A Little Taste

Since I've been spending the last week or so salvagin what's left of my music collection (the process is akin to an acid bath with front row seats to a never-ending Justin Bieber concert), I don't have any album critiques to bestow. What I DO have are some song suggestions to tide you over until I'm back in top form. Enjoy:

Felix da Housecat "Ready 2 Wear"- Great arrangement and sound, a chill 80's-esque electronica piece. It's barely danceable, though, because of it's tempo, which will limit the appeal of the song, in my opinion.

Delta Mirror "He was Worse than the Needle He Gave You"- This is a pretty song, but it's also a real downer because of how relatable it is. I mean, haven't we all cried out for help at some point, under the pretense of being fine? At the start, the cutting drone of his voice is nicely offset by minimal piano and drums, which helps to soften the blow that your life is really meaningless. It picks up midway with additional synth beats, but you're already depressed so it doesn't matter. (did I mention to not take anything I say seriously? :P)

Caribou "Odessa"- This song is creepy, in a good way (if such a thing can be). It's well-crafted, what with all the elements that went into the musical arrangement, and what do you know, another creepy voice. The video is equally as disturbing.

Expect livelier, more Erin-esque posts after I get back from SXSW. God knows I need the vacation.

...And So it Goes

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

My stupid laptop crashed AGAIN, and once more I hadn't backed up my massive music collection in quite some time. Cue the conjoined sadness emoticons )::( And while I was able to find some software that will pull music from my iPhone into my music files, there's still a crapton of music that I hadn't synced with my iPhone yet!!!!! The scavenger hunt begins...NOW.

Download My Heart and Say Our Love Will Never Die...

*Dislcaimer: If you know what song this post's title is referring to, you are a total loser. And I love you*


Sooooooo, after the release of the amazingly orgasmic Coach- oh dammit, not again! Be right back...

So, where was I? Oh yeah, after seeing the phantasmagoria of awesomeness that I'll be exposed to at Coachella this year, I decided that I had downloaded entirely too little new music so far this year. I mean, we're almost a month in, so I should have, what, like 100 albums added to my collection by now??? Okay so I may not be THAT prolific in my musical tastes, but give me a break. I have one of those things called a career, and it tends to get in the way of things I enjoy.

Once I realized the error of my ways I sought to find a remedy-scrapetorrent.....*shiver*. So far I've scrounged up some new Yeasayer, Massive Attack, Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Midlake, and the XX, with much more to come as I've made quite the "I'm driving whilst hearing this song so I'll put it in a note in my iPhone" list, which is currently listed as the second-longest iPhone note in the Guinness Book of Records.

But back to Coachella. After briefly scanning the list and getting the hyperventilating "OMGs" out of my system (all while at work, mind you. classy.), I sat down to figure out who I was most excited about. Annnnnddd since I really can't narrow it down AT ALL, here's everyone I'm excited about!:

Deer Tick (again!)
Fever Ray
Jay-Z? (don't judge me!)
LCD Soundsystem
Proxy
She and Him
Sleigh Bells
The Avett Bros (again!)
The Cribs
The Whitest Boy Alive
Them Crooked Vultures
Yeasayer
Vampire Weekend (winner of Friday's Baller Award. Congrats VP, I will do anything to make your show, anyyythiiiiing ;-} )

Beach House
Camera Obscura
DEVO (taken out of homeostasis just for me!!!)
Dirty Projectors
Edward Sharpe
Faith No More (90s kids represent!)
Girls (Again! Well, after I go see the show this Friday with Chuy)
Gossip
Hot Chip (Baller 1)
MGMT (Baller 2)
Muse (semi-Baller)
The Alimghty Defenders
The Raveonettes (who doesn't enjoy a good rendition of "Boys Who Rape (Should all be Destroyed)"?)
The Temper Trap
The XX (Baller 3)
Tiesto (French Baller)
White Rabbits

Deer Hunter
Florence and the Machine (perhaps a "You Got the Love" mashup with the XX is in store?)
NOT Gorillaz (geez, they're not even real!)
Jonsi (Baller 1)
Julian Casablancas (Baller 2)
Local Natives (Ballers in training)
Miike Snow
Owen Pallett (eccentric Baller)
Phoenix (again! the UBER-Baller!)
Pavement
Spoon
Sunny Day Real Estate
The Big Pink
The Middle East
Thom Yorke (baaaaaaaalllllllllllllleeeeeeeerrrrr, in homage to his characteristic mumble/wail)


So I may have been a little generous in the Baller Awards, but hey, only few magical things get to be called phantasmagorias in my book. That is all.
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Maybe not. Hmmmm, I see more and more new artists coming out with a sounds reminiscent of contemplative 60s music, like a darker Fleet Foxes, and something that should be in the 1968 version of 'Romeo and Juliet' (not sure where I got THAT from). Here are two examples: Chief's "Mighty Proud" and Midlake's "Acts of Man." I shall have to download them to see if they are worthy of violating my earspace.

A Present For You...

It's Christmas time kiddos, and I'm feeling jolly. Here's a ditty by Sleigh Bells (never heard of them? neither has 98.7% of the American populous), entitled "Crown on the Ground." They haven't yet released an EP proper, only a few songs, and this was the one that initially drew me to look more into them (i.e. frantically search for free downloads). It's an audible paradox, as the singers daintily high-pitched vocals battle it out with thrashy instrumentals for your ears' attention. Enjoy!

Sleigh Bells-'Crown on the Ground'

Merry ChristmaHannuKwanzaaka! And to all you atheists, fuck off. There is a reason we started celebrating the holidays, let's not lose sight of that in all the "Black Friday-give me more presents-oh there's an angel on the tree and I'm so offended because I'm a little bitch and it's all about my needs and feelings" nonsense.

Suck it, 2009! Bring on the 10's!

Julian Casablancas: Lern 2 Spel

It's been a while, dear readers, so sorry for my prolonged absence. I had the perfect review of Phrazes for the Young about a month ago...now all I've got is the abridged version. All in all, it's a good album, though too short for my tastes (but if you buy it on iTunes, you get 3 additional bonus tracks). I can't help but feeling that Julian poured all of his creativity and effort into "11th Dimension," and when that was done, he just dumped out the other eight songs. No euphemisms here, I literally mean dumped, as in, on the toilet. "Glass" is commendable, and "Left and Right in the Dark" has the uber-cool and increasingly-used tactic of fading out to fool you before ripping a loud chord right at the end. It's nice, it fits, whatever. I wasn't blown away, but I will definitely listen for more Julian and/or Strokes in the future.

Onward, ho! In no particular order, here's some of the best music I've heard in 2009:

Hospice, The Antlers (Easily the most beautiful and heartbreaking album of the year :*-|)

March of the Zapotec/Holland EP, by Beirut/RealPeople (Zach Condon's electronic side-project, much loved by yours truly)

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, by Phoenix (Such a fun album, and hellagood live. Oh geez, did I just say 'hellagood'? I need some indie detox, STAT)

Veckatimest, by Grizzly Bear (Very chill and quirky)

I And Love And You, by The Avett Brothers (I also happen to be a sucker for good folk-rock, and this is excellent folk-rock. Check out "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promises")

Up From Below, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (Hippie music at its finest...)

Life on Earth, by Tiny Vipers (I believe that good lyrical quality makes an album memorable, which is the case here.)



Again, in no particular order, here are artists that I expect great things from in 2010:

Beach House
Vampire Weekend
Local Natives
Girls
Yeasayer
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more to come surely!


Going back to Yeasayer, can I just say that I'm "crazy-screaming-throw-my-panties-on-the-stage" excited about their new sound?!? Their last effort was okay, but I felt it was music you listened to fall asleep. "Ambling Alp" has me pumped! I hope Odd Blood has this type of enthusiasm all around. And props to them on the song's surreal and super weird music video. If ever you don't want MTV exploiting your art to the mindless masses, be sure to include a group of naked men and women running around the mountainous desert. 60% of the time, it works all the time, yes? Success!

It Sucks, Sucks So Good.

Greetings and salutations from rainy, miserable Houston! I'm fresh off a trip to New York City, which happened to coincide with the ever-so-indie CMJ Music Festival. NO, I did not get to see any shows (and I RSVP'ed to about 50, including a party with Almighty Defenders and Neon Indian :-\ ), and YES, I was tempted to wander the subways alone when my friends were 'too tired.' Geesh I'm not asking for sex here people! Anyways, moving on...

A while back I downloaded the first single off of Vampire Weekend's upcoming album Contra (due out next January, by the way) entitled "Horchata." I like it! It's very characteristic of the band, with a happy-go-lucky vibe that lends itself well to the xylophones and other crazy instruments used in the track. Speaking of crazy things, I had to look up what a balaclava was, because I was having these images of tasty mediterrranean pastries popping into my head. Not a bad thing, but I digress. So I looked it up, and Ezra Koenig is correct. It's absolutely psychotic that one article of clothing can be worn in so many ways! I must have one! So versatile!

So after listening to the song a bazillion times, I wandered to myself- "Don't I have Vampire Weekend's first album too?!" And I did, and I listened, and we all lived happily ever.




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Check out "Aluminum Baseball Bat" by Howlies. It's a throwback to old speak-song doowop, while keeping other elements more up-to-date. This band chooses lyrics like "...cocaine hits..." to harmonize. On top of that, the entire song is basically a threat ("whoa oooh oooh ohhhhh I've got an aluminum, baseball baaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAt!"). The whole concept is a clash of style and content, which amuses and entertains me. And isn't that what music is supposed to do? I think I'll listen to it again and think about my ex, mwahaha. I'm just kidding! (or am I?)



Next blog will be about Julian Casablancas' album Phrazes for the Young, which FINALLY leaked!

These Arms of Mine Don't Mind Who They Hold, or How I Spent My ACL

This post is doing double duty today, kiddos, because I've had LAZY fingers lately. My ears though, continue to be hard at work, but first things first. ACL...I've decided to break it down by each show that I saw, forgive me if the entires seem short, but I am still nursing a cold from that blessed festival.

Friday

Blitzentrapper: They were good, sounded just like their album though.

The Knux: The first of many dance parties, these guys were alright. It might have helped if I knew some of their music, but anyone that busts out House of Pain's "Jump" must be pretty cool.

The Avett Brothers: I just want to throw it out there that one of them looks like Sam from True Blood, which means they already got a gold star before I even walked up tot he stage. But these guys are really great! They play mainly bluegrass-folky stuff, but it works, especially with clever and thought out lyrics, always a plus.

The Walkmen: What I heard was really good, just not that exciting. Then again I only stayed for 3 songs, the most exciting of which involved a makeshift mariachi band. Believe me, I had an awesome reason for ducking out early, which was...

Phoenix: Oh. my. god. Such a great show! Coming into this, you think that it won't be that exciting, because there's not much they can do with their music. Not much, except ROCK THE HOUSE! I was bouncing on my feet, singing along the entire time, AND I was a part of the largest crowd Phoenix has ever played for, and that apparently means something :) I also really liked the humility of these guys...they enjoyed playing for us and were extremely grateful that we were there to listen. I loooooove bands that are in it for the pure enjoyment!

The Crooked Vultures: I freaking saw John Paul Jones. John Paul Jones! Now I don't have t imagine him playing guitar while watching the many Zeppelin cover bands that come into town. I actually saw it! They rocked though, seriously.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Screw your Kings of Leon. I saw them as Jazzfest, and they were only ehhhh. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on a way more interesting show. A slight disclaimer, Karen O is fucking crazy. And possibly the coolest chick ever, which is why she's my Halloween costume. She was a little screechy at times, but she came through vocally where it mattered most, and even deep-throated the microphone. Classy.

Saturday

Deer Tick: I love this band. I have loved this band for a long time, and feel that I will always love this band. I like War Elephant way better than Born on Flag Day, but what the hell, they're both good. I got a shout out to my semi-native HTX, and they closed out with La Bamba, well worth standing out in the rain for.

Neon Indian: Love their music on the radio, but they were having major sound issues. It could be because they were a very late stand-in for the Raveonettes, but you could barely hear Neon Indian over the blaring feedback. What a disappointment, I was really wanting to see this band, and was accidentally let down.

!!!: Neon who? These guys came out and rocked, and I got a few new sweet dance moves in the process. I had a good time, goddammit! You would have too, if you had been there, goddammit. You had to be there to understand the profanity, but I don't feel like explaining so I guess you never will :P

Grizzly Bear: Biggest disappointment of the entire festival. I was so looking forward to this show, and they sounded alright, they were just so BORING. Coming off of !!!, they seemed super-duper-pull-my-hair-out boring. Which is too bad because I heard they put on a kickin' aftershow at Emo's. Oh well, I was occupied with much better things ;-)

Flogging Molly: Woohoo, let's riverdance! But in a rockabilly kind of way! I enjoyed this show, and the Celtic/Mosh fusion dancing that resulted.

Bon Iver: The weather, pouring rain and freezing, set the tone for the music, also very depressing. However, I love Bon Iver so I enjoyed it. I woul dhave enjoyed it more if my face wasn't being violated by every umbrella within a 20 foot radius.

Mos Def: Well, I wasn't really watching this, per se. In the process of trying to find some people I knew, I ended up here. The dude came on 20 minutes late, and I didn't listen, c'est la vie.

Devotchka: Almost got to see these guys, I wanted to so bad! Sadly, standing in the rain and mid-calf deep mud, I decided to head on over to...

Ghostland Observatory: Laser lights, UT marching band, electro-jazz/funk, good gyrations, and glow stick gangs. Damn, what a fun time.

Sunday


White Lies: This band's music may put some of you off. I mean, most of it's really emo and about death and all that crap, but the dude's voice sounds like something straight out of an 80s song, so that makes it okay! They put on a good show, and again were very humble, always an admirable trait.

Arctic Monkeys: Booooooring. I could have put on a better Arctic Monkeys show than the freaking Arctic Monkeys. And they need haircuts, and to pass on grass.

Passion Pit: Second biggest disappointment. I hope it was just sound problems plaguing the Cambridge group, but Mikey's vocals sounded very hush hush throughout. What should have been a beat-boppin' good time (like their Houston show was back in June), was instead of game of "guess the lyric." *Tear*

Born Again Brass Band: A great time, and the start of the Sunday dance party! This group belongs at Jazzfest.

Girl Talk: omgomgomgomgomgomg it's Girl Talk! Didn't he, like, steal music and mash it up to, like, make his own? It's called Fair Use people, look it up! I think this show was in my top three, if not the best. We were dancing nonstop for an hour to some amazing mixes, all the while watching the jumbotron to see what crazy things would show up next (seriously, the moon became a basketball, then a tube of lipstick, then a cheesburger).

Pearl Jam: They were good, rocked out a little. Not as much as I'd like to have seen, but they're old guys now, so that's to be expected. All in all a great closeout to ACL, very chill.

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:->Your new happy time song is "No Dice" by Beirut. Just press play and the smile happens almost instantly. Beats Prozac any day!<-:

The Big Pink. I wish this band was a little more "in your face." There are two standouts on A Brief History of Love, the catchy "Dominos" and the amazing "Velvet." There's even a noble attempt of the Cure's "Lovesong" (not available on the album, but I sometimes have my sources), but it sadly falls short. The rest of the album sounds the same to me, maybe I should listen to it again.

Finally, I leave you with "Feel it all Around" by Washed Out. This is a love-making song if I ever did hear one, and if I had a sex life, I'd probably be popping in this tune rather than blogging. But I don't, so I'm not, and your life is better because of it. :)

Nighty night!