Gauzy close-ups of Bradford Cox paint the heartbreak of “Helicopter,”‘ a track from the Halcyon Digest LP coming 9/28 via 4AD. Click on Halycon Digest’s Dennis Cooper text to load the film.
The band debuted this song on BBC 6Music a few months back. Here’s that in portable form:
You guys love lists, and we love to start our holiday weekend early, so thanks VH1 for putting together this 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time countdown. (Spoiler Alert: No Wavves…) You should compare it to VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists Of Rock & Roll from 1998 (back when VH1 was VH-1) to see some of the overlaps/differences. For starters: The Top 5 “Rock” vs “Of All Time” is the same group, except for Jimi Hendrix who’s been pushed to No. 6. It’ll also give you an idea of how VH1 defines rock & roll. And how much it sucks to be the Eagles. Trivia: Which artist has drunkenly crashed his car the most times? Highest ranked artist to be pelted with plastic bottles? Did Biggie beat Tupac? Which version of Journey made it? But it’s not all about long-suffering has-beens: I, for one, am happy for Def Leppard. It’s worth noting the top 5 are in alphabetical order (reverse alphabetical order for our purposes); you’ll have to tune in next week for the full reveal. The rest are ranked.
Pavement are no strangers to cool contests, but this latest one definitely beats roaming around IKEA with Bob Nastanovich (no offense Bob/Sweden). Pavement will perform on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 9/23 and one lucky fan will be joining the band on guitar. To enter, upload a video of yourself covering one of the songs listed below by Wednesday 9/8 at 4:35 AM ET. You also have to live in the continental United States, since the winner will be flown out to NY for the occasion. A “panel of qualified judges” will pick five finalists; then we (the Internet) will vote on the winner.
Skulls, scrunchies, and Don McLean graffiti highlight this creepy Röyksopp vid directed by That Go’s Noel Paul and Stefan Moore.
School of Seven Bells are no strangers to unplugging their instruments. Yesterday they stopped by KCRW for a live studio performance of stripped down, shimmery selections from their latest album Disconnect From Desire. Check out the podcast to discover the inspiration behind the title of the album. If you catch them on tour, you may hear the ethereal cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Kiss Them For Me” they played during soundcheck.
On the eve of being named to our 40 Best New Artists Of 2010 list, UK producer Gold Panda headlined Glasslands Gallery on Kent St. in Williamsburg, live-mixing the beat snatches and effects pedal switches of his often dazzling singles and EPs, along with a presumably good dose of the material from his anticipated forthcoming full-length debut Lucky Shiner. The set opened with the LP’s “You” and closed, as any Gold Panda set should from now until his next quantum leap, with “Quitters Raga.” Ryan Muir was on hand to shoot the night, capturing openers Pink Skull and Bikini along the way.
Bunch of Gold Panda MP3s here, Lucky Shiner’s out 10/12 via Ghostly.
Sad news: Oberhofer will be Big Ugly Yellow Couch’s last session for a while. Their place in Brooklyn, where each session was shot, burned down this summer. They’re in a new apartment, and they were able to save both the couch and their digital archive of previous couch sessions. But it’ll probably take a little time before they’re up and running again. I look forward to seeing a singed, ashy couch behind whatever band films next.
Anyway, we brought you Oberhofer’s “Don’tneedya” a couple weeks back. This session’s a different sound for the band (no echo, no atmosphere-creating samples), but it’s still a good one. The band played tracks from their “o0O0o0O0o” and “Away Frm U” 7-inches (“Away Frm U” keeps the whistle solo), as well as a cover of Beach Boys’s “Be True To Your School.” Watch:
Earlier this week we posted about Vampire Weekend covering Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Going’ Down” at Malkin Bowl in Vancouver. The guys just sat down for Seattle’s 107.7 The End’s 200th “Endsession” and did a clearer, stripped-down acoustic take. (Still no sax solo.)
Land Of Talk’s “Quarry Hymns” video is beautifully shot, in black and white, with a single dancer moving in slow motion. There are a few ominous moments that cut through the gracefulness of the video. Because it’s new, and the trailer is new, it made me think of Darren Arononfsky’s upcoming film Black Swan, though “Quarry Hymns” is a much less dramatic soundtrack. The video was directed by Joseph Yarmush.
Here it is, the latest installment from Girl Crisis, an all-female concept troupe operating on a specifically detailed concept. The idea behind it was to a) name themselves as a joke on Boy Crisis and b) exist only in web-video form featuring c) an essentially revolving cast of indie Brooklyn sirens that d) have nothing for sale and will not play live shows but e) are a “long-term” project that records covers of classic songs, learned and arranged just before performing, in a Williamsburg living room on Super8 camera. All of this came to be two years ago, conceived by Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek, Class Actress’s Elizabeth Harper, This Frontier Needs Heros’ Jessica Lauretti, and (sometimes Stereogum photographer) Bek Andersen, who handles captures the pieces with her camera and room mics. There’s more.
Songs are committed to tape seasonally, the girls — who are all friends in bands that don’t get to harmonize with ladies otherwise — choosing a classic song to cover by a male singer every winter, and a female for their summer pick. (Past choices have included Nirvana’s “Come As You Are,” Sade’s “Smooth Operator,” and Chris Isaacs’ “Wicked Game.”) For this summer’s selection the lineup’s expanded considerably, the tag-set swelling to include (in addition to the aforementioned founders): Erika Spring-Forster (Au Revoir Simone), Ilirjana Alushaj (Apache Beat), Molly Shea (Acrylics), Leah Carey (Amazing Baby), Jane Herships (Spider), and Sophia Knapp and Linnea Vedder (Lights).
The song of choice this time is Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It To My Heart.” You remember the original — here it is stripped down and less confrontational — both visually and vocally — from a group of friends in the 11211 in a piece that’s a little more sultry, with a lot less hairspray.
