Last time I saw of Montreal was in Austin TX (it was awesome btw) and I cannot begin to say how much I love the new 'acoustic' version of their song Beware Our Nubile Miscreants from last year's Skeletal Lamping EP.
I absolutely love it. Even better than the original.
You can check out even more from this set at Spinner.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm a huge fan of Daft Punk's last tour Alive. In this 'Aerodynamic' remix, Adam Freeland has created a mixed-media stop motion music video and celebration commemorating the election and inauguration of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of these United States.
I love the Swedish indie singer Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson, better known by her stage name Lykke Li.
She released her first album, Youth Novels, last year with Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John producing. She just released a new video for the single 'Tonight', but you can also find an abundance of other online clips where she performs different versions of her songs as well as covers.
Tonight
Little Bit LIVE Närkesgatan, Södermalm i Stockholm
No. This is not an early Siegfried and Roy project.
It's the Australian duo Empire Of The Sun. It's comprised of Sleepy Jackson's Luke Steele and PNAU's Nick Littlemore. They've also been picked as a 2009 Breakout Act by the BBC.
On first listen I was reminded of MGMT (which certainly isn't a bad thing) and after a few I was hooked. The videos will, at the least, keep your attention. But be warned, the album art hints at exactly what you're getting yourself into.
Walking On A Dream was shot entirely in Shanghai and We Are The People was shot in Garcia, Xilitla, and the Icamole Desert, Mexico.
We Are The People
Walking On A Dream Download the Sam La More remix from their website.
Groove Armada announced its plans for digital distribution of its upcoming EP, which is being released through a partnership with Bacardi. And it definitely is a new idea. The EP will be sold on regular download stores from March 2, but there is also be a dedicated website, B-LIVE Share, which is up and running now.
You can download the EP’s first track for free, but to get the second one you have to share it with 20 friends, via email or a Facebook widget. To get the third track, you have to reach 200 shares of track one, and to get track four, you need 2,000 shares - although downloads from friends of your friends (and friends of your friends of your friends) count towards your total too.
I'm not going to write anything about this because I want each and every one of you to watch this disgusting mess because at some point, something very special and very hilarious happens.
Wow. Don't fuck with Patti Lupone while she's doing what she does. After some guy wouldn't stop taking pictures of her while she was performing in the Broadway revival of the 1959 musical Gypsy, she stopped the show and ripped into him, kicking him out in the process.
1/25 Update: Of course there is already is a hilarious Freakout Remix
"O...Saya", M.I.A.'s collaboration with composer A.R. Rahman from the Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar along with "Jai Ho", another A.R. Rahman song from Slumdog. The only other entry is Peter Gabriel's ''Down to Earth'' from WALL-E.
Check out O...Saya
It's a fast-paced, suspenseful track that combines electro-distorted guitars, a massive percussion section, traditional-sounding vocals, and M.I.A.'s assertive versifying. - Marc Hogan
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm loving Karin Dreijer Andersson's first solo project, Fever Ray. She's half of Swedish electronic duo 'The Knife'.
Be sure to check out the original video (it's quite awesome), but new Fuck Buttons remix of the first single 'If I Had a Heart' is very cool.
As mentioned in a previous post, Miscrosoft is offering a highly amusing/scary new 'songwriting' software, Songsmith. After checking out some of the results below my worst fears have been confirmed.
Check them out but we warned of the wackness. More here.
All you need to be a pop star is four simple chords.
The Axis of Awesome are, indeed, awesome and demonstrate this point beautifully in 4 Chords. I'm deeply impressed with this as well as little bit angry. It took over a decade (in some cases) to get rid of these songs from my memory and they're all flooding back now. Thanks AoA.
Beirut, aka Zach Condon and friends, have a two-disc EP package coming out in a month. The video is from the 6-track March of the Zapotec EP which was recorded in Oaxaca, Mexico, and features the 19-piece Jimenez Band, with the other EP entitled Holland consists on new synth-based recordings of Condon’s under the name Realpeople.
"Gee," you're thinking. "There are just not enough songs about disgruntled widowers cruelly doing away with their own children available for download on the Internet." But leave it to The Decemberists to make all your weirdo dreams come true. Or at least this one.
"The Rake's Song," the first track from the band's upcoming Hazards of Love LP, can now be got for free over at Decemberists.com
And since we're on the subject of The Decemberist, I'll share what continues to be my favorite song they've ever performed - The Mariners Revenge Song. Seeing them do it live at a show is quite a treat. Yeah cardboard props!
Enjoy this version...
It gives my heart Great joy To see your eyes fill with fear
So lean in close And I will whisper The last words you'll hear...
The Lonely Island (TLI) are Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Sambergand and have most notably written the SNL Digital Shorts "Lazy Sunday", "Dick in a Box", and "Jizz in My Pants".
You can check out their other collaborations here.
N.A.S.A. (aka producers Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon) will be releasing an LP next month called The Spirit Of Apollo. The album will feature a headspinning list of contributors, including Tom Waits, Kanye West, Santogold, Karen O, Nick Zinner, Spank Rock, David Byrne, M.I.A., RZA, Method Man, George Clinton, Chuck D, Lykke Li, and even Ol' Dirty Bastard!
Check out their first video for the song Money featuring David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, and Z-Trip. Money's agit-prop video was directed by Syd Garon & Paul Griswold and features the work of artist Shepard Fairey.
You can also download what's prolly my favorite track so far, Whachadoin (Feat. M.I.A., Santogold, Spank Rock & Nick Zinner), here.
Deceptively pretty, deeply weird, and nearly perfect is how Rolling Stone describes this song from the Portland based Blitzen Trapper. I've heard about the band before but I'll admit to being a late adopter until seeing them placed on so many Top This and That lists of 08.
Being a closet fan of most cheesy reality shows, the Grand High Poobah of them all returns this week: American Idol. I did a little digging and found a great little blog that already has spoilers regarding the top 50. If you’re interested, check it out at mjsbigblog. You can find links to many of the contests' online videos there.
One of them, Adam Lambert, already seems to be generating a little attention with his gender-bending-glam-rock-theatrical videos that can be seen in plenty on YouTube.
Check out his Jake Shears-meets-Frank N. Furtery version of Gnarls Barkley's ‘Crazy’
Or for something a little more subtle – ‘Dust in the Wind’
Wow. Just wow. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around Microsoft's ad for their new 'songwriting' software, Songsmith. The ad says that 'everyone has a song inside,' and after seeing this... I'm convinced that where some people's need to stay!
Well, I guess someone else is a fan of that More Cowbell site I told you about on my other blog, Binge Thinker. Someone has already come up with the 'More Cowbell Edition" of the add! Hilarious.
The world’s favorite Gypsy-Punk band Gogol Bordello always put on an entertaining action-packed, sweat-soaked, hand-clapping good time. This includes this impromptu performance that lead singer, Eugene Hütz, did on the roof of their hotel in Lille, France a few weeks back.
They announced their TARAS BULBA TOUR but have yet to post any dates for 09 on any of their websites. Check back for updates, because you WILL want to see them live.
They’ve played a handful of shows around and on New Years Eve which you can read more about here.
Karin Dreijer Andersson's first solo project, Fever Ray, is looking way promising as her first video from the self titled album is simply gorgeous. Karin is half of Swedish electronic duo 'The Knife'.
Prince has launched a brand new site, LotusFlow3r.com, featuring a handful of new songs; The standout being a cover of "Crimson and Clover." It's really quite spectacular, and hopefully, his website's tag holds true: An entirely new galaxy awaits...
The below are some interesting details Ann Powers of the L.A. Times discovered when she recently spent some time with the Paisley Prince:
Prince will release not one, but three albums in the new year. He's in final negotiations with "a major retailer" to distribute the music in physical form, and a highly interactive website will also provide an opportunity to buy. He's not working with a record label. "The gatekeepers have to change," he said several times throughout the evening.
He's found his way back to the sound of "When Doves Cry." The first disc, tentatively titled "MPLSOUND," is an electro-flavored solo effort recorded at Paisley Park Studios. Prince experimented with Pro Tools and "new ways of recording" on these trippy, experimental pop songs. One features a Q-Tip rap; another calls a "Funky Congregation" to worship and may become a live set piece.
He's ready to revive the Quiet Storm. "We got sick of waiting for Sade to make a new album," he said, introducing Valente's new album, "Elixir." The tracks are chill, with Valente's buttery voice melding with beats by Morris Hayes and Prince's guitar lines. Some are explicitly sexual. "This music is nasty, but it's not dirty," Prince said, explaining how sensual music fits in with his much-discussed faith -- he's a Jehovah's Witness. "There's no profanity. It isn't promoting promiscuity. She's singing about her lover, who could be her partner for life."
A) roll your eyes and go pfffttt? B) desperately search through your CDs for the original? C) Google '8-bit songs' cuz this just simply wasn't enough? D) kinda want to play a NES?
Unfortunately, I’m not as an eloquent writer as I should be when I try to express what listening to MMJ at just the right times is like. I’ve seen them live a few times, but only in festival settings. I want this band in my backyard doing a 3 hour set like they this past year at Bonnaroo or most recently at Madison Square Garden on New Year Eve.
You can download the entire show, all 36 Songs(!), here.
Check out this clip from right after the midnight celebration. Both are Kool and the Gang covers appropriate to the event, but don’t convey their total awesomeness. Buy their CDs!
Setlist 1. Intro music ("What Are You Doing New Years Eve?") 2. "Move On Up" (Curtis Mayfield) 3. "Evil Urges" 4. "Off The Record" 5. "Gideon" 6. "The Way That He Sings" 7. "Thank You Too" 8. "I'm Amazed" 9. "Golden" (w/ Will Johnson) 10. "Librarian" 11. "You're All I Need" (Marvin Gaye) (w/ Nicole Atkins) 12. "Express Yourself" (Charles Wright) 13. "Wonderful Man" 14. "Lay Low" 15. "Phone Went West" 16. "Look At You" 17. "Dondante" 18. "Smoking from Shootin" 19. "Touch Me Part 2" 20. "Run Thru" 21. "The Wanderer" (Dion) 22. "Dancefloors" 23. "Magheeta" [New Year's Countdown] 24. "Celebration" (Kool & The Gang) 25. "Get Down On It" (Kool & The Gang) 26. "Wordless Chorus" 27. "Highly Suspicious" 28. "Cobra" 29. "Islands In The Stream" (Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers) (w/ Nicole Atkins) 30. "Bring It On Home To Me" (Sam Cooke) 31. "Cold Sweat" (James Brown) 32. "Anytime" 33. "One Big Holiday" 34. "Auld Lang Syne" Via - Stereogum
So the last post made me remember how much I freakin’ love Ludo. No, not the lovable furry giant from Labyrinth (Oh snap! I totally made you think about that farting swamp scene, right??). No, Ludo the band. Their newest album, You're Awful, I Love You, is great but I wanted to share this video from their first self-titled album. It’s hilarious.
Until this video, I though I was the only one that had ever suffered from a Goat-faced Oompa Loompa Monkey problem!
SPIN magazine has an awesome Battle of the Bands featuring Plushgun, Ludo, People in Planes, and Innerpartysystem battling it out. But it’s not with their music; it’s with their acting chops as they vie for the band that is best at acting out scenes from their favorite movies: Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Seven, and The Big Lebowski.
DJ Earworm has created a Mashup of the Billboard Top 25 Hits of 2008. Although pop music isn't necessarily my cup off tea, I think he did a pretty awesome job. You can download the track here for free as well as check out his other mashups.
The Guardian newspaper has called this Denten, Texas band “a dreamy concoction of Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and the Yardbirds.” They’ve been a little quite for a while but their last album, The Trials of Van Occupanther, has been getting some serious spins in my CD player lately.
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