June 29, 2009
In February, before Nathan Williams' drug-fueled onstage breakdown, apology and canceled European tour, Pete Ohs shot this video of Wavves trekking around Europe, smoking pot (+ regular cigarettes), chugging vodka, rocking out next to some kid in a Velvet Underground shirt, eating tasty breakfast foods, and generally having a good time. Let it be a lesson to those of you who want to avoid drug-fueled onstage breakdowns. Just kidding, we all know that was overhyped/blown out of proportion. Right, Psychedelic Horsehit?
Continue reading New Wavves Video - "No Hope Kids"...
Posted at 2:56 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: Wavves
latest by stevie
After taking Brooklyn and Manhattan, Phoenix took off to the West coast to do Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix standard "Lisztomania" on Jimmy Kimmel. It's a mostly spirited performance, Thomas Hedlund hitting the drums much harder than he needs to, to great effect. As the above thumb might suggest, though, Thomas Mars looks a tad more out of it than usual. He had an excuse: The guy's sick. In fact, the Frenchmen had to cancel this Saturday's performance at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco because of it. Watch the show, then read Phoenix's sick note.
Continue reading Phoenix Play "Lisztomania" On Kimmel, Thomas Gets Sick...
Posted at 1:19 PM by brandon in
Tags: Phoenix
latest by mark.
No doubt "Bruises" is the song that made Brooklyn-via-Boulder trio Chairlift famous, but when they recently released a non-nano video for it -- Caroline Polachek watching, painting and rolling around in front of various blue-hued monitors -- it's like they reclaimed the Does You Inspire You track as more than a jingle. Same goes for their performance of it on Craig Ferguson last night. It was their U.S. television debut, if you don't count the commercial. Ferguson can't help but wink-wink when saying "Brooklyn synth-pop trio" because he's more into Los Angeles noise-pop duos.
Continue reading Chairlift Bring "Bruises" To Ferguson...
Posted at 12:16 PM by brandon in
Tags: Chairlift | Craig Ferguson
latest by Doug
New Liz Phair - "Faith & Tenderness" • Own Liz Phair's Banana Republic Exclusive without having to purchase bland clothing: It's at Music Is The Heart For Our Soul. The track will reportedly appear on her upcoming studio album (which should go well with the clothing).
Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche lives in Brooklyn these days, but the 26-year old's still writing ambitious, orchestral pop that proves difficult to pin down geographically. Heartbeat Radio, the 12-song followup to the Dan in Real Life soundtrack, comes with string and horn arrangements via High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan, which add to the dramatic feel: The meta title track recalls an imagined Rufus Wainwright musical. There's an oldster throwback quality to it -- Lerche's questioning FM radio, whether or not it's become automatic, if the DJs have drowned in "a sea of reverb," what comes after heavy rotation, and whether or not this particular song's too long to make it onto the airwaves. It makes him nauseous, but because he's a trooper, he wants it to know that his heart still beats for it. He's a better person than I am.
Continue reading New Sondre Lerche - "Heartbeat Radio" (Stereogum Premiere)...
Posted at 10:00 AM by brandon
Tags: Sondre Lerche
latest by Keith
Ahem. From Trent Reznor to Billboard to Bonnaroo to Letterman (almost!) to Toronto, Grizzly Bear are just about everywhere these days. Until Friday, they'd never been to Jimmy Fallon. For their debut they conjured up a beautiful take on Veckatimest standout "Cheerleader." You might've caught the song live on Spinner, but there was something more urgent and soulful about this Late Night take, the nostalgic melodies eerier now that Spector's locked up. (Note: The clip also features Cameron Diaz in bunny ears.)
Continue reading Grizzly Bear Do "Cheerleader" For Fallon...
Posted at 9:54 AM by brandon in
Tags: Grizzly Bear | Jimmy Fallon
latest by Paul
June 26, 2009
It wouldn't be all that risky to say everyone of a certain age has a Michael Jackson moment. He was a cultural phenomenon on a much larger scale than almost anyone else making music today (in some circles he'd get a little competition from sometime singing mate Paul McCartney, but not really). Most impressive, though, is how many years the phrase "a certain age" could potentially encompass: His reign was ultimately tragic, but it was also epic. There are the folks who grew up with the Jackson 5, those who came of age with Michael's first post-Jackson 5/Jackson recordings to his more adult solo efforts (especially Off The Wall in 1979) and then that entire age of kids and adults who encountered his biggest moment, Thriller. Of course, there was more to come after that -- Bad in 1987, Dangerous in 1991, etc. -- but especially as grunge hit, he never again reached the perfection or pop culture importance of the early/mid '80s Thriller era. He continued to be relevant as an oddity, sadly, but it was much different being a kid in grade school and encountering the "Thriller" video, "We Are The World," etc., and finding relevance in his music, not simply in who he became. Kids who idolized him bought red zipper jackets, parachute pants, and copped his moves. The man invented words and worlds. Broke down walls. Watch how folks gasped and lost it when he did the Moonwalk during his performance of "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25th Anniversary Special. (It's fitting he appeared up there alone.) He was 24 at the time, which is one of the reasons it seems important to discuss Jackson in terms of age and agelessness. From when he was a kid to his death yesterday at 50, he never seemed his actual age. We all know the Peter Pan comparisons, the way things allegedly took a wrong turn. Less salaciously, a friend pointed out the look of calm and joy in his eyes when he climbs a tree during Living With Michael Jackson. As he put it, "This is how I like to remember Michael. The man-child who finally gets to be 5 years old. When I first saw this a few years back it was clear that this is the real Michael (or at least who he strives to be)." Anyhow, maybe none of us knows (or will know) the "real" Michael, but we all have a Michael that we thought we knew and that meant something to us. We also know every news outlet is doing constant MJ coverage, and we don't want to add to the noise, but we thought it was appropriate to touch on how the King Of Pop touched the musicians we cover everyday. Here are their thoughts on Jackson, along with a chronological photographic timeline of his many faces. We hit folks up on short notice, so expect more to be added over the weekend.
Continue reading Indie Rockers Eulogize The King Of Pop...
Posted at 7:59 PM by brandon in
Tags: Cold Cave | Crocodiles | Dave Sitek | Death Cab For Cutie | Frog Eyes | High Places | John Vanderslice | Michael Jackson | No Age | Sara Quin | Swan Lake | The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart | TV On The Radio
latest by Al
First Feist joined Grizzly Bear and her old Broken Social Scene pals in Toronto. Now, continuing her goodwill mission, she's ventured all the way to Los Angeles to reprise her Wilco (The Album) contribution "You & I." (Thanks for the tip, Ed.) The performance took place last night (6/25) during the final slot of Wilco's sold-out Wiltern Theatre stand. As Tweedy notes, it's the first time they've performed the song outside the studio with all its "computers and stuff." The crowd is very stoked about this fact, as well as the duet that follows.
Continue reading Wilco & Feist Do "You & I" Live In L.A....
Posted at 5:49 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: Feist | Wilco
latest by gabe
