Year in Videos

Of all the year-end lists floating around, the one that I consistently get something out of is Pitchfork's Best Videos, mostly because I don't have a way to filter through all the music video output. As a genre, I am sort of surprised the music vid has survived, but the video artists that do this stuff always turn out some gems. Here are two of my favorites from the list.

One I have seen before:

Lenny Kravitz (Justice Remix) - Let Love Rule
Uploaded by elnino. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

And a totally new one (for me, at least):

Alan Lomax in Haiti Box Set

In the 1930s musicologist Alan Lomax went to Haiti on a recording mission. Armed with some wax cylinders and a notebook, Lomax had the practically impossible dream of documenting an entire culture's musical development, and he came pretty damn close, making over 1,500 recordings. This treasure trove had, until recently, been sitting in the Library of Congress collecting dust until a restoration project began.

Now we have a box set that includes some 287 songs on 10 cds from artists like Assasins (the killers) and Plaisance Boy Scout Troupe (Awesome). Included in the set is a transcription of many of the creole lyrics and field notes. Unfortunately it is not cheap (very few worthwhile things are!), but it is universally available thanks to Other Music's digital store.

Read more and stream at Spinner

Ariel Pink gets a record deal on 4AD

This one via the
4AD site.

Glad to see he is off that Animal Collective whatever label and has more stuff coming. Pink and Haunted Graffiti basically were the west-coast pioneers of a certain tapey, hissy "lo-fi" (increasingly annoying to use that term) sound. Lots of big '09 releases (Nite Jewel, Kurt Vile) are indebted to him.

mp3 Holy Shit (Matt Fishbeck and Ariel Pink) I Don't Need Enemies

Video: The Avett Brothers Slight Figure of Speech

Rockin. Nice job Jody Hill (Foot Fist Way).

gonna break out that vcr soon.

tUnE-yArDs

With all of the LOVE that the Dirty Projectors' NYC shows have been getting, it seems like a good time to check out Merrill Garbus' solo project called tUnE yArDs, who opened for the DPs on Sunday at Bowery.

tUnE yArDs is definitely a case of the apple not falling very far from the tree (Dirty Projectors). Like the Dirty Projectors, Garbus places her vocal virtuosity in relief by often going a-capella or pairing her voice with sort of incongruous ukelele loops.

My take on this stuff goes in and out, but right now it is definitely on the in-tide. Garbus is a rare vocalist who really explores her medium (the voice) and then manages to make things more interesting with the strong rhythmic patterns of the loops.

Single "Hatari" is !!!. tribal wailing launches into a sick drumbeat. Get down.

mp3 tUnE yArDs Hatari

Beach House Teen Dream

Long hiautus due to an increasingly busy holiday work schedule. Posts will probably be less frequent for a minute.

That said, there are a couple of exciting January releases to be looking forward to, most notably Teen Dream, the new album from Beach House on January 26 (preorder).

The Baltimore group has some serious momentum. They signed on Sub-Pop, they had a song in New Moon, and blew everyone away at that free Grizzly Bear show that Jay-Z went to in August.

Every preview mentions that Teen Dream was recorded in some sort of old church, but I don't understand how this is relevant to either your or my eardrums. What you need to know is that Victoria Legrand is a monster talent. On the new album she uses her voice in a more conventional way. The long, abstract notes that characterized Devotion are less frequent. The songs still have plenty of atmosphere (and reverb), but they are tighter, often oriented around a hook. While it sounds like this approach could water down the whole Beach House effect, it is more of a calculated risk. Beach House rises to their self-imposed challenge on Teen Dream, using the formal problems posed by pop convention to move their sound in new directions.

Single "Norway" is widely available, but here it is again.

mp3 Beach House Norway

CFCF: Continent

If you read this blog, you probably have seen very little blog-core, electro remixes, or basically anything that might make it to the top of hypemachine. In a total reversal, this post will cover an artist that made a remix of "D.A.N.C.E."

CFCF is Montreal's Mike Silver, who chose to name his project after an early Quebecois English-language TV station: "Canada's First, Canada's Finest." His remix output has been prolific (great ones of Justice, Health, and Crystal Castles) and consistent, a rarity for these blogophilic producers.

Now comes a full-length, Continent, which should be regarded as a test for someone like CFCF. Happily, Silver passes. His debut is coherent, consistent, and interesting. On Continent Silver ditches blog-core's main aesthetic principle (instant gratification) and instead takes his cues from a more sophisticated balearic place. Artists like Studio come to mind.

Buy Continent here

mp3 sample of remixes plus the single from Continent. It almost feels rebellious to post the Justice one so far after the fact. But as is typical with CFCF, it is restraint that carries his "D.A.N.C.E." which, in my opinion, remains the best interpretation of the original.

mp3 Justice D.A.N.C.E. (CFCF remix)
mp3 Health Before Tigers (CFCF remix)
mp3 CFCF Monolith

Surfer Blood: Astro Coast

First there were the Drums and now comes Surfer Coast. Florida bands with blue, foamy lyrics. Another CMJ highlight, I have been sitting on these guys for a bit because their album isn't due until mid-January. Nonetheless this band from once-glamorous West Palm Beach FL merits some discussion, mostly because of their huge, huge single "Swim (To Reach the End)." People have been all over the place trying to pin these guys in, and the "early Weezer" tags actually make sense. On "Swim (to reach the end)" the reverb and the huge guitars feel both experimental (wall of sound, shoegaze?) and classic (hair band?) at the same time. Maybe it's better to not even try to explain the sound.

Astro Coast is out January 19th on Kanine records. You can preorder at Insound. One to look out for in early '10.

mp3 Surfer Blood Swim (To Reach the End)

NYC Taper live recording

Best Coast: "When I'm With You" 7"s

I'm never sure how to talk up 7"s, but I guess it's like the record equivalent of buying a song off itunes or whatever. I play the mini records pretty often, especially when I get really obsessed with a song. LA beach fuzz-ers Best Coast continue their torrid output with a new 7" on Black Iris (link has streams to both songs). A-side "When I'm With You" is another one of those excellent songs about being with(out) someone special. Think of a stoned Vivian Girls and you got it.

mp3 Best Coast When I'm With You

Video: J Tillman "Though I have Wronged You"

If you thought Fleet Foxes' devotion to craftsmanship, the human voice, and acoustic guitars makes them throwbacks, think again. Drummer and vocalist J Tillman's most recent album Year In the Kingdom has been out for a couple of months, but just released a video for the track "Though I Have Wronged You."

The video is thinly-veiled internet theory in the form of a Platonic dialogue between two 8-bit dots. Daring and intelligent. (Full disclosure, I watched the video doing my daily morning surfing before I was completely dressed. Shit hits home.)



mp3 J Tillman Though I Have Wronged You

Real Estate: Real Estate (LP)

1)This is a band that I have talked about already, seen live and generally liked.
2)I am not sure if I have ever done a negative review on this blog.
3)Here it comes

Real Estate's new LP (Nov. 17th on Woodsist)has nothing to say. In fact, the lyrics and the larger band take away from the band's real strength, which is Mondanile's ear for melody. The whole project is much more rewarding in its incarnation as Mondanile's other band, Ducktails. There, guitars are free to wander, lyrics are generally nowhere to be found, and the songs aren't forced into pop formulas.

All that being said, these guys are talented and are giving it their best, so you could do far worse with your money than buying their mediocre LP at Insound.

mp3 Real Estate Fake Blues (So much potential with that guitar sound!)

Sweden!: Islands by The Mary Onettes

Labrador Records, "Sweden's and the world's finest purveyors of pop music," adds another arrow to an already stuffed quiver with the Mary Onettes' second album, Islands. The group had to make the entire album twice after a double hard drive tragedy (one was stolen and the backup failed) destroyed the entire album in 2008. Philip Ekström's project re-imagines 80s touchstones like The Cure and The Jesus and Mary Chain. As with much of the output from Sweden it is great and somehow manages to make old ideas sound fresh, a musical anachronism that really has you believing that The Smiths must have been listening to the Mary Onettes.

They perform at Webster Hall tomorrow evening (Nov. 6). Tickets

CD at Insound
Or if you need it in vinyl you can get it from Labrador starting on Nov. 9.

Neat Track by Track interview+video at Strangeglue

mp3 The Mary Onettes Puzzles

"Introducing" by Brilliant Colors out Yesterday!

More San Francisco. Trio Brilliant Colors got signed to great great Slumberland Records who also have a little band called the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their first LP was released yesterday (nov. 2) and is really fun. Single "Absolutely Anything" is kraut-ish noise with a hint of Nena (wild!). You can get their LP+mp3s on the Slumberland site for only $8! No excuses people.

Drummer Diane Anastasio on the all-girl DIY spirit of the group in SFGate: "It makes a world of difference to me. After playing with only women, whenever I play with dudes, it's just a different dynamic. They're not coming from the same experience as we are. Dudes are encouraged to pick up instruments." Righteous.

mp3 Brilliant Colors Absolutely Anything

Live Review: Real Estate and Girls @ Maxwell's

I mean what was I ever going to write about this show featuring two of my favorite bands?

Real Estate was great. Some of those guys have sort of equine features, but whatever the music is there. The vocals were pushed more toward the front of the mix during the show. I am not sure if this was good or bad because the instrumental sections definitely stand out with that band.

Then...Girls. This was the first show of the "Album" tour, and there were some jitters from both the band or the audience. Would the new guitarist Ryan Lynch know the songs? (not really). Would the sell-out crowd know the words? Would they get it? (yes!) There was a moment when the gaunt Christopher Owens thanked the crowd after playing "Lauren Marie." "Thanks, we were terrified of playing that song." Owens, pale and skinny, wearing a Nosferatu T-shirt looked like he may have had an encounter with a vampire or two over Halloween, but musically was none the worse for wear.

For all the uncertainty of a new band and new tour, the good far outweighed the bad. Everyone at least knew "Lust for Life." The glorious "Hellhole Ratrace" got really heavy and fun at the end, and transitioned straight into super heavyloud "Morning Light." I was disappointed not to hear "Big Bad Mean Motherfucker" and maybe a B-side like "Life in San Francisco" or "Solitude." But there were two new songs; one was called "Heartbreaker." I didn't catch the name of the second one, but it was really well written.

Owens responded to rapturous applause at the end by strumming Holy Shit's gem "My Whole Life Story" as an encore. I hope the band continues to get more confident as they tour. Don't miss this one! Rest of the tour can be found at Girls' myspace

mp3 Holy Shit My Whole Life Story
Owens said before he played that this was a song that made him want to write music in the first place. I had forgotten about "Stranded at Two Harbors" (which is sadly totally unavailable) for a bit, but it sounds ultra-relevant now. Gotta hand it to Matt Fishbeck. More discussion in an interview here

Film Music: Il Divo and Renato Zero

Finally got a chance to see Paolo Sorrentino's 2008 docu-fiction about Italian politician Giulio Andreotti. Relevance on a music blog? Sorrentino's film rarely features a shot without some sort of music. The stylized photography and frequent slow-motion sequences clearly borrow ideas from music videos.

One of my favorite scenes features a concert by Italian glam superstar Renato Zero. Andreotti (a monster) and his wife share a moment of genuine tenderness, which turns into ambivalence in front of the television. The song, "I Migliori Anni Della Nostra Vita" is perfect light-opera tinted pop. I think it is time for someone to make an ironic album of this stuff, it is amazing.

Stunning


mp3 Renato Zero I Migliori Anni Della Nostra Vita

Sleigh Bells: Crown on the Ground

Rising from the post CMJ rubble are Sleigh Bells, a Brooklyn duo who are rocking a noise/no-fi/hip-hop "approach." The stuff is sort of hellish on anyone who may wander into the room while you are playing it, but once figured out is sort of brilliant. Bandwagon is already pulling out (and after I wrote that it really seriously pulled out), so here is an mp3 for you to mess up your hearing with.

Mp3 Sleigh Bells Crown on the Ground

their myspace

In ya face!

Visual Arts+Halloween: Max Klinger and the Darker Side of Light

I won't bore anyone with any spooky Halloween songs here. BUT I have been meaning to give some love to the visual arts for a while, and the holiday is an appropriate time to mention one of the best exhibits I have seen recently: a set of macabre prints and drawings assembled at the National Gallery in DC under the title "The Darker Side of Light" Featuring the work of artists like Edvard Munch, Odilon Redon, and Felix Braquemond with such headings as "Suicide," "Obsession," and "Abjection," the exhibit presents a dark, compelling counterpoint to the florid vision of late 19th century impressionism.

One of the most fascinating works on display was a series of 10 etchings (one of which can be seen above) by German artist Max Klinger, entitled "Paraphrase on the finding of a glove" (1881). Klinger's symbolist narrative plumbs a subconscious yearning over a fetish object.

If you cannot make it to the free exhibit, here is an excellent video that showcases much of the artwork.

The following video presents Klinger's series in its entirety, but unfortunately, the images are of low quality. For an excellent presentation of the etchings with high-resolution scans click here. Highest recommendation.

Video: No Age "Losing Feeling"

Video Courtesy of Pitchfork.

"The fragrance of the woods floats in; the place feels warm and cool. Sometimes I lie down and roll about in the passage with pure joy. When autumn sets in, to possess a burrow like mine, and a roof over your head, is a great fortune for anyone getting on in years. Every hundred yards I have widened the passages into little round cells; there I can curl myeslf up in comfort and lie warm. There I sleep the sweet sleep of tranquility, of satisfied desire, of achieved ambition."

-"The Burrow" by Franz Kafka Trans. Willa and Edwin Muir

Fuck Buttons: Tarot Sport

Hypothetical Interview with Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power of Fuck Buttons:

ATT: Wow, Tarot Sport is a hugely impressive album. I noticed there were some artistic shifts from the territory you explored on Street Horrrsing. On that album there were human voices, often fractured and screaming. Still, they often suggested language. The new record seems to be entirely instrumental. What do you guys think about the relationship between music and language? Are they antithetical?
FB: (...)

ATT: (related question) People call you a noise group. I think this is a bit lazy; it's like people think that anything without words is just noise. What do you think?
FB: (...)

ATT: Were there any classical influences on the vision for Tarot Sport? Some of the track names (most obviously "Olympia") seem to indicate a classical theme. Anything to this?
FB: (...)

ATT: Let's talk about melody and rhythm. One pattern I see on both albums is relatively complex rhythms built around simple, sustained melody. It is almost like you are trying to really distill each of these elements. How would you characterize the relationship between rhythm and melody in your music? Is one primary?
FB: (...)

ATT: Do you mind if I share an mp3 for the readers?
FB: "I have passed your questions onto Fuck Buttons's management, they are considering them. However, they are very unhappy that you have posted an MP3 of a Fuck Buttons track without permission. This is totally unacceptable. They have asked me to tell you to remove it IMMEDIATELY. Please can you confirm that you have done so? There is no way your questions will be answered unless the MP3 is removed."

mp3 Fuck Buttons The Lisbon Maru (removed as per request)

Atlas Sound: Logos

My experience with Deerhunter and its lead singer Bradford Cox has been tangential and solitary. I missed their Charlottesville show at the now-defunct Satellite Ballroom while they were touring for Cryptograms. I enjoyed 2008's masterful Microcastle and Weird Era Contd. entirely alone. I bought the CD from Amazon, digested it, and guarded it jealously. Now comes another release from Cox's solo project Atlas Sound. Admittedly I have kept blinders on when it comes to the Cox show, which is increasingly hard to do, and I enjoy Logos just as I have enjoyed about everything he has done.

At the risk of being arcane, I think the album's name has some interesting ambiguities that shed light on the entire Cox situation. "Logos" can mean a couple of things. One is the plural of "logo." This interpretation would sit well with those who think Cox cannibalizes every "in" music genre (shoegaze, post-punk, etc.) in an attempt to build some sort of "cool" identity. I get the sense that this is a sneaking suspicion shared by many reviewers. In more academic circles "logos" has a different meaning. It is the ancient Greek word for "the Word," which has been interpreted all over the place from the word of good, to the fundamental order of the universe. This interpretation would indicate that Cox is on to something deeper. Ok, sorry for the deconstruction. Enjoy the album; it's quite nice.

mp3 Atlas Sound Walkabout

That Ghost- Never Have Fun 7"

What would a week be without some sort of garage fuzz? A week WASTED! That Ghost (SoCal's Ryan Schmale) has a 7" coming out on October 26 in the UK, which can be ordered from label Pure Groove. If you enjoyed his last full-length Young Fridays, or just want to groove to some more Smith Westerns, Real Estate, etc........ sounds, you could do a lot worse than to it out check out.

(bonus double mp3!)
mp3 That Ghost The Red Bow
mp3 That Ghost Never Have Fun

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Heads Will Roll (A-Trak remix)

Sometimes when I am listening to a song, I make little remixes in my head with bits of the song--mostly using hand motions and humming. A-Trak probably doesn't have access to my thoughts, but his ultra-hot remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's banger "Heads Will Roll" is exactly what I thought it should be. Pump up that Halloween party...

mp3 The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Heads Will Roll (A-Trak remix) (10/28/09 update: Content removed at request of DMCA)

JJ "Things Will Never Be the Same Again" Video

Via Stereogum

As groups go, few are more mysterious than Sweden's J.J., who released Number 2 toward the end of a summer. Now comes a remarkable video for their song "Things Will Never Be the Same Again." Shot in washed, purple-tinged video, "Things Will Never Be the Same Again" is a triptych rich in interpretive possibility. The first sequence suggests a possible political reading of the title lyrics. The second and third parts are more open and abstract. Enjoy the images and music.



Check out more JJ stuff at their record label Sincerely Yours

Imports: Pascal Comelade

How about some love for discs that don't have a U.S. release? One notable artist is the French/Catalan Pascal Comelade, who has recently got some blog love for his inclusion on the Music Alliance Pact, a sort of Eurovision contest for the various nation-states of the blogosphere.

Comelade's music certainly has a DIY spirit, but not in the way you might expect. His instruments range from trumpets to tinny little xylophones, to Kazoos. It sounds like the music a child might make with toys, if that child were an experimental musical genius.

Here is a cut from his most recent album, A Freak Serenade (released on Sept. 29 in France). Different and worth a listen.

mp3 Pascal Comelade A Freak Serenade

CMJ band previews: Frat Dad

The mega mega CMJ Marathon is coming up soon. There will be tons of bands there. One of these bands is Frat Dad, who will be playing a set on Friday, October 23rd at 10:45 at the Delancey. If you like the garage-y stuff that is on this blog, you should check them out. They are on the Underwater Peoples record label and hail from Ridgewood, NJ, which is very close to where I live. Bergen County New Jersey is starting to lay down some pretty deep roots in this scene (Vivian Girls, Real Estate, etc.), so don't sleep on this band either!

You can get Frat Dad's 7" at Insound

mp3 Frat Dad Greg The Nerd

Thee Oh Sees

In a San Francisco mood for a San Francsco grrrrrooove.

How about another great band on In The Red: Thee Oh Sees. PsychOdelic garage from the bay. Wail on...

Audio Interview and a bit of a write-up from the left-coast public media folks at KQED.

mp3 Thee Oh Sees Meat Step Lively

Julia (Javelin re-do) by The Very Best

One of the top remixes I have heard in a while. From the new Very Best album Warm Heart of Africa. Smile :)

mp3 The Very Best Julia (Javelin re-do)

New Vampire Weekend: Horchata

Vampire Weekend released the first single from their upcoming album Contra (release date Jan. 12). The band has endured some backlash since the release of their excellent self-titled debut. Yeah that Discovery LP sucked, and I know everyone loves to brag about how poor they are, but deep down, don't we all want to be young, petit-bourgeois, musicians making baroque, afro-poppy songs about a sweet, milky summer drink from Valencia?

mp3 Vampire Weekend Horchata

The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You

I wanted to belatedly shout out the September 29 release of the Avett Brothers' I and Love and You. One of my live favorites, this North Carolina trio has been putting out some honest bluegrass rock and building a fanbase for a while.

I and Love and You is the first Avett Brothers album to be released on a major label, with the help of super-producer Rick Rubin. The result has less stomp and less banjo, but showcases the group's (sometimes painfully) honest songwriting.

Pick up I and Love and You at Insound

mp3 The Avett Brothers The Perfect Space

Live Review: The Antler's @ Maxwell's

(photo via nyctaper, which has a bootleg of the show)

My first stop at legendary Hoboken club Maxwell's was to see the Antlers who played the last show of a week tour on Saturday evening. Excellent, tiny club with a bar that can't be more than 50 feet from the stage.

Openers Family of the Year and Holly Miranda were fine, but there was a clear step up when the Antlers began their set with "Bear." Peter Silberman can definitely do all his falsetto stuff live. I wasn't sure how the highly conceptual Hospice would hold up over a live performance, but the live sequencing worked. "Sylvia," the strongest song in this set came in the middle, and Siberman ended logically with "Epilogue."

The huge dynamic shifts sounded great in such a small venue. The only problem was that at some of the quiet, poignant moments the talk at the bar was louder than the band. The girl singer from Family of the Year was wasted and talking really loud during the whole show, which seemed sort of disrespectful. But these moments were fortunately pretty brief, because the Antlers would bust out a huge crescendo and get everyone re-focused. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the irony-free Hospice, and at the show I was surprised at how well the Antlers were able to perform such a nuanced set from the album. Now, I am on notice. The Antlers are for real.

The last chance to see the Antlers in the area for a while will be at the Brooklyn Vegan show in Williamsburg on October 20. Tickets

mp3 The Antlers Bear

Trailer Trash Tracys

Opening for The XX.

More hazy pop, this time from London. Why not when it's this good?

mp3 Trailer Trash Tracys Candy Girl

Fader Interview (lovin' the Twin Peaks Theme song question)

Get the 7" from No Pain in Pop

Rome Neighbors remix

I thought "Rome" was a pretty cool track on a record (Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix) that, at first glance, is overshadowed by the opening salvo of "Lizstomania" and "1901." It gets a nice re-working (not sure whether to consider this a remix or a cover) by Devendra Banhart, which supposedly signals a forthcoming cover version of Wolfgang... featuring the likes of Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective.

UPDATE: The album is for real. You can get more details and download the animal collective track here.

A couple of reservations about the track: I think part of what makes Phoenix really interesting is that they sort of deconstruct words and remake them in order to get them rhythmically perfect and dance-able. I think the remix pays too much attention to what are essentially nonsense lyrics. And it also eliminates the best part of the original which were those huge reverb-y guitars at 1:31 before the chorus.

so probably just another remix album to build up the blog hype, but as far as those go it should be a good one.

mp3 Phoenix Rome (Neighbors Remix)

Roman Polanski

This Roman Polanski thing is bizarre. I don't know all of the legal in and outs of the case, but it seems to be pretty clear that the judge at the original trial had a serious vendetta/wanted his 15 minutes.

I usually don't write about film here, but I think Polanski's first feature Nóz w wodzie (Knife in the Water) merits discussion on a music blog for a couple of reasons. The most obvious is the atmospheric Jazz soundtrack. The Swedish tenor sax virtuoso Bernt Rosengren features very prominently in the experience of watching this film. His evocative solo performances underline the eerie feeling of isolation that the three boaters encounter.

The second reason is Polanski's incredible formal discipline shooting on the boat. The artful shots of the characters laying on deck and the constant interplay between the horizantal and vertical lines of the boat and the horizon prefigures the formal ideas in a lot of modern music videos.

Here is a clip from the film, featuring Rosengren's music and the incredibly hot Jolanta Umecka making her first appearance in that bikini...

You can see the entire film in much better quality for free (although only in the US and Canada) thanks to The Auteurs here

Higher than the Stars: New Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Same chord progressions. Same low-key delivery. Different result, I think.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have released an EP called Higher Than the Stars EP. The title track drips of the similar indie cute-ness as their debut album. Thematically, they retread the teen love theme, but with a little twist. It is the synths that signal a new direction for the band. I'm still interested...

Buy the 12" from Insound

mp3 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Higher than the Stars.

Track Review: Summertime by Girls

In this post I want to cover a track that hasn't been popping up too much in other reviews: "Summertime." All the tracks on the record are good, but I seriously got in a fetal position on the floor, turned up my speakers and let this song blow me away last night.

The track is a Girls standard in that it starts with a simple rhythm guitar and a great pop bassline. Owens enters, his voice fragile and expressive, lending depth to the deceptively simple lyrics. The song seems to be about a couple enjoying a perfect summer day. But like all of the songs, there is pathos hidden here. The "you" Owens is singing to/about is never rendered, conspicuously absent. The song is really about loneliness and memories, in the past tense ("get high like I used to do").

After the first verse, the guitars and synths explode into a shimmering riff, we enter the "feeling" of that lost summer day. Suddenly, the synths stop, and we are left with a solitary strumming of a rhythm guitar, as the musician once again becomes conscious off his loneliness. Owens' wonderful chorus returns and the song ends with a lone guitar chord. When you think about it, the song's structure is anything but traditional pop. There are verses and choruses, but in between the two halves comes a huge instrumental break. Songs like "Summertime" makes Album one of the best pop records of the last couple of years, and confirm its status as a real work of art.

mp3 girls Summertime (via HearYa)

Live performance from FADER TV

Review: "Album" by Girls

Last night around 6, I got a package full of goodies from insound: the "Lust for Life Single," a poster, and of course, "Album," which I previewed in late August (mp3s still available at that post). Now that the record is here, it's time for a proper review.

First, the vinyl copy from True Panther sounds excellent. The album was recorded in bedrooms across San Francisco using lots of analog equipment, which gives the record a really warm personable sound. The two singles, "Lust for Life" and "Hellhole Ratrace" are highlights and serve as a good starting point to discuss the band's convergence of influences.

"Lust for Life," which opens the album, basically lists a set of wishes on top of a bright rhythm guitar and bassline. It is an uptempo pop song in the Big Star mode. "Hellhole Ratrace" (one of the top 500 songs of the decade according to one famous website) builds slowly through repetition, reaching a level of psychedelic intensity during the final repetitions of the hook.

There are other forces at play here. The shitgaze/nofi aesthetic (which I like!) is there, most notably on "Big Bad Mean Motherfucker"- a Beach Boys song dragged through the 2009 fuzz machine. However, unlike some of the other bands that make up this movement, it never feels like Girls (Christopher Owens and Chet White) are lowering production value to cover a lack of ideas. Rather, they lend a real spirit of virtuosity to the DIY aesthetic, constantly finding new ways to add to melodies. The effect is an album that infuses well-written songs innovative and melodies with the amateur's sense of enthusiasm and participation. The songs, mostly about love, sound as if they could be written by anyone, but in fact, are well-crafted works of art.

The aesthetic that I have been trying to explain, is also what makes the band's home-made videos so successful. Here is "Hellhole Ratrace" - a beautiful story of a night out.

Video: "Laura" from Pitchfork: TV

Girls will be performing at Maxwell's in Hoboken on Nov. 2 and the Bowery Ballroom on Nov. 6th

The Drums- Summertime! EP

I am writing this post for 2 reasons: 1) I like the Drums and 2)All reviews of this album have missed the point.

Every reviewer has started their review by pointing out a bit of irony, namely the Drums have released their tidy 5 song EP entitled Summertime! in the Fall. The tone of these reviews would have a reader believe that there exist strict temporal limitation on listening to delightful, uptempo pop music. This is nonsense. Can we no longer read Dickens because the grubby, industrial London no longer exists? Thankfully art transcends those annoying spatial and temporal limitations that Newtonian physicists and music critics would have you believe are all-determining.

Enjoy the Drums!!

mp3 The Drums Let's Go Surfing (via Pitchfork)

Wait, are the waves still good in the fall? No? Fuck it, then I'm not going to listen to this.

Buy Summertime! at Insound

Spike Jonze retrospective + No Age show @ MOMA

The hoopla surrounding "Where the Wild Things Are" has resulted in a couple of interesting events around town. While I am on the fence about the movie, I have long been a fan of Spike Jonze's prior work in music and especially skate videos.

The Museum of Modern Art has invited noted skate photographer/videographer Patick O'dell to curate one of its PopRally events, as part of its retrospective on the work of Spike Jonze (crazy, I know). Said event will take place on Thursday, October 15 from 7:30-11:00 p.m. at The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1 and The Agnes Gund Garden Lobby (11 W 53rd street, NYC). O'dell has put together a selection of influential skate videos from the late 80s/early 90s and will discuss them with a panel that includes Jonze himself. To top off the evening, No Age will perform a set at the end of it all.

Here is a complete list of events associated with the retrospective.
Interview from Vice

mp3 No Age Here Should Be My Home (seems like it would work nicely in a skate video)

Here is a clip of what is widely regarded as the best skate video of all time: Blind's "Video Days," directed by Spike Jonze. The selection is of the legendary Mark Gonzalez, who remains the referent for stylish street skating. Check all the awesome San Francisco spots, many of which are no longer skate-able.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams."



buy Video Days on DVD from Amazon

Imagine pt. 3 by The Smith Westerns

The Smith Westerns have a new song up on their myspace called Imagine pt. 3

So let's get this out of the way:
mp3 Smith Westerns Imagine pt. 3

Imagine pt. 3 is the Smith Westerns at their most intellgible, which isn't saying much (good thing!). The song is a jangly, piano driven number with huge hooks announced by bombastic tympani crescendos. Another arrow in the quiver of one of 09's most pleasant surprises.

pitchfork interview
buy debut LP at Insound

Bands that make me want to move to LA: HEALTH

"We gave the guy a cd to get a show and he scored it to his own homemade gay porn."
"It was like hipster soft-core gay porn so it was totally lame."
"It wasn't what we wanted to see, which was like, the action"
-HEALTH

I have been wanting to write about this band ever since their amazing industrial-noise track "Die Slow" leaked a couple months back. Now that the album Get Color has dropped, it seems like a good time to check out this band.

HEALTH emerged from the incredibly fertile scene centered around the L.A. DIY venue called The Smell, which has played home to acts like No Age, The Mae Shi, and Mika Miko. For more on that scene check this piece in Guardian). They have been around since 2005 and have toured with some pretty huge bands like NIN, Crystal Castles, and Of Montreal. So it seems like they have paid their dues, sleeping on couches and quitting their jobs to tour full time.

Get Color is not for everyone. Huge drums (tom-sorta like Fuck Buttons), screeching guitars, long, sometimes atonal lyrics at the back. But, like a lot of noisier music, the highpoints are visceral and transcendent. I think this band is serious about making art, which is one of the highest compliments I can give.

They will be playing at the Bowery Ballroom in New York on Sep. 24.
Tickets

Old-ish interview from Pitchfork

MP3 HEALTH Die Slow
Mp3 HEALTH Nice Girls-Daisy O'dell Remix (cool-but definitely more Daisy's aesthetic than HEALTH's)
NEW Video for Die Slow (Awesome)

Just buy it: Everything Goes Wrong

Hate all you want. This band was already great and they got better on their sophmore effort. I feel like this post is redundant in some way. What else was I going to say about a band that is so obviously good right now?

mp3 Vivian Girls Tension

buy Everything Goes Wrong (Insound)

Jay-Z The Blueprint 3

I remember going to the mall in Providence, RI one November during high school. We went into a Tower (sniff sniff) and I walked out with a copy of The Black Album. We drove back to my cousin Paul's house and popped the disc into his little Sony boombox in the basement. We listened, amazed. It seems like ancient history: a time before Kanye exploded and became a bloated supernova, a time before the autotuner (and it's death), a time when Em could stop everything with a verse.

New Jay ain't like that. The Blueprint 3 has decent tracks, but lacks the drive and imagination of The Blueprint, Reasonable Doubt, The Black Album, etc.

Buy it?

mp3 Jay-Z Empire State of Mind

Labor Day- Romain Gavras videos

BusyBusy weekend up here. Luckily labor day in NYC is pretty quiet as far as shows go. I did miss the Smith Westerns' 2 dates.

This weekend Pitchfork posted their top 50 videos of the decade. An impossible list to curate, but their effort was valiant. Not on the list was my favorite video of the decade...

This one did not get hyped as much as Romain Gavras' other big video for "Stress" by Justice, which is also incredible. Rocky meets Dardenne brothers. Enjoy.

DJ MEHDI - SIGNATUNE

mp3 DJ Mehdi-Signatune (Thomas Bangalter Edit)

Avett Brothers- Slight Figure of Speech

Wanted to give a quick shout out to NC group the Avett Brothers, especially Joseph Kwan. They are releasing the first single from their upcoming album I and Love and You. The 7" is called "Slight Figure of Speech." Order it on insound.

Get out and see the most violent, electric bluegrass show of your life at Terminal 5 in NYC on October 17!

mp3 The Avett Brothers I and Love and You

Washed Out- Life of Leisure

I'm going to stick with the Ducktails theme in a couple of ways. The first is by being late on an artist that has been building a buzz on another excellent release: Life of Leisure by Washed Out aka Ernest Green. The second is through a shared aesthetic interest in wandering, abstract, tunes. This seems contradictory; dance and garage rock have rarely been considered complementary genres. However, as Nite Jewel's excellent, Good Morning has already proven, no genre is immune to the warm analog glow of this no-fi trend.

It also seems strange that a dance pop album induces such inertia. You will not run up out of your beach chair and start twisting when this record comes on. No, you will sink in. Your head may start to bob, but you won't notice. Your eyes will glaze. You will wake up 3 minutes later with that strange smile still on your face.

Life of Leisure is available via Mexican Summer

mp3 removed due to copyright restrictions

Ducktails - Wishes

A little tardy on this track, as I am on most releases. Matthew Mondanile of Real Estate released Landscapes, an unpolished (that's a good thing) gem a couple weeks ago on Olde English Spelling Bee. They had the LP at Other when I was in the city this weekend, but I didn't pick it up. Dumb.

The track that I was referring to earlier is "Wishes." It's so good that when I play it on my ipod, I usually just have to shut the thing down after I hear it; I can't find anything I want to listen to afterward. A couple of layered guitars wander, while Mondanile's wistful lyrics hang at the very back of the mix. Highest recommendation.

mp3 Ducktails Wishes

Interview (hits home) from Vice.

addendum

(photo via Free Williamsburg)

looks like someone else showed up at the show as well.
He must have been chillin' with his lady in the VIP or else I would have expected a "hello."

Jigga broke it down later, explaining, "When rock was the dominant force in music, rap came and said, 'Y'all got to sit down for a second, this is our time.' And we've had a stranglehold on music since then. So I hope indie rock pushes rap back a bit because it will force people to make great music for the sake of making great music."

"You see," continued Jay, "there was this old German homie named Hegel who called this shit the dialectic..."

mp3 Jay-Z ft. Rihanna and Kanye West Run This Town
From the next Blueprint (that's 3, if you are counting)

Beach House, Grizzly Bear "pool party"

The Vibe at these Jelly events is pretty awful. Huuuuuuuge lines, dodgeball freaks, and hordes of Stern MBA students behind me.

But I did not want to miss big bad Grizzly Bear on their home turf, so I stuck it out.



First was Beach House. I let Devotion get lost in the shuffle last year, which was a big mistake. These guys are dreamy, trance-y pop, and Victoria Legrand is a reverb prophetess. They played a bunch of new stuff, and I will surely be looking for more from them.

mp3 Beach House Gila



Then, Grizzly Bear. I missed them during the Bonnaroo smorgasborg. Sonically awesome. I'll repeat what everyone else says. Rich textures, surprises, perfetly crafted. This live show made me realize that I haven't been giving Veckatimest enough volume. On headphones it seems like a really intimate album (although not as claustrophobic as Yellow House), but on stage it blasted me. Definitely made me reconsider the whole thing. Ms. Legrand came out and harmonized on "Two Weeks," which was the jam that everyone had come to see.

mp3 Grizzly Bear 2 Weeks

More Pics:

Beach House




Chuck Schumer "being accessible"



Grizzly Bear







"2 Weeks" with Victoria Legrand