In case you didn't know, the music industry is currently under overhaul. With the recently new factor online music now plays and how readily available illegal music is, people in the industry have had to rethink their entire market structure. Tons of new strategies have been employed including "organic" grassroots fan bases, a return to vinyl, and LEGAL free music. Ever since Radiohead released "In Rainbows" with the option of zero pounds, the trend of free music has seen exponential growth. Whether you want to call it a "bait-and-switch" or a way to build trust with a potential [...]
Here is an update of some notable albums that were released yesterday. David Byrne & Fatboy Slim - Here Lies Love With the help of Fatboy Slim, Byrne created a fascinating cd/dvd combination album written about the Imelda Marcos. He enlists some of the greatest female voices out there, including Santigold, Martha Wainwright, Camille, and Shara Worden to sing the 22 different tracks. "The story I am interested in [...]
Monsters of Folk wrote a letter to God and put and on their debut album. The song is appropriately titled, "Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)". It is a fascinating letter that asks the age old question, "If your love is still around, why do we suffer?" They are real honest and also manage to make some great observations about who our God is. It is obvious that at least one, if not all of those guys are seeking the truth. Hopefully it isn't long before they stumble upon it. Monsters of Folk - Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.) [...]
There's a warmth in the sad, measured gallop of "Thieves," the first song off of She & Him's Volume Two , and it's undeniably charming. The final swell of amber guitars, strings and voice beams straight to the chest, lights it up like a summer sunset. But She (actress Zooey Deschanel) and Him (folkster M. Ward) stubbornly park their feel-good cabooses in that light for the duration of the record, and it's not long till the sunset loses its magic. After another 40 minutes without relief, the sunset is just boring. Too much milk [...]
While there has been no talk of a follow-up to 20082s phenomenal Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, Sigur Rós fans have much to be excited about. The Icelandic frontman, Jon Thor Birgisson has had a busy 2010 so far. He has written and recorded a new "solo" album that is set to be released digitally on April 6th along with a limited edition box-set. The new album, Go , follows in the poppy footsteps of Med Sud and I believe is his first record to be written and recorded in English (although [...]
There is a young singer/songwriter that I want to introduce you to. Currently he is just a student at John Brown University, writing and playing music for his friends and family. I have a feeling that it won't be long before his words and music are being heard by much larger audiences. There is a very raw power in his voice that reminds me of the likes of Damien Rice. He may not have the most soothing or pleasing voice, but he sure knows how to use it. Like Rice, his voice is one of his best instruments and he [...]
MGMT is giving fans an early listen to Congratulations , the follow up to their phenomenal Grammy-nominated debut, Oracular Spectacular . The new record isn't due out until April 13th, but right now you can stream the entire thing for free from their website . This random act of kindness was prompted by the unfortunate leakage of the new album. Fortunately for us, these guys kept a positive attitude about the situation: "Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a [...]
Gil Scott-Heron sounds older than 60. Years of cigarettes, cocaine and prison time have weathered his voice, scrubbed it with sandpaper. What remains is thick and careful and potent, like some forgotten whiskey. His voice is timeless. Especially on I'm New Here , the poet's first proper record in 16 years, which sounds like the Tibetan Book of the Dead as interpreted by William Faulkner as produced by Portishead. Still, that description underestimates the record's touchstones, made by decades of artists that Scott-Heron himself influenced. In fact, nearly a third of I'm New Here [...]
Gorillaz have been one of pop's wackiest successes since "Clint Eastwood" invaded airwaves nearly a decade ago. It's hard to believe a cartoon band lasted this long, even harder considering the group releases new music about once every five years. Of course, it's all the brainchild of former Blur front man Damon Albarn, a challenging and prolific songwriter, and illustrator Jamie Hewlett. The duo stays busy with an endless roll of side projects, thus Plastic Beach , the group's newest album, comes a full half-decade after the fluke commercial success of Demon Days . [...]
Alright! It's official. We are now the proud owners IHYEB.com. We will be using this shorter domain for our posts on twitter, and for a few things here and there! No related posts.
My first listen of Eluvium's new record was interrupted barely five minutes in, when I fell asleep. To my credit, Similes is an impenetrable, arrhythmic fog. Matthew Cooper, the man behind the moniker, has a track record of ambient releases, a genre born in the space between transcendent and tedious. Brian Eno, the musician widely credited for the creation of ambient, once wrote that the music "is intended to induce calm and a space to think." In this context, Similes rushes to buy wallpaper and curtains before building a doorframe. Cooper, an [...]
I have to preface the OK Go show in Kansas City with a few initial warnings and observations. The first is that if you go to an OK Go show expecting to understand any of the lyrics that frontman Damien Kulash is blaring out, you will be gravely disappointed. He belts a good voice, but it is mostly trumped by the instruments and muddled in good, yet somewhat incomprehensible falsetto. Second, if there is ever a free OK Go show in your area and you think, "I'll show up around start time and get in no sweat," you might want [...]
As I sat down to write today, I thought man it's been a while since I've posted a good video. So I started to browse some other blogs to see if I could find any that I loved. Then I remembered that a couple of friends of mine went to see OK Go in KC this past weekend. So from the creative minds that brought you "that awesome treadmill video" and "that hilarious garden dance video" I bring to you "that sweet marching band in the woods video." I should pay closer attention to these guys. [...]
I had the great opportunity of doing some good ol' manual labor yesterday at work. I spent the afternoon by myself workin' on our indoor climbing wall. It was a little slow movin' but I really enjoyed it, because it gave me the opportunity spend some time alone with my thoughts (which unfortunately doesn't happen all that often) and of course it gave me a chance to catch up on some old podcasts. Seeing as I am kind of obsessed with podcasts and subscribe to a ridiculous amount, I had a lot to listen to, from a fun [...]
A couple of weeks ago, Cold War Kids released their follow up to their sophomore slump, Loyalty to Loyalty , with the stellar Behave Yourself EP . Despite being only 14 minutes long, this record is as big of a step in the right direction as Loyalty was a step in the wrong direction. After the release of the Loyalty in late 2008, followed by several poor reviews of their live shows, I had all but written them off when I heard Behave . After grooving to, being swooned by and then being inspired by [...]
This post isn't so much about music, as it is about our inability to tweet correctly. I'm going to give it one more go, or it might be something we just don't do for a while. Cross your fingers? Ben Walker - You're No One if You're Not on Twitter EDIT: I fixed it! Hooray! Related posts: RW: Since You've Been Gone One of These Nights The Bird and the Bee Cover Rihanna
Brooklyn-based trio Yeasayer amble back from a three year self-induced exile with what sounds like a trippy jungle-clearing drum circle turned synth-heavy blip hop rave: Odd Blood . With their second full-length album, this tight-knit group of family members (lead singer and bassist are cousins) and childhood friends (lead singer and guitarist grew up ogether) step away from the urban folk roots of their acclaimed debut, All Hour Cymbals and reach out to an equally appealing subcategory of the musical spectrum, electronica. As on "Mondegreen" and "Love Me Girl," quasi-frontman and lead singer Chris Keating occasionally takes [...]
Spoon - Transference ( released Jan. 18th) Grade : B-/B For Fans of: Guster, The Shins, Liam Finn I'm pretty surre I've heard the argument made that every album, first through eleventy-billionth, is a band's most important effort. Essentially, if you put out a horrible album, it can kill your career. When you get to sixth, the pool for comparison thins, and (under certain circumstances) it becomes a success in and of itself. This is where we are with Spoon and their newest, Transference [...]
Grass Widow, a rising all-girl rock trio from San Francisco, spoke to super fan and IHYEB contributing writer Brady Tackett through e-mail correspondence over the winter break. With two wonderful releases behind them (a self-titled LP and EP), the ladies are now poised for their next record. Brady: How does San Fran influence the music? What's your favorite surf band? Raven Mahon : Definitely our environment influences us, but not necessarily in a summer of '67 kind of way or a California Surfin' Safari kind of way. I'd [...]
If you're a fan of mash-ups then I have a treat for you. Beatmaster, Tom Caruana, has taken some Wu Tang acapellas and remixed them with Beatles songs or covers of Beatles songs. The album is pure genius. The best mash-ups I've heard since Danger Mouse's Grey Album , which mashes up Jay-Z's Black Album , with The Beatles' White Album . Tom has put the entire album up for free download on Tea Sun Records . He also just recently put up all of the instrumental tracks and radio edits. Several of these remixes are [...]
I Hope Your Ears Bleed
Avicii – Two Million
Yellow Magic Orchestra edit from Chrome Canyon
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
