Do you ever find yourself in a rut? Working the same old job in the same old city week after week assuming that the real action in life is just ahead of the curve? Well, that's exactly how Chris Snyder (AKA Ace Reporter ) felt by the end of 2009. On his " About " page, he writes "I spent almost all of my time “being a musician” — touring, promoting a record, twittering (!) — but very little time actually writing music. By the end of the year, I was so frustrated with the situation [...]
I thank Thom Yorke for a lot of things. Mostly for creating albums that became the soundtrack to my youth, but also for turning me on to The Dears (as well as Spank Rock ). In 2007, Thom let the world know his top picks on iTunes and listed The Dears "No Hope Before Destruction" at #6. He described the track here: "I heard this a while ago and it has stuck in my head ever since. The way the voice comes in and your speakers freak out. and what [...]
Small Rant: I know this is a topic that I constantly bitch about, but it seems like everyone and their grandmother is making chillwave music these days . For every act within this genre that I enjoy, there are 5 acts that fucking suck. My Point: Regardless of your take on whether chillwave is "good" or bad", can we all agree that the one attribute that the genre is missing is BALLS. Solution: Enter The Vaccines . Each of the tracks below has a distinct rock [...]
Rivaling the length of time it takes Rachel Ray to prepare a meal, Cloud Nothings manage to get through 11 tracks in 27 minutes. The album is filled with youthful angst and backed by a handful of power chords creating a sound somewhere between Jay Reatard and Blink 182 . Cloud Nothings came onto the scene in 2009 when Dylan Baldi, a 19 (REPEAT 1-9) year old released his bedroom rock collection, Turning On . The songs were recorded in his parents basement and have an incredibly [...]
Local Picks is my attempt to cover the enormous amount of music being created in the Bay Area. As Pitchfork has called SF "a location that's quickly threatening to eclipse Brooklyn in the ranks of regional talent", I've got my work cut out for me... il gato (Right Click + Save Link As = Download) il gato - "Burning Red (The Fa Fa Fa Song)" il gato - "Blue Skies" il gato - "The Taste Of [...]
After hearing their newest album, Zonoscope , Cut Copy make me want to beat up that beat while simultaneously fist-pumping. I'm not sure if that's rock n' roll or some other influence , but I like it. The eerie sound of guitars creeping through an electronic soundscape adds a tinge of darkness that humanizes these tracks. I'll be excited to see how their sound holds up live when Cut Copy come through SF on April 16th at the Regency Ballroom . Zonoscope is due [...]
Sometimes I straight up miss Dawson's Creek . I miss the looseness of the 902s and how we allowed that looseness to fly. And actually thought it was fly. And used adjectives like "fly" to describe something. Regardless - it's missed. Apparently 2010 could be the revival of the 902s, and seeing as I LIVED through the 902s , that's exciting. If we're going to revive the decade, we're going to need a band representing the times we're rehashing. Yuck fit that ticket. They've created [...]
This father/daughter cover of Edward Sharpe's and the Magnetic Zeros "Home" is fucking adorable. Since being posted on YouTube 11 days ago, they've gotten more than 2 million hits. If you haven't seen it (assuming you live under a rock) time to do so now. Download the original track below. (Right Click + "Save Link As" = Download) Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - "Home" I am completely fine being introduced to bands via their music videos. It reminds me of [...]
Jared Bartman Jared Bartman has the voice [...]
Once you get over the ridiculous album cover, which apparently has significance to this husband-wife duo , you'll find that this album is packed full of musical gems. Half of these tracks you've presumably heard and the remainder follow in the same vain - playful, NAUTICAL, and catchy. The story behind the album is this: married couple Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley take 9 months to sail up and down the east coast to places like "Marathon", Florida, "South Carolina", and "Baltimore" [all tracks on Cape Dory ]. They blogged about their journey [...]
James Blake is too intense for me. He's easily the most buzzed about musician/producer under the blogosphere's sun , so I was excited to hear his full length debut. Unfortunately, there were few instances where I was truly astonished. Dark? Sparse? Minimal? These were the adjectives running through my head the entire time. The few instances where Blake really broke through on the album, for me, was his Feist cover "Limit To Your Love" and the broken "Give Me My Month" follow up. Both are great examples of a [...]
Jai Paul The most worrisome thing about Jai Paul is knowing so little about him ( Wikipedia ’s got nadda - thus why you will hear a plug for his myspace page immediately after hearing this). I get over it in about 20 seconds when hearing “BTSTU”. It's the perfect mix of a heavy-dubstep (which I typically hate) and Prince . Picture darkness with a beat. Whether or not this guy’s a flop, this track is worth hearing 100 times over. [...]
I got a chance to listen to the new Smith Westerns album Dye It Blonde today and haven't been able to wipe the smile off of my face since. The album is set to be released on January 18th via Fat Possum . 2 New Tracks from Dye It Blonde : Smith Westerns - "Weekend" Smith Westerns - "End of the Night" This album couldn't be farther from their 2009 [...]
Free Radiohead DVD/Ty Segall Daytrotter/Bay Bridged Mixtape
Music Videos You Wish Were On TV.
New Releases from Bright Eyes, Neon Indian, Toro Y Moi and more...
Dan Bejar does it again - download for proof.
We had never heard of one of these bands before today. Spoon is welcome anytime.
Please send your list to jbird1125@heartstringsengaged. com to be featured on the site!
Amazing performances by three local buzz bands - Dominant Legs/Magic Bullets/The She's light up Cafe Du Nord.
Heartstrings Engaged
Daft Punk Random Access Memories (Alternate Version)
Death Engine // Amen EP
L.atasha A.lcindor – SPARK [Downloads]
