Finally. Metronomy 's Nights Out topped my Best of 2008 list and, apart from the one-off "Not Made for Love" single in 2009, we've barely heard a peep from Joseph Mount since. That's about to change. But first, there's some catching up to do. Up to that point Metronomy was basically Joseph Mount in the studio with guitarist Garbriel Stebbing and keyboardist/saxaphonist Oscar Cash brought in for live shows and videos. When Stebbing left the group in 2009 to form Your Twenties * , Mount decided [...]
I remember going into Other Music one day in 1997 and being instantly bewitched with the sounds of harpsichord, strings, a locked-down groove and, especially, the singer's distant, chilly vocals. It was Broadcast 's "The Book Lovers" and I pretty much fell for the band right there, picking up their singles comp, Work and Non Work , on the spot. It would be almost three years before we heard from them again, to the point where I almost forgot they were still around. But they were hard at work on their debut album, The Noise [...]
I hardly speak a lick of French (despite three years of it in High School) but in the past few years I've really taken to French language pop, be it the '60s classics or the new wave. Even hip hop. You don't need to understand the lyrics -- it just sounds good. (I still don't know what Michael Stipe, Mark E Smith or Elizabeth Frazer were singing in the '80s.( Anyway, I listened to a lot of Francophone artists this year. Here's nine I especially liked. [...]
The importance of album art has been shrinking, much like the size of the format -- from LPs to CDs to thumbnails on your computer or iPod. Labels used to have in-house designers and it seemed like, in general, people cared. In the last five years, it's gotten much worse, whether it's the sort of Photoshop nightmares that were once found only on '90s hip hop albums, or just the sort of lazy type-over-photo that permeates "heritage artist" releases, or stoner bad taste (or a combo of all three), the state of album art seems to be at a low. [...]
Time for my third-annual set of year-end mixes. In 2008 I made three, in 2009 I made four, and this year it jumped to six. Those of you who followed along with my Summer Friday series will likely recognize a few of these songs. These pretty much represent what new music I listened to this year. There are a few songs (Disc 6 mainly) here that don't appear on any of my year-end coverage...consider them strays in need of a home. A few that may appear on some other year-end stuff next week. And I just plain left a [...]
Was it just me or was 2010 one of the best years for music in ages or what? I have struggled in the past to come up with 20 album. This year I hit 50 easy, that I genuinely loved. Also, I am not taking payola from Sub Pop. They just had a very good year. Without further ado... 1. Foals - Total Life Forever [Sub Pop] | BUY If you'd asked me last year of the likelihood of [...]
They say those who ignore history are bound to repeat it. In music, however, those who pay attention to history seem just as likely to repeat it. So here's a bunch of new versions of things that are worth ripping off. The percentage of previously unreleased material (as well as packaging, liner notes, etc) certainly factored into what made this list, and the order as much as the quality of the original work. 1. Dolly Mixture - Everything and More [Dolly Mixture] | BUY [...]
I admire people like Toby who stick to genuine singles for their year end lists, but I can't do it. It's harder and harder to know what it means anyway. The Fresh & Onlys made a fancy video for "Waterfall" but didn't release it as 7" -- is it still a single? (It's not on list anyway, but another of theirs is.) I don't worry about it, clearly, as my #1 was an album cut. An AWESOME album cut. I do still feel singles are meant to be ephemeral. If I'm not listening to some of these tracks [...]
I've always loved EPs. More than a single, less than an album, the format is designed as the ideal showcase for a band. Or at least a nice stopgap between albums. It was the format of choice for the '90s shoegaze scene which is probably why I have such affection. In my mind the ideal EP should be four songs and no longer than 20 minutes, but I don't follow any hard rules for this. In an age of 28 minute albums it's hard to gauge. Anyway, I've never done a Best EPs list before, but the format has definitely made [...]
I was in Montreal last month covering the M for Montreal festival for another site and like a lot of things like this, I was generally glad all the bands were playing short, punchy sets. Ensemble , the musical pseudonym of former Parisian Oliver Alary , was the only performance I actually wanted to be longer. Backed with cello, saxophone and keyboards, and featuring vocalist Darcy Convoy, Alary created lush, slightly glitchy baroque music that had me thinking of early Broadcast. We only got three songs, one of which was a rather [...]
I've been to the Ed Sullivan Theatre three times now, and am always a little taken back by how small it is. They say the camera adds ten pounds but it must add depth of field too. So what I was imagining to be a fairly appropriate-sized place to see Damon Albarn's Gorillaz turned out to be pretty intimate. Only 400 seats in the whole place, balcony included. As I type this, Gorillaz are playing Madison Square Garden, which holds more like 4000 for a concert. This was a special, invite-only deal [...]
Dear Sub Pop Records: Please put out a Fun with Kelley Stoltz On Stage album. I'm not kidding. Digital-only would be fine. I love Stoltz's music, but the dude is seriously hilarious. He had everyone at Union Hall on Friday in stitches the whole time. Anecdotes, accents, one-liners...Stoltz is a master of them all. He would also make a good Color Commentator for baseball games, or some other role on television. Of course he's a great songwriter and performer too. To Dreamers is Stoltz' fifth album (not counting Crokodials, the front-to-back redo of the [...]
A lot has happened in the last year for neo-shoegazers Engineers . The band finally got released from their contract with defunct label Echo which had held their second album, the excellent T hree Fact Fader , in limbo for three years. Secondly, their song "Home" (from their 2005 debut) became the new theme music for HBO's polygamy drama Big Love, which fits well as soundtracking the Hendrickson family's free fall into the abyss. That's had to have sold some records. The band have wasted [...]
When did Foals become so popular? Music Hall of Williamsburg was as packed as I've ever seen it for the second of the UK band's two NYC area shows this weeknend. And when did they get such a douchey, bro-heavy fanbase? I saw two almost-fights within the first three songs. Then there was the near-constant crowd surfing, even on the slow songs. Even between songs . Jeez. This is the kind of stuff that can sour a show for and old crank like me. If Foals hadn't been so fantastic, I think [...]
Not sure that I can add more than what has been said already -- by others and myself -- elsewhere but the Pavement reunion was totally worth seeing. Pretty sure I lucked out, the Summerstage show on Tuesday (actually the first day of Fall) was reported by one authority to be the best of the tour. I can say with certainly that it was the best Pavement show I ever saw, and I saw them three times back in the day.* They played better, had more fun than the original run and that definitely was felt [...]
Here's all of this season's Summer Fridays cover art (minus #17 which I just sort of dashed-off). Thanks to everyone who contributed. Which one was your favorite?
This is it, folks for Summer Fridays 2010. The weather is already full-on Fall, though it's not actually Autumn until the 21. Autumn is my favorite time of year in NY anyway. Enjoy this last one, think it turned out pretty good. (Especially after redoing it last minute today, which is why this is up so late.) I might do a monthly mix, so maybe look forward to that. Hope you enjoyed these . I had fun making them. Just think this is the last time you'll have to read this phrase till next year: NO SHUFFLING. [...]
I know, I know. It's past Labor Day and maybe some of you think these mixes are as over as white shoes. Summer Fridays, in the office sense, are definitely over. But technically the season goes till September 21 so I'm gonna do these for two more weeks. Clearly I'm running out of stuff as this week features some Repeat Offenders. That's a bonehead name but I'm all for recidivism. And when a new Fresh & Onlys album gets handed to me, how can I say no? Cover art this week is courtesy Alan Hevelone who has [...]
Memorial Day weekend is the romantic end of Summer, even if it doesn't official end until the 21st. But, psychically, this is it. Let's do it up. (These mixes will continue for two more weeks, I'm going till the Vernal Equinox.) While you're out barbequing and such, don't forget to remember those that helped give you what you have now. Like this perfectly good strawberry shortcake bar that died for the artwork this week. I hope you appreciate it. They're hands down my favorite junky frozen treat. DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 3.15 [...]
This is the last Summer Friday of August but we've still got a few week of mixes to go. I run them through the actual end of summer, so there's three more after this. Cover art this week by Robyn Lee who has the enviable job of working for Serious Eats where, among other things, is editor of A Hamburger Today . (They really need to try the Commodore's burger which is the best in Williamsburg.) She also has her own site, The Girl Who Ate Everything which is also worth [...]
Sound Bites
Azealia Banks - '1991' [Listen]
THE MASTERSONS — BIRDS FLY SOUTH
