Words commonly inhabit songs; but amongst today’s sterile, dance-centric popular music, words are more of an afterthought than a necessity. That’s probably why Stephen Malkmus remains an icon of the indie rock persuasion, where his frequent travels into lyrical absurdity can be appreciated. Malkmus and current band formation, The Jicks, return with their fifth studio album, “Mirror Traffic.” In Stephen’s sizable, double-decade repertoire, the Beck-produced “Mirror Traffic” is one of the most melodically mainstream albums, but still quite far off with its flexible chord progressions and unpredictable declarations. From the first lines of the [...]
Helplessness Blues ~ Fleet Foxes If thoughtfulness is a quality becoming all too rare in mainstream music, rejoice in knowing that it still thrives in the fringe realm of bands like Fleet Foxes. The Seattle-based folk group returns with “Helplessness Blues,” their second full-length album and the first release since 2008. Echoing previous efforts, “Fleet Foxes” and “Sun Giant,” with its multi-instrumental baroque folk sound and faultlessly blended choral harmonies, “Helplessness Blues” nonetheless bares traces of greater maturity and emotional exploration. It is the high-pitched, honey-laced vocals [...]
tUnE-yArDs Ears are meant to be stimulated, and Tune-Yards begs to be the weapon of choice for flexible music listeners eager to be perplexed, enticed and bombarded all at once. Helmed by New England native, Merrill Garbus, Tune-Yards is an explosion of worldly influences, ranging from traditional Swahili music and eerie indie melodies to modern soul and R&B. Following the 2009 experimental album "Bird-Brains", Garbus returns with "w h o k i l l", an instruction manual on how to bewilder an audience before proceeding to reel them in. "W [...]
There are plenty of different services out there that claim to provide users and subscribers with the best Forex system possible. They are going to tell you when to buy and sell, hoping to give you the upper edge as you navigate the Forex market. If you are thinking about getting services to help you identify Forex signals you are going to want to make sure that you find a reliable company. There a few different ways that you are going to be able to identify these different companies and get the best Forex system [...]
Feeling that your old dusty guitar needs retirement? Or simply you just want something new to brag to your schoolmates. Then you must check out Yamaha Gigmaker -the newest and coolest electric guitar created from the Yamaha Corporation. The Yamaha Gigmaker just like all Yamaha guitars has been the fusion of old guitar craftsmanship and modern day technology. Yamaha Corporation has known to be one of the best companies that produce wide variety of classy products. What makes the Yamaha Gigmaker very stylish is due to [...]
The world of Forex currency trading can be somewhat confusing and complex at first. While the idea of trading foreign currency may seem simple, the nuances involved in actually trading the currency are confusing at best. If you want to jump onto this exciting investment trend you are going to need actually understand the power of the market. Covering the basics of Forex currency trading will help you to be as successful as possible. The Idea The idea behind the Forex market is simple. You trade money from one currency to another [...]
Girl Talk celebrate the New Year with a house party inside a two-story, five-room house built onstage inside Chicago’s Congress Theater on December 31, 2009. ( via Rolling Stone )
baddies-boogie : noisenik : More synthesizer cake! This time a Roland SH-101!
10. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul I remember seeing posters all around town in Austin at SXSW in March and being very intrigued by the premise of this project (David Lynch working with Danger Mouse and Mark Linkous with a roster of vocalists including Nina Persson, Julian Casablancas, the Flaming Lips, Suzanne Vega and Iggy Pop), so i was very disappointed when the record label basically shelved this project [though the book of Lynch’s photos is still being sold, cleverly packaged with a [...]
moviesinframes : Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004 (dir. Michel Gondry) [note: this is a re-framing; you can see the first one here ] My favorite movie of the decade. Hard to think of it without hearing this track. I’d love it if Beck worked with Jon Brion again. Beck - “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Some Time” The Brion-produced Beck-sung cover of Korgis’ “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” is easily the album highlight. [...]
my top 20 songs of the year list is coming soon along with commentary, but until then here are 5 of my favorite covers from the past year. All 5 of these are tracks that work as more than just a one-off novelty, worthy of repeated listens: Bon Iver - “Mercury” [Kathleen Edwards cover] Bat for Lashes - “Use Somebody” [Kings of Leon cover] Laura Marling - “Roll Away Your Stone” [Mumford & Sons cover] [...]
Highly recommend checking out Mark Romanek’s (director of classic videos like NIN’s “Closer”; Michael & Janet Jackson’s “Scream”; Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” and Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” ) Posterous page , where he posts amazing photos like the one above, all taken with his iPhone camera.
In theory, she was an artist you want to root for— all these ideas about art and celebrity and a flair for the dramatic. But the first few singles made the Lady Gaga project feel so presumptuous, her artsy entitlement overwhelming her songs’ occasional strengths. “Bad Romance” was the moment where the music didn’t just live up to the (self-inflated) hype, but surpassed it. The track is epic in construction— by the time she gets to the bridge, more than three minutes in, the realization that there are hooks yet to come is thrilling. [...]
What appears to be every single album track, remix, b-side, official live performance, and remix of other artists the band has ever released. Xmas morning type stuff. How did I never know about this site before?
Clearly, box of boom has gone on hiatus. We plan to relaunch before the end of 2009 with a new design and format. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed , and we'll keep you posted.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to catch the last show of the US leg of the Tori Amos tour in Boston during my vacation/hiatus. She's out on the road in support of her latest album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin , with her two longtime collaborators, Matt Chamberlain (drums) and Jon Evans (bass), backing her up. The three have been playing together for over a decade now, since 1998's masterpiece From the Choirgirl Hotel , yet with each tour they continue to dig through her deep back catalog, reinventing old songs with new arrangements and conjuring up new classics. [...]
I'm officially on vacation now after easily the most busy week this year so far for me. Seems like a perfect time to post box of boom's "Summer: A to Z" mix, 26 summer songs starting with the letters A to Z, though only a few of these songs are explicitly about summer (Regina Spektor's "Summer in the City" and Hole's "Boys on the Radio," for example). 2 of my absolute favorite artists are represented with 2 songs each on this mix and in both cases, the songs come from the same album: Beck's Guero (my personal summer [...]
Just in time for the weekend, the official 2nd single from Whitney's upcoming album, I Look to You . Unlike the two dramatic comeback ballads before it, this is a totally upbeat and contagious R&B love song, "Million Dollar Bill" co-written by Alicia Keys (who also contributes back-up vocals) and Swizz Beatz. You can hear it on Whitney's official site at http://www.whitneyhouston.com or grab the mp3 below: Whitney Houston - "Million Dollar Bill" [ft. Alicia Keys] (mp3)
You might remember me mentioning the Wandas back in March when I raved about their live show I attended at Tommy Doyle's here in Boston - easily one of the most vital and refreshingly upbeat bands in the area. The band is now in consideration for sponsorship by Magic Hat Brewing Company as part of a contest where the winning band wins $1000, tour and online promotion, and help setting up some shows. The best part is you can help them win: head over to their entry page on the Magic Hat website and [...]
Here's the latest video from Bat for Lashes for "Sleep Alone" from the amazing Two Suns : I previously posted this great remix of “Sleep Alone” by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, who also produced Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ It’s Blitz! and songs on all of their previous albums. Sitek beefs up the track with some extra instrumentation, but wisely leaves the original vocal intact. Bat for Lashes - "Sleep Alone [909s In DarkTimes Mix - Dave Sitek remix] (mp3)
box of boom
HAERTS – All The Days
PREVIEW: Hyperbits – Karekare (Original Mix)
The Cosmonauts :: Shaker
iTunes Leaks Kanye West’s Yeezus tracklisting??
Stream: Disclosure – When A Fire Starts To Burn
