November 17, 2009
In early 2009 one-woman DIY BTW tUnE-YaRdS, aka Merrill Garbus, self-released her debut BiRd-BrAiNs. It showed up after that on vinyl via Marriage Records and it's out again today in Deluxe re-issue form via 4AD. It's been remastered at Abbey Road and includes two new tracks, "Want Me To" and "Real Live Flesh." To celebrate all of this activity, the label put out a "Hatari" 7" and the BiRd DrOpPiNgS EP. The vinyl includes "Hatari" plus a remix of the track by Small Is Beautiful (aka J'aime Tambeur from Islands/Unicorns) and a new tUnE-YaRdS tune, "Hap-B." The EP pairs the self-same Small Is Beautiful remix with the three aforementioned new tracks. What you won't find on any of these is this extended, spacious remix of "Hatari" by Drunken Monkey. Start your own solo drum circle. Dance on your caps lock.
Continue reading Drunkenmonkey Remixes tUnE-YaRdS...
Posted at 5:25 PM by brandon in , ,
Tags: Drunkenmonkey | Karn | tUnE-YaRdS
latest by Chillwinston
With "Horchata," Vampire Weekend offered up an even-keeled primer to their forthcoming Contra alongside an expanded instrumental palette that featured marimba, kalimba, and an eBayed Yamaha VSS-30. For fans of Ezra's more frantically paced guitar picking there's the more familial and festive "Cousins": The African instrumentation is left in favor of clanging bells and a more manic BPM, caffeinated rhythm section work and trilling guitars, yelps, more along the lines of
"California English" (which came live from California). You saw it live, now have a listen to the studio iteration.
Continue reading New Vampire Weekend - "Cousins"...
Posted at 11:51 AM by amrit in ,
Tags: Vampire Weekend
latest by JpegMasterJesse
November 9, 2009
The reunited Pixes kicked off their nine city US tour -- the one where they play Doolittle cover to cover -- in Los Angeles earlier this week. The band's celebrating a lot, from the 20th anniversary of that classic LP to the release of the physically massive Minotaur boxed set (not so much a coffee table decoration as a coffee table), in various ways this week. You can download a free live EP culled from the band's show in Paris last month, or you could watch this clip of "Here Comes Your Man" for the Tonight Show audience. Frank Black spoke to Minotaur's size, but you get some real perspective when it still looks tremendous sitting under Conan's ample cranium.
Continue reading Pixies Bring "Here Comes Your Man" To Conan...
Posted at 2:12 PM by amrit in ,
Tags: Conan O'Brien | Pixies
latest by tee
When I wrote up "Swollen And Halo" and talked up Baroness' Blue Record, I told you to keep watch for the Joshua Green-directed video for another standout, "A Horse Called Golgotha." It's here and it's suitably intense considering the Golgotha reference/Calvary pun. The clip features a bald, bloodied, and muscular savior/modern dancer involved in various tasks/tests that make him want to lift his arms in the air and/or scream: The sun rises and eclipses on the back of his head, he vomits black tarry bloody, he's reborn via a trip to a psychedelic interlude, etc.
Continue reading New Baroness Video - "A Horse Called Golgotha"...
Posted at 10:56 AM by brandon in ,
Tags: Baroness
latest by JeremiahtheFrog
November 7, 2009
The Stroke's first solo gigs were in Japan this summer, and Monday's Spaceland show was a last minute surprise, so while last night was JC's 4th ever solo show, it was most stateside fans' first shot to see his synth-pop makeover in person. With elaborate stage backdrops and light-up costumes for their encore, Julian and band played the 8-track Phrazes along with b-sides like "I'll Try Anything Once." (Sadly "Christmas" didn't come early.) Perhaps the real spectacle was Fabrizio Moretti and Albert Hammond, Jr being mobbed by fans upstairs. The pair posed for pics, signed autographs, and -- since they arrived separately -- fans cheered when they hugged. Andrew Youssef delivers these shots, where you'll also see openers Rainbow Arabia and Julian's drummer's oh-so-controversial Mets jacket. Maybe it's his only jacket, you guys! We've also got the tour itinerary after the jump; NYC shows haven't been announced yet, but we're told those'll happen in January.
Continue reading Julian Casablancas @ Downtown Palace Theatre, LA 11/6/09...
Posted at 7:04 AM by Scott in , ,
Tags: Albert Hammond Jr. | Fab Moretti | Julian Casablancas | Rainbow Arabia | The Strokes
latest by JK
November 3, 2009
Vampire Weekend's sold out show at the Art Theater of Long Beach followed a couple of secret-ish L.A. outings -- at the former site of Madame Wong's on Halloween (Ezra was dressed as Jon Gosselin, or a douchebag, or both) and at Hollenbeck Rec Center the following day -- but Koenig called last night the first "official" show of their California itinerary (and first "movie theater" gig). Local buzz band and recent Sub Pop signees Avi Buffalo (grab an MP3 below) were there to open things up, while Ice Cream Man stuck around afterward to make sure people went home with frozen treats. Between those bookmarks, VW dedicated "Horchata" to Lola's, the Mexican restaurant across the street, and stated a number of times that they dig California. Of course, the setlist included "California English," but the song was not performed. (UPDATE: Ezra was apparently too hoarse.) As far as new ones, they also did Contra's "White Sky," "Holiday," "Run," and "Cousins." Along with Andrew Youssef's terrific photos, check out the setlist and newly expanded tour itinerary.
Continue reading Vampire Weekend/Avi Buffalo @ Art Theater, Long Beach 11/2/09...
Posted at 5:27 PM by brandon in , , ,
Tags: Avi Buffalo | Vampire Weekend
latest by Nate
In addition to including Final Fantasy's justifiably hyperbolic promotional blurb when first posting on the excellently kinetic synth-pop of "Which Song," we added this bit from Ben Jacobs aka Max Tundra himself on the process and equipment used to achieve his tones:
The main technology behind this and all of my albums has been the Commodore Amiga 500 - bestselling home computer at the time - running a $1 public domain software tracker program. The sounds don't emerge from the Amiga itself however; the machine is used to control various synths, samplers and the like. I look at colums of numbers all day on the screen of a black and white television; these digits relate to pitches, durations and tones. A lot of the noises on my record are real; the cello, bass guitar, drums, piano, trumpet and others are all rehearsed and played by me, but sometimes I will use realistic fake versions of these noises. Each song is recorded in a different way; drumkits are recorded on mono cassette recorders twice, then stuck together on the left and right of a mix; string arrangements are planned and then layered up; each note of an electric guitar is sampled so that it can be sequenced in ways too complicated for my fat fingers to play at full speed. And then I have a cup of tea and sing my heart out.
It's worth mentioning this because a remix of a Max Tundra song is, by definition, a shattering of the laborious process that yielded a truly great track. That seems sad somehow! Luckily this remix is in good hands with Passion Pit, who know from putting synths to uplifting ends. The Boston boys wrap "Which Song" in syncopation and patches dialed to their "Little Secrets" presets, pitch-shifting their synths like elastic bands, ending with some cowbells and a glimmering fade out. It sounds like it could be a Manners track with less helium vocals and more of Max Tundra's, so -- for fans of Passion Pit and Max Tundra.
Continue reading Passion Pit Remix Max Tundra (Stereogum Premiere)...
Posted at 2:53 PM by amrit in ,
Tags: Max Tundra | Passion Pit
latest by Tigidal
November 2, 2009
You've heard a couple of tracks from Bishop Allen's third album Grr.... Now you can see one. The Brooklyn group's on tour right as we speak -- It'd be great if their live show included as many smiling flappers as they do in this chipper black and white "True Or False" clip. (Or any smiling flappers, really.) It was directed by Randy Bell with choreography by Andrea Delmonico. The song itself is sung by BA's Darbie Nowatka Rice while the guys -- now with more facial hair -- hold it down otherwise.
Continue reading New Bishop Allen Video - "True Or False" (Stereogum Premiere)...
Posted at 4:17 PM by brandon in ,
Tags: Bishop Allen
latest by King of Carrot Flowers
