25. Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2 Trailer It's kind of cheating to pick two movies here, but since Tarantino originally conceived of Kill Bill as a single film I think it's fair enough. He ought to be rewarded anyway, for giving us upwards of four hours of his demented tribute to kung-fu, slasher, and spaghetti western classics. 24. Yi Yi From Salon : "Edward Yang's "Yi Yi: A One and a Two ..." may be the greatest [...]
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Wanna know how to stop that fearsome Vampire Weekend hype epidemic? A heavy dose of We Got it 4 Cheap Vol. 3 ought to do the trick. The freshly leaked Clipse/Re-Up Gang mixtape is just the thing for the winter doldrums and ubiquitous, milquetoasty argyle rock. And while I'm fiending for a new torrent of The Wire #58, coke rap is a decent substitute for that need too, the comparisons having become so obvious that even the Clipse themselves are in on the game. "Roc Boys" and "Rainy Dayz" are predictably good, but what they do with Pharrell's instrumentals from "Show You How to [...]
So maybe it's an accident that I happen to read SJF's piece on the Balkanization of the music industry on the same day that Choire Sicha claimed that, "Every gay in America (okay, in coastal America) is flapping his hands today over the New! Magnetic Fields! Album! that is apparently out tomorrow." Not that the latter necessarily confirms the former, but the idea that we can categorize albums by their sexual orientation, that there are more or less gay (Sleater-Kinney? Junior Senior?) and straight albums, strikes me as startling, intruiging, and a little dangerous. [...]
At the beginning of the year I set out on a project of sorts, "predicting" my favorite records of 2007 before any of them had officially been released. Albums were listed and ranked and highly anticipated , with the intent of looking back by the year's end and seeing just what had become of my original outlook on things. I paused in July to take stock at the halfway point, and although many of the records I was so looking forward to had yet to be released, I had also encountered several surprises along the way. Most suprising of all, though, was [...]
Here are my 25 favorite songs of 2007. The album list should be up tomorrow. Spoon - Black Like Me Okkervil River - Plus Ones Jens Lekman - A Postcard For Nina Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place Caribou - Melody Day The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour Jay [...]
With only a few weeks left in 2007 it's time to look at some of my favorites of the year. My song and album lists won't be up until next week, but here are some other things that impressed me in '07: Music Video of the Year: Battles - Atlas Honorable Mention: Bat For Lashes - What's a Girl To Do , José González - Down The Line , Justice - D.A.N.C.E. [...]
The last time they visited the Daytrotter studios, Sunset Rubdown gave us the first recorded version of "Winged/Wicked Things," one of my personal favorites and an eventual highlight of this year's Random Spirit Lover . This new Daytrotter session features a slowed-down version of Lover 's "Mending of the Gown," but the real gems are the unreleased "Idiot Heart" and an update on Spencer Krug's old original, "Three Colors." Sunset Rubdown - Daytrotter Session
Jens Lekman @ the Granada | photo credit More like 'An Intimate Evening with Jens Lekman.' The crooning Swede left his backing band at home when he played Dallas' Granada Theater last night, going for an approach that was more 'Storytellers' than his usual baroque pop escapades. Still, Jens was as charming and entertaining as we'd been led to believe, particularly his mid-song banter, amusing anecdotes, and clever asides, all of which were just as witty as his lovelorn lyrics. Mostly it was just him and his guitar, occasionally aided by his own [...]
Jens Lekman brings his Swedish indie pop extravaganza to Dallas' Granada Theater tomorrow night. Night Falls on Kortedala has been one of my unexpected albums of the year, one that, charming as it is, ended up sneaking up on me. My brother had been singing Jens' praise since at least 2005's Oh You're So Silent Jens , but not until very recently did I fully appreciate his pop mastery. Suffice it to say we've both been eagerly anticipating this show. Jens brings a full backing band (plus DJ) with him to fill out his sample-based sound, all of them female and [...]
As it goes with the rest of the indie world, it appears this is Dan Bejar week on Blogs are for Dogs. From his tour with the New Pornographers to his headline-making performance with Final Fantasy and Cadence Weapon, dude's been everywhere but the View, and I'm pretty sure Barbara Walters is scrambling to book him. Anyway, Bejar's new collaboration with his lady friend Sydney Vermont is the latest project to get his Midas touch. Hello, Blue Roses , as they've named themselves, have been making music together for over a year, but are [...]
Girl Talk @ Fun Fun Fun Fest | photo credit Fun Fun Fun Fest was pretty much perfect. The weather was great, the crowd was just the right size, and the performances were memorable. Fun 3 will never be ACL, but that's exactly why we need it. It's the festival for those of us who don't really like festivals - intimate, relaxed, almost communal. And, I'd argue, a lot closer to what an Austin fest ought to feel like. Mostly, though, the two-day event lived up to its billing just [...]
Blackcurrant Jam must be pretty good. I wouldn't know from experience, but if Grizzly Bear are willing to devote one of their best songs to extolling its virtues then I'll have to assume they know what they're talking about. It's a cover of sorts, their interpretation of David Shrigley's Worried Noodles book, which was once a series of drawings and lyrics without music, but is now a full-fledged box set of songs. "Blackcurrant Jam is the nicest jam you can have," they argue on their Noodles contribution, the pleasantly silly lyrics a stark contrast to the [...]
photo credit We got our Fun Fun Fun Fest weekend off to an early start with Friday night's Spoon and New Pornographers show at Dallas' House of Blues. While the venue choice was regrettable for its rediculous security and Ticketmaster hassle, it did allow Spoon to play to what Britt Daniel described as their biggest ever Dallas crowd. Former Delgados member Emma Pollock opened, showcasing her own songs for the first time and generally proving that she was responsible for much [...]
Today's short story is Frank O'Connor's harrowing account of two Irish and two English soldiers during the Irish Civil War. "Guests of the Nation" captures the brutality of war, not in combat, but in the way it turns people into something else, the way it makes us all a little less human. Here's an excerpt, with the full story and mp3s after the jump: At dusk the big Englishman, Belcher, would shift his long legs out of the ashes and say, "Well, chums, what about it?" and Noble or me would say "All right, chum" (for we [...]
A very special concert in Dallas tonight: one of the New Pornographers' two Texas dates with Spoon takes place tonight at the regrettable House of Blues. Emma Pollock opens, but the main attractions are two of indie's biggest acts, rivaling even the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem pairing for tourmates of the year. Here's to hoping all eight of the Pornographers are along for this one and that Spoon bring their mariachi friends - I'd kill to hear the brassy version of "Jonathon Fisk." video : Spoon - Jonathon Fisk (live) mp3 : Spoon - Jonathon [...]
In another universe, some other world where he was a little older and she a little younger, Jens Lekman and Nina Simone met and fell in love. Introduced to each other in the early Sixties by mutual friend Langston Hughes, shortly before his death, Jens and Nina were inseparable. Their first year together was a blur; an adorable, slightly odd Swede and the High Priestess of Soul, together at the height of racial tension in America. If their time together was particularly tumultous they tried not to notice it. Tried to avoid the occasional scorn, [...]
So I was watching Knocked Up again last night, a good movie with a nice soundtrack too, featuring some pretty terrific songs from Loudon Wainwright. His mix of covers and originals does a nice job of mirroring the film's sweetly comic tone, but the track that stood out most to me last night was not one of Wainwright's, but rather Bright Eyes' "We Are Nowhere And It's Now." I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning , the album from which it's culled, is the one Bright Eyes record I actually enjoy, recalling as it does the "Cosmic American Music" of Gram Parsons, [...]
Austin's second annual Fun Fun Fun Fest is this weekend and we're very happy to be attending. If only my sophomore year was nearly this impressive - Fun 3 has gone from a modest two day concert to booking a remarkable blend of local and touring acts and still managing to fit them into the same weekend event, one that fully earns its billing as a festival. From a local perspective, highlights include Okkervil River, Explosions in the Sky, Car Stereo (Wars), and White Denim, but big acts like Cat Power, Ted Leo, Girl Talk, and Diplo are [...]
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James Blake – Live Album
Childish Gambino - "Heartbeat" (Official Music Video)
Circo Voador anuncia shows de The Kooks, Foster The People, Friendly Fires, Gogol Bordello e mais
Gang Colours – Fancy Restaurant
