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

Girls "Album"

"Imagine how good you'd feel taking a handful of Valium. Well, you feel that good off one morphine."

-Christopher Owens of Girls

Girls has an album, called "Album" coming out on September 22 on True Panther. Besides being almost impossible to google, it will be the record of the year. Singer Christopher Owens writes sometimes manic, always interesting songs and strums along on acoustic guitar. Chet "JR" White mixes these songs and makes them even more interesting and beautiful. They sound innocent, but are actually desperate and funny.

The San Francisco duo are currently finishing up a tour on their native west coast before heading to Europe to promote "Album," which means unfortunately we won't see them in the tri-state this fall.

Guardian Interview (MUST-READ)

Faq Interview

mp3 Girls Lust for Life

mp3 Girls Hellhole Ratrace

Pre-Order Album at Insound

The xx

When I think about The xx, I think about when the wave of backlash will arrive.

When I listen to The xx, those thoughts fade.

Take the song "Heart Skipped a Beat," one of the many stellar tracks on their self-titled debut. Title: stale, boy/girl duet: sentimental, build to the end: predictable. Yet, the song is much more than the some of the parts, driven mainly by the spare basslines (Oliver Sim is one of very few restrained bassists) and disinterested vocals give this ambient/R&B/Post-Punk group a unique sound.

Pitchfork has already anointed the xx; they could be 2009's biggest surprise.

mp3 The xx- Heart Skips a Beat

mp3 The xx- Crystallized

Bless Wallscpaes

The Bless Wallscapes are not new, but they have been made available at Ooga Booga for a price available on request. I requested, but I haven't got a reply...

I love the idea of these wall-sized posters that play with space.

Karen O Song from Where the Wild Things Are

Check out the Where the Wild Things Are Myspace to stream Karen's new joint for the Soundtrack. I've seen the preview bunch of times, but Tuesday I saw it on the big screen before Ponyo (excellent!!!!). It might be the best kid's movie ever made, at least from the point of view from an adult who likes independent music.

Also, check out the We Love You So blog. Amazing art/news there. Thanks Spike.

Trailer ft. Arcade Fire

Still...

Hey!

Been in a rut with work, but I am still on my grind and should be posting and getting to more shows soon. In the meantime, some items to consider:

mp3 Nite Jewel- Falling Far

First, I am all over anything on Jersey City label Italians Do It Better, but Disco that I can pretend is coming out of some old wood-paneled speakers, rather than my computer speakers is the jammzz. Analog is Dead! Vive l'Analog!

mp3 No Age - You're A Target

With harder echoes of "Things I Did When I Was Dead" from 2008's Nouns, this number from the new-ish EP Losing Feeling builds to such an epic crescendo around 2:00. Try it on for size.

Stream new Vivian Girls album Everything Goes Wrong at Spinner
I am going to hold off my thoughts on this one for a minute.

Godard destroyed an illusion that never existed, thereby creating the illusion of a prior illusion.

"Stuff" to do this weekend

Unfortunately I can't make it to this showcase that has many awesome bands including Real Estate and Duck Tails. It also has Andrew Cedermark who went to the same University as me. I didn't know him but holla anyway.

Info:
Underwater People's Showcase
Saturday, August 22, 4 PM, $5 (WORTH IT) @Market Hotel (1142 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn)

Total weekend highlight-guaranteed

mp3: Real Estate Green River

Best Coast

More of the same. Can't stop listening.

lololololololo-fi 4evah

Check out their blog.
Funny Washington Post write-up

Mp3: Best Coast- Something in the Way

"Most of the time the customer is a moron and an asshole"
-Larry David

Was he talking about me?

Favorite Recorded Scream LP

James Brown. Bjork. The Beatles. The Stooges. Michael Jackson. Big Daddy Kane.
All great artists. All with great screams. Finally pressed on Vinyl.

NYC artist LeRoy Stevens recently released an LP called "Favorite Recorded Scream" featuring a 3 and a half minute scream combined from the collective 20th century vocal chords of the century's biggest pop stars. For the project he handed out a survey to clerks at 42 record stores asking about their favorite screams. The responses on Stevens' website are priceless. You can pick up the record at Other.

more

If I had a heart remix

This is another oldie (like from July) but goodie.

mp3 Fever Ray- If I had a heart (Fuck Buttons Remix)

Rhode Island

I-95 N
Rte 78 E
If you want to enjoy the beautiful beaches of South County, RI do not stay here. No Internet! If you want to listen to pretty folk music from Rhode Island listen to the Low Anthem.

mp3 Charlie Darwin

The Drums

Working out layout issues.
Back on the grind soon.
Missed these guys in July.
Damn shame.

Vivian Girls at the Whitney

Bus 164 to Port Authority
Subway 6 to 77th
Whitney Museum 75th and Madison

I stood next to a very respectable gray-haired woman...
Their parents were there...

This was the last free show at the Whitney in conjunction with the Dan Graham exhibit. Everyone seemed like they were having a good time. These are Powers opened. Their drummer was far out.

Vivian Girls played a 35 minute set with highlights from the album and a couple of songs off the 7". They were funny live. I know there was the infamous video about "normal people," but they seem pretty down to earth and were really careful not to step on any cords or swear or anything.


These Are Powers





Vivian Girls