Drown Your Beliefs

It's the Remix Edition: Sleigh Bells, Robyn, More!

2010-05-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

Apologies in advance for the long hiatus - I plan to make up for it with an EPIC post. As always when I am gone, I am still listening to tons of music and there have been some truly incredible songs unveiled in the past few weeks. Most are of the remix variety, but I am going to be throwing in some others for good measure. Here we go:

Marina & the Diamonds has appear on DYB before in remixed form, but not even close to this good. She is of the Little Boots, La Roux great female vocalist mold that Britain just seems to churn out on a weekly basis. For me those acts shine most in remixes when production is put into more adept hands. Enter Clock Opera, a London quartet with stellar production chops though their vocals and melodies leave a bit to be desired. With Marina (aka Marina Lambrini Diamandis) taking vocal duties, Clock Opera takes her song with its vulnerably beautiful verses layers in epic strings and more importantly takes an okay (at best) chorus and chops up her vocals to mind blowing effect. This song has been on repeat for a week straight and I see no end in sight. This one will be on my year end list for sure. Find it HERE.

Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors' fame (she goes all Maria Carey on "Stillness Is The Move") took some time off to guest on Rusko's track "Hold On" on his latest album, O.M.G.! (really??). Fortunately the song is about the opposite of the album title. Amber's voice is quickly becoming one of my favorites in music today. This song shows her with more soul and a bit of an edge. Sub Focus provides just insane and very STRONG (the percussions are not for the weak) beats that kick this song into another gear. Love this - HERE.

While not a remix per se, Sleigh Bells takes an excellent female vocalist Alexis Krauss and pairs her with a production mastermind, Derek Miller. They just happened to form a band instead! (Note to Little Boots, et al.: Please use this same formula). So instead of just a one off great remixed track, Sleigh Bells dropped a whole album of absolutely banging beats and sultry vocals - this album is SICK! The album dropped on Tuesday and is available for the rest of the week for free streaming on NPR. Definitely check them out HERE. I have raved about these two before - HERE for more info.

Robyn has been putting out dancefloor ready tracks for years and doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. Possibly my favorite of hers to date "Dancing On My Own" has been on repeat for me for a while. Check it out HERE. Dance remix by Buzz Junkies HERE works for a more amped up late night play but I am still waiting for a quintessential remix of this track. Right now nothing beats the original.

Lastly and out of nowhere is HEALTH with "USA Boys". HEALTH was a group making mainly loud uninteresting noise in the LA scene. Here they throw that completely out and put together one of the sickest beats I have heard this year off of their remix album DISCO 2. Going to start paying attention now for sure. Give it a spin HERE.

Couple other things of note:
(1) Check out wearehunted.com for a great playlist of the 99 most blogged songs of the moment and a whole section devoted to remixes as well HERE.
(2) Lala is shutting down end of the month thanks to Apple buying it (Stewart is right - Apple is turning into the Gestapo) BUT a huge benefit - all of Pitchfork's tracks on their website can be streamed repeatedly for free so check it out HERE. Until the end of the month that is..

Enjoy,
MD

May Is Here: New Music from LCD Soundsystem, National and Broken Social Scene!

2010-04-23T09:49:00.001-07:00

Don't have much time to write and have SOOO much I want to share on the amazing Coachella weekend that just passed (my favorite in the 4 years I have been to the festival and possibly my favorite weekend EVER). One band that was present, James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem, who had THE performance of Coachella (with 10 foot disco ball hanging overhead the whole time) has put their new album This Is Happening (which is as unbelievably brilliant as their last, Sound of Silver) up for free streaming on their website HERE. He is also playing the Hollywood Palladium on June 4th and the Glass House in Pomona on June 5th - more info on presales HERE.

Not to be outdone, the two other most anticipated albums of May (and in my opinion the year, unless Radiohead surprises all of us) have been put up for streaming as well. The National's High Violet is on the NY Times website HERE only until April 27th so listen soon! It is destined to be another classic slowly burning into your mind.

If that wasn't enough, Broken Social Scene's new album, Forgiveness Rock Record, that I have raved about on this site multiple times already, is streaming on their website HERE! They have already put out two songs ("All Is All" and "World Sick") that will definitely be on my year end best songs list.

Enjoy,

Coachella IS Coming! Coachella Commitment Day 3 Mix Featuring Thom Yorke, Phoenix, Spoon, MORE!

2010-04-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Coachella is only 2 days away (2!) - Get ready!

Without further ado, I present the final installment of the "Coachella Commitment" Mixes - the EPIC Day 3! "Day 3 Commitment" is the next level. After two full days of intensity (sun, LOTS of people, port-o-potties), those around for Sunday deserve a medal. This year with Thom Yorke, Phoenix, Spoon, Pavement, Gorillaz, it is my favorite lineup of the festival - so looks like I have no choice but to power through. I hope all of you do as well!

Like everything on this site, this mix is an editorialized selection of my favorite acts performing this year and my favorite song(s) by them. For those acts with two songs, they should not be missed. For those with just one, I am going to try to catch them for at least a few songs. Some others worth considering and not on the mix - Jonsi (lead singer of Sigur Ros - don't love his solo stuff but his voice is otherworldly) and Local Natives (excellent LA band playing on the early side - wrote more about them HERE). Below is the tracklist and at the bottom is the link to the download. Next to some artists I have put a link to previous posts I have written on them for more details and tracks.

Coachella Commitment Day 1 Mix Tracklist:

1. Phoenix - Lisztomania ( Off of DYB's Favorite Album of '09; More Info HERE)
2. Spoon - The Way We Get By
3. Pavement - Cut Your Hair
4. Thom Yorke - And It Rained All Night (I may talk about this guy a tad bit too much like HERE)
5. Julian Casablancas (Lead singer of The Strokes; more HERE)
6. Phoenix - Long Distance Call (25 Hours A Day Remix)
7. Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
8. Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension
9. The Big Pink - Dominos
10. Miike Snow - Burial (DJ Medhi Remix - who is playing as part of Club 75 Sunday!)
11. Gorillaz - Stylo
12. Little Boots - Stuck On Repeat
13. B.O.B. featuring Amy Winehouse - Grip Your Body
14. Florence & The Machine - You've Got the Love (see also Day 2's xx remix of this excellent song)
15. Yo La Tengo - Here To Fall
16. Thom Yorke - The Eraser

DOWNLOAD DAY 3 MIX HERE

Enjoy and see you there,
MD

PS New LCD Soundsystem Album is up and available to stream on their website! Check it out HERE. Awesome so far!

Coachella IS Coming! Coachella Commitment Mix Day 2 Featuring MGMT, Tiesto, 2ManyDJs and Many More!

2010-04-13T09:59:00.001-07:00

Coachella is only 3 days away (3!). Tickets appear to have sold out (though rumors persist that they may release some day of...who knows?). All set times are up (HERE) so its fully time to get serious - Coachella is approaching fast...

Given the immediacy of the coming festival is it time for BOTH Coachella Commitment Day 2 AND Day 3 to be released! Here is Day 2 - Day 3 follows TOMORROW!

For Day 2, I have a special treat. My good friend DJ Mikky Eriksen, an excellent up and coming DJ out of LA (check out his many sweet house and electro-rock mixes HERE) and my resident expert on all things electronic has put together a SICK mix focusing on all the great electronic acts gracing the stage that day. On Day 2, if all else fails, head to the Sahara "techno" tent - there will definitely be a party going on all day. Its such a techno heavy day that Tiesto is gracing the final performance of the Coachella (Main) Stage that night. Should be an absolutely epic electronic music event. Here is the tracklist and link to DJ Mikky Eriksen's Coachella Day 2 mix:

Florence & The Machine - You Got the Love (The XX Remix)

Miike Snow - Sylvia (Dirty South & Sebastian Ingrosso Remix)

Tracey Thorn - Grand Cayon (Dirty South Remix)

Hop Chip - Over & Over (Solid Groove Remix)

Major Lazer- Pon De Floor (Laidback Luke Remix)

Empire of Sun - Walking on a Dream (Kaskade Mix)

Tegan & Sara - Back in Your Head (Tiesto Remix)

MGMT - Kidsos (Sebastian Ingrosso Mix)

David Guetta - Memories (Barletta Remix

Bloody Beetroots - WARP (2ManyDJs Mashup Mix)

David Guetta & Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over (DG Podcast Mix)

David Guetta - The World is Mine (DJ Red & Josh Dupont Remix)

Tiesto & Sneaky Soundsystem - I Will Be Here (Laidback Luke Remix)

Kaskade - Move For Me (Extended Mix)

Tiesto - Walking On Clouds

David Guetta- Love is Gnuk (Axwell Mix)

Tiesto - Delerium - Silence (In Search of Sunrise Mix)

Tiesto- Adagio For Strings

Kaskade - I remember (Caspa Remix)

MGMT - Time to Pretend (DMoe Funk Club Mix)

DOWNLOAD DAY 2 MIX HERE

Enjoy,

Coachella IS Coming! Coachella Commitment Day 1 Mix Featuring Jay-Z, LCD, Passion Pit, MORE!

2010-04-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Coachella is only 9 days away (9!) and I may have to freeze myself until then to contain my unbridled excitement. Instead I have decided to dedicate DYB to all things Coachella until then INCLUDING Introductions to the most exciting (and some lesser known artists), Recommended schedules for each day and most importantly MIXES including all the best, most exciting artists. Get ready!

Without further ado, I present the "Coachella Commitment Day 1" Mix! "Commitment" because Coachella is not for the weak. It is intense (sun, LOTS of people, port-o-potties), but always always AMAZING! Like everything on this site, this mix is an editorialized selection of my favorite acts performing this year and my favorite song(s) by them. For those acts with two songs, they should not be missed. For those with just one, I am going to try to catch them for at least a few songs. Some others worth considering and not on the mix - Gil Scott Heron (70s legend I wrote about HERE) and Fever Ray (female half of The Knife - out there, but very cool). Below is the tracklist and at the bottom is the link to the download. Next to some artists I have put a link to previous posts I have written on them for more details and tracks.

Coachella Commitment Day 1 Mix Tracklist:

1. Yeasayer - ONE (More Info HERE)
2. Jay-Z - Heart of the City
3. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends (More Info HERE)
4. Sleigh Bells - Crown on the Ground (More Info HERE)
5. LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk is Playing At My House
6. Passion Pit - Moth's Wings (More Info HERE)
7. Jay -Z - 99 Problems
8. Aeroplane - Friendly Fire's "Paris" Remix
9. La Roux - I'm Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix) (More Info HERE)
10. Deadmau5 - Ghosts N Stuff
11. Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
12. Wale - TV In The Radio (Produced by David Sitek of TV on the Radio)
13. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (More Info HERE)
14. Vampire Weekend - Diplomat's Son (More Info HERE)
15. Sleigh Bells - Ring Ring
16. The Whitest Boy Alive - Burning
17. Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell

DOWNLOAD MIX HERE

Enjoy and see you there,
MD

Coachella IS Coming! Introducing Club 75

2010-04-01T17:47:00.001-07:00

Coachella is only 15 days away (15!) and I may have to freeze myself until then to contain my unbridled excitement. Instead I have decided to dedication DYB over the next 15 days (15!) to all things Coachella until then INCLUDING Introductions to the most exciting (and some lesser known artists), Recommended schedules for each day and most importantly MIXES including all the best, most exciting artists. Get ready!

To kick off the COACHELLA IS COMING! section, I want to introduce one of the most exciting and unique collaborations at the festival, Club 75. Most will be surprised to see Club 75 in BOLD with billings comparable to such acts as Phoenix, Spoon and Strokes lead man, Julian Casablancas (all of who I highly recommend seeing as well) until they know who is in this electronic music supergroup. Club 75 consists of Xaiver de Rosnay (1/2 of Justice), Zdar (aka Cassius and the producer of Phoenix), DJ Medhi and Busy P (only the founder of Ed Banger Records and Daft Punk's original manager) - now that's a bit more exciting. This collaboration started five years ago at REX CLUB in Paris with all these electronic geniuses behind the deck and each one stepping forward and taking over at random whenever they had an idea on where to take the music. "From hip-hop to rock to house to techno to rock" this should be an all-out party in the Sahara "techno" Tent! Check out a mix from Club 75 below:

Club 75 - Mixmag Presents Club 75 Mix

More Coachella knowledge to drop on all of you soon. For know...

Enjoy,

New Music Overload! Thom Yorke, The National, BSS, and more

2010-03-26T16:33:00.001-07:00

Well it is about time! This week has seen new music dropped by three of my favorite artists and some exciting up and comers ALL with great new tracks. With Thom Yorke (in a supporting role), The National and Broken Social Scene all releasing new music this week (and BSS with two new tunes), the pleasure centers in my brain have been malfunctioning and on the verge of complete collapse. Let's get to some of this music already:

Broken Social Scene already released the brilliant "World Sick" (currently in the pole position for song of the year for me) off their forthcoming album, Forgiveness Rock Record. Now they have made available for download on iTunes and available for streaming below, TWO new songs off the forthcoming album, "All to All" and "Force to Love". "Force to Love" is an excellent tradition rock song with the added layers one comes to expect from BSS. "All to All", for me, is the true gem. It uses occasional female vocalist for the group, Lisa Lobsinger, as the lead and it comes off like a newer Yeah Yeah Yeahs song with Lisa a more vulnerable Karen O. The song is airy, summery at the beginning and by minute 3 is jammy and drives it home beautifully. I have been listening to this one on repeat - check it out below.

The National already got me (way too) excited for their upcoming album with the "Terrible Love" performance from Fallon (video posted HERE.) Now comes their official single, "Bloodbuzz Ohio", off the new album, High Violet, that drops in May. This song would have fit beautifully on their last album, the absolute classic Boxer, but it shows a bit of the transition from that album to the all-out rocker that is "Terrible Love". These guys can do no wrong in my book.

Flying Lotus is an experimental producer based out of LA creating some of the craziest beats out there. His album, Los Angeles, was a critical darling in 2008. How does one improve upon that success? Team up with Thom Yorke on your new album's, Cosmogramma, first release, And the World Laughs With You". The first two minutes sets the stage for his mind bending beat making ability with Thom Yorke's super smooth vocals coming in shortly after the 2 minute mark. Loving this track too!

While the biggest names in indie music are raising the bar this year, the newer guys are holding their own too:

Delorean (who I have written about before HERE) are back with the first track, "Stay Close" off their upcoming debut album (though these guys had quite the impressive first EP dropped last year). This track is everything that is great about Delorean - fun, dancey electronic club music made for beach / poolside listening. These guys take a lot of influences from the Swedish poppy electronic bands (learn more about them HERE), but make this their own. Will be listening to this one all weekend.

One more newbie that I just started listening to be, but am really digging is Blondes. These two guys are an electronic music "jam band". They are experimenting and always pushing their music (I hear their live shows are sick!). Check out a jam off their EP below.

Enjoy and have a great weekend,
MD

Phoenix: Live In Sydney FREE!

2010-03-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

After topping numerous end of year lists (including DYB's) with their brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and touring relentlessly throughout 2009 and still going strong in 2010 (with US dates starting again with Coachella on 4/18 - see full tour dates HERE), Phoenix is the gift that keeps on giving. But why stop there - Phoenix is giving away a 8 song FREE live set from their show in Sydney on their website -HERE! From someone who saw Phoenix perform 4 times last year (and will be front and center at their Coachella set), trust me this is a must listen.

Enjoy,
MD

The National Debut "Terrible Love" On Fallon...

2010-03-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

And make me all the more excited for May. While this year has been slow on the mind-blowing music front, two of my favorite bands of the past decade, The National and Broken Social Scene, have both dropped new songs on the world to give me hope that the 10s have some promise yet. Broken Social Scene absolutely killed their return after a 5 year hiatus with the single, "World Sick" off their forthcoming album (out May 4th), Forgiveness Rock Record (single and all the details available HERE). The National's last two records (3rd and 4th overall), Alligator and Boxer, are two of my favorite records of the past decade (just barely missing out on this HERE) and show a band that is absolutely peaking right now. "Terrible Love" shows the band continuing to build on all the qualities that make them great -lead singer Matt Berninger's deep baritone, helpless yet somehow hopeful lyrics, brilliant orchestral instrumentation, and distinctive and flat out awesome drumming. The band talks about how they have to make their songs less "epic" as they finalize their record, but like Broken Social Scene these guys embrace that "epic" sound in all the best ways. The last minute is both raw but polished rock of the highest order. Can't say enough about these guys. I am looking to them and BSS to save the year.

Enjoy,
MD

Ok Go - "This Too Shall Pass" - Insane Music Video!

2010-03-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

So the band that rode a synchronized treadmill (video) to stardom (the video for "Here It Goes Again" HERE) have managed with their latest video to top themselves and then some. This music video is on completely different level - it is one of the most insane and brilliantly awesome videos (music or otherwise) I have seen in a while. The video follows in one shot the most ridiculously extravagant Rube Goldberg Machine (or before I looked it up what I was calling The Mouse Trap Game)built in a two story warehouse in Echo Park with the help of local engineering firm Synn Labs. It is in no way profound but perfectly achieves what lead singer, Damian Kulash, said was it's main goal: "It's purpose is only to be awesome". Great success! The part with the guitar, spoon and glasses goes beyond simple awesomeness to utterly brilliant. The song is even pretty damn good too! Check it out below:

Enjoy,
MD

Fresh Tracks: Broken Social Scene, Local Natives, Gil Scott Heron and More

2010-03-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

(Broken Social Scene)

Broken Social Scene are back at it after a 5 year hiatus (although there were a number of band side projects) and they sound as good as ever. "World Sick", BSS's first single off their forthcoming album Forgiveness Rock Record (forgiveness for their lengthy hiatus perhaps?), is EPIC like you would expect from the band that can range from 6-19 members. At times it seems like almost all 19 of them are playing various guitar parts building to the songs many crescendos - these guys absolutely own the modern guitar epic (almost forgot how good these guys can be). It doesn't stop with its musical brilliance either; lyrically, lead singer and lead member of BSS, Kevin Drew, strikes a chord with its chorus "I get world sick every time I take a stand". Seems to perfectly encapsulate the current feeling of constant disappointment from the world's (and our country's in particular) politicians. Get the get track for free at BSS's website:

Broken Social Scene - "World Sick"

Morning Benders are a throwback of the best kind. Coming out of the exploding music scene in San Fran, they have crafted a 60's pop gem with "Excuses". This one sounds like a lost track in Phil Spector's or Brian Wilson's catalog. The song has me longing for summer. It is just a breezy top down driving tune with airy almost floating guitar rhythms, and a gorgeous melody accented with lush harmonies. Take a listen to the single off their new album, Big Echo:

Morning Benders - "Excuses"

Local Natives are one of the most exciting bands in the LA music scene right now. Recently being graced with a P4K Best New Music label shouldn't hurt either. These guys are very much deserving. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, is one of the most intriguing of the new year. They sound like Grizzly Bear if it was produced by David Sitek. Really these guys resolve my only issue with Grizzly Bear - their weak rhythm section. They don't quite have Grizzly Bear's vocal chops but they have some great harmonies and I LOVE their drumming. Listen to the great first two tracks off their album, "Wide Eyes" and "Airplanes".

Local Natives - "Wide Eyes"
Local Natives - "Airplanes"

Gil Scott Heron is an icon of the 1970's. An African-American poet, musician and author; his musical style played a huge role in the development of hip-hop both with the political and social commentary of his lyrics as well as his rapping style of delivery. Then for a long time he disappeared, was in and out of jail on drug related charges and had only one album to come out in the last 25 years. Then he recently dropped I'm New Here and damn he's still got it. "New York Is Killing Me" is sure to be a classic. It is a stripped down blues tune with minimal hand claps and Gil's signature raspy baritone lamenting of his personal downfall in that great city. But it wouldn't be a Heron classic without its social commentary on the changing landscape of NYC. Enjoy:

Gil Scott Heron - "New York Is Killing Me"

And lastly, Yes Giantess' "The Ruins" may sound EXACTLY like a Passion Pit track (and they also happen to be from Boston, Mass too) BUT it still sounds so good. Check it out:

Yes Giantess - "The Ruins"

Enjoy,
MD

New Thom Yorke Songs!

2010-02-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

Lots of Thom Yorke related news as of recent. At his solo performance in support of UK's Green Party, he chose to unleash three new song gems on us. Check out the three new tunes below:

"Give Up The Ghost":

"The Daily Mail":

"Mouse Dog Bird":

Enjoy,
MD

Thom Yorke's Band officially Atoms For Peace AND Touring!

2010-02-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

(Recently named Atoms For Peace at The Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles)

First, it was ????. Then on the Coachella flyer it became Thom Yorke ????. Now it is official - Thom Yorke's new superband (with Nigel Godrich, Flea and other musical geniuses in tow) is called Atoms For Peace. Atoms For Peace is both a song off of Thom Yorke's solo debut album, The Eraser, and the famous (or infamous or really a little of both) speech delivered by then President Eisenhower to the UN Assembly that established the US program of supplying information and equipment for the development of atomic energy around the world. It was intended as a means to lead to equality amongst nations in the use of nuclear power / energy and a way to help solve "the fearful atomic dilemma". It was also under this program that both Pakistan and Iran built their first nuclear reactors. The song, "Atoms For Peace", is perhaps my favorite off the album, simple and gorgeous bass harmonics, hauntingly beautiful vocals, and a call to action: "No more talk about the old days, it's time for something great". So clearly I love the name choice (shocking).

Check out this sick remix of "Atoms for Peace by Four Tet (separately, you can catch Four Tet playing the Echoplex on Saturday, 2/27):

Atoms For Peace has announced some additional tour dates in addition to playing Coachella - lucky for those in NYC, Boston, Chicago and SF / Oakland. Check out the dates HERE. Pre-sale tickets available starting March 2nd on W.A.S.T.E. March 5th at 10am EST on Ticketmaster. Good luck - these are going to go fast.

Enjoy,

MD

Quickie: The Year of the Producer? New Music from Yeasayer, Four Tet and others

2010-02-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

(Four Tet, aka Kieran Hebden)

So far, 2010 has been the year of the producer. Producers - bands that produce their own music (Yeasayer), bands taking over the boards for the first time (Spoon), longtime production geniuses (Four Tet) and young up and comers (Keepaway) - are the reason behind everything on my playlist right now.

Here's a sampling of their best stuff:

Yeasayer - I Remember - I have already raved about both singles ("Ambling Arp" and "ONE") and this CD just keeps growing on me. The first half is very strong and the appeal lies squarely in their musical experimentation and layered instrumentation. If anything, Yeasayer try TOO much. Not a bad problem at all on your sophomore effort. I see these guys only heading for bigger and better things on LPs to come. "I Remember" is one of the few songs that follows just a couple of ideas and they execute on it beautifully.

Spoon - Who Makes You Money - My track of the year so far. Can't say enough about these guys.

Four Tet - Angel Echoes - Four Tet (pictured above) is the electronic moniker for Kieran Hebden, an absolute electonic music pioneer - from his days back in the the post-rock band Fridge to his intoxicating blending of hip-hop, folk and jazz as Four Tet. His newest album, There Is Love In You, is his best and most straight forward. Absolutely love this track, "Angel Echoes", which is possibly the best musical articulation of a track title I have ever heard. The vocals are haunting. You can see him live Saturday, February 27th at Echoplex.

Keepaway - Yellow Wings - The Animal Collective reference point is an obvious one here, but the Keepaway's, a young Brooklyn band, are more than just a lesser AC. They use simple samples and percussions to perfect effect on "Yellow Wings" off their debut EP, Baby Style. And they have something to say; lyrically more akin to indie rock past than the AC mold. Been addicted to this tune for weeks.

Enjoy,

A Look Back On The Music Year So Far...

2010-01-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

First off, my measly blog posting output for this past month has been unacceptable - PERIOD. I promise you it will not happen again. While I have been absolutely swamped with work, it has only hindered my ability to inform you about music (these ramblings take far more time than it looks) and (fortunately for my sanity) not my ability to find it and listen. So this post is intended as an all-encompassing grab bag of all the exciting new music to have already dropped and the new music news about the very exciting 2010 music future. Here we go:

1. Favorite band of last year (Phoenix) covers favorite act of my youth (Bob Dylan): world collapses in on itself. Fortunately I survived my encounter with this tune. Thomas Mars channels a very convincing Dylan, staying very true to the original "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" off the beyond essential, Blonde on Blonde. From personal favorite "Visions of Johanna" to classics "Just Like a Woman" and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" check out the original too - please. Phoenix - "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands"

2. Animal Collective premiered their "visual album" at Sundance yesterday and have some screenings planned for NYC and Chicago in the next couple months (hopefully LA soon?). more info here: http://oddsac.com/. The 30 second teaser below is everything you would expect from an AC video: visually captivating and terrifying. Unfortunately not a lot of insight into the music in the teaser, but I was sold at "visual album".

3. Spoon's Transference came out last week and I have been listening to it non-stop. So hard to rank Spoon albums since all of them are truly fantastic, but they focus more here on textures with the same brilliant instrumental interplay. Britt's voice is as captivating and playful as ever on the melodies. Check out "Who Makes You Money" and "I Saw the Light" (especially the absolutely awesome piano solo / break starting at the 2 min mark). Best album of the year so far (a bit underwhelmed by the other big releases - Vamp Weekend, Beach House (though do check out "10 Mile Stereo" HERE which is an excellent track off a good album, and Surfer Blood).

4. Dirty Projectors weren't content to just rest of their laurels of "best of year" lists from nearly every publication or maybe just because of that they have given their fans a present. Single "Ascending Melody" (not featured on Bitte Orca, but from that session) has been released on their website for free: http://www.dirtyprojectors.net/. I like the single, but for me the highlight is the free b-side, "Emblem of the World". It is as simple as this band gets (or I would bet will get) - just a simple guitar strum, minimal drums and David Longstreth at his most harmonious.

5. I have already raved about Yeasayer's first single "Ampling Arp"; this single may just top that one. "One" - 80s disco infused good times. Free download here: http://www.yeasayer.net/. The rest of the album, Odd Blood, drops February 9th and it ain't too shabby, but these two are the absolute gems.

6. Check out this very cool video of El Perro De Mar joined by Lykke Li on an LA rooftop performing an acoustic version of "Change of Heart". Love this cover (and the original HERE). Check it out:

7. LASTLY, LCD Soundsystem and The National have new albums out this spring!!! The National are playing the Wiltern on May 22 and LCD Soundsystem as of now is playing Coachella on April 16th and hightailing for a European tour after that. More updates on these guys (and a massive Coachella primer posting) coming soon.

Not a bad start to the new decade...

Enjoy,

Coachella 2010: It's Now Official

2010-01-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

AND WHAT A LIST IT IS!!

Hope to see you all there!

Enjoy,

Coachella 2010: It's Fun To Dream

2010-01-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

(Musical Nirvana)

So The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (known simply as Coachella) is set to hit the California desert for the 11th time the weekend of April 16th - 18th. The festival is absolutely epic and has a storied history of acts from big-time reunions (Pixies back in 2004, Rage Against The Machine and Jesus and the Mary Chain) to rock legends (Paul McCartney) to most importantly (in my humble opinion) the best acts in indie, electronic and (for the most part) hip-hop today PERIOD. The festival typically reveals its lineup by the end of January, but speculation on the acts begins much earlier and is all part of the fun. I have been monitoring the lists of "confirmed" acts which means they are either fully confirmed or more likely they have a conspicuous hole in their touring schedule conveniently around the 16th-18th and right near LA. I have scoured some of my favorite acts touring schedules as well to add to the list of potential acts. If this is anything close to the real list, this may just be my most anticipated one yet!

Selection of my favorite "confirmed" acts found on a number of fairly reliable sites:
The Big Pink
Devo
Delorean
Hot Chip
Miike Snow
Phoenix
Vampire Weekend
The xx

Passion Pit

Selection of acts heavily rumored with new records dropping this year:
Dirty Projectors
LCD Soundsystem
jj
Gorillaz
Yeasayer
Pavement

Florence & The Machine

MGMT

Little Boots

MY Added groups that have those odd and very intriguing schedule gaps from the 16th-18th:
Spoon
Japandroids
Beach House
Washed Out (maybe? They are touring with Beach House just after the dates)
Wilco?

Panda Bear?
Thom Yorke? (Has been rumored and did just play The Eraser with a new band in LA just a few months ago / Unfortunately Radiohead is highly unlikely)
Arcade Fire? (Supposedly have a new album dropping this year)
Broken Bells? (Danger Mouse did debut Gnarles Barkley at the festival why not his new band with James Mercer from the Shins)

For those who have not gone - this is a must on any West Coaster's yearly itinerary. Can't wait for the full list in the next few weeks!!

Enjoy,
MD

Bon Iver's Humble Beginnings

2010-01-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

(Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver)

Before there was Bon Iver, the new man/moniker that emerged from the northwoods of Wisconsin after months of seclusion, there was just Justin Vernon. Bon Iver (a reference to the French word bon hiver meaning "good winter") seemed to have produced a masterpiece, For Emma, Forever Ago, simply out of thin air in his father's cabin. Now with some insight into his earlier recordings, his previous album, Hazeltons (whole album available HERE), shows a lot of the promise that led to his brilliant "debut". "Hazelton" HERE, the title track off his previous album, believed to have only 100 copies in circulation, shows the foundation of everything that made For Emma, Forever Ago so incredibly moving - layered vocals, his captivating and incredibly emotive voice, the melancholy and simple guitar picking and his uncanny sense for melody (He has talked about how he started For Emma, Forever Ago with wordless melodies and then later found the words to fit within the melody). For those unfamiliar with Bon Iver, simply listen to "Skinny Love" (HERE with a few others off the album) once through and you will be hooked for good.

(Just outside my top 10 albums of the 00s)

Happy New Year!

Enjoy,
MD

Best Albums of 2009 Round-Up

2009-12-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well the year and decade are just about at their end - and both were fantastic for music. I can only hope the coming year and decade continues to bring us exciting, innovative and groundbreaking music from those we are hoping and expecting it from (see my most anticipated albums of 2010 post HERE) and, sometimes even better, from those just getting started (the future xx's). Before the new year, I want to leave you with 3 things: (1) my top 10 albums of the year (below), (2) links to some of the best music blog & magazine end of year lists and (3) the most exciting music news for 2010 already: Radiohead back in the studio THIS January (we can only hope for that In Rainbows follow-up to kick off the decade Kid-A style).

Happy New Year Everyone!

DYB's Top Albums of 2009
10. Passion Pit - Manners
9. Fanfarlo - Reservoir
8. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
7. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
6. Handsome Furs - Face Control
5. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
4. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
3. The xx - The xx
2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
1. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Pitchfork's List: HERE

Stereogum's Reader Poll: HERE

Metacritic's Compilation of Year-End Top Ten Lists: HERE

Enjoy,

Best Albums Of The Decade Round-up

2009-12-16T12:25:00.000-08:00

(THE Defining Album of the 2000s)

There have been a lot (and I mean a lot) of articles and discussions over the best albums of the last ten years. Pitchfork and Gorilla vs. Bear got the conversation started months ago clearly confident that no "best of the decade" album would be released over the last quarter of this year (I guess they ended up being correct). Since then we have heard from the old guard (Rolling Stone) who actually came out with a shockingly relevant list to newer guard outposts (like Paste) to indie blog readers via Stereogum's Gummy Awards. I have compiled the links to many of these lists for you to peruse. I have also put together my list of the top ten albums of the decade below with no additional commentary - because really everything has been said about these albums and then some. The one thing I do want to say is that while these lists can vary widely in the position of certain albums and sometimes on the inclusion of certain albums completely, one album stands alone as very clearly the best and most iconic of the decade. Released just ten months into the new decade in October 2000, Kid A saw the best band in the world coming off of releasing one of the greatest rock albums of all-time (OK Computer), throw out their playbook and completely re-write the rules to staggering effect. All of the list below have Kid A in their top 5 and 3 as their number 1 album. If you are unfamiliar with the genius of this album and some of the best songs of this decade including "Everything In Its Right Place", "How To Disappear Completely" and "Idioteque", please do yourself a favor and go buy this album.

DYB's Top Albums of the Decade

10. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

9. Panda Bear - Person Pitch

8. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

7. Outkast - Stankonia

6. Arcade Fire - Funeral

5. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

4. Radiohead - In Rainbows

3. The White Stripes - Elephant

2. The Strokes - Is This It

1. Radiohead - Kid A

Pitchfork's Best of the Decade Round-up: HERE

Stereogum's Gummy Award (Reader's Poll): HERE

Gorilla vs. Bear Best of the Decade: HERE

Rolling Stone's List: HERE

Paste Magazine's List: HERE

Also, check out Metacritic's Best of the Decade in Music: HERE

Enjoy,

Quickie: Spanish Lost Season 6 Promo featuring Radiohead

2009-12-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is awesome (and completely hilarious) in all the best ways possible!

In this Spanish language promo for one of TV's best shows, Lost, entering its final season (sad, but exciting), possibly my favorite song of the decade, Radiohead's "Everything in its Right Place" (off Kid A) plays over this hilariously stereotypical and overdramatic ad that would work perfectly for any Telemundo soap opera.

Should help make the Monday work just a little more bearable:

Enjoy,

DYB's Top Songs of 2009

2009-12-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

2009 has been a fantastic year in music - an excellent way to bring the 00s to a close. It has seen two of the decade's best and defining bands (Animal Collective and Phoenix) put out their most exciting and, at the same time, most accessible albums to date. Other younger bands have positioned themselves to be the defining members of the 10s with excellent debut offerings (The xx, Delorean, The Big Pink, Washed Out, Passion Pit). Two of the decade's defining lead singers, Thom Yorke and Julian Casabalancas embarked on exciting solo tours - now it seems both are looking to be making new music with their bands for release next year (can't wait!).

On the cusp of the new decade, the divide between the mainstream and the great music out there in the ever expanding landscape that is "indie" music has never felt smaller. Mainstream heavyweights Jay-Z and Beyonce were digging Grizzly Bear, Beyonce's sister Solange covered Dirty Projectors (excellently), Thom Yorke wrote a song for New Moon and the mash-up of Notorious B.I.G. and Miley Cyrus is (gulp) one of my favorite songs of the year (and if I am being honest my most played). And having said that, I could not be more excited about the future of music. Never before has it been easier for a band with a great new and exciting sound to find an audience. I hope to continue to bring many of these new sounds to your ears in the coming years.

Look for my top albums of the year coming soon.

Now here are my top 25 songs of the year (ALL SONGS ARE ON THE LALA PLAYLIST IN THE UPPER RIGHT including the notables):

25. La Roux - "In For The Kill" (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix)

24. Spoon - "Got Nuffin'"

23. Washed Out - "Feel It All Around"

22. Discovery - "Orange Shirt"

21. Big Boi (featuring Gucci Mane) - "Shine Blockas"

20. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Skeletons"

19. Volcano Choir - "Islands, IS"

18. Handsome Furs - "I'm Confused"

17. Japandroids - "Young Hearts Spark Fire"

16. Yeasayer - "Ampling Arp"

15. Julian Casablancas - "Glass":

Julian Casablancas is THE brain child behind The Strokes (unlike most lead singers he wrote ALL of their music) so expectations were high for his solo endeavour. With "Glass", Julian pens an electro ballad equal to his best Strokes output. The chorus soars with crescendoing guitar and blaring vocals. This is an all out anthem - Casablancas always had a way of making the dreariness of life seem so fresh and exciting.

14. Passion Pit - "Moth's Wings"

Passion Pit have had one hell of a year - from starting off as a Valentine's Day gift EP to lead singer Michael Angelako's girlfriend to ending it as one of the most recognizable names in indie music today. And why? Because even though Michael sings like a Eunuch on crack their music is pop candy - the absolute best kind. Moth's Wings is epic - it builds like a classical piece, drives like an Arcade Fire anthem and in this one Michael sings NOT in falsetto (please less falsetto) and they absolutely kill it.

13. The xx - "Basic Space"

The xx put out the best debut album of the year hands down. What makes it that much more spectacular is just how minimalist it is. No band this early in their career (the band members are all 20!) has ever had this much conviction in their arrangements. They use empty space as if it is an instrument. And on this absolute highlight from the debut LP, the band weaves the theme of space in relationships with their spatial music arrangement to just brilliant effect.

12. Bat For Lashes - "Daniel":

Natasha Khan (aka Bat For Lashes) has my favorite voice in indie music today. It is haunting, vulnerable and tremendously effecting. On this gorgeous ballad, the main instrument is her voice. She is the force that drives this song with her unique mix of fragility, confidence and uncertainty. She is one of the most exciting artists in music today. And this is her at her best.

11. Altas Sound - "Walkabout (w/ Noah Lennox)":

Bradford Cox (of Atlas Sound and Deerhunter) and Noah Lennox (of Animal Collective and Panda Bear) are two of the biggest forces in indie music right now. When they get together for a collaboration people listen. This one would have fit right in on Panda Bear' Person Pitch. With its looping organ, nostalgic ,yet of today feel, and feel good vibe, it was the perfect summer jam (or the perfect longing for summer jam now.)

10. Sleigh Bells - "Crown On The Ground":

This song is not for the weak. It is an all out aural assault. As I wrote previously, "If Jack White and Timbaland produced a club anthem for M.I.A." it would sound like this - but first you would have to push every dial into the red. Alexis Krauss' delivery sweetens it up just perfectly. I love this song (and look for this band to make a lot of noise in 2010). This is the club anthem for the hipster set.

9. Notorious B.I.G. vs. Miley Cyrus - "Party and Bullshit in the USA" :

On second glance this may be one of the least surprising mashup ideas. Look for similar song titles of hip hop star and pop star - cut and paste. Here is where it became completely shocking: the combination is the absolute best mash-up outside of Girl Talk and Danger Mouse. If you want to start a party, put this on.

8. Thom Yorke - "All For The Best":

With Radiohead mostly taking the year off, Thom Yorke seized his own moment. Putting on the best show I saw all year (twice) with new band members in tow (including Flea), Thom Yorke brought The Eraser album to life. "All For The Best" is a cover of a Miracle Legion song to benefit lead singer Mark Mulcahy's family after the tragic death of his wife - it comes off like The Eraser to the next level. With its added pulsating drum beats and his haunting delivery of Mulcahy's lyrics, Yorke still manages to blow my mind in an "off" year.

7. The Big Pink - "Dominos":

The Big Pink are well on their way to making a big impact on the 10s. Their debut album, A Brief History of Love, is very strong and as the title may imply all about love and relationships. "Dominos" is a break-up / single guy's anthem, but it is so damn catchy everyone gets caught up singing it.

6. Phoenix - "Lisztomania":

Phoenix have had their coming out party this year and it is about time. This is one of the best bands out there in music today. This song is such a perfect embodiment of 80s nostalgia that no write up could quite do it justice. Really only this video does:

5. Grizzly Bear - "While You Wait For The Others":

Vecktimest was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year. For me, it is a bit inconsistent, but at their best, Grizzly Bear delivers staggeringly beautiful songs. "While You Wait For The Others" is one of the best breakup songs ever written. When the vocal harmonies kick in at the 3:00 mark the song becomes other worldly. Or maybe that was when Michael McDonald covered it. Trust me just stick with this gorgeous original.

4. Jay-Z - "Empire State of Mind":

While Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 isn't Blueprint, it has some very strong efforts. None better than the now ubiquitous, but still just as great, "Empire State of Mind". This is not just the best song on a good, but not great Jay-Z album. It is one of his best songs ever. As catchy and anthemic as "Izzo" and as central to his New York City rhyming peak as "Heart of the City" - Jay-Z still got it and then some.

3. Phoenix - "1901":

I have been raving all year (and already a lot in this one post) about Phoenix. Not much more to say other than for me "1901" is their pinnacle. This song is everything that is exciting about this band - 3 minutes and 18 seconds of musical perfection. Phoenix is all about "moments" and seeing this song performed in the pouring rain as the encore for their Central Park show cemented its place as one of my all-time favorite songs.

2. Dirty Projectors - "Stillness Is The Move":

Dirty Projectors are a band having a breakout year. Their album Bitte Orca is already and will continue to top year end lists. The album has a number of standouts but nothing as audacious as this. Part R&B, part afropop, part indie, part Mariah Carey in her prime. This song always sounded like it was made to be an R&B hit and Solange (Beyonce's sister) covered it well enough to make it one. But once again it is the original that shines brightest. This is one of the most original, fun and musically adventurous songs it is easy to overlook its brilliant lyrics and message. It is a love song about settling down not having to stanch growth (personal and relationship wise). Stillness is the move...

1. Animal Collective - "My Girls":

"My Girls" is not just the best song of the year, but one of the best songs of my lifetime. It is perfect in its simplicity: a constantly looping light electronic texture, harmonized vocals layered on harmonized vocals, a tribal drum beat. And its message the simplest of all: "Isn't much that I feel I need...just four walls and adobe slabs for my girls". Animal Collective has been one of the defining bands of this decade with its only consistency in its commitment to change. In this year, Animal Collective found their sweet spot with an album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, that takes all of their individual ideas from the past and patches them together in a cohesive, brilliant and accessible to all masterpiece. "My Girls" is their "God Only Knows", "Like A Rolling Stone", their "Fake Plastic Trees".

Check out some other notables in my LALA Playlist!

Enjoy,

Quickie: More New Vampire Weekend and Introducing Toro Y Moi

2009-12-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

(Vampire Weekend)

NOW I am VERY excited about this new Vampire Weekend CD! (There goes the CAPS lock again) First they drop an all-out punk song, "Cousins", as their first single and now they take a page out of Animal Collective's playbook for the b-side to the "Cousins" single on "California English, Pt. 2". Keep in mind, this is just a b-side and more of a musical idea than a fully constructed song - but if this is any hint of the willingness of VW to push the limits of their sound, January 12th can't come fast enough (or at least the next leaked song off Contra). And Pt. 2 does seem to imply a Pt.1 that may be on the album...and just a bit more fully formed perhaps? Let's hope. In the meantime check it out on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdP2d_M3yTg&feature=player_embedded

(Chaz Bundick aka Toro Y Moi)

So here's the second music video shot in Paris posted here for the week - why not? Especially when the song "Talamak" by Toro y Moi is made for driving and the video takes us on a trip at dawn on a nearly traffic-less tour of the French capital. Toro y Moi is one-man show from South Carolina, Chaz Bundick who's lo-fi loop-driven dreamy electronic sounds play like a marriage of Washed Up (also from SC and raved about HERE) and Bibio (who put out one of the absolute best albums of the year and is also the man responsible for DYB's first ever music post HERE). Toro Y Moi is great on its own right - check video out below and get the song HERE:

Enjoy,

Phoenix Perform "1901" and "Lisztomania" for The Take Away Shows

2009-12-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

For those unfamiliar with the Take Away Shows directed by Vincent Moon, it is time to get acquainted (All the shows are available for viewing HERE). The concept is simple: take a great artist and bring their music outside - to a park, field, square, even an elevator - in an atypical setting and just let it play out. No editing just letting the music and the environment interact and see what happens. The National, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, you name it have done some fantastic shows in the past. Now it is Phoenix's turn. They play "1901" in front of a couple about to be married and a small crowd in Trocadero square right next to the Eiffel Tower and then take over a double decker tour bus to play "Lisztomania" riding right by that famous Paris landmark. Check out the whole series (including "Long Distance Call" and some detail on the event HERE).

"1901":

"Lisztomania / One Time Too Many":

Enjoy,
MD

Ten Most Anticipated Albums of 2010 (and some other rumored hopefuls)

2009-12-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

Before we fully wind down 2009 and I discuss my favorite music of the year and the decade (both to come in the next few weeks), I thought I would start with the future. I have already posted singles from some of the most anticipated and exciting albums of 2010 with Yeasayer's "Ambling Arp" and Vampire Weekend's "Cousins" so I thought I would go one step further. These are my top 10 most anticipated albums of the upcoming year in no particular order (other than release date for those with them). I have also include a few albums that have been rumored to drop in the coming year because it is always fun to dream. To prep everyone for these exciting releases, I have put together a lala playlist in the upper right corner with a couple of the best tracks from these bands to keep you occupied until the release dates.

Vampire Weekend - Contra (January 12): Only two weeks into the new year and Vampire Weekend is following up their nearly universally acclaimed self-titled debut with Contra. I have already raved about their first single, "Cousins", below HERE and word from those who have heard it all (unfortunately I am not one of those people) is that it is just the beginning. "Cousins" has me very hopeful that there won't be a sophomore slump from these Columbia alums.

Spoon - Transference (January 26th) - Another band that I won't shut up about HERE. From "Mystery Zone" which leaked a few weeks ago to their single, "Written in Reverse" which came out today on iTunes, their follow-up to Ga Ga Ga Ga looks to be another excellent effort from the band that just can't seem to put anything out that isn't strong to quite strong.

Hot Chip - One Life Stand (February 9) - Hot Chip is one of those bands that is so consistently great you sometimes forget about them. Made in the Dark was one of the most tragically underrated albums of 2008 with excellent singles at nearly every turn from "Ready For The Floor" to "Out At The Pictures". Their blend of R&B with electronica is taken to the next level with lead singer Alexis Taylor's subtle yet intoxicating vocal delivery (It has always struck me as similar to The Notwist's Markus Acher in that way - another favorite band for another posting). The One Life Stand tracks to hit the web so far are no less stunning. "Take It In" starts off like an 80s New Order influenced dance jam and slowly seems to mellow and build at once - loving this HERE. The title track is great too HERE.

Yeasayer - Odd Blood (February 9): I have already raved about single, "Ampling Amp" HERE. They seem even more sonically adventure on the new single than the previous album's best work, including "Sunrise" on the lala player playlist. Look for this one to be heavily blogged about in the new year. Yeasayer is the 2010 MGMT (until MGMT comes out with their own debut follow-up Congratulations in Spring 2010)

LCD Soundsystem - TBD (March): Another band I absolutely LOVE (as evidenced HERE). James Murphy is one of the most talented musicians and producers in the game PERIOD. When I talk about him or LCD Soundsystem I have trouble with my CAPS Lock like Kanye. Pat Mahoney, co-founder with James Murphy of DFA and the drummer in LCD had this to say on the new album: "different than Sound Of Silver and certainly different than the first one ... It still sounds very much like us, like James. It's maybe slower and it has kind of got some more rock stuff back in it. It also has a bunch of disco influences." It could be a country record and I would still give it a whirl.

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (TBD): Big Boi is one half of the best hip-hop group of my lifetime, Outkast. So anything by these guys (the other half is Andre 3000) is going to be highly anticipated. Many expected this to drop in 2009, but there have been issues with its release. We have seen two excellent tracks already hit the web from it though with "Shine Blockas" HERE (one of the best hip-hop jams of the year) and "Fo Yo Sorrows" (just the type of fun as hell track you would expect off an Outkast record). This record should be sick - more details in this interview with Pitchfork HERE. (In it he gives us hope for a new Outkast record in 2010 too!)

The National - TBD: The National's last two albums Alligator and Boxer are two of my absolute favorites of the past decade. Easily one of the bands I have spun the most in that time period. Listen to the anthemic and totally awesome "All The Wine" off Alligator and "Apartment Story" off Boxer in the lala playist. Lead singer Matt Berninger has a way with phrasing - it is simple, understated at times jarring but always spot on. With instrumentation by the Dessner brothers, two of the most talented musicians in indie rock today, this new album is going to be great.

Interpol - TBD (Early 2010): Interpol's first album, Turn Of The Bright Lights, is perfect or it was when it came out in 2002. In the aftermath of September 11th, these New Yorkers painted the perfect desolate landscape of the city yet there music was still so hopeful and so damn cool. Their second album was strong and the third unfortunately weak, but Interpol has been talking a lot about getting back to where they started. Drummer Sam Fogarino told PASTE, "The new record falls back towards the first ... That big wash of reverb? It's back." Thank God. Check out old favorites "Untitled" and "NYC" in the playlist.

Panda Bear - TBD: Panda Bear aka Noah Lennox is one of the masterminds behind Animal Collective and his solo album Person Pitch will most definitely be on my best of the decade list. He is one of the most innovative and constantly changing forces in music. He talks about it being "darker" and more "raw" than his previous effort and "totally different" than Animal Collective's brilliant Merriweather Post Pavillion. I can't wait - in the meantime I will have to listen to "Comfy in Nautica" and "Bros" on repeat (lala playlist on the upper right - hint hint). They are pure sonic bliss.

Arcade Fire - TBD: When your previous two albums are all over everyone's best of the decade list, Funeral in particular, there is going to be a lot of anticipation around this one. Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)" is one of my favorite songs of all-time (to hell with just of this decade) and "No Cars Go" off Neon Bible is great too. Usually the third album is where things really start to blossom (a la OK Computer) - no pressure.

Other Potential Releases To Wet Your Appetite:

Radiohead: They have talked about never doing an LP again with Thom Yorke telling The Believer, "None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again." (That day was the saddest of my life). But in a recent interview with NME, Ed O-Brien stated, ""We were misquoted. We will be making an album!" (The best day of my life). Who knows but even a hypothetical Radiohead album is better than most albums.

Justice: The follow-up to t should be dancey electro heaven.

The Shins w/ Danger Mouse: After James Mercer announced he fired his current band, he announced he would be making an album with Danger Mouse. This has my attention.

Enjoy,

Quickie: New Vampire Weekend

2009-11-19T18:37:00.001-08:00

(Awesome new cover for equally awesome new single, "Cousins")

Been a busy week, but look for a slew of new posts next week as I will be blogging from sunny Florida.

Vampire Weekend exploded onto the blogsphere and then the mainstream with their excellent and commercially successful self-titled debut. Influenced heavily by Paul Simon ripping afro-pop, Vampire Weekend make their Graceland. Now these Columbia University alums are dropping their sophomore album, Contra, on 1/12. After a leak of the song "Horchata" I was a bit concerned about a sophomore slump - it had some of the charm of the last offering, but less of it (the classic symptom of most sophomore outings). But first single, "Cousins" (video below) brings this right back near the top of my list of anticipated 2010 albums. "Cousins" is bursting with energy as much influenced by Paul Simon as The Clash. Vampire Weekend showed some inclinations for punk music on the aptly titled "A-punk", but this track blows that one out of the water (and A-punk was one of my favorites on the first album). Lots to be excited about here! Check it out:

Enjoy,
MD

Everything You Need to Know About (EYNTKA): Spoon

2009-11-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

It is like Wikipedia, if Wikipedia was only concerned about you sounding cool.

(Britt Daniel, front left, and Jim Eno, front right, of Spoon)

Exciting News: Spoon are coming out with their seventh LP, Transference, due January 26th 2010! They dropped one of the songs off the album as a single a few months back called Got Nuffin'. (Fun fact: They enjoy misspellings - you can see them all over their song titles) Check out the song: LINK (Also on the upper right in the lala playlist)

Background: Spoon is one of the defining bands of the 00s. They formed in Austin, Texas and are considered a huge influence on the bands coming out of that exciting music city. While technically, Britt Daniel and his right hand man, Jim Eno, started the band back in 1993 and had released two full LPs and a slew of EPs in the 90s, it was the 00s that saw their distinctive sound take full form. They have had some rotating backing members, but the current other players include Rob Pope on bass and Eric Harvey on keyboard.

The Sound: Their brilliance like so many of the great bands before them from the Beatles to Nirvana is quite simple. There is little technical wizardry - it is simple guitar, piano, drums and bass. The brilliance is in their interplay - the layering of the instrumentation, the classical music like movements and the continued variations always in touch with the song as a whole. They are like the Beta Band meets Gang of Four. They are punks working within the pop construct, but just barely.

Hipster Talking Point: Is Spoon referred to so often as underrated that they are in fact overrated? Obnoxious hipster response: "Once they started showing up in the Billboard Top 10 and playing SNL I was through." Correct answer: Either (a) bitch slap (b) rolling eyes and walking away or (c) "Each of their 4 albums released this decade is front to back loaded with hits of pop, rock and experimentalism gelling like late 60s Beatles or Stones. This is rock n' roll at its finest. Only when your mom knows about these guys are they overrated" (Sorry Mom).

Key Albums / Song Highlights / Cliff Notes Description:
Note: All of the songs mentioned can be listened to on the lala player in the upper right - check them out.

A Series of Sneaks (1998) - "Car Radio" - More experimental, less polish. Missing that production sheen. Still ripping a bit from the Pixies.
Girls Can Tell (2001) - "The Fitted Shirt" - They begin to strip down their sound, beginning their minimalist approach, production is much tigher and refined.
Kill The Moonlight (2002) - "The Way We Get By", "Stay Don't Go", "Vittorio E", EVERY SONG - this is their magnum opus, no doubt. Stripped down rock n' roll perfection. One of my favorite albums of all-time.
Gimme Fiction (2005) - "I Turn My Camera On" (Personal favorite song of theirs - can't describe how utterly brilliant this song is. This is as if Prince and the Stones got together and put out a song better than anything either of those groups had ever done) - To follow-up Kill The Moonlight with this is incredibly impressive. This album is more sonically rich and diverse, but less focused. Other highlight is "My Mathematical Mind".
Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb", "Finer Feelings" - This album sees Spoon more focused, back to more minimalist instrumentation, but more experimental than Kill The Moonlight. Some consider this to be on par with Kill The Moonlight (and it is damn close).
Transference (2010) - Can't wait!

Rarities & Covers: For those all ready attuned to Spoon's brilliance and looking for some more, here are a bunch of rarities and some videos of the new albums tunes played live. LINK

Enjoy,
MD

New Spins: Notorious + Miley, MJ, Chromeo, Shwayze & MORE

2009-11-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

Only the best remixes, mashups and reimaginings of other tracks. Remixes are basically the hipster excuse to listen to pop music without having to fully admit to likely the underlying pop song.

Notorious B.I.G & Miley Cyrus - Party And Bullshit In the USA (Hathbanger Mash-up Remix) - This is the best mashup I have heard this side of Girl Talk and old-school Danger Mouse. It has been blowing up all over the blogsphere and for good reason. Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" is absolute pop candy and it serves as a perfect backdrop to Biggie's flow. A must on any party mix of the moment. LINK

Michael Jackson - Thriller (Discotech Remix) - Anytime you hear "Discotech" at the beginning of a remix you know you are in good hands. He has been the most consistent producer of party remixes as of late and this is no exception. Outside of adding some jamming synths in the beginning, it is pretty true to MJ. For the most part any remix of MJ should mainly just let him be MJ. LINK (You can peruse a bunch of other interesting Thriller remixes here as well)

Chromeo - Night By Night - This one is the original version and its on here because it is by far the best mix out there and these guys are DJ / producers so I think they deserve a shot to make the best mix of their own song. This song could be a lost track from Daft Punk's Discovery (in other words it is amazing). LINK
Shwayze - Get U Home (Alan Wilkis Remix) - Alan already put out my favorite Phoenix remix of the year (his spin on the great "1901"). His take on Shwayze is blowing up right now and is just an all-out banger. Great track...love the chorus - just epic. LINK

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (Jakwob Remix) - It seems like a new electro-pop golden girl comes out of Britain every week (see: Little Boots, La Roux, etc. in my previous New Spins post: HERE) and they are all so damn good. Layered vocals, breakbeats...need I say more LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: Sleigh Bells, Warpaint, Freelance Whales, Joker and MORE

2009-10-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

So there has been a lot of exciting new music coming out recently across a huge spectrum of genres. I have been slacking a bit recently and haven't had the chance to bring as much of it to your attention as I would like - SO this is my grand attempt to rectify that. Here are the new bands (and one a little less new band with new stuff, but no less noteworthy).

Sleigh Bells is a duo consisting of beat master and songwriter Derek Miller and his muse Alexis Krauss on vocals. "Crown on the Ground" LINK has been spinning on repeat all week for me. This song is not for weak - it is an all out banger. If Jack White and Timbaland produced a club anthem for M.I.A to sing this would be it. What starts as a somewhat jarring guitar riff, opens up completely with bass pumping well into the red. Krauss sweetens up the song just enough with her M.I.A meets Annie delivery to make the song a perfect party anthem. Love, love this track. And the rest of their output so far is just as strong. "Beach Girls" LINK continues with the M.I.A. lite (but not too lite) vibe and on "Ring Ring" LINK they change it up completely with Krauss singing an awesome new melody over the already fantastic Funkadelic track "Can You Get to That"(listen to the classic original on my LALA playlist in the upper right corner) - she completely makes it her own. These guys are about to blow up.

The only similarity that Warpaint shares with Sleigh Bells is female vocalists. But Warpaint has 3 and their harmonies and haunting, minimalist instrumentation is what draws me in here. On "Billie Holiday" LINK over a simple plucked acoustic guitar, the three beautifully harmonize simply spelling out the title (character's) name over and over - the result is mesmerizing. "Stars" which has an awesomely dark, dreamy and creepy video (below) is similarly using their combined voices to drive haunting melodies. "Elephant" LINK picks up the beat a bit with electric guitar and percussions, but as always the voices are the highlight. If that weren't enough to get you excited, John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers mixed their EP, Exquisite Corpse, out now.

Freelance Whales seems to take inspiration from everywhere - the vocals sound like Ben Gibbard meets Sufjan Stevens, the lyrics definitely influenced by Death Cab as well and some Arcade Fire, the instrumentation all of the above and even some Passion Pit-esque electronics. Their debut album, Weathervanes, feels more of the middle of this decade - more of a heart-on-your-sleeve record with just brilliant, classically influenced musical compositions. These guys have a lot of talent and have put out one hell of a debut. Check out "Generator^First Floor" LINK (their "Rebellion (Lies)") and "Starring" LINK (Passion Pit similarities here) and really the whole album. Great stuff.

Joker is 20 year old dubstep producer out of Bristol, England. I like dubstep, but LOVE it's influence when infused with other genres. Joker takes Simian Mobile Disco track "Cruel Intentions" LINK featuring vocalist Beth Ditto and drops in some awesome breakbeats turning this into a perfect dance floor track. One of my favorite songs of the moment. You can check out his "Rising" profile on P4K HERE for more info on his original stuff which is pretty damn good too.

Finally, check out this new Yeasayer tune, "Ambling Alp", the first single off their second album, Odd Blood, coming out February 19th. You can download it for free on their site HERE. They have such a great sound. Like MGMT but more adventerous - love these guys and loving this tune. Check it out. And if you are unfamiliar with Yeasayer check out "2080" and "Sunrise" in my LALA playlist in the upper right corner.

Lots of new tunes to carry you through the weekend. Hope you enjoy and let me know in the comments what you are digging.

Enjoy,
MD

THE Supergroup: Them Crooked Vultures

2009-10-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

Seems like the Traveling Wilburys may have had a bigger impact on music than I realized. The late 80s first true "supergroup" included four outright legends: Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. Not too bad. Of course the sum definitely didn't add up to the parts though they had a few decent songs. Looks like the "suergroup" can be added to the list of 80s influences on the current music landscape. From Thom Yorke and Flea teaming up, to the Monsters of Folk (Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes and M. Ward of, well, M. Ward) everyone is doing it.

Them Crooked Vultures may take the cake though for the most insanely awesome of all of these pairings. Dave Grohl returns back behind the drums for the first time since Nirvana, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age takes lead guitar and vocals, and JOHN PAUL JONES of LED F'ing ZEPPELIN is on bass. This is a match made in hard alternative rock heaven. There first single, "New Fang" you can listen to below. And unlike the Traveling Wilburys this is no victory lap - these guys are really going for it. Really digging this.

Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones are coming to Los Angeles to start their tour (of course it's in LA) on November 17th, the same day their self-titled debut album drops. Tickets go onsale THIS Saturday October 31st at 10am on Ticketmaster. Also, should be a pre-sale on Thursday through Live Nation - I will keep you posted. It's not quite a Led Zeppelin reunion tour, but pretty exciting nonetheless. Look for more dates to be added in the near future. http://themcrookedvultures.com/tour/

Enjoy,
MD

Julian Casablancas announces LA residency

2009-10-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Julian Casablancas has announced his LA tour dates. He will be taking up residency for every Friday in November at the recently renovated Downtown Palace Theatre. Not only is Julian following the now apparent trend (does two count as a trend) of frontmen of great bands debuting their live material in Los Angeles, but he is also doing so in a recently renovated Theatre a few blocks from the "other" recently renovated Orpheum Theatre where Thom played. Even more eerie, the Palace Theatre was actually called the Orpheum Theatre until its name was changed in 1926 when the new Orpheum Theatre opened.

OK enough with the history here are the dates and ticket prices:

November 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.

Tickets for individual shows range from $35, $40, and $50. Tickets go on sale starting this Friday, October 23rd at 10:00am.

Hope to see you all there!

Enjoy,

For the Phoenix obsessed (like myself)

2009-10-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

Below is the first (from what I can tell) of a series called Musicvision. It takes an artist and goes through the 20 songs that changed their lives and helped cultivate the band's sound. Phoenix, one of my favorite bands, is featured in the first series. I have watched 10 minutes so far and I am in love. This is PERFECTLY executed. It allows the songs to breathe and really be absorbed by the listener while adding a commentary track, highlighting the song's profound influence on the band. Brilliant concept and really astonishingly well-executed.

Excited to see more of these!

Enjoy,
MD

The XX first US performance - "Basic Space"

2009-10-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

The XX launched on to the scene earlier this year with one of the most exciting debut album I have heard in years (check out my previous Introducing post HERE). Look for it to be in the top few come my year end lists. Here is the XX performing for the first time in the states with the excellent, "Basic Space". Love how this video is shot. Given the precision of every sparse note in the song, it is an exciting one to follow along and see the music unfold. These guys are only 20 years old and on their first tour so I expect to see their live show improve dramatically as they continue to fine tune their live chops. Very nice start though:

Thanks to Wes for the tip (the hipster Skywalker to my Yoda).

Enjoy,

Los Angeles: Music Capital of the World?

2009-10-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

(Julian in studio with dog? Also, did he make the record using a full-size Guitar Hero guitar?)

First, Thom Yorke graces Los Angeles with the first (and to this point ONLY) live shows of his solo material with his new as-yet-to-be-named band including Flea on bass. Now, word from Julian Casablancas, lead singer of The Strokes, is that he will play a series of shows EVERY FRIDAY in November in Los Angeles to debut his solo material off his new album, Phrazes For The Young, out on November 3rd (OK, technically Julian debuted this material at a show in Tokyo a month or so back, but I am going to ignore that little fact.) So now that the lead singers of two of the most influential bands of our time decide to debut their solo outfits in my fair city, I can only draw one conclusion: Los Angeles is the greatest music city on the planet.

The Julian Casablancas show details have not been revealed yet, but when they are you will be the first to know.
In the meantime, in preparation for the Phrazes For The Young release, check out Julian's first single off the album, "11th Dimension" LINK. This song finds Julian shifting his focus up a generation. While The Strokes' music was dominated by 70s Television-style guitar riffs, this lead single allows 80s synth to take center stage. The guitar riffs are still there, but serve more as accents. This just sounds like Julian having a damn good time and I am really enjoying this one. It shares more with The Strokes' latest release, First Impressions From Earth (which was seriously underrated and overlooked) than their previous efforts. You can stream the single on the Lala Player in the upper right along with some great old Strokes songs, "12:51" and "Electricityscape". Looking forward to hearing the whole album soon - both on my iPod and in Los Angeles in November!

Enjoy,
MD

Free AND Legal Downloads from Great New Bands

2009-10-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

(Free Energy)(The XX)

(The Big Pink)

Thanks to Urban Outfitters (never thought I would start a sentence like that and ACTUALLY mean it) and their LSTN series, we all have access to 25 new songs from up and coming bands absolutely free through iTunes.

Their latest compilation LSTN #7 includes some of my favorite current artists, The XX, The Big Pink, Free Energy, Washed Out and Rain Machine all of whom have been raved about in past posts on DYB. Maybe I should give Urban Outfitters more credit or myself less (I am thinking the latter). Either way I seem to share a similar music sensibility with the mass retailer's taste makers and I am going to have to just accept that (through numerous therapy sessions). I am willing to neglect my pride to introduce more of you to great music - and this compilation does have that in spades. Other interesting artists to check out on here: The Dodos and Girls. Here is the LINK. Just click in the upper right hand side on "Click Here To Download" and it should open up your itunes for the download.

LSTN #6 is also available for download in iTunes. #1-4 are available to download as zip files. #5 has expired but is still available for free streaming.

Let me know what bands you like in the comments and I will write some posts on them!

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: Electric Wire Hustle

2009-10-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

(The band performing live)

Electric Wire Hustle is a trio hailing from Wellington, New Zealand, but they sound like they are coming straight out of Motown era Detroit. The band's singer is very much indebted to the late great Marvin Gaye, but really what soul singer isn't. The production work combines the soul and hip-hop fusion of J Dilla with the Motown / Wall of Sound leanings of Mark Ronson. High praise from me considering these are two of my favorite producers.

"They Don't Want" is a brilliant display of their talents. This one sounds like a lost Motown track from Marvin era, What's Going On, until the electronic beat comes to the forefront around the 2:50 mark feeling like a J Dilla outro. The song has this incredible tension constantly feeling like it is about to explode, but always seems to pull back and let the vocals command the stage. Loving this track - check it out: LINK

"Perception" appears to be their first single (or at least they have a video for it) and it shows a different side to the group or at least a revised focus. Still soulful with electronic and hip-hop infused beats, this one feels more like a jam session between Jamaraqui and The Roots. Awesome sound and a very cool video.

Enjoy,
MD

Thom Yorke At The Orpheum Theatre 10-4-2009

2009-10-05T11:16:00.001-07:00

The setting was majestic. In the historic and stunningly gorgeous Orpheum Theatre, with celebrities out in droves (Ed Norton, Woody Harrelson, Alicia Silverstone to name a few) it just felt like we were witnessing something truly special. The Orpheum sign outside said it all "??????" as the band's name for tonight - we didn't know what exactly to expect but we sure as hell were excited. From the moment Thom Yorke entered the stage and the crowd erupted to their feet in a standing ovation, you could see he was elated. This was his stage without fellow Radiohead members in tow (though Colin Greenwood was watching from the crowd) and he owned it from the first second. With the confidence of a seasoned band (not one practicing for all of 3 weeks as Yorke later pointed out), Thom Yorke and crew brought The Eraser, Thom Yorke's solo album, to life. The electronic beats and minimalist instrumentation were replaced with two percussionists (using a plethora of unconventional instruments), Flea on bass and Nigel Godrich "on everything else" as Yorke pointed out introducing the band. From the title track through track 4, "Black Swan", the audience stayed seated, glued and seemingly in awe of the spectacle. Before going into "Skip Divided", Yorke told the crowd this was his "dance record" and we should dance along if so inclined. Everyone in the house got up and never looked back. Continuing through each track on The Eraser, Yorke played my personal favorite "Atoms for Peace" with Flea playing the underlying bass harmonics and almost nothing else behind it. Yorke's voice was the showcase and it only became more evident as the night went on. The final song on the album, "Cymbal Rush" was completely reworked in staggering fashion - this was one of the two biggest highlights of the night. On the last Radiohead tour, this was a song Yorke would play often times solo on piano during the encore. In this version, it turns into an all-out rhythmic dance jam - the perfect song to end the set.

Now it was Thom Yorke's turn solo (not like the night wasn't one long victory lap for Yorke the whole time). He started with just him and his electric guitar and his new tune "Lotus Flower". Then Yorke took to the piano, the instrument where he has created so many gorgeous and heartbreaking ballads. First was new song "Open the Floodgates", with minimal chords gently nudging the song along to a chorus of just Yorke's gorgeous vocal riffs. This was just a warm-up for the absolute highlight of the night. Yorke played "Supercollier" a Radiohead tune that was unveiled in some live shows last summer. Over a major chord progression, Yorke showcased the amazing voice he has - no one else can convey the complexity of emotions he can with his voice. With the brilliant acoustics of the Orpheum and the reverent silence of the crowd, I have never heard Yorke's voice sound this otherworldly. The chorus was absolute sonic bliss. (See the video below for both "Open The Floodgates" and "Supercollier") (Download "Supercollier" from a Radiohead live show in Dublin HERE)

The band returned to finish up with four more new songs. "Paper Writer" had one of the best dance beats of the whole night and "Judge, Jury and Executioner" furthered the absolute brilliance of the rhythm section. The band felt like they had been playing together for years. Nigel even got down from his intricate setup in the back left to jam side by side with Flea. The new Thom Yorke singles, B-side "The Hollow Earth" and "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses" closed out the night perfectly (ok maybe ONE old radiohead gem would have made it absolute perfection). This was an absolutely staggering experience - The Eraser filled with live instrumentation, Yorke front and center without Radiohead and he not only blew us all away but did so enjoying it completely the whole damn time.

Can't wait for Round 2 tonight!!

The whole bootleg of the Echoplex "warm-up show" (essentially the same setlist) is available HERE

Enjoy,
MD

Animal Collective + Phoenix = Awesomeness

2009-10-01T12:09:00.001-07:00

Phoenix is releasing a remix collection of their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (originally titled, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection)) on October 13th. Remixes include some of my favorite current artists like Passion Pit and some of my favorite remix specialists Alex Metric and 25 Hours A Day (responsible for my favorite Phoenix remix to date of "Long Distance Call"). The biggest news by far on this album is that Animal Collective is remixing "Love Like A Sunset" combining the talents of two of my all-time favorite bands and the bands responsible (in my opinion) for the two most exciting albums of the year. "Love Like A Sunset" is the perfect choice for Animal Collective adding some of their primitive sounding drums and spaced out electronics to the hypnotic Mars vocal. Loving this.

Check it out here for free download: LINK

This is what Animal Collective had to say about the remix project:

“This spring i was in Panama with Brian.
We were cramped into a van on a bumpy, winding central american road going a little too fast. Feeling a little edgy, I put on my headphones and listened to United and Alphabetical back to back. I watched passing fruit stands, a sweet central american dusk and memories of the massive schools of jelly fish, snapper, and trevally; the few dolphin and even the few bluefin tuna (too few) that brian and i had just had the joy of diving with the blend of all of these things put me at ease.

Phoenix has been a staple for all four of us since Dave and Noah brought home United from the record store they used to work at. One of the records that would get us through some of those long cross country tour drives, we’ve listened to phoenix’s jams many many times. We were all totally psyched to get asked to do this and it was super fun to work on it.

All the best to those dudes”

Also, available for free download is the Friendly Fires' remix of "Fences" which is pretty sweet too. LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Where The Wild Things Are

2009-09-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

If you have seen this trailer (below if you haven't) and you like either film, music (the song is a reworking of the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up") or childhood then you are excited to see this movie. I have been dying for months for the opening to come and it is just two week and a half away (opens October 16th), but who's counting. Official site here: LINK

Karen O (the director's, Spike Jonze, wife) has been commissioned for the soundtrack and she has a lot of very talented music friends. With members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Karen O's band), Deerhunter, The Dead Weather and a children's choir along for the ride, this is the most anticipated movie soundtrack of the year (Outside of the New Moon soundtrack - kind of kidding, but time will tell) .

The soundtrack can be streamed in its entirety here: LINK This should hopefully keep me at bay until the movie's release.

Enjoy,
MD

Thom Yorke's New Band In LA!

2009-09-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Thom Yorke has announced on Dead Air Space (the Radiohead blog LINK) that he has formed a new band (!) to play his Eraser solo material and the new material that has been coming out over the past few months (and peppered all over this blog)! The new band (pictured above) includes longtime producer, Nigel Godrich and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea (crazy!) among others. On top of all of this, they have decided to play their first two shows in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theatre downtown THIS Sunday and Monday. This is a lot for me to take in. I am heading to both shows and will follow-up with a concert review and some footage. I imagine this will be the start of some sort of tour with the new band so for prep for those in LA and elsewhere listen to highlights from The Eraser on the Lala playlist in the upper right hand side. For those unfamiliar "Cymbal Rush" is a brilliant piano driven epic accented with Kid A esque electronic pulses - it has been a staple of Radiohead live performances of late. The title track, "The Eraser" LINK is a true highlight and demonstrative of the album's concept - focus on the uniqueness and beauty of Yorke's falsetto.

Check out his new stuff, "Pulled Apart By Horses", etc. in the post below and the brilliant cover "All For The Best" in previous post HERE is as well.

There also may be a "secret" show at Echoplex on Friday night - will keep you posted.

Enjoy and (hopefully) see you at the shows,
MD

New Thom Yorke: "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses"

2009-09-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

As always you will find the newest in Radiohead related news. "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses" is a "radical rework of an old tune thats been kicking around without a home since 2001". "Reckoner" (a personal favorite off In Rainbows) was said to be born from the same song (not seeing that). I am really digging this though. It is not going to be for everyone and seems pretty experimental and not fully polished for a full single release, but the bassline is dancey, groovy and the rhythm just builds and plays all around it. Feels like Eraser (Thom Yorke's solo album) mixed with Hail to the Thief.

Check out the old tune below and see if you see any lingering similarities.

Finally the b-side off the new single, "The Hollow Earth". This feels like a b-side to Eraser - not getting me too excited. But still new Radiohead continues to be better than 99% of the stuff out there - just not so great for Radiohead.

Enjoy,
MD

New Spins: It's All About the Females

2009-09-17T14:05:00.001-07:00

Only the best remixes, mashups and reimaginings of other tracks. Remixes are basically the hipster excuse to listen to pop music without having to fully admit to likely the underlying pop song.

I have been really into female vocalists recently (yeah I can admit it). And like the hipsters I feel more comfortable admitting to liking the remixes as opposed to the original (sometimes very poppy) pop song. More seriously, I think the best remixes focus primarily on enhancing the strength of the vocal track either through minimalist striped down beats to fully illuminate the vocal i.e. La Roux "In For The Kill" (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix) or kicking up the dance beat and energy where the original was a bit lacking i.e. both of these Marina & the Diamonds remixes. At least that's what I am telling myself.

These are my favorite 3 female vocalists of the moment currently blowing up all over the remix circuit: La Roux, Marina & the Diamonds and Little Boots (concert Friday at the Roxy with Dim Mak!). These are my current favorite remixes by each one:

La Roux - "In For The Kill" (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix) LINK - My favorite remix of the year so far hands down.

La Roux - "I'm not Your Toy" (Jack Beats Remix) LINK

(My new indie crush)

Marina & the Diamonds - "Obsessions" (Gold Panda Remix) LINK - Check out the rest of Gold Panda's remixes and his originals (particularly the fascinating "Quitter Raga" here: http://www.iamgoldpanda.com/music

Marina & the Diamonds - "I am Not a Robot" (Penguin Prison Remix) LINK Loving this!

(My old indie crush)

Little Boots - "Stuck on Repeat" (Fake Blood Remix) LINK Little Boots is almost definitely the most remixed artist of the year and for good reason. She is the Robyn, Annie, Kylie of this year and she is playing the Roxy tomorrow night with Dim Mak's slue of Djs! Check out more remixes here: LINK

P.S. you all know how I feel about the XX album (if not see previous post) and Them Jeans (great LA DJ/producer) does the original justice with his "Shelter" remix LINK

P.S.S Not part of this female vocalist kick but just listened to this Animal Collective remix that kind of blew my mind.

Animal Collective - Sumemrtime Clothes (Dam Funk Remix) LINK : This is why I love remixes - not every note works, but it is all about experimenting. This songs is equal parts AC, Prince and 70s porn music - somehow it works brilliantly.

Enjoy,
MD

Phoenix At The Greek Tonight!

2009-09-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

And to get everyone excited - here they are performing "1901" on Conan last night.

Enjoy,
MD

The ICU

2009-09-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

This new concept is simple - the illest, freshest tracks in hip-hop. These require your immediate attention:

Jay-Z - "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z just dropped The Blueprint 3 (maybe you haven't heard since he has only be promoting it on everything from the VMAs to Jay Leno for God's sake) and it is sick, if only a bit inconsistent. There is nothing inconsistent about the track "Empire State of Mind" though. This track could have fit squarely on the original (The Blueprint is probably my favorite of all of his brilliant albums) amongst the likes of "Izzo (H.O.V.A)" and "Heart of The City" (my all-time favorite Jay-Z track). With bouncing piano riff and a loose rhythm section Jay just slays the verse absolutely dominating the track. On top of all that Alicia Keys lays down the best hook of the year - if this song doesn't get you feeling some serious NYC love nothing ever will. I have listened to this song nearly 50 times since it came out a week ago (so the answer is yes I have problems). LINK

(Love this album cover)

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon (LP): "I got 99 problems and they all bitches" - best first line off a debut album I can remember. Still soaking in the new Cudi album that dropped today, Man on the Moon, but Cudi has crafted one of the most distinct and unique styles amongst the new up and coming MCs. His flow is smooth, slow, thoughtful and he drops gems like that first line often. Highlights are "Soundtrack 2 My Life" LINK, "Day N' Nite" (obviously), "Make Her Say", "Man on the Moon" and "Pursuit of Happiness" (which features MGMT and Ratatat to give him the indie cred, not like he needs it)

Enjoy,
MD

Best of the Best: The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses

2009-09-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

(The Stone Roses' self-titled debut)

After posting about the Beatles, I have decided to institute a new section called simply Best of the Best. This section is reserved for the classics plain and simple. The Beatles themselves I had decided were above this categorization - they are in a category of their own. For the other mere mortals this is the best it gets. Thought Best of the Best had a better ring to it then Not The Beatles But Still Very Good.

Kicking off this section is one of the albums I have played most in my lifetime the self-titled album by The Stone Roses. It is somewhat fitting (and a huge compliment to The Stone Roses obviously) for The Stone Roses to be following The Beatles. In the late 80s, British music was stale and completely stagnant. The Smiths had broken up in 1987 and British pop music was in complete disarray. The Stone Roses came along and picked up the pieces where the Smiths had left off - taking the psychedelic pop sounds of the 60s and infusing it with some real rhythm. The Stone Roses pioneered (along with Happy Mondays) this "Madchester" sound and the result are staggering. More importantly they redefined Britpop - their influence on the British music that followed is huge. For starters, Oasis would never had existed without this band for two reasons: 1. they rip off their sound almost as much as the Beatles and 2. the Gallagher brothers decided to start a band after going to and because of a Stone Roses show (truth). Other greats like Beta Band, Spiritualized, Primal Scream - all hugely Stone Rose influenced.

The end of this story (like The Beatles too) is too abrupt. This album was their DEBUT and it is an absolute classic, consistently in discussions for best albums of that decade and of all-time. Legal disputes prevented them from giving it a proper follow-up until five years later with, the still good but nowhere near as good as the debut, Second Coming. By 1996 they called it quits.

Listening to the just released remastering The Stone Roses (20th Anniversary Legacy Edition) ever sonic texture is enhanced, each drum beat crisper, each guitar note more ethereal. This is the version you MUST get (it is $16.99 on iTunes or Lala but worth ever penny more than the other and this is from someone who has only listened to this new version today). It sounds as fresh, new and exciting as it must have been back in 1989.

Key tracks include "I Want To Be Adored", "She Bangs A Drum", "I Am The Resurrection" LINK, "This Is The One" and "Fool's Gold" (this one is epic, awe-inspiring genius - if you listen to one track listen to this one and it will hook you for good).

Listen to all the tracks on the remastered version for FREE once through on Lala.com. If you don't know this site, definitely check it out.

Enjoy,
MD

The Beatles - "miss them, miss them"

2009-09-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

The Beatles are absolutely the greatest band in the history of modern music - really almost indisputable. Their influence is profound. The are not just an influence on all music that followed but on our culture as a whole. They have re-released their entire catalog on (number 9/9/2009) with a significant re-mastering enhancing the sonic detail of each of their albums. In conjunction they have released The Beatles: Rock Band.

If you are only familiar with the Beatles catalog through radio and their best known hits (shame on you), here are my top few albums of theirs that you should pick up immediately:
The Beatles (Also known as The White Album)
Revolver
Abbey Road
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

And my personal favorite few songs:
"Tomorrow Never Knows"
"A Day In The Life"
"Let It Be"
"Dear Prudence"
"In My Life"
...and this list can go on forever which brings me to my next point...

I have always been fascinated with the amazingly diverse and brilliant catalog of the best band ever and what is so shocking ever time I think about it or read about it is just how quickly (just 6 1/2 years) they went from Liverpool unknowns to boy band superstars to the greatest most experimental pop artists we have ever known to leaving it all behind. At the end of his review of the re-released Abbey Road (obviously receiving a 10), Mark Richardson for Pitckfork sums it up perfectly:

"The Beatles' run in the 1960s is good fodder for thought experiments. For example, Abbey Road came out in late September 1969. Though Let It Be was then still unreleased, the Beatles wouldn't record another album together. But they were still young men: George was 26 years old, Paul was 27, John was 28, and Ringo was 29. The Beatles' first album, Please Please Me, had come out almost exactly six and a half years earlier. So if Abbey Road had been released today, Please Please Me would date to March 2003. So think about that for a sec: Twelve studio albums and a couple of dozen singles, with a sound that went from earnest interpreters of Everly Brothers and Motown hits to mind-bending sonic explorers and with so many detours along the way-- all of it happened in that brief stretch of time. That's a weight to carry."

Just by way of a fun comparison: my favorite band, Radiohead, put out their first album Pablo Honey in 1993 and their seventh album, In Rainbows in 2007. That is a little more than half the number of albums The Beatles amassed in 3X the amount of time (as we now stand almost 17 years into Radiohead's run). Even more crazy to think is that while Radiohead put out their magnum opuses in years 4-7 (OK Computer (1997) and Kid A (2000)), within The Beatles time together, they seem as on top of their game as ever with In Rainbows nearly as brilliant as those two apexes. What might The Beatles have continued to accomplish...

26, 27, 28, 29 YEARS OLD and they were done. Shocking and incredibly heartbreaking ever time I think about. But they sure as hell went out on top.

Best,
MD

Everything You Need to Know About (EYNTKA): TV on the Radio (TVotR)

2009-09-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

(TVotR)

Background:
TV on the Radio is one of the most exciting bands making music today. Unfortunately, they announced today that as a band they would be taking a year off to pursue other interests and just live life. So I thought for all those not yet priviledged to their music, this would give you a year to learn their back catalog and get amped up for their return. The Brooklyn band melds a diverse array of genres from rock, electronic, jazz, soul to hip-hop. For me their music's focus is the beat. Everything centers around it and builds outward with subtle accents, textures and layered production from their production genius David Sitek. Their vocals are also fantastic led by singer Tunde Adebimpe with harmonies provided by Kyp Malone. Sitek though is the star and one of the most exciting producers in the game today working with other acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Liars. Which leads me into my next section...

Fact I Refuse To Acknowledge:
Sitek is also the producer behind Scarlett Johansson's reimagining of Tom Waits songs. Let's just move on...

Trivia / Hipster Cred Knowledge:
The band's first album was self-released and titled, OK Calculator - one of the least subtle references to a band influence I have ever seen (but pretty funny). Apparently (since it is not widely available and I have not heard it) it varies dramatically from what has become the TVotR song - it was more hip-hop and electronica. The band added Kyp Malone to the group and then released what is their more commonly referred to debut, Young Liars which catapulted them on to the scene with the brilliant anthem, "Starring At the Sun". LINK

Album / Song Highlights:
Young Liars (EP): The aforementioned "Starring At the Sun" and the subtler but just as brilliant "Blind"
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes: "Starring At the Sun" in its currently loved form and "Poppy" LINK
Return to Cookie Mountain: "Wolf Like Me" #6 on PMA's best of the decade here: LINK (Hard to disagree with that) and "Province" is my personal favorite.
Dear Science: This was my album of the year last year - just brilliant the whole way through. "Love Dog" is my other personal favorite. Also killer is "DLZ"

News:
Kyp Malone just released a single off his soon to be released solo album as Rain Machine with bizarre album artwork below. But this song "Smiling Black Faces" LINK is epic, brilliantly penned and beautiful. Album out 9/22.

Lead singer Adebimpe just did a new track with Massive Attack that's pretty cool too.

So there is likely to be more from these guys even if it is not as TVotR for now.

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: The xx

2009-08-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

The xx have been straight blowing up the blogsphere right now. You can't go on to Hype Machine or Elbo.ws without seeing their name at the top of every list. And that was before Pitchfork just slapped their self-titled debut album with its "Best New Music" label. If anything the hype is UNDERstated. This is the most exciting debut album I have heard since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah self-released their debut in 2005. I can only hope that the xx do a better job following up this debut than CYHSY has. But all signs point towards them being able to. The average age in this band is 20! (20...is this as depressing to you as it is to me) To paraphase a good friend, they are the Le Bron Jameses of indie electro alienation. These guys have nowhere to go but up and the maturity they show on this album is mindblowing. Unlike CYHSY, the xx already has an incredibly cohesive and distinct sound. They have clear influences from Massive Attack and Portishead, but their combination of electro, r&b even some bossanova is so focused every single note is precisely positioned to serve an emotive purpose. The dualing male-female singing (remenisant of Stars) is their calling card - both voices are strikingly beautiful and able to evoke staggering emotional complexity given their young age.

Listening to a debut album like this is why I love music, why I am obsessed with it and always looking for that new song, that new sound that will leave me completely speechless. The xx have crafted a nearly flawless and perfect debut - listen and enjoy!

"Basic Space", "Islands" and "Crystalized" are essential starter tracks: LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: Washed Out

2009-08-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

(Ernest Greene, the man behind Washed Out)

Washed Out is a one man show out of Columbia, South Carolina playing glitchy, loopy electro pop (does it seem like I like that kind of music??) along the lines of Air France, Panda Bear, et al. For me he sounds like the missing link between Panda Bear and M83's Saturdays = Youth. The 80s is an obvious influence, but the music has a timeless quality to it - it is celestrial, breazy and incredibly versatile. I feel like I can listen to this on the beach, a long drive with the top down or getting ready to hit up the town. This versatility comes from Greene's playing with tempo and expectations - all the tracks seem to have push and pull between a dance track and an ambient one and almost all seem to end abruptly leaving you wanting more. "Feel It All Around" LINK is a perfect example of this. "New Theory" sounds like a MGMT track if they downshifted one gear. Washed Out just released their first EP Life of Leisure today and it is available for $3.99 HERE. I have already spun it through a few times - this is going to be on repeat for a while.

Enjoy,
MD

The End of Lists?

2009-08-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

In our current blogger culture, everyone (including yours truly) has an opinion that they want to share and what better way than through ranking our favorite things. Year end lists (and half-year lists see my earlier post for mine) are a staple of just about every music site out there. With the dawn of the new decade approaching it seems like all the major music sites are gearing up for an epic all-out "best of decade" discussion (battle?). I would be lying if I said I wasn't going to partake. Well some of the big guns, Pitchfork and Gorilla v. Bear, have already started their rundown - seems like everyone once to be first out of the gate. As crazy (and somewhat ridiculous) it is that they are starting these lists 4 months early, it has sure brought back some good memories and some incredible tunes back in my current rotation. Both of these lists are fantastic and I will surely have a number of the tracks and albums down as my tops of the decade. For my list though you will have to wait a bit closer to year end...in the meantime.

Check out all of Gorilla v. Bear's lists for:

Tracks here: LINK

Albums here: LINK

Pitchfork's list allows you to listen to all 500 of their top tracks once through in its entirety through the music program lala. Pretty sweet for sampling all this great music. The top 100 here are almost without exception incredible - mandatory listening from the last ten years. If you don't know number 22, "Someone Great" by LCD Soundsystem (profiled earlier in a EYNTKA section) give it a listen - been a little since I did and forgot how utterly brilliant it is. The top 20 comes out tomorrow. LINK

UPDATE: Pretty Much Amazing has posted their list as well - a lot of overlap but pretty great as well: LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: Fanfarlo and Dinosaur Feathers

2009-08-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

(Fanfarlo performing live)

Fanfarlo is a London based group with heavy instrumentation along the lines of Arcade Fire or Sufjan Stevens playing everything from trumpet, violin, mandolin to whatever else they can find. Their debut LP, Reservoir, was released earlier this year and with the help of producer Peter Katis (previous work with The National and Interpol) they have made quite the first impression. Fanfarlo follow the orchestral pop laid out by Arcade Fire, The National and Sufjan and Ra Ra Riot. The music is unabashed, openly emotional and brilliantly layered with complex instrumentation. The first track, "I'm a Pilot" LINK, feels very influenced by Arcade Fire with its driving bass line and repeated piano just building and building to its climax. These songs have movements and layers and just seem to build and build. It's not quite Aracde Fire but it is a very strong debut and will sure serve to hold me over until another one of AF's releases. Also check them out playing the Troubadour on September 15th!

Dinosaur Feathers is a three piece out of Brooklyn playing experimental acoustic guitar driven jams like a combination of Animal Collective, Vampire Weekend and Fleet Foxes (weighting these influences to varying degrees for each track). Like Animal Collective on their last album, MPP, Dinosaur Feathers have forged a pop sensibility out of their experimental madness and one that is uniquely their own. The results are on full display in their recently released EP, Early Morning Risers, which is available for FREE download on their website: http://dinosaurfeathers.com/. The title track hints at their past work in an a capella group at Carleton College, but the instrumentation slowly builds to a chorus with gibberish, electronic loops and acoustic jamming (is that a kazzo?) that somehow blends beautiful. Other highlight so far for me has been "Parallel July".

Enjoy,
MD

The Big Pink at The El Rey: Wed, 11/18

2009-08-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

Tickets for this exciting new band went on sale today at 10am. Get them on ticketmaster for $15 each (or more like $25 when you add the Ticketmaster monopoly fees...oh how I despise thee).

Debut album, A Brief History of Love, drops September 22nd.

Read more about The Big Pink in my Introducing post on them from last month.

Enjoy
MD

NEW RADIOHEAD SONG...maybe

2009-08-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

So the internet is all abuzz this morning from a potential Radiohead song leak on Radiohead fan site, At Ease. And for good reason. This song is sick - feels like a natural progression from In Rainbows....taking the beauty and technical perfection of its tracks and tweaking with the sound, adding imperfections and dissonance through its drones and slightly off-beat guitar notes. Feels like "Weird Fishes" meets "All The Best" (the new Thom Yorke cover I blogged on below). Loving this in all its dark beauty!

Thom Yorke spoke (sadly) recently about a new LP from the band being far off if not ever coming down the line (please don't let that be the case) in an interview in The Believer magazine. He did promise releases of new singles, maybe some EPs...so this seems to fit with the mold.

Check out the MP3 and some more of the backstory at Stereogum: LINK

Listen below:

Enjoy,
MD

New Jack White Song from It Might Get Loud

2009-08-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Written and recorded in about 10 minutes - "Fly Farm Blues" is meant more as a demonstration of the writing and recording process, but a sweet lick nonetheless from White. Though (as P4k points out) has a bit of a "Ball and Biscuit" feel to it.

Here is a clip of the recording from It Might Get Loud: LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Introducing: Volcano Choir

2009-08-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

(Volcano Choir debut album, Unmap)

Volcano Choir is a new project from Bon Iver, who's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was one of the absolute best albums of last year. On this album, he joins forces with Collections of Colonies of Bees, a post-rock outfit from Milwaukee who play instrumental guitar driven experimental music along the lines of Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai. The combination is powerful - adding some brilliant instrumentation to Bon Iver's usually subtle backdrops. The first single off the album, "Island, IS", comes off like a panda bear meets dirty projectors at their more mellow state. At the 2:45 mark the Dirty Projector comparison becomes readily apparent setting up Bon Iver to lead the song to its beautiful climax. This is exciting stuff - I am desperately awaiting the release of the full length on 9/22. Check out the single NOW: LINK

(For Emma, Forever Ago album cover)

For those unfamiliar with Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago is a must. His album is meant to be listened to alone in the woods surrounded by some idyllic setting. His voice is haunting and the emotions he is able to convey are staggering. Try listening to "Skinny Love", maybe my favorite track of 2008, without being moved (on his myspace): http://www.myspace.com/boniver

Enjoy,
MD

R.I.P. John Hughes

2009-08-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

John Hughes passed away yesterday at the far too early age of 59 from a heart attack. His films were staples of our youth (I may hold the record for the most Ferris Bueller viewings) and more than any other cultural artifact defined the 80s decade. Hughes was incredibly influential in his use of music in film from the Psychedelic Furs song that inspired Pretty in Pink (with one of the most brilliant soundtracks overall) to Ferris Bueller leading all of Chicago through "Twist and Shout" (my personal favorite). So much of what is going on in current music scene is influenced by the 80s music and 80s spirit embodied in his films. Many acts I have written about here from Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Phoenix, The Big Pink to Passion Pit have clear influences.

Then there is M83, the brilliant French electronic music producer, who raves about Hughes and his influence specifically on his latest album, the exceptional Saturdays=Youth, which Anthony Gonzalez (M83) credits a big debt to Hughes' Pretty In Pink and The Breakfast Club. Saturdays=Youth is a Hughes film soundtrack for our current time. The video below is for M83's "Kim & Jessie" - it has all the teen awkwardness, angst, simplicity and beauty that embodied Hughes' work.

Below is another video that surfaced a few months ago mashing up Phoenix's "Lisztomania" with the brat pack. This was user-generated, but it created so much buzz that the band has been talking about it in interviews. Love this -

And just for fun I have to include this:

Enjoy,
MD

It Might Get Loud!

2009-08-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

A movie with Jack White. The Edge . JIMMY FUCKIN' PAIGE. All sitting around talking music and guitars AND writing music together!! If there is anything else you need to hear to go see this movie then you should stop reading this blog.

Movie opens August 14th.

This preview gives me chills...

Enjoy,
MD

Stream The Big Pink's A Brief History of Love Now!

2009-08-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

(The debut album cover)

Hot off being featured in my Introducing column, The Big Pink are streaming their whole debut album over at their website, http://musicfromthebigpink.com/. The album won't be released until September 22nd in US so check it out while you can now!

Enjoy,
MD

Ruminating on (500) Days of Summer

2009-08-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

I saw the fantastic film, (500) Days of Summer, last night and am still contemplating its overall impact. What I do know is that you must see this film, even if only for the completely novel take on the romantic comedy and most of all the incredible art direction - this is one of the most innovative and impressive directorial efforts I have seen in a while and it comes from a music video director, Marc Webb, making his feature film debut...amazing. While this blog does not focus on movies, this movie has music at its core and the soundtrack plays beautifully (and hilariously when Hall & Oates "You Make My Dreams" kicks in).

The movie introduced me to a relatively new band, The Temper Trap, from Mebourne, Australia that writes grandiose atmospheric guitar driven rock anthems and "Sweet Disposition" is a perfect example. The song comes on like an old-school U2 cover, but quickly takes on its own character. They just released their debut album, Conditions, in Australia and are releasing it in the UK soon (no US date yet). However, they have a ton of songs on their myspace page so check them out: http://www.myspace.com/thetempertrap. They worked on the newest album with producer maven, Jim Abbiss, behind the debuts of Arctic Monkeys and Adele so they should be household names in no time. Here is "Sweet Disposition": LINK

(Mark Kozelek is "just one of the out of focus guys" on the far right)

On the car ride back from the film, I stumbled upon an old favorite by Red House Painters, their cover of the lyrically brilliant "All Mixed Up" by The Cars (cover was recorded in 1996 and is found on the incredible record, Songs for a Blue Guitar). The song felt like a perfect fit for the film (for one of its more meloncholy moments) and captures (for me at least) the film's central theme. Matt Kozelek, leader of Red House Painters and also of Sun Kill Moon, is a master of the cover. He takes this already great Cars song, strips it down to its core and allows the lyrics (and his haunting voice) to stand front and center. (Fun fact in my research: Matt Kozelek is the bassist in Stillwater from Almost Famous) Watch the video for Red House Painters' "All Mixed Up": LINK

Here are the stunning lyrics:

she shadows me in the mirror
she never leaves on the light
and some things that i've said to her
they just dont seem to bite

it's all mixed up (x4)

she tricks me into thinking
that i cant believe my eyes
that i wait for her forever
but she never does arrive

it's all mixed up (x4)

she said leave it all to me,
everything will be allright
she said leave it all to me,
everything will be all right

she's always out making pictures
she's always out making scenes,
she's always out the window
when it comes to making dreams.

Enjoy,
MD

Epic, Fail OR Epic Fail?

2009-07-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

Now at the bottom of each post is a simple set of choices on the overall posting. Let me know if you liked/loved it (Epic), not your thing (Fail) or hated it and are now contemplating never listening to music again because of me (Epic Fail). I want to get your guys input so I can start tailoring the posts to the music you like. It's real simple so please give it a try...maybe even leave a comment or two.

Best,
MD

Introducing: The Big Pink

2009-07-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

(Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze of The Big Pink)

The Big Pink are about to blow up. With only a handful of singles released, including the excellent "Dominos" off their upcoming release, A Brief History of Love to be released September 15th, these two London boys have already lined up a slew of European festival dates including huge festivals like Glastonbury and Leading and worked with legendary producer, Alan Moulder (of My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins) on the brilliant, "Velvet". Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze have created a sound that they believe "marries an anthemic pop sensibility with fiery digital experimentalism" and I tend to agree. These guys grew up on Oasis, Blur and some Stone Roses and married it with an electronic wall of sound. Milo also runs and owns the UK indie label, Merok Records that has put out some of the best indie music in the last few years from new wave ravers the Klaxons to the exciting young electronic act Crystal Castles to one of my favorite new indie rock bands, Titus Andronicus (which may require their own post on last year's brilliant and epic, The Airing of Grievances) Could these guys be more destined for greatness??

The single, "Dominos", bleeds with the confidence of Oasis and the influence is obvious, but the result is uniquely their own. This is anthemic song if I have ever heard one - a single guy's anthem at its core, but one that I think can be appreciated by all. I have been blasting this one with the windows down non-stop. Check it out on the band's website (free download): http://musicfromthebigpink.com/

"Velvet" is more complicated with lush electronic sounds creating a intricate wall of sound behind the (this time) more vulnerable sounding lead singer, Furze. The album is called A Brief History of Love and this song delves much deeper into the complex emotion of love - this is The Big Pink showing some of their lyrical promise. The end is just perfect - pulling back the music to just minimal procussions around the 3:10 mark revisting the opening lyrics then driving with its Bloody Valentine heavily distorted guitars towards a epic climax. Check out the original: LINK and the Gang Gang Dance (an excellent band that will continue to make appearances on this blog) remix that allows the lyrics to stand on their own until it ultimately explodes into GGD's brilliant weirdness at the 3:00 mark and never looks back: LINK

Also, check out The Big Pink's myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/musicfromthebigpink) and the pictures that consist of their About The Big Pink section as you scroll down on the right. Some beautiful images and insight into the bands inspiration. Here's one photo to leave you with:

Enjoy,
MD

Swedish Breezy Electro-Pop: A Primer

2009-07-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

(Swedish band, The Tough Alliance)

Some of the best breezy, beachy Summer jams for the last few years has been coming from a city with highs in the 60s all summer long and only a half million people. Gothenburg, Sweden is the country's second largest city and home to Scandinavia's largest university (University of Gothenburg) so it is not strange for it to be breeding ground for music, but the music makes you think they don't spend a minute away from a beach, pool or BBQ. This city must be the happeist place on Earth. Over the past few years albums by Studio, The Tough Alliance (both with their own record labels) and new comers Air France have been laying down some of the most beauitfully textured eclectronic pop songs of recent with incredible circular, looping samples that give the songs the feeling of perpetual bliss. I have presented some brilliant songs along this "loopy electro-pop" genre (a term I have coined for better or worse) from Beach Boy revivalists Panda Bear (of Animal Collective) and Brandon Cox as well as Delorean on Friday. Here are some more brilliant and fun summer jams from Sweden:

Air France - deriving their songs equally from Brian Wilson and electronic sampling pioneers, The Avalanches, their album No Way Down is hit after hit of summer jams. These site presents 3 of my favorites including "June Evenings" with its angelic vocals, riffing horns and understated driving percussions (listen closely to the xylophone-esque beats in the backround)...just heavenly LINK

The Tough Alliance - owners of Sincerely Yours, the label that also includes Air France are one of the pioneers of this uniquely Swedish take on electro-pop. Check out their tunes on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/toughalliancemusic. Their latest album A New Chance is a must have CD. Brings in some great elements of 80s, some Primal Scream Screamadelica and Carribean island isntrumentation...love it.

Studio - stand on their own in this category. They form the missing link between the late 80s early 90s Cure (you will hear some Robert Smith in singer's voice), afrobeat and disco. Their songs take on more sonic exploration than the other two above and less loopiness. These songs tend to twist and turn while always maintaining an underlying cohesiveness. Probably my favorite of the three and that is saying a lot. Check the brilliant album, West Coast, it blew my mind when I first heard it. Check out the epic, "Life's A Beach" (appropriate summer jam title) and the Dan Lissvik (one half of Studio) remix of a great Fever Ray track, "When I Grow Up": LINK

Just writting this up has got me hooked on Studio again - it will be spinning in my car all week now.

Enjoy,
MD

Summer Weekend Jam

2009-07-24T17:14:00.001-07:00

(Ayrton Senna EP by Delorean)

Haven't been able to post all I would like today, but should have a few good ones up Monday so come back and check it out.

In the meantime, check out this sweet, silky, loopy bit of summery goodness from Delorean called "Seasun". Their EP cover has flying carrots on it - how can it not be good. Delorean hail from Barcelona which has been developing quite the music scene these days. Along with El Guincho (another great artist from the Gaudian mecca), they can give Panda Bear and Atlas Sound (the brilliant "Walkabout" posted below) a run at best breezy summer fare. If you like this, check out the primer I will have on loopy electro pop on Monday. You have heard from the Americans and Spaniards...Monday it is the Swedes (and they are just killing it in this genre).

I have been playing "Seasun" all day and don't plan on stopping (free download at Pitchfork here): LINK

Check out some other great jams and remixes on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/deloreandanz.

Enjoy,
MD

Thom Yorke and the Twilight Sequel Soundtrack?

2009-07-24T10:42:00.001-07:00

(Thom Yorke bitten by Twilight)

Two things I never thought I would hear in the same sentence let alone coming from the same person, but it appears that Thom Yorke wrote a NEW song for the Twilight sequel, New Moon. Never did I think I would be writing about Twilight on this blog, but hey if there is new Radiohead / Thom Yorke news it is going to on here whether or not it shocks my core values. Not only does it appear that Thom Yorke will be contributing new material, but one of the most exciting new artists from last year Bon Iver (pronounced bo-nee-VAIR) also seems to be in on the soundtrack too. This could be shaping up to be one of the most exciting music releases later this year (WTF?? Am I writing this?). New Moon director, Chris Weitz, did helm About A Boy, the excellent adaptation of the Nick Hornby book that is steeped in music (like all Hornby books) with the music soundtrack all composed by Badly Drawn Boy (check out this film if you have not seen it). So maybe just maybe it is in good hands...we shall see I guess.

If you are not familiar with Bon Iver, you must check out his debut album, For Emma Forever Ago. It is hauntingly beautiful and moving acoustic guitar based music with complex textures. The songs are perfect for a dark Autumn or Winter day but I managed to fall in love with it listening to it on the beach last summer so I guess it works for all seasons. You can download "Skinny Love", one of the best songs of last year for free on Bon Iver's website: LINK

Enjoy,
MD

The Lost Art Form - Music Videos: Radiohead

2009-07-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when music videos meant something? Now with music videos relegated to back channels of MTV or other smaller networks, most videos are typically viewed online and don't draw the same kind of driectoral talent they used to. Music videos used to be a breeding ground for up and coming directors. I came across two of my all-time favorite music videos this morning - "Karma Police" by Radiohead (directed by Jonathan Glazer, later went on to direct Sexy Beast with Ben Kingsley) and "Knives Out" (also by Radiohead) by director Michael Gondry of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fame. Both are reminders of the power of the visual music video art form. So brilliant.

With "Knives Out", you can see the beginnings of Gondry's surrealist directorial style and some of his inspiration for Eternal Sunshine. Amazingly this is all shot in one take!

If you are interested in some more of the brilliant Radiohead music video catalog, check out the music blog, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted LINK for a list of their top 10. This is one of my favorite music blogs out there so definitely give it a visit.

I plan to continue to bring back some of the music video classics for your viewing enjoyment.

Enjoy,
MD

Some More Great Tracks From the Year So Far...

2009-07-21T13:35:00.001-07:00

Going through some of the blogspheres best of 2009 (so far) lists has only furthered my view that this has been a truly fantastic year in music - such a good one in fact, I have managed to overlook some unbelievable songs. One such song is by the brilliant Sufjan Stevens, "You are the Blood" LINK from the compilation album, Dark Was The Night. This album has been one of the highlights of the year so far with contributions from almost everyone that is relevant today in indie rock. Buy the whole thing as proceeds go to the Red Hot Organization which raises money and awareness for HIV and AIDS.

Here is the rest of the top 50 list where that Sufjan song sat at number 4 LINK. It is from Pretty Much Amazing (http://prettymuchamazing.com/), one of the best music blogs out there - you will notice (particularly on the top bunch) a bit of overlap with my list from last week. All of the tracks are available for full stream so a great chance to sample some of the best of the year.

Another highlight:
#5 "Summertime Clothes" by Animal Collective (Merriweather Post Pavillion is sitting currently in my number 1 album of the year position and it would take a miracle or a Radiohead album to take it down from that spot before year end)

Enjoy,
MD

Everything You Need to Know About (EYNTKA): James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem)

2009-07-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Background:
James Murphy is one of my musical heroes. He co-founded and co-owns, DFA Records, the best electronic music label in North America with his production partner, Tim Goldsworthy (another musical genius). Pioneering the electronic-infused dance-rock movement, the two of them have produced records for The Rapture, The Juan MacLean and Hot Chip (all on their label DFA) - everything they touch turns to gold. Murphy was also behind the brilliant remix of M.I.A's "Paper Planes" used in Slumdog Millionaire LINK. If it only stopped there. James IS LCD Soundsystem the best artist on the whole damn label and my favorite electronic artist making music today.

Trivia:
Coming out of college as an English major, Murphy almost quit his musical pursuits for a career as a television writer when he was offered a job as the first staff writer on a new sitcom. What a disaster that would have been. Well not a total disaster as that "new sitcom" was THE sitcom, Seinfeld. I think it worked out alright for everyone involved.

"Losing My Edge":
This is the single that started it all for LCD Soundsystem in 2002. Before James Murphy released this, he was DJing parties him and Tim were throwing in the Lower East Side - spinning tunes by electronic and rock pioneers like Can and Liquid Liquid. Soon he became the "in" DJ and soon found others were starting to cop from his style. Murphy started becoming something he thought he hated, saying things like "I was playing that record years ago" and feeling like he owned that music in someway. Well fortunately for us James took that as motivation and turned it into the absolutely brilliant "Losing My Edge". It is a nearly eight minute long masterpiece combining genuine vulnerability of feeling like he could lose his newfound coolness at any moment while also masterfully satirizing the whole silliness of the hipster scene. Murphy says the song was born out of both feelings of "inadequacy and love".

Favorite line (among many brilliant ones): "I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody. " Check it out: LINK

News:
James Murphy is currently in the studio working on a follow-up to Sound of Silver due early next year. He also just finished production on the debut album by Free Energy, 70s classic rock sound that would have fit perfectly on the Dazed and Confused soundtrack. And what do you know, but the first two tracks released are pure sonic bliss - James Murphy can do no wrong. Oh and he loves cow bell.

Check out Free Energy's "Free Energy": LINK

Album / Song Highlights:
LCD Soundsystem (2005) - "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", "Losing My Edge", really just every single track
Sound of Silver (2007) - "All My Friends" (best song of 2007...just a brilliant and uplifting song about friendship) and all others on this one too. LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Sweet Summer Jam For The Weekend

2009-07-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

(Weird new cover of the upcoming Atlas Sound album, Logos - reminds me of a re-imagining of Munch's The Scream)

Two of the biggest names and most critically adored, Noah Lennox (of Panda Bear and Animal Collective fame) and Brandon Cox (Atlas Sound and Deerhunter) collaborate on a breezy, summer jam, "Walkabout" in the Brian Wilson Beach Boys mold - that's enough to get me to listen (quite frankly even blindly post it). This loopy electronic and tweaked out organ sample is the perfect way to take in the summer rays this weekend. I will be playing this on repeat poolside.

Free download at Pitchfork here: LINK
The new Atlas Sound album, Logos, is out October 20th.

Enjoy,
MD

Grizzly Bear absolutely kills it on Letterman!

2009-07-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Led by singer Ed Droste's staggeringly beautiful crescendos and the perfectly complimenting string section, Grizzly Bear put up just an insane peformance of "Ready, Able", making me seriously reconsider my "inconsistent" comment about the Veckatimest album as a whole (this was not one of my favorites...til now). Make sure you make it to the 3:40 mark for the plucked violin solo...Bela Fleck-esque and genius.

Enjoy,
MD

New Thom Yorke Song!

2009-07-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

One thing that should be expected from this blog is ALL things new (and some old) related to Radiohead - reasonable considering they are my favorite band. Well today streaming over at Stereogum (a excellent music site if you are not familiar with it already) is a Thom Yorke cover of a Miracle Legion song, "All For The Best" - it is haunting beautiful and in the vein of Thom Yorke's brilliant solo album, The Eraser. Before today I had never heard of Mark Mulcahy or Miracle Legion (their career appears to have been mired with legal issues), but their influence was clearly felt by some of my favorite artists like Michael Stipe and The National (both participating on this benefit album) and obviously Yorke who sees Mulcahy as one of his vocal mentors (high praise from one of the most emotionally captivating voices in music). Mark Mulcahy's wife recently passed away unexpectedly leaving Mark to raise his twin 3 year old daugthers. Part of the proceeds from this album are going to help him and his family.

Thom Yorke's cover streaming here: LINK
The original can be heard here: LINK

Below are the lyrics - easy to see why Mark Mulcahy was such an influential artist. These lyrics are brilliant:

All For the Best

waking up, and the bed was made
no one looked me in the eye
the more I try, the more I cry
and it's all for the best

watched my brother cutting grass outside
Sitting on the porch, he told me
it's a long way to go
before we can rest
and it's all for the best

You're so beautiful it's a sin
On a lonely lazy morning
And when I see you rocking back and forth
Whispering that it's all for the best

one day the storm will roll away
and soon you'll see
you're far away from home but never far away from me
and that's all for the best

and say you love me

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
and walk away from trouble at the end of the day

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
and walk away from trouble at the end of the day

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done
and walk away from trouble at the end of the day

Say you love me
Say you love me
Say you love me
Say you love me
Say you love me
Let's just say you love me

Introducing: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart & Girls

2009-07-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

Introducing is new section that really speaks for itself - introducing new artists. These are artists with at most one full-length LP that NEED to be listened to. Typically, as is the case here, they will also be playing an awesome small LA or NYC venue (In this case, both The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Girls will be playing the Echo in Echo Park on THIS Monday, July 20th and there are will be tickets sold at the door for $14 Info here: LINK)

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart released their self-titled debut LP earlier this year to rave reviews and for good reason. As their name suggests this is unabashed pop music about love and loss, but their encyclopedic music knowledge and use of influences ranging from showgazers, Jesus & Mary Chain to dreamy dancy guitar pop of early Smiths gels to create one of the most enjoyable start to finish listens of the year. It came out in February but this is summer top-down driving music at its best. Check out "Everything With You" and "Come Saturday" free on their website: http://www.thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com/music/

More tour news including an October 3rd show at Webster Hall in NYC here: LINK

Girls is opening up for TPOBPAH and play acoustic guitar driven beach rock with a lead singer with both the voice and (so far) some of the wit of Elvis Costello. This San Francisco based group will release their full length debut, Album, September 22nd. Good thing their songs are more original than their band or album names. Check out "Hellhole Ratrace" (now that's getting more original) one of the song's of 2008 that will be included on the LP release: LINK

Enjoy,
MD

Julian Casablancas is cryptic

2009-07-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Lead singer of the Strokes, Julian Casablancas, becomes the final member of the band to venture into a solo project. Video below is the teaser for his new album that drops this fall entitled Phrazes for the Young. No idea if this is representative of the sound to be expected on the album, but the video is sweet regardless. Another Strokes album would be nice as well.

Enjoy,
MD

Everything You Need to Know About (EYNTKA): Phoenix

2009-07-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am introducing a new section that will be a recurring one on this blog, Everything You Need to Know About or EYNTKA. This section is intended for all of us that are too busy and ADD in this digital world to build a holistic and all-knowing history and catalog of songs from the best artists out there, but still want to have the highlights and talking points to hang at that hipster cocktail party later tonight. It is like Wikipedia, if Wikipedia was only concerned about you sounding cool. Here's Phoenix.

(Lead singer Thomas Mars at the Wiltern)

History / Trivia:
One of the two guitarists, Laurent Brancowitz, started out in a Beach Boys inspired guitar band with the two electronic geniuses that would later become Daft Punk (both paths worked out pretty well).

Cocktail Party Key Talking Points:
"While "Love Like A Sunset" isn't one of my go-to tracks when I am spinning the album, seeing it performed live showed it to be their most complex and brilliant to date. You know their motivation for the song was sonically recreating the rhythmic experience of the road and lights through a tunnel in between Paris and Versailles. Only took them two years." (This song is absolutely brilliant by the way - check it out: LINK)

Albums / Song Highlights / Cliff Notes Description:
Untitled (2000) - "Too Young" / "If I Ever Feel Better" - Glossy electro-pop
Alphabetical (2004) - "Everything is Everything" / "Run Run Run" (A personal favorite) - stripped down R&B, blues and jazz infused rock.
It's Never Been Like That (2006) - "Napoleon Says" / "Long Distance Call" - crisp electronic infused guitar driven rock: think Johnny Marr meets Strokes meets Air.
Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix (2009) - Highlights in my Top 10 (and let's be honest this whole album is a highlight - just get it) - this album is pop perfection

Best remixes (If you are listening to and quoting remixes then you have to know alot about the original stuff right??):
Long Distance Call (25 Hours A Day Remix) LINK
1901 (Alan Wilkis Remix) LINK

Upcoming Tour Dates:
LA - Greek Theatre (one of the best venues in LA - soon to have its own write-up on this blog) on 9/16 - GET TICKETS TO THIS IMMEDIATELY
NYC - Rumsey Playfield Central Park on 9/25 ( I am probably going to this one too)
Other cities check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix

Enjoy,
MD

Top 10 Tracks of the Year So Far...

2009-07-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

So far 2009 has proven to be an extremely exciting year in music. New albums from Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors (some possible foreshadowing here) proved their most accessible and in my humble opinion most exciting to date - brilliantly weaving their experimental sounds into a cohesive pop structure. The results were incredible. Phoenix, another band with an exciting past catalog, put out the pop album of the year - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - I am still spinning it non-stop. While other bands like Grizzly Bear and Bat for Lashes continued to tweak with their sound, providing songs with rich textures and layered instrumentation. Let's hope the second half of this year can prove to be half as exciting as this:

10. Discovery: Orange Shirt - Discovery combines the talents of two young and exciting bands, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot, in a completely different genre - electronic infused R&B. This song makes for the perfect summer jam. LINK

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Skeletons - Another solid album by the Karen O fronted group, this time with distorted guitars replaced with 80s synths. The surprising change works brilliantly with Karen O's expressive voice, particularly on this track (like a more mature and developed "Maps")
Check out the album here: LINK

8. Handsome Furs: I'm Confused - Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade fame released his second album, Face Control under his Handsome Furs side project. He can croon like Springsteen and the minimalist electronic beats mixed with his guitar work has lead to some of the most exciting and fun music from the year so far. LINK

7. Passion Pit - Moth's Wings: What started off as a Valetine's Day gift EP to lead singer Michael Angelakos' girlfriend has become one of the prominent up and coming bands. Moth's Wings, off the bands first LP, is epic and grandiose. There is no attempt to hide this band's ambitions and if they keep writing songs this damn good there is no doubt they will continue to blow up. LINK

6. Bat for Lashes - Daniel: Natasha Khan (aka Bat For Lashes) has shown tremendous growth on her second album. She has the most hauntingly beautiful (and my favorite) voice in indie music today - like the second coming of Kate Bush. This song is absolutely brilliant and we are only at number 6...what a year. LINK

5. Phoenix - Lisztomania: Phoenix has always been a band in transformation from the electro pop of their debut with songs like "Too Young" to the Television and Johnny Marr influenced glossy guitar rock of It's Never Been Like That. Phoenix continues it progression and crystallizes it with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This is the pop album of the year and Lisztomania is the best 80s song of 2009. LINK

4. Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For the Others: One of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, Veckatimest, provides some of the most beautiful songs of the year. For me the album is a bit inconsistent, but when it peaks it does so in epic style. While You Wait For the Others is a breakup anthem and the vocal harmonies at the 3:00 mark are just pure sonic bliss. LINK

3. Phoenix - 1901: As I said this is the pop album of the year for me (and by far my most played). 1901 is its pinnacle, just an aural assault. I LOVE this song...can't believe it is only my number 3. This is better than anything to come out in 2008. LINK

2. Dirty Projectors: Stillness is the Move - This is what would have happened if Mariah Carey sang on a jazzy R&B indie tune back in the 90s. How did no one thing to mix that combination?? Probably because it sounds insane, but Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth is a musical prodigy already collaborating with the likes of David Byrne (Talking Heads) and Bjork so lets just say he pulls it off and then some. "Honey" doesn't have anything on this jam. LINK

1. Animal Collective: My Girls - I truly do not know how to articulate the genius of this song. This isn't just my favorite song of the past half year, but also my favorite of the past half decade. The simple and beautiful lyrics and message "Isn't much that I feel I need...just four walls and adobe slabs for my girls" allow for the complex sonic textures to bring that message to life. This song is proof of the power of music. Listen to this one at full volume, preferably while driving with the windows down. LINK

Honorable Mentions:
Drake - Best I Ever Had
Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction
Bibio - Lover's Cravings, Fire Ant, Haikuesque (too brilliant of a whole album to choose just one) - see my earlier post on this album
Dead Prez vs. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks of Hip Hop LINK
Bat For Lashes - Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover) LINK

Best of LA venues - Troubadour

2009-07-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

Might as well start with the best (and my personal favorite). The Troubadour just oozes history - from its first year seeing comedy idol Lenny Bruce arrested on obscenity charges to launching the careers of the Byrds, James Taylor, Elton John to the stage that saw Radiohead perform songs from OK Computer for the first time on US soil (wish I was there for that one). This year has already seen Animal Collective debuting Merriweather Post Pavillion (one of the best shows of my life), Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear. The setting is intimate (maybe 250 people) and the best part - you can fax in your orders to avoid the insane ticketmaster fees. Visit the website to check out upcoming shows: link

Upcoming announced shows that are must sees:
July 24 - La Roux (the new Robyn/Annie/Little Boots - the perfect artist for remixing). This remix is a really cool stripped down dubstep version of "In for the Kill": link

Others of note:
August 28 - Gang Gang Dance (this remix they did of The Big Pink is fire: link)
September 15 - Fanfarlo (check out "Harold T. Wilkins": link)

Enjoy,
MD

Production Genius

2009-07-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Bibio, a Boards of Canada disciple, started his career making soundscapes in the vein of his idols focusing on making music composed of as lo-tech and natural music devices as possible. His latest, Ambivalence Avenue, bursts out of that mold with one of the most diverse set of productions to come out in years. Bibio channels J Dilla on "Fire Ant" and a Panda Bear meets Os Mutantes on Lover's Carvings. At first blush the two songs don't feel part of the same genre let alone the same album but there is an underlying cohesiveness to Ambivalence Avenue even as he goes through influences as far-ranging as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ("Abrasion") and Daft Punk ("S'Vive"). Just brilliant.

Check out "Fire Ant" and "Lover's Cravings": link
Download his title track off Warp Records website (need to sign up for the newsletter): link

-MD

Starts Off With a Bang

2009-07-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

So here is my mission statement: Cut through the mess of music blogsphere and only provide you with the very best. Nothing here will be original and all the posts will most likely lead you to another site where I got the info / music in the first place. But originality is overrated and really impossible, so I shall editorialize. Only the best from indie rock, hip-hop, experimental, electronic music and all the LA and NYC tour news you need.

Hope you enjoy,
MD