As the hardworking Brooklyn trio put it, “After eight years, 450 shows, and four albums, we’ve decided that we’ve reached the end of the line.” Catch their final shows (451 and 452?) in Hoboken (7/17) and NYC (7/18). A statement complete with Kenny Rogers and Grateful Dead references at Sub Pop.
Although Trent Reznor’s big-upped Grizzly Bear on his defunct (and now refunct) Twitter, he gave the soothing side of indie rock a big kiss in high profile print recently, telling Newsweek:
I saw Sufjan Stevens last year, and I was like, how is his singing that good? The band Grizzly Bear, I think they’re excellent. There’s a beauty and a musicality there that I wish would have been in vogue in the late ’80s, when I was forming bands. The aesthetic I was tuned into was a more dumbed-down kind of thing. Sometimes listening to stuff like they’re doing makes me feel irrelevant. That’s a nice, healthy kick in the ass. And it’s interesting to see there’s room for that in what’s considered hip these days.
A friend once told me that Trent’s similar tweetment of the Horrors’ new album gave their sales a massive surge; that said, it’s not like you could find an available ticket to the Grizzly Bear/Here We Go Magic L.A. stop even before that Newsweek hit the stands. The slowly-crossing-over Brooklyn outfit is finishing a celebrated cross-country trek tonight in San Francisco, on the heels of last night’s show at the Wiltern, Grizzly Bear’s largest headlining venue yet. Opening was Luke Temple, whose Here We Go Magic is reportedly beginning to coalesce into a live outfit on par with its hypnotic and worthy debut LP. Thanks to photographer Andrew Youssef for bringing back these photos.
To recap: Rostam from Vampire Weekend and Wes from Ra Ra Riot joined laptops and R&B predilections, invited their buddies Ezra and Angel for a couple of tracks, and turned out a really fun summer LP. We happen to love summer, fun, and LPs. We also love free alcohol and partying on school nights, so we’re glad to help this happen: Join us, along with the Discovery dudes, at Le Poisson Rouge in the Village next Tuesday (6/30) for the LP listening party. If you’re still getting familiar, try the two MP3s here, or the song with Ezra … or just come out to LPR to hear the whole thing. Needle drops at 9PM, followed by a dance party featuring DJ sets by Rostam and Wes. It’s free, but you gotta be 21+ and RSVP here. Open vodka bar from 9-10 (order like four at once to minimize line time), happy hour prices on everything else the rest of the night. This flier has the details:
Continue reading Join Us For A Discovery Listening Party In NYC…
You first heard her anti-homophobia anthem as (the ostensibly George W-referencing) “Guess Who Batman?,” but when the song resurfaced on It’s Not Me, It’s You, it came with some blunt “Fuck You” titling. Now it has a video sung and shot from Lily Allen’s P.O.V. At first it seems like it’ll be pretty low-tech, but then she decides to start shifting and refashioning the world around her one Afro, Eiffel Tower, suit, wiener dog, and ass at a time. It’s all about change, see?
Continue reading New Lily Allen Video - “Fuck You”…
It’s another Crystal Castles freakout! And again, it stems from sound issues. Alice thought their Sonar set sounded shitty, so she started manhandling a drumset. Here’s video of a security guard manhandling her in turn.
“Did I ever tell you guys about how I was listening to the radio and they played the ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends Hurricane Katrina Remix’ and it was literally just the regular song but interspersed with interview clips of people talking about how their lives had become nightmares? That was the moment that my life became a nightmare.“
Back in January we saw Phil Selway trade drums for an acoustic and sing his droning, harmonious ditty “The Tie That Binds Us” at the 7 Worlds Collide super-concert in Australia. The event was an early celebration for the sequel to 2001’s Neil Finn-assembled, Oxfam-benefit LP of the same name. Now that charitable sequel’s got a firm release date (8/10) and title (The Sun Came Out), and will feature Phil’s song with help from fellow Radiohead Ed O’Brien and a long list of exceptional et ceteras (Johnny Marr, Jeff Tweedy, Glenn Kotche, Liam Finn, and on).
In addition to that new song from the Radiohead camp comes news of reissues. Yes, more reissues. And yes, done at the behest of Capitol/EMI, who love money so much. The first round covered the first three albums, this next slate repackages Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail To The Thief, packing each with live tracks, b-sides, and other such fixings to help give opacity to the label’s transparent cashgrab.. The rundown each album’s additional material is listed at ateaseweb. Due 8/25.
From Bumbershoot and beyond, we’ve heard Neko Case do Middle Cyclone tracks live on a number of occasions. She’s hit so many radio station affiliates and late-night television shows that it could be construed as overkill, but she really does sounds great live, so why not? Proving the case again, Case dropped by Oregon Public Radio and offered up lovely, pristine, stripped-down renditions of “Don’t Forget Me,” “Middle Cyclone,” and “People Got A Lotta Nerve.” Unfortunately, there was no sign of Triumph, though sure, it was quietly triumphant.
Continue reading Neko Case Unplugs On Oregon Public Radio…
All it’s taken is one single for people to get excited about Basement Jaxx again. One really great single, though, which come as the first shot from the band’s forthcoming Scars LP, packing a heavy guest list including Grace Jones, Yoko Ono, Yo! Majesty, Lightspeed Champion, Cyndi Lauper, Santigold, and Sam Sparro. Before any more of that album avails itself, though, Felix and Simon have wisely extended “Raindrops” victory lap with a kaleidoscopic video and a gale of commissioned “Raindrops” remixes. And they’re all here:
Continue reading Here’s A Bunch Of Basement Jaxx’s “Raindrops” Remixes…
Last we heard, BSS were recording a new album with John McEntire. They’re already playing rockers from it at “secret” hometown shows with Feist. The video’s a bit boomy, but watch them do it up at the Courthouse.
