Blog: Pigeons and Planes

When this time of year comes around, it's hard to even think about music in terms of anything but summer: "This is the perfect song to start off summer," or "This song will forever remind me of summer 2012." Maybe you've been keeping a song in your back pocket, knowing that when things get crazy enough on some muggy summer night, that's going to be the soundtrack. At the rate music is dropping these days, most of us can't even tell you what year an album came out, but we can all name some of our favorite summer, winter, fall, [...]

One of the most distinctive voices in music is back. Kristian Matsson, better known as The Tallest Man On Earth , is returning with There's No Leaving Now on June 12th. He recorded this album at his home studio in Sweden, and of the new project he explains, "I wanted to build something that didn't sound like a rock band, but wasn't super minimalistic. I wanted a sound that had that brittle [quality], that feeling that it might just fall apart." Listen to/download "19043 below. The Tallest Man On Earth - "19043 [...]

If you hadn't already heard Cold Specks (aka Al Spx) called "doom soul," you'd probably come up with the label on your own. The soul part is obvious, but there's a weight about this album, both lyrically and sonically, that gives it a gospel-like quality, except without any of the "I've seen the light" parts. There's a heavy dose of macabre in I Predict A Graceful Expulsion , but it's done with a beautiful delicacy, like a death-obsessed female Justin Vernon raised on Southern blues and blessed with a powerful voice. The album drops on May 21st. [...]

Today, The Walkmen's single "Heaven" is released as a limited 73 single. "The House You Made" is its accompanying b-side and has just been released to stream. It's a unhurried, languorous turn of a song that puts Hamilton Leithauser's voice firmly front and center. If this is the stuff that's getting left off the album the rest of Heaven (the full-length) is going to be great.

Today at the press conference announcing his own music festival , Jay-Z sat down for an interview with CNN in which he was asked his opinion on President Barack Obama's recent personal endorsement of gay marriage. Jay responded with his own views, which were extremely well-articulated and touching. "I've always thought it as something that was still holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That's their business. It's no different than discriminating against blacks. It's discrimination plain and simple…I [...]

We saw Childish Gambino link up with rap newcomers Kendrick Lamar and Danny Brown at Coachella , and here he is on a new cut with Schoolboy Q. The other day Donald said that Danny Brown was the best MC in the game, and in this song the combination of a dark beat and high energy flow that falls somewhere between playful and threatening has him sounding almost like a slightly less exaggerated Danny. Check out "Unnecessary" below. Childish Gambino ft. Schoolboy Q - "Unnecessary" ( IFWT [...]

Two weeks ago, out of nowhere, Kanye West released the visuals for his Justin Vernon-assisted, MBDTF -closing track, "Lost In The World." While the timing of it felt a bit strange and way too fashionably late, even by Yeezy standards, no one with ears and a respectable taste in music complained about getting a refresh of the record. Conventional wisdom would have us thinking that with the album well behind us, and the video now out, that would be the last new thing we'd hear relative to this song. Clearly we forgot about the version [...]

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros ' performance on the Late Show With Dave Letterman started off tame enough. They did some hippie swaying while performing their new " Man On Fire " track. That's all fine and nice, but things get a lot more fun when the music takes control and Alex Ebert starts doing the crazy legs dance, then ends up bouncing down the aisle. Gotta love free spirits. ES&TMZ's album Here is coming May 29th.

Recently, we've been extolling the virtues of Jersey Club as a bubbling genre, the concept of a sped up Baltimore Club hybridized with hip-hop drums and longer vocal chops is pretty unbeatable right now. It would be a straight up falsehood if I said that I would even know about the genre without DJ Sliink, he's really been the guy putting the movement on his back so far. Ever since Brenmar dropped Sliink's edit of Shontelle's "Impossible" in his own mix a while back I've been a fan. Getting a full, half-hour mix from the 21 year-old producer/DJ [...]

It seems like reports that Coachella 2013 might stretch out over three or four weekends were very premature. The Indio, California festival is to be held on two weekends again, which is the same setup as this year. The dates of the events are April 12-14 and April 19-21. Tickets are going on sale in just under three days, Thursday, May 17th, 2012 10:00 am PDT through the following Thursday, May 24th, 2012 10:00 pm PDT, as a part of the 2013 Advance Sale. Expect the shows to sell out almost immediately regardless of cost, although there are a [...]

Today we are pleased to announce the premiere of Open Mike Eagle's new song, "Universe Man." The track features Chicago indie rapper Serengeti , and can be found on OME's forthcoming LP, 4NML HSPTL , which will be released on June 26th via Fake Four Inc. Open Mike Eagle is a South LA-based, independent hip-hop artist who has been labeled by the Los Angeles Times as, "one of LA's smartest young voices." He's a multitalented force finding a fit in both music and comedy, having performed numerous times at the world famous Upright Citizens Brigade Theater [...]

Head back to Danny Brown 's hometown of Detroit in this 20-minute clip shot by Pitchfork . The documentary gives a unique look at the usually animated rapper with his mother and father, getting his haircut, recording in the studio, and talking about the city he grew up in.

If this kid hasn't already been on Ellen's show, he probably will be soon. The video already has over 2.6 million views, proving once again that people can't get enough of talented singers taking on corny pop songs. Credit to this kid though, and credit to Vulture for the find. UPDATE : Apparently, this kid was on the show this morning.

Our first taste of Bear Driver came in the form of " Enemy ," which allied fuzzy guitars with undeniably catchy pop hooks, and happily for us all, their debut album continues much in the same vein. The self-titled LP (released June 4th), which was recorded in an old swimming pool in London, positively fizzes with youthful energy, and is perfect summertime listening. Check out the full album stream below. ( The Line Of Best Fit )

Gold Panda is back, officially. The British producer released a new digital single today, the first official follow-up to his incredible debut album, Lucky Shiner . He's been steadily churning out remixes and unofficial tracks for the past year or so, but many had leaned in a more experimental and minimalist direction, while these tracks and his recent Nightworks remix are something of a return to form for him. He describes "Mountain" and its b-side, "Financial District," as "modern hip-hop," which is actually a pretty apt description. He's always had a [...]

And in perfect Animal Collective manner, they've announced it with the trippy video below. There's not much news other than Centipede Hz will be out in September, but you can hear a couple new AC tracks here . They are surprisingly moving in a very traditional, folk-y style. Just kidding, just kidding, psychedelic as hell.

Serious question: who is going to stop Jay-Z ? The guy already has it all, but now we can add having his own music festival to the list. According to slightly premature reports (official announcement is set to happen tomorrow), it's looking like Jay is going to curate and star in a two day Philadelphia music festival going down on September 1st and 2nd. The lineup will be eclectic, with up to 28 acts in "rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and dance." The event is called the Budweiser Made in America music festival, and is presumably just the first of a [...]

It's Mother's Day, you snitches, so watch this "Mother" video from Ed Sharpe and his crew . The track is set to appear on a Starbucks compilation called Every Mother Counts 2012. Every Mother Counts is an organization that raises awareness about maternal mortality, so don't get all, "Ew, Starbucks is so corporate." Enjoy the clip, drink some coffee, call your mom and tell her you love her. If you don't have a mom or you've already called your mom, call someone else's mom. Appreciate all moms. Happy Mother's Day.

By Andrew Martin When you think of a producer sampling a sound, what's the first image that comes to mind? Someone digging through crates to find the right piece of dusty vinyl? Well, not New York City's Nick Koenig, aka Hot Sugar . He'd rather crack a human skull or record the thump of a rat's heartbeat—no joke—to flesh out the melody of his new recording. While that might lead you to believe his music is difficult to digest, that couldn't be further from the truth. Just because Koenig favors [...]

Passion Pit's "Take A Walk" They're back, and sounding more polished than ever. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to you. Discovering The Line Between Fan And Music Journalist After interviewing Willis Earl Beal, Confusion gets personal and offers an interesting look at a complicated position. Azealia Banks' "Jumanji" Massive production on this one. Meek Mill's Dreamchasers 2 Mixtape [...]