Sharon Van Etten releases her third full length (first offical) release -- Tramp . Since February is the shortest month of the year, I'm thinking it's going to have to be the most condensed with interesting releases, and this first week goes some ways to proving the theory true. New releases from Sharon Van Etten, Dr. Dog, Air, Of Montreal, The Twilight Sad and Mark Lanegan certainly make their cases. There's also new releases from The Duke Spirit, Ben Kweller, Die Antwoord, an EP from Davila 666, the return of Van Halen, and [...]
Of Montreal performs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this Wednesday night. Picks for the week Monday, February 6 ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live : Pitbull CBS: Late Show With David Letterman : Die Antwoord NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly : Ziggy Marley , Fun (REPEAT) [...]
This week's collection of releases finds two at the opposite ends of life (and, well, art) in Leonard Cohen and Lana Del Rey. Elsewhere, look out for new releases from Imperial Teen, The Ex-Girlfriends Club, Hospitality, The Pines, Ringo Starr, K'Nan, Mike Doughty, and the Jealous Sound. Playlist: New Releases 01.31.12 (Rhapsody) / Spotify Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas Purchase [mp3] / Spotify [...]
Dennis Farina as Gus Demitriou and Dustin Hoffman as Chester "Ace" Bernstein an episode of HBO's Luck ("Pilot"). It's difficult to judge a series like this based on the pilot, especially one written by David Milch. The gifted writer is famous for juggling multiple characters speaking ornate dialogue, and it can take awhile for it to click with an audience. We're dropped into the scene, with the expectation to become "track rats," with the racing terms and handicap lingo, by the end of the first episode. Michael Mann, responsible for the visuals, [...]
James Mercer and The Shins to release Port Of Morrow on March 20, their first album in six years. Now that we've had our first real viable candidate for arbitrary year-end lists, it's time to look at some other releases on the near horizon that hold that kind of potential. Since the world is supposed to end in May or something, we won't look beyond* that. Joining the excellent Cloud Nothings' Attack On Memory are anticipated releases from The Shins, Dirty Projectors, Sleigh Bells, Sharon [...]
Bon Iver is this week's musical guest on Saturday Night Live . 2011 turned out to be quite a year for Justin Vernon. Besides his eponymous sophomore release under the moniker Bon Iver being a critical success and debuting at #2 on the Billboard Charts, Bon Iver's also since been nominated for four Grammys ( even if the awards show is a waste of time ) and has been given his own imprint (Chigliak) on Jagjaguwar to release records [...]
Playlist: Chuck - Episode 5.12-13 ( Spotify / Rhapsody ) 1. "Your Hands" - Ghost Society [ mp3 ] [ iTunes ] 2. "Goshen" - Beirut [ mp3 ] 3. "Gold on the Ceiling" - The Black Keys [ mp3 ] 4. "Take on Me" - a-ha performed by Jeffster! [ mp3 ] 5. "Cruel and Beautiful World" - Grouplove [ mp3 ] 6. "Rivers and Roads" - The Head & The Heart [ [...]
Dylan Baldi's Cloud Nothings get it together on Attack on Memory . As the first month of 2012 nears its close, we have our very first year-end contender with the sophomore release from Cloud Nothings. Steve Albini's production combined with Dylan Baldi surrounding himself with a full band makes for a giant leap from his debut. Besides that, there are noteworthy releases from The Hold Steady's Craig Finn stepping out solo, The Darcys taking on a Steely Dan classic album, Sweden's First Aid Kit, the return of baroque pop legends Cardinal (Richard [...]
Wilco performs on Conan , Monday. Man... I think I broke another finger. Have to take a rain check on the 'blurbage' today, but a good portion of the talkies are on vacay this week anyway. Highlights are Wilco and They Might Be Giants on Conan , Young the Giant on Kimmel , and Austin City Limits has a young lady twofer with Florence (+ the Machine) along with Sweden's Lykke Li. Picks for the week [...]
Angelo Moore fronting Fishbone at the Palace in Hollywood, CA - May 17, 1985 So who actually was able to see Everyday Sunshine on PBS tonight? I'm curious as to the markets it played, as the Northwest markets just aren't hip to the AfroPoP series (film kicked off season four of the documentary series -- this year hosted by Comedians / Daily Show contributor Wyatt Cenac). We already previewed the doc earlier in the week, but I'm curious [...]
Like the speeding train running the rails throughout the episode, Chuck is hurtling closer and closer to its final destination. Not to go too far with the train metaphor, but this series has been the Little Engine that Could, willing itself -- thanks to critics and fans -- to make it to its destination, despite the paltry ratings. The big twist at the end wasn't much of a surprise, given how the first hour of next week's episodes is titled "Chuck vs Sarah Walker," but it's still an interesting one given that a "Chuck vs [...]
The 'Classic' lineup of Guided By Voices returns with the first of two releases for 2012. 2012 continues to be slow, with only the excellent return of Guided By Voices to show for this week. Looking back through my archives, by this time last year we'd already had several albums of note, including Wire, Smith Westerns, British Sea Power and the debut from Tennis. Other releases of note include the latest from Kathleen Edwards, The Big Pink, Frankie Rose and Herman Dune. Playlist: New Releases 01.17.12 [...]
Angelo Moore of Fishbone in a scene from Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone . As much as the VH1 Behind the Music series was great for music documentaries in theory, in practice it's tried and true formula has made for a lot of lazy filmmaking. Thankfully, that's not the case with the music doc Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone . It's a really hard documentary to get right. [...]
Alex Chilton takes a break during the legendary "1970" sessions recorded in 1969. So far, 2012 has proven to be a slow starter on the music front, with no one wanting to jump in while folks are still debating each others' year end lists. One gem coming out in odd fashion is a reissue of Alex Chilton's "1970" Sessions that he recorded in 1969 (hence the "" -- explained below). This release from Ominivore Recordings is odd in that it skipped out on the big box set/reissue gift giving season of late [...]
Lana Del Rey (AKA, Elizabeth Grant) makes her network TV debut on Saturday Night Live. I'm still not sure how I feel about "new sensation" Lana Del Rey. Posing as a self-made artist, the New York artist broke on the scene towards the end of 2011 with her David Lynchian YouTube video that appeared for the song "Video Games." Later, folks figured out she was formerly known as Elizabeth Grant, a run-of-the-mill pop singer with two failed albums. Sure, there's something to be said for reinvening [...]
In lieu of a New Releases post this week (the crop really didn't justify the effort), I'm tossing in one more 2011 wrap up, and this one is being written mostly around my 4-year old. My youngest, like many kids his age, LOVES music, with a stash of favorite songs to rival any teen out there. Below you'll find the list of songs released in 2011 that were played most by my little man Z. For the first time, there are songs that have been introduced to me -- like Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" and Hot Chelle Rae's [...]
The Classic lineup of Guided By Voices appears on Late Night with David Letterman January 3, 2011. The reunion of Guided By Voices' classic lineup ('93-'96) was one of the great stories of 2010 (reunion at Matador 21), 2011 (touring all over) and with the release of their first album of new material together in 16 years ( Let's Go Eat the Factory , 2012 is already shaping up to make it three years in a row for Robert Pollard and the gang. [...]
Fan's dragon fly at Flaming Lips show, Sasquatch Music Festival in Memorial Day weekend. It's no secret that I take a lot of pictures. What's becoming less of a secret, though, is that I'm becoming less bad at it. Having spent so long as a photo editor, I'm naturally a bit more critical of photographs -- and especially my own. But thanks to lens upgrades (purchasing a 50mm prime, renting a 70-200mm) and software (Lightroom, Picknik), I'm getting awfully close to taking photos that I can [...]
Every once in awhile, a movie comes along and just lays waste to any expectations you might have had going in. Whether the average viewer recognizes it or not, a lot of that has to do with the soundtrack. This year's list topper was one of those films that defied any expectations going in, and the moment you realize that things are going to be different with Drive was a few minutes into the film when Kavinsky's "Nightcall" played in its entirety for the opening credits. Ok... I have to come clean. I did [...]
Top 10 includes Destroyer, Girls, tUnE-yArds, M83, Bon Iver, James Blake, PJ Harvey, St Vincent, Shabazz Palaces, Real Estate If 2010 was 1993 all over again, 2011 seemed to ignore this trend (and all the corresponding 20 year anniversary reissues), instead reaching back a decade prior. Releases from Destroyer and M83 mined that decade to make great albums, while several bands of that era (Gang of Four, Wire, The Feelies) returned with new releases. Another minor trend we noticed here was artists absolutely obliterating the tired "sophomore slump" myth, with Girls, tUnE-yArds, Bon Iver, [...]
thus spake drake
Lana Del Rey - Without You (Kill Paris Remix) [Dubstep]
Download: James Blake Live Album (Unofficial)
My Funny Valentines
Miike Snow - “Paddling Out” Jacques Lu Cont Remix (MP3 Stream)
Iron & Wine and Patty Griffin
