without being boring. He uses fucking auto-tune and I don't despise it. That alone is an accomplishment.

01) Unluck
A slow tick-tocking beat starts us off. James starts crooning. He employs soulful white boy type vocals. And here comes the auto-tune! The simple beat is joined by a crescendo of electronic noises.

Repetition factors heavily into the James Blake sound. He'll repeat the same line over + over as the sound behind him changes it up.

02) The Wilhelm Scream
A tap-tap-pound beat. Electronic humming.

"I don't know about my dreams. I don't know about my dreamin' anymore. All I know is I'm fallin', fallin', fallin', fallin'...might as well fall in."

03) I Never Learnt to Share
If you only listen to one song to give James Blake a shot, make it this one. My favorite song on the album.

"My brother and my sister don't speak to me...but I don't blame them, but I don't blame them."

That line gets repeated over + over. Just vocals at first - James overlaps with himself to form a chorus. Then the electronics start to creep in.

The vocals pause so we can get a beat going - we've gotta have a beat! Then James and the electronics start back up.

It builds and builds until the whole thing crashes...into an explosion of NES video game music. I love it.

04) Lindesfarne I
Auto-tuned vocals. That's it. Just auto-tuned vocals. I can't understand everything that's being said, but I make out "Beacon don't fly...too high".

We get the tiniest of sound effects in the background to compliment the auto-tuned vocals. As is obvious by the titles, this is Part I, leading into...

05) Lindesfarne II
Now we've got a tune. There's a beat and some guitar, it actually sounds kind of folksy. That same line is repeated: "Beacon don't fly...too high".

06) A Limit to Your Love
Another highlight of the record. Turns out this is a Fiest cover.

James is really coming out and singing this one. No electronics, no auto-tune, just piano and his vocals taking center stage.

"There's a limit to your love...like a waterfall in slow-motion...like a map with no ocean."

Then, hold on, we've got some of that dubstep reverberation. Kind of like that scene in Jurassic Park where the T-Rex is coming, and you see the cup of water shake. And then we do get a beat to alternate with the piano.

07) Give Me My Month
Short and sweet. More piano and highlighting Blake's vocals. For real no electronics or beat at all this time.

08) To Care (Like You)
Confident vocals open, then they get put through the auto-tune wringer. We get a fast paced and light beep-beep beat. Switches over to more of a drum-based beat.

There's a stop-and-go dynamic. Some harsh cutoffs - must be like those clipped samples that define the dubstep style. It's kinda funny when the emotional part of the song comes in the form of auto-tune distorted vocals.

09) Why Don't You Call Me
Another piano-based number, with some of the stop-and-start dynamic from the previous song.

10) I Mind
This song starts off with a repeated clipped vocal. Lots of sound effects and an appealing beat.

11) Measurements
Some keyboard electronics, but this is mainly focused on the vocals. Gospel like vocals? That's what it makes me think of. James joins himself in chorus again, to great effect.

"Faith and prayer will make you see your bones".

I don't know what that means.

Finally
This is the debut album to beat in 2011, that much is certain. James is confident and obviously very talented. I'm impressed that he can make music that is often so slow and skeletal, yet still interesting. And major points for actually making good music with auto-tune. I never knew what dubstep was before, and I'm now at least somewhat interested in the genre.

This is a great album from start-to-finish, but I can definitely identify the first three tracks and "Limit to Your Love" as my favorites, and I'm not quite as engaged with the rest of it. "Measurements" is an awesome closer though.

There may be some fans of Blake's 2010 EPs who aren't happy with his new direction, but I think the dude is a quality vocalist...it only makes sense that he would eventually add his vocals to his mastery of electronics. Maybe he'll still make 'pure' dubstep music on the side.

This record is gonna get some major critical praise - I expect a high 8 or low 9 score from P4K - and it deserves it. This is well worth a listen. I don't unabashedly love it, though. Starfucker's Reptilians has kind of stolen its thunder in my musical universe. James Blake is more of a record I'm going to listen to when I'm in the mood than a record I'll give a spin everyday. I could see this as being a good sexy time record, for one thing.

Promising debut, great start to 2011 in music, definitely worth a spin.

Panda Bear - 'Tomboy' Album Artwork

2011-01-28T17:30:00.001-05:00

Here it is. Panda Bear's new record Tomboy is a reality. All that's left is for the album to leak / be released.

Tomboy drops April 19.

No Age - Fever Dreaming (Video)

2011-01-27T19:40:00.001-05:00

Archer Premieres Tonight

2011-01-27T18:09:00.005-05:00

Don't forget! The 2nd season of Archer premieres tonight at 10pm on FX. Really fucking funny. Archer is a secret agent. There's action, dirty humor, office humor, and a phenomenal voice cast.

I mentioned this before, but it's kind of a bummer that 30 Rock, which is now airing at 10pm as well, on NBC, is now in conflict with Archer. These are two of the funniest shows on television, and there are not that many quality comedies on television! Like you can count all of them currently on the air with your two hands, and you probably won't even use all of your fingers.

Point is, there are a whole bunch of primetime timeslots with nothing but garbage on TV, so why is 10pm on Thursday so jam packed with comedy? Luckily, I have a DVR. Otherwise this would be a serious issue.

Also on tonight, Ricky Gervais guests on The Office! He was Michael Scott before there was a Michael Scott. My excitement was abated slightly when I heard Ricky will only be appearing as a 'cameo', but still. The Office airs at 9pm on NBC.

Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill (Video)

2011-01-27T11:29:00.001-05:00

Sleigh Bells - New Music - More Music Videos

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Review

2011-01-26T21:03:00.005-05:00

With The Suburbs, Arcade Fire have crafted their most straightforward rock record yet - I find this to be much less orchestral than both Funeral and Neon Bible. Considering my proclivities for weird, electronics/synth, danceable, hazy and reverb-soaked, chillwave, and shoegaze music, Arcade Fire are where I get my quality earnest rock music from in 2010.

The band definitely knows how to pick a theme and stick to it, make it the concept for an entire record. With Funeral, I picked up on a theme of death, life and youth. Neon Bible was about the crooked, corrupt establishment. I don't need to tell you what the theme for The Suburbs is.

01) The Suburbs
I love this song - this is an anthem. The piano line saunters in, kinda like walking into a saloon.

"Grab your mother's keys, we're leaving!"

Win Butler sings lyrics about wanting a daughter while he's still young. "Or if that's too much to ask, too much to ask...send me a son". These lyrics resonate greatly with me. I'm 28 and ready to start a family, but I have no idea when that's going to happen.

02) Ready to Start
This is a bouncy number to get things going after the 'mission statement' opener title track.

"My mind is open wide, and now I'm ready to start".

03) Modern Man
As you might guess from the title, a song about the modern condition - something's off about the way we're living, even if you can't quite but your finger on it.

"Maybe when you're older you'll understand, why you don't feel right, why you can't sleep at night now".

There are some of the surges of emotion that Arcade Fire are known for, but much more subtle, smaller-scale than usual.

04) Roccoco
I dig the way this song starts, with a twinkling star orchestra sound effect clashing with a plodding riff.

"Let's go downtown and watch the modern kids. Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids. They will eat right out of your hand, using great big words they don't understand".

Words like 'roccoco', an 18th century style of art + architecture.

I've read that this is a song trashing hipsters. Lyrics about the kids building things up only to burn them back down seem to fit that description. The hype machine is always ready to proclaim the next big thing, and then call it shit 5 minutes later.

Others have mentioned that said hipsters are exactly the sort of people who listen to Arcade Fire. Again, this may be true. Doesn't mean that AF hate their fans. I see no problem with a message of "Hey, quit being pretentious douchebags". If indeed that is the message AF wish to convey here.

More so than any song thus far, this song steadily builds up tension and then releases, explodes. Though it's still very much restrained compared to earlier Arcade Fire records.

05) Empty Room
A flurry of quick orchestra strings! And our female vocalist Regine sings for the first (but not the last) time. She's got a beautiful voice, and it's a nice contrast to what we've heard before.

"When I'm by myself, I can be myself, and my life is coming, but I don't know when."

06) City With No Children
This competes with the title track for the title of my favorite song off this record. Awesomeness. A swaggering, groovy guitar riff opens.

"I have no feeling for you now, now that I know you better".

What does the title mean? Is the 'city with no children' the place the protagonist wishes to escape, what draws him to the suburbs?

"You never trust a millionaire quoting a sermon on the mount. I used to think I was not like them but I'm beginning to have my doubts, my doubts about it".

I love this line. You sure as hell don't trust a millionaire preaching a sermon. Feelings of self-righteousness can evaporate when you take a hard look at yourself.

07) Half Light I
A soft and slow track. Regine sings again. Then Win sings. I wouldn't call this a highlight of the album, but it's nice and serene.

08) Half Light II (No Celebration)
This song sounds pretty 80's.

"Some people say we've already lost, but they're afraid to pay the cost for what we've lost."

"One day they will see it's long gone".

This is a good line. People don't appreciate shit in this world. By the time you realize it, that's something's slipping away, it will be long gone...gone forever.

09) Suburban War
"The music divides us into tribes. You grew your hair so I grew mine."

This song's a little boring during the slower parts, but pretty cool when they pick up the pace and the intensity.

10) Month of May
YES. Without a doubt the most hard rockin' song Arcade Fire have ever done.

"The kids are still standing with their arms folded tight. Well some things are pure, and some things are right, but the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight".

The message I gather here is that a 'fuck everything' attitude isn't exactly going to solve anything, it's not productive. You can try to act cool and shit, but are you gonna actually do something to help? There is still good in the world worth saving, despite the parts that are fucked up.

11) Wasted Hours
I slowly bob my head along to this song. It's kinda sleepy.

"Wasted hours before we knew, where to go, and what to do".

12) Deep Blue
This is a song I generally overlook. It chugs along. It's pleasant enough, but I'm really just waiting for the next song to start.

13) We Used to Wait
A strong highlight of the record. Opens with a persistant piano line. We get some synth.

"Now our lives are changing fast. Hope that something pure can last."

What I interpret from this song is...I'm sick of waiting for people to bring me happiness, waiting for them to come around, waiting for something that may never happen. Time to take matters into my own hands.

We used to wait for it...not anymore.

14) Sprawl I (Flatland)
This track irritates me a bit. A little too melancholy and maudlin for me.

15) Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Ahhhh, much better. Regine sings. This is a joyous song filled with some great positive energy. We get some cheesy keyboards that make me smile. Fun.

"Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small...that we can never get away from the sprawl".

16) The Suburbs (Continued)
A continuation of the opening track, creating a 'bookend' effect, which reminds me of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

Finally
This is an epic album, that's for sure. Hard not to argue that this record would be better off a few tracks shorter - it's too long. And a few of these tracks are sleepy and not particularly memorable. There are, however, quite a few highlights. Basically you have an awesome entire no-filler album somewhere in here.

I dig the continuing theme and concept throughout the record. A lot of the lyrics here really work for me. Musically, as I've said, less orchestral, more straightforward rock. But also more restrained, in general. The band doesn't dive in with reckless abandon, with sweeping stretches of emotions, like they did in their previous records. This is both good and bad, but I think the choices work for this record.

How does The Suburbs measure up in the Arcade Fire discography? Well it's hard to top their immaculate debut Funeral. I think some consider this a 'return to form', but I happen to like their sophomore record Neon Bible quite a lot, and I'm not sure whether I prefer Neon Bible or The Suburbs. Perhaps more importantly, The Suburbs material fleshes out their catalog well, adding a different tone. I'm sorry I didn't catch one of their Madison Square Garden shows to see how the new songs translate into their live performances. It will be a great day when I catch this band live again.

I named The Suburbs my #6 top record of 2010, and I stand by that. The title track, "City With No Children", "Month of May" and "We Used to Wait" are fantastic. Overall, this is a really solid collection of songs that form a cohesive album. Good stuff.

of Montreal - The Controller Sphere EP

2011-01-26T15:45:00.004-05:00

of Montreal have announced they will be releasing an EP called The Controller Sphere this spring. This means that the 3 most recent releases from the group will all be phrases uttered by frontman Kevin Barnes in the song "Farberge Falls for Shuggie", from their greatest album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?.

"Skeletal lamping, the controller sphere, false priest"

The songs to be included on The Controller Sphere all originate from the sessions for last year's False Priest, but according to Kevin, they will be "a bit noisier and a little less groove-based", and some are "just a bit artier".

Sounds cool, Kevin. I didn't get into False Priest as much as expected. Perhaps this release will grab me more. Definitely looking forward to it.

The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts (Album Stream)

2011-01-26T14:40:00.001-05:00

You can stream Rolling Blackouts, the third LP from The Go! Team, using the player below.

If you don't know The Go! Team but like Best Coast, Bethany Cosentino guests on "Buy Nothing Day" and the title track.

The Go! Team - T.O.R.N.A.D.O by TheArtOf...

Toro Y Moi - Still Sound (Video)

2011-01-26T09:40:00.003-05:00

Toro y Moi
Tags:

Toro y Moi, MTV Music

The Strokes - 'Angles' Tracklisting

2011-01-25T11:31:00.002-05:00

The Strokes have announced the tracklisting for their new record Angles, which drops March 22.

01) Machu Picchu
02) Under Cover of Darkness
03) Two Kinds of Happiness
04) You're So Right
05) Taken for a Fool
06) Games
07) Call Me Back
08) Gratisfaction
09) Metabolism
10) Life Is Simple in the Moonlight

Curiously, there's still no official album art. Usually when we've got a new album's title, tracklisting and release date, we've got the album art too. That new promo shot of the band above will have to do in the meantime.

Track #2, "Under Cover of Darkness", is supposed to be the first single off the record.

Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics

2011-01-24T13:17:00.001-05:00

Ducktails is the 'side project' of Real Estate guitarist Matthew Mondanile. As Ducktails, Matthew makes easygoing lo-fi pop music. It's nice and relaxing.

The latest from the project is Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics, which was just released last week.

I love how the album has a song called "Art Vandelay" - that was one of the made-up names from George Costanza in Seinfeld.

Ducktails MySpace

Super Scribblenauts

2011-01-22T11:24:00.004-05:00

This game is the shit. Super Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS has you playing a dude named Maxwell, who can create anything with his magical pencil. That part's not really explained, but it doesn't matter.

Maxwell is presented with situations and puzzles. In order to solve the puzzles and advance, you can create nearly any object you can think of - just write it in your notebook and it will appear.

So you can write "Giant Red Dinosaur", and you've got one. Now say you're sick of that dinosaur, you can write "Missile Launcher", arm Maxwell with it, and take the dinosaur out. Write "Wings" and equip Maxwell with them, now you can fly.

The concept is so creative, and it's very well executed. There's a beautifully hand drawn art style. Since you can create virtually anything, all the puzzles have multiple solutions.

I haven't even gotten into this feature yet, as I'm still playing through the main game, but you can even create your own levels and share them with others. I think I'll get a kick out of creating some of my own levels, that'll be sweet.

Kitty

2011-01-22T10:59:00.000-05:00

Archer Season 2 Starts January 27

2011-01-22T10:09:00.001-05:00

The second season of Archer premieres Thursday, January 27 at 10pm on FX.

Oh shit, that timeslot's double booked now that 30 Rock has been pushed to 10pm. Thank the lord for DVR.

I caught up on the first season of Archer thanks to Netflix Instant, and goddamn, it's hilarious. Super excited for the show to be back.

Archer Official Website

Panda Bear - 'Tomboy' Trackilsting

2011-01-20T23:00:00.004-05:00

Panda Bear's 4th LP Tomboy is finally a reality, with a firm release date (April 19), and now a tracklisting:

01) You Can Count On Me
02) Tomboy
03) Slow Motion
04) Surfer's Hymn
05) Last Night At the Jetty
06) Drone
07) Alsatian Darn
08) Scheherezade
09) Friendship Bracelet
10) Afterburner
11) Benfica

Very happy to see "Slow Motion" on here, not that there was any doubt, as it's my favorite of the bunch of songs Panda Bear released in 2010. I probably could have done without "Drone", but whatever. Maybe the new mix for the album will be more interesting.

Mix 22 - Mutant Boy

2011-01-19T23:50:00.000-05:00

01) Wavves - Mutant
02) Death From Above 1979 - Black History Month
03) Bear In Heaven - Ultimate Satisfaction
04) LCD Soundsystem - You Wanted A Hit
05) Starfucker - Julius
06) Best Coast - The End
07) Destroyer - Chinatown
08) Small Black - Photojournalist
09) Yeasayer - Many Waves
10) No Age - Fever Dreaming
11) Cut Copy - Where I'm Going
12) James Blake - I Never Learnt to Share
13) Arcade Fire - Rococo
14) The Black Keys - Everlasting Light
15) Deerhunter - Memory Boy

STRFKR Tour Dates

2011-01-19T23:39:00.002-05:00

Starfucker are my latest musical crush. I'm addicted to their new record Reptilians, which I thought was their debut, but is actually their sophomore album, as it turns out. Their first record is a self-titled affair, and I'm familiarizing myself with it now. Not quite as amazing as Reptilians, but solid.

Starfucker are also known as STRFKR. The acronym does a handy job of covering up the profanity, when the need to do so arises. Not as easy to say aloud as Em Gee Em Tee (MGMT) though.

The band is playing Bowery Ballroom on 4/2. Here's their full tour schedule:

03/08 – San Francisco, CA – Independent
03/09 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
03/11 – W. Hollywood, CA – The Troubadour
03/12 – Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
03/13 – Phoenix, AZ – The Trunk Space
03/14 – Santa Fe, NM – VFW
03/15-03/19 – SXSW
03/20 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s Downstairs
03/22 – Birmingham, AL – Bottletree Cafe
03/23 – Atlanta, GA – The Drunken Unicorn
03/25 – Tampa, FL – Crowbar
03/26 – Orlando, FL – Backbooth
03/27 – Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits
03/29 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
03/30 – Washington DC – Rock and Roll Hotel
03/31 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
04/01 – Plains, PA – River Street Jazz Cafe
04/02 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
04/05 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
04/06 – Portland, ME – Space Gallery
04/07 – Ithaca, NY – Delilah’s @ Ithaca College
04/08 – S. Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
04/09 – Rochester, NY – The Bug Jar
04/10 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
04/11 – Columbus, OH – Skully’s
04/12 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
04/14 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
04/15 – Sioux Falls, SD – Orpheum
04/16 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
04/17 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
04/19 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court – Early Show
04/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge – Late Show
04/21 – Boise, ID – Neurolux
04/22 – Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore Cabaret
04/23 – Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
04/26 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
04/28 – Portland, OR – Holocene
04/29 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
04/30 - Portland, OR – MS Studios

Best Coast - Sunny Adventure

2011-01-19T23:07:00.002-05:00

Another new tune from Best Coast, lovely.

Best Coast-Sunny Adventure by VolcomEnt

Last.fm Trends

2011-01-19T22:48:00.001-05:00

Last.fm is an awesome music service that, among other things, can make a log of the music you listen to, keeping track of the stats. Logging your music is called 'scrobbling'.

Last.fm Trends takes a look at listening data across all of its users and identifies, you guessed it, trends. I work in market research and analyze data all the time, and I'm obsessed with music. This site was essentially designed for me.

Last.fm Trends

Mix 20 - Ghost Gene

2011-01-19T22:22:00.000-05:00

01) Wolf Parade - Ghost Pressure
02) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round
03) Wavves - Baseball Cards
04) Kanye West feat. Bon Iver - Lost In the World
05) Toro Y Moi - Low Shoulder
06) MGMT - It's Working
07) Arcade Fire - City With No Children
08) Tame Impala - Runway, Houses, City, Clouds
09) Eminem - Going Through Changes
10) Spoon - I Saw the Light
11) Real Estate - Beach Comber
12) The New Pornographers - Silver Jenny Dollar
13) The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
14) Girls - Heartbreaker
15) Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers
16) of Montreal - Enemy Gene

The Dark Knight Rises Casting News

2011-01-19T22:16:00.003-05:00

Warner Bros. has announced casting news for the next Batman movie, titled The Dark Knight Rises.

Anne Hathaway will be playing Catwoman. Sounds like a great idea to me. The movie needs a babe, and Hathaway definitely qualifies. It's also nice if the babe actually dresses up in leather and joins in the action, rather than being a mere 'damsel in distress'.

There had been much speculation about who would be the villain in this installment. The Riddler and Hugo Strange had been tossed around a lot, but it appears the villain of this flick will be Bane, played by Tom Hardy.

Again, I approve. Bane showed up in the dreadful Batman and Robin, but he was more poorly underused than Venom was in Spider-Man 3. Bane is supposed to be a highly intelligent foe, given ridiculous strength and muscles because of a drug pumped into his system called...venom. In Batman and Robin, Bane was a full-on retard lackey of Poison Ivy who said almost nothing, and had like 3 minutes of screen time in total.

I have no doubt that Christopher Nolan's interpretation of the character will be a badass, and will prove a worthy foe for Batman.

Twin Shadow Daytrotter Session

2011-01-19T21:30:00.001-05:00

Twin Shadow has recorded a Daytrotter session. You don't need to know anything else.

Twin Shadow Daytrotter

Stream Destroyer's 'Kaputt'

2011-01-19T21:21:00.001-05:00

Dan Bejar returns under his musical moniker Destroyer, with new record Kaputt dropping January 25. It's really good. You can stream it here.