The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers performing and being good ol' boys in the just released video for the excellent "I and Love and You"...

Video :: I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers

All is love

Three weeks to go until the long-anticipated "Where The Wild Things Are". This song is turning me into a Yeah Yeah Yeah's fan...

Video (unofficial) :: All is love by Karen O and The Kids

Brooklyn

Brooklyn seems to be the place to be, and be from, these days. A cool lineup of hip Brooklyn born (or based) bands includes :: The Welcome Wagon, The National, Grizzly Bear, Vivian Girls, Vampire Weekend, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Au Revoir Simone, MGMT and Dirty Projectors.

The Hold Steady are also from Brooklyn but I don’t really care about The Hold Steady. On that note, Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond also hail from New York’s most populous borough.

Vivian Girls provide some pretty standard rock (but with a stellar bass groove):


Next month Sufjan Stevens comes out with his BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) multi-media effort, which will include a “stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel”. The tunes are grand, orchestral efforts developed as a musical expression of the much-maligned BQE thorough fare. Reviews, of the music at least, have found Sufjan much-maligned as well. As in: get on with making the sequel to Illinoise and stop farting around!! At least there are hula hoopers:

Interlude I—Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo.

Not bad. Music to drive to? I've tried and.... well.... meh!

The Avett Brothers are from North Carolina but the title track from their forthcoming album (September 29) references Brooklyn and it sounds like they'd like to live there too... so there ya go!

Song :: I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers

"I and Love and You" featurette ::


I and Love and You, the album, will be out next Tuesday. And, yes, it will be awesome!

The xx

They are brilliant. They are the current "it" band. They are from London. And, yes, they're frikin' young.
They are my band of the moment. I do like their style...

Video :: Crystalized by The xx


Video :: Crsytalized (acoustic/ playing to 3 people on a bridge in Amsterdam) by The xx

Song :: Basic Space by The xx
Song :: Crystalized by The xx

Very Good Film

16: Moments... with music by Iceland's Parachutes (Alex from "Jónsi and Alex"... aka Riceboy Sleeps... Jonsi being the Jonsi from Sigur Rós)



More by William Hoffman: interesting takes on sitting, shooting and tanning here.

I think about this world a lot - and I cry

Video :: You are the everything by REM for MoveOn (We Can’t Afford to Wait)


Why is this simply not a no brainer to all sane Americans who are not associated with any pharmaceutical or health insurance company?

Me Canadian. je ne comprends pas.

Do you know how much we love our universal public health care in this country? In 2004, we voted Tommy Douglas, the father of medicare, as the greatest Canadian ever. Gretzky came a lowly 10th!

Also, today when I noticed a headline that the Obama “you lie” heckler has raised over $200,000 I thought ,“what a splendid gesture, transforming your buffoon-based infamy into charitable donations... lovely”. Turns out, however, that the money raised is for himself. The dude aims to translate his new found glory status into cold, hard campaign financing. What, me apologize?

I told you I would stay

The best of the new music...

One of the songs of the year, Grizzly Bear's Two Weeks, gets a video reworking courtesy one Gabe Askew. This "fan video" is absolutely incredible and blows the official, unwatchable head popping video out of the water ::

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

Six months of shuffling legos has resulted in this piece of art - 8 Bit Trip by Rymdreglage ::


Air are back with a wonderful return to form in Sing, Sang, Sung...

Sing Sang Sung from Colour Me In on Vimeo.

"we talk about dishwasher tablets"...

The usual creeposity from Fever Ray - the video for the excellent "Seven" ::
Via Pitchfork

The best damn tune TMBG have put out in a goodly long time. Perhaps its the female vocals (supplied by the wife of one of the Giants, Robin Goldwasser of "In the middle, In the middle, In the middle" fame)?

Two (cool) videos

Flight Of The Conchords with a song about Brabaria (or was it Barbara?) and her lazy eye...


Buster Keaton comes to life (Wow - this guy was massive!) through the music of Radiohead...

Absence makes the heart lose weight, yeah

Paddy “Tevye” McAloon :: outstanding in his field

As a huge fan of ZZ Top Prefab Sprout and someone who likes to think they’ve got their pinky planted firmly on the pulse of today’s pop music, I was both ecstatic to learn that a new album is due out very shortly and annoyed that, according to prefabsprout.net, I have “been living under a rock all year” since I’m only hearing about it now. In my defense, no one really talks about Prefab Sprout anymore. Of course, there was a time when they ruled, or at least visited, the indie airwaves (a little known pop trivia fact: in 1993, I named my outdoor volleyball team the Prefab Sprouts. Opponents thought we were a bunch of new-age granolas. No one else cared.).

2001 was the last time PS put out a new collection of songs. Paddy did offer up a solo, largely instrumental “I Trawl The Megahertz” in 2003 (at the height of his vision troubles... and prior to his ear troubles) but this is largely unlistenable and bears little relation to the output of Prefab Sprout. This time around, the band once again comprises Paddy and brother Martin - two fourths of the original, hit-making lineup. Sadly, the harmonizing Wendy Smith appears to be shut out yet again.

“Let's Change the World With Music” is due for release on the 7th September 2009. Lead single can be heard, via youtube, here:
Listen :: Let there be music by Prefab Sprout

Sounds pretty decent!!! But when will musicians realize that it isn't 1984 anymore and that a "music video" does not need be a huge monetary investment. Sit in front of a camera and film yourself mouthing the words if need be, but give us something (and help yourself out at the same time)!

Here’s Prefab Sprout in their heyday, back when Paddy’s whiskers were in their controlled infancy and you could see his ears...

Video :: When love breaks down by Prefab Sprout

The death of a disco dancer

The new music...

This acoustic version of Anna Ternheim's "What have I done" is, I believe, far superior to the album version. Bjorn (Anna's producer/ the "Bjorn" in Peter, Bjorn and John) and his lovely peeano skills are to thank for this. The album version has violins, yes... but check this bit of awesomeness out (if only one could still find the MP3 ANYWHERE!):


Really into Swedish trio Miike Snow lately. Here's the not-too-shabby-at-all vid for "Animal":


Here's some more disco-infused pop wonder from the ever timeless Music Go Music...

Music Go Music - Live on Face Time - Just Me from music go music on Vimeo.

The video for Strictly Game by Harlem Shakes is pretty clever - upon close inspection it's a play on all those unofficial youtube vids where someone merely uploads the tune and mixes together a slide show:


Finally...
Video :: Born on a day the sun didn't rise by Black Moth Super Rainbow


Song :: What have I done by Anna Ternheim
Song :: Animal by Miike Snow
Song :: Strictly Game by Harlem Shakes
Song :: Born on a day the sun didn't rise by Black Moth Super Rainbow

The smell of today

Two must-have albums are set for official release next week ::

Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know by múm
Aim and Ignite by fun.

múm‘s Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know is a nice sideways departure for the long running Icelandic band. Still with their dancing bleeps and interesting instrumentation, múm now, apparently, has something to sing about. Fun, joyous, upbeat (and often silly) stuff... this is what happens when all the strange instruments in the world get together and party. It turns out we will not see "Sing along..." released this side of the pond next week. We get to wait until September... or buy it from here (gogoyoko - a fair trade music site).

I only first heard of The Format a year after their final album was released when they gave it away online for free. I find them decent enough - good tunes when you’re feeling like something a little more straight and narrow. They appear to have a huge following. People wept at their demise. However, this was the best thing that could have happened because co-Format leader Nate Reuss has gone on to form fun.... and they’re a blast. They have been working on this project for a while and it shows. Each fun. song must take forever to write since there is so much going on. Like Queen for the indie set. Soon to take the world by storm... fun.!

Song :: The smell of today is sweet like breast milk in the wind by múm

Song :: All the pretty girls by fun.

Neither band has been all that diligent about posting videos, other than live shows (fun.) and life on the road (múm). So here's a video for one of my favorite songs of the summer ::



Yes it's a commercial. She should really get some spandex for that bicycle.

Song :: Fabric of my life (full song version) by Zooey Deschanel

You had a new dream, it was more like a nightmare

It took me a while to get into The Antlers... their album "Hospice" came out in March and has received nothing but high praise. Well deserved high praise. They are now re-issuing the album and have a cool video for "two" now out...

Video Premiere: The Antlers: "Two"

Shared via AddThis

Song :: Two by The Antlers

"Hospice" is not just a fancy, trendy title. The album is a concept one in theme - detailing one's stay in a hospice as a loved on dies. Uplifting? Perhaps not. Powerful? Yup.

You had a new dream, it was more like a nightmare.
You were just a little kid, and they cut your hair,
then they stuck you in machines, you came so close to dying.
They should have listened, they thought that you were lying.
Daddy was an asshole, he fucked you up,
built the gears in your head, now he greases them up.
And no one paid attention when you just stopped eating.
"Eighty-seven pounds!" and this all bears repeating.

You saved my life

...ooh, that was a nice sleep... The New Music ::

Burial by Miike Snow
A band from Sweden currently burning up the blogosphere. Did they really take a film crew and their jackalope to India to shoot this? A great video:



You saved my life by Cass McCombs
The dyi clip matches the pace of the tune as a slowed down McCombs passes many beer-pitcher swilling 20-somethings (including, I couldn't help but notice, mothers and mothers-to-be) in a Chi-town square.



Pon de floor by Major Lazer
An energetic dance floor number recorded in Jamaica and featuring the creative, explosive sounds of, yes, marching-band drummers. The video is a bit off-putting and Not-Suitable-For-Anything really. It contains repeated displays of a bizarre new-fangled Jamaican dance style known as “daggering” which, unfortunately, has to be seen to be believed. The fact it takes place in the Blues Clues house does little to make it a comfortable viewing.

Major Lazer "Pon De Floor" from Eric Wareheim on Vimeo.

In the NA by The Hidden Cameras
Their song titles may not be as convoluted and strange as Of Montreal but.... what the hell is a NA? New album "Origin:Orphan" to be released September 22, 2009.



Warm in the shadows by Music Go Music
There is a reason why pop songs average 3 and a half minutes in length - short attention spans of listeners. “Warm in the shadows”, by 70’s revivalists Music Go Music, pretty much defies this logic at nine plus minutes of goodness.



Song (link) :: Burial by Miike Snow
Song :: You saved my life by Cass McCombs
Song (link) :: Pon de floor by Major Lazer
Song :: Walk on by The Hidden Cameras
Song :: Warm in the shadows by Music Go Music

My concerns have been confirmed

Jason Lytle’s debut solo album, Yours Truly, The Commuter, was described in one article as music that “simply crawls by in a maddeningly static mid-tempo blur, going about its melancholy business on the way to nowhere”. Less than favorable then. In fact, Yours Truly, The Commuter has, to date, an aggregate total of only 65% on Metacritic. I suppose if I was a slovenly, cheetos crunching critic who listened to it once and jotted down such “sounds like a continuation of Grandaddy” drivel, I might be inclined to simply dismiss it as well. But the truth is that the last two Grandaddy albums were mere continuations of Grandaddy and Commuter goes well beyond this. It is understated, sure, as realized through its minimal lyrics, but the album’s beauty lies in its subtlety. And subtle is the best vehicle for Lytle’s often hushed, whisper like vocals. At the same time, there is an awful lot going on here when you actually LISTEN. This is music to crawl into, to lay down and fall asleep to, to get up and jump around to, and yes, to commute to. This is an album that makes you ache for its follow-up. This is the best darn album released by anyone in a goodly long time! Not that I suppose anyone cares.

See Jason’s mastery of his instruments below!?!

Video :: It's The Weekend by Jason Lytle

Pure Pop Perfection

New ones from Jason Lytle and God Help The Girl (fake movie soundtrack/ side project by Belle and Sebastian)

Video :: I am lost (and the moment cannot last) by Jason Lytle
I Am Lost (And the Moment Cannot Last)


Video :: Come Monday Night by God Help The Girl

Robyn gets her robot on

Video :: The Girl and The Robot by Röyksopp (featuring Robyn/ live)...

Birds encouraged him

I've been waiting a long time for this... new music from Jason Lytle, ex of Grandaddy. Since dissolving the best beardo band ever, Lytle has fled native California for nowheresville Montana, talent up the ying yang (and drummer) in tow.

Jason Lytle's first solo effort is out in three weeks (apparently).Lead off (and title) track, "Yours Truly, The Commuter" is a song about "getting out into the great and gnarly unknown, getting up to who knows what kind of trouble and eventually, gratefully, limping back home".

Song :: Yours Truly, The Commuter by Jason Lytle

New Video/ Old Song :: Campershell Dreams by Grandaddy

campershell dreams.......... (lost but not forgotten) from jason lytle on Vimeo.

Video :: Birds Encouraged Him (live in studio) by Jason Lytle

Matt + Kim

Okay, I admit that this video actually made me gasp out loud (*gasp*). I won't mention where though for fear of giving too much away...

Lessons Learned by Matt & Kim
Lessons Learned

Hey... STFUB

Video :: Lay it down by Peter Bjorn and John


Song :: Lay it down by Peter, Bjorn and John

Through the hypnotic psychedelia, Daedelus plays some sort of lit up scrabble board...
Video :: LA Nocturn by Daedelus


New, mesmerizing alternate version of Animal Collective's My Girls...

Animal Collective - My Girls from Rob Chesnutt on Vimeo.

The obstacles we build for ourselves

Lately I have been stuck in the upper BPM levels of electro-dance music through recently released and highly satisfying albums from both Pet Shop Boys and Röyksopp. I have come up for air occasionally via 60’s and 70’s AM radio classics (as part of my “research” for a future Top 25 Albums That Changed My Life post) but otherwise it has been a non-stop dance party around here. Thankfully, I found Hello Saferide and have been afforded a rest.

Swedish band Hello Saferide released their second album, “More Modern Stories From Hello Saferide”, this past September. Led by the heartfelt and just-quivering-enough-to-be-described-as-mildly-unique vocals of Annika Norlin, Hello Saferide is now, slowly perhaps, starting to gain some much deserved momentum outside of Scandinavia. Or maybe they’re already huge and I’ve just been oblivious. Out a week ago, Arjeplog is the new single off of “More Modern Stories…” and is a song about country vs. city, love, and spooning without one arm getting numb (so says Annika). The video was filmed at Vittjåkk for $0 and took five minutes (Vittjåkk would appear to be a rather wonderful looking - on a sunny day at least - ski resort). Never mind the DIY aspects and the shaky camera, sometimes simple is the most beautiful…

Video :: Arjeplog by Hello Saferide


Also check out Hello Saferide’s fantastic Detektivbyrån-backed performance of “Anna” at Sweden’s 2009 P3 Guld Awards show. Annika Norlin’s performance, through her sincere vulnerability and tenderness, yields an awkwardly effective stage persona. Meanwhile, a theremin is employed and Jon Nils of Detektivbyrån (now ex of Detektivbyrån - yikes!) plays the scissors!

Video :: Anna (live) by Hello Saferide w/ Detektivbyrån


The heartbreaking music video for Anna here.