Over the course of what's now 3 albums, Arctic Monkeys have developed something of a surprising following. They've always been a band I felt deserved massive popularity in America, but one I never thought would actually achieve it. So the surprise in this case is that Arctic Monkeys are now considered to be pretty successful Stateside, and their new album "Humbug" will only serve to deepen that fan base. Proof of this escalation was ever-present with the band performing at this year's Lollapalooza - not only did I hear people talking excitedly about the band (more than most others), but [...]
Passion Pit started, as you may have heard, with Michael Angelakos recording a few songs in his bedroom by himself in an effort to win back his girlfriend. As he puts it, the "Chunk of Change" EP was intended to be a "very late Valentines' Day gift". He didn't succeed in his goal, but that EP did draw a lot of attention his way, particularly the song "Sleepyhead," which quickly became a sensation across the globe thanks to the internet. So Angelakos set out putting a full band together so he could perform songs live, and then they went into [...]
It seems to me that Blind Man's Colour are setting out to become the next Animal Collective. Of note, I am 100% aware that they HATE this comparison, but please also be aware I'm going to keep using this reference because it's an easier way to help comprehend the band's sound. I mean that in both the most positive and negative connotations. If you're going to imitate anybody, Animal Collective is a great band to be compared to, even if you still can't hold a candle to this year's "Merriweather Post Pavilion". On the other hand, what does it say [...]
I'll say this much - Dan Bejar certainly isn't afraid to experiment. He's gone through plenty of stylistic shifts, either as a contributing member of The New Pornographers and Hello, Blue Roses, or under his main project Destroyer. One alley he hasn't ever ventured down is that of dance music. Sure, he's worked with synths and other electronics before, like on the 2004 Destroyer album "Your Blues," but those sounds acted more as supplements to stripped down melodies rather than driving beats that formed the core of the songs. But keeping with his efforts to keep trying new things, Bejar [...]
I like Brendan Benson, I really do. I'll readily admit I hadn't heard more than a few songs by the guy before his 2005 album "The Alternative to Love," but that delightful indie pop album filled with songs about the best and worst things about love really hooked me in. At that point you could certainly call me a Brendan Benson fan. I've gone through the back catalogue, developed a serious appreciation for the man, and have often wondered aloud as to why he wasn't more popular. Then came The Raconteurs, and Benson teamed up with Jack White and a [...]
I'll be the one to say it- Phil Elverum tends to fall into the "eccentric genius" camp. Of course he may not be eccentric at all, but his songs very much suggest that he is. Often ranging from the quietest of quiet to the loudest of loud, describing his latest project Mount Eerie has been more than a challenge. And don't even get me started on the music released when Elverum was recording under the Microphones moniker. That stuff is just as random and varied. With all the shifts in style and genre, you might expect things to not really [...]
If you've not yet seen the 2007 movie "Once," the love story about two poor musicians who make beautiful music together, let me just say right now that you're seriously missing out. It was shot on virtually no budget, yet the songs and the amazing amount of chemistry between the two non-actor co-stars completely pull you in and make things all the more captivating. So if you've caught the movie, you've probably also purchased the soundtrack to the film. You may also be aware that the two stars Glen Hansard (The Frames) and Marketa Irglova also make music under the [...]
Here we go again! Almost exactly one week after Radiohead put out a brand new song for charity ("Harry Patch [In Memory Of]"), now another new song has "unofficially" leaked out all over the internet. The word "unofficially" is in quotes because there are many who suspect the band or simply Thom Yorke leaked the track via the Radiohead message board At Ease. Whether that's the answer or somebody actually found this through back channels and it's a demo that wasn't supposed to be released is still up for debate. There's been no official word from the band on this, [...]
Here it is. I promise this is my last official post on Lollapalooza 2009. It's a photo mega-post, with the purpose basically to show you all the photos I took over the course of the weekend. There are a lot of them, so feel free to scroll down and have a look. Of course click on them to see them full size. So that does it for Lollapalooza 2009. In case you've not heard, special $60 souvenir tickets for Lollapalooza 2010 will go on sale sometime before the end of the week (and will sell out quickly), and then starting [...]
This year's incarnation of Lollapalooza was certainly an interesting one. From weather that was never quite comfortable, to performances that ranged from inspiring to flat out boring, each day brought its own set of unique challenges that once again made the festival stand out from the others once again. So day-by-day recaps and previews aside, let me just take a moment to comment on Lollapalooza 2009 as a whole, from the good and the bad points of view. There was nary an hour that went by when the weather wasn't on your mind as you were wandering around [...]
While I work on putting together the final post(s) to wrap up my Lollapalooza coverage, I did stumble upon this cool little acoustic session that Vivian Girls did for They Shoot Music back in June after a show in Vienna. Since we pretty much never hear Vivian Girls go acoustic, given that they're typically hiding behind a wall of distortion, this is something of a treat. They do their new single (from their forthcoming album "Everything Goes Wrong"- out Sept. 8th) "When I'm Gone," along with classics "Tell the World" and "I Believe in Nothing". Have a look, [...]
![Show Recap: Them Crooked Vultures [Metro, Chicago, 8/9/09]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1914254_lg.jpg)
Apologies for taking so long on a show review that happened close to 24 hours ago. When you get tortured by a long weekend of rain, heat and standing on your feet, then decide to cap it all off with an intensely loud rock show in a small club, well, you wind up pretty physically and mentally worn out. So by the time the very sold out Them Crooked Vultures show started at midnight on Sunday night/Monday morning, I was almost ready to collapse. But I pressed on, of course, because the birth of a supergroup such as this is [...]
As I'm writing this, I've been up for nearly 24 hours. That is not the way you want to end your Lollapalooza weekend, I assure you. The tiredness builds up over the days so you collapse at the end of it. Yet I'm oddly still going. Part of that has to do with a crazy Sunday night after-show that I'll get to in my next post. But here's a brief summary of what happened to me on the final day of Lollapalooza 2009. Temperatures were in the mid-90s, and the sun was beating down heavily, but clouds soon rolled in [...]
Despite temperatures of 90+ degrees, I spent the day bouncing around Grant Park like a pinball on Day 2 of Lollapalooza. No rain, just sun today, and the scorcher today seems like only a preview of the even hotter temperatures to come tomorrow. But that's really neither here nor there, though my biggest gripe of the day came thanks to the massive lines at the water fountains that were often 60-70 people deep. 15-20 minutes to refill a bottle. When you're dehydrated and need it, it's a wait, and I'm betting more of the same tomorrow. Anyways, here's another quick [...]
Okay, I don't have much time to do this, so I'll keep it short while doing my best to sum up the very rainy Day 1 of Lollapalooza 2009. To start, as I waited in a 30 minute line to get in around 11am, it started to rain. Light drizzle. The forecast had said rain, but not until mid-afternoon at the least. Instead, it showed up right as Lollapalooza was starting and didn't stop until close to 5:45pm. This was not a good situation, and clearly most people didn't show up prepared. I had a trusty umbrella, and [...]
![Show Recap: The Decemberists [Metro, Chicago, 8/6/09]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1907912_lg.jpg)
Colin Meloy was in something of a rare form tonight as The Decemberists played the Metro in a pre-Lollapalooza celebration. He's always had interesting stage banter and good crowd interaction, but of the 3 times I've now seen the band, this was him at his most jovial and snarky. Honestly, it looked like he (and the rest of the band) were having a pretty good time. Perhaps spending all of your recent tour dates playing "The Hazards of Love" from front to back allows you to relish the opportunity to play the older stuff a bit more, which they certainly [...]
First things first, I'd like to apologize for my Lollapalooza coverage this year. Call it what you like, but I prefer to refer to it as "condensed" compared to past years. See, by this time in the week I'd normally have devoted the past four days to Lollapalooza preview coverage. That'd start with mp3s from every artist playing, followed by day-by-day previews and artist schedule match-ups. Given that my time is somewhat short these days and if I did do a post with mp3s from every artist at the festival it'd get pulled down in less than a couple hours [...]
It's always a great day when I can tell you about new Radiohead music, and today just happens to be one of those days. No, they don't have another full-length ready for consumption or anything of the sort, but rather have put together one new song and are making it available for purchase with proceeds going to charity. The track, "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" is all at once dark, beautiful and haunting. I like it very much, but then again I like all Radiohead songs very much. There's a shoddy quality audio stream available elsewhere on the internet if [...]
While we patiently lie in wait for new albums from bands like The Strokes and Interpol, the frontmen for each of those respective bands are both striking out on their own with solo records. In the case of The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, he'll have a solo album out sometime this fall, and we have little idea of exactly what it will sound like. In the case of Paul Banks from Interpol, he's choosing to approach his solo project by working under the name Julian Plenti, perhaps because he either doesn't like his own name or wants to distance himself from [...]
Call it a stopgap between albums if you like, but the new Modest Mouse EP "No One's First and You're Next" feels like something other than a collection of unreleased songs and b-sides from their last two albums. That is to say these songs actually don't sound like things you don't throw away, or at the very least put off to the side for an extended period of time. How you take these 8 tracks and fail to include them on your album is a mystery to me. Seriously, over half of these songs are better than the majority of [...]
Faronheit
the Weekender ::: New music from Catcall // the National // Summer Camp
KNIFE PARTY – RAGE VALLEY EP
Live: Among Bouquets & Florets. Girls, HMV Forum.
