The Big Pink took the stage at Bowery Ballroom as a 4-piece (guitar, synth/sampler, bass and drums) and proceeded to wail through a set a noisy-electro-rock. They worked through most of their debut album, A Brief History of Love , and threw in a well-placed, folky cover of Otis Redding's 'These Arms of Mine.' Not only was the music impressive but the show was visually successful as well. The lights, designed by the band themselves, were heavy on backlit strobes, but also featured moving lights and were done simply, yet cleverly enough to keep [...]
Photo via ICT Mag Phish at the Garden is tough to beat. 20,000 kids piled into the arena last night (12/2) and were treated with two rollicking sets of rock, bluegrass, extended jams, ballads and covers...everything I've come to expect from the band. The sound was crystal clear, despite Trey Anastasio's eternal desire to make sure his guitar is mixed louder than any other instrument. Page McConnell's piano was allowed to shine however on two of the night's highlights, a [...]
I'm hyped to announce that Blackraptor. has teamed with the talented gang at Quiet Color to bring some new elements to each site. In addition to blogging ahead of the curve on the world of indie rock and visual arts, Quiet Color also acts as an indie label and promotes shows (see pic below of their anti-CMJ show featuring Sleigh Bells , impressive). My first post on their site covers Gui Boratto and is up now . Check it out, check out their site and if you dig [...]
Hans-Peter Lindstrom, the Norske space-disco producer has teamed up with vocalist Christabelle (under the monikor Lindstrom & Christabelle ) to put together what promises to be one of 2010's best records. Full of sonic beats, pop-vocals, scattered brass & piano, Quincy Jones-style funk and lots of groove, the album is made for the dance floor and is sure to be a target for dozens of remixes. This is everything I love about music. Skål to Norway. The album, Real Life is No Cool , is due January 19th and can be pre-ordered here . [...]
BlakRoc is The Black Keys & a stable of hip-hop vets and rookies alike, all brought together by Damon Dash. The album was made in 11 days, contains 11 tracks and features 11 guest artists including Ol' Dirty Bastard, Jim Jones, RZA, Mos Def, Ludacris, NOE, Pharoahe Monch, Nicole Wray, Raekwon, Q-Tip and Billy Danze. Album drops Friday, 11/27, pick it up here . ODB's verse and Nicole Wray's soul vocals are high points. Check out two tracks below. BlakRoc - Done Did It (feat. Nicole Wray & NOE) [...]
Have you ever had the urge to spin some disco but were passed a huge spliff at the same moment? I thought so. Let me guess, you weren't sure if you should crank up the tunes or dial it back a bit? Tricky, but a good problem to have. Well, CFCF (aka Montreal's Justin Silver) is here to meet you half way. It's one part Italo-disco, one part French House and one part smooth jazz or, as I like to call it, stoner-disco. Check it out here . The first two tracks on the myspace page should be skipped [...]
Sleigh Bells bring chaos. Raw, metallic guitars, blown-out beats and grime vocals combine to make something that on first take seems almost unlistenable. Once you get past the fact that it's supposed to sound like that, you can start to bob your head. Underneath the noize are edgy pop songs that will make the lighthearted on the dance floor seek shelter. It's a Brooklyn-based duo: Derek Miller handles the guitar and beats while Alexis Krauss rips the vocals. It's the kind of music that could make the prez grab his katana and make tigers scale stadiums. It's fresh [...]
Benyaro is a roots-folk trio from Brooklyn that has paid their dues by playing subway platforms, touring relentlessly, self-releasing their debut album and slowly building a word-of-mouth following. At the core is Ben Musser, an Austin transplant with a unique soulful voice and an acoustic guitar. Musser's sister, Meg Chamberlin, joined the band to lend vocals (think Caitlin Cary ) and some percussion while Bobby McCullough plays upright bass. The band is currently recording their follow-up LP but plays a hometown gig at Southpaw on November 24th. Tickets are $10 at the door. Get a taste [...]
A friend of mine sent me a link last week to a Dutch website called 22 Tracks . The site has 20 tabs across the top representing different genres of music. Under each tab are listed 22 tracks of music hand-picked by genre specific experts from Amsterdam. You can stream the tracks non-stop from for free, "no registration, no hassle. The easy way." So far, I've delved into Disco, Soul, Funk-Jazz, Dubstep, Pop and World Grooves and I'm impressed. If you need a break from your iTunes library or need some new music recommendations, there's nowhere better to go. [...]
I rolled a 49 I was in heaven last night at Brooklyn Bowl (10/23). DFA DJ's spinning, Kelso Nut Brown Lager , bowling, disco fries, a Yacht show and best of all, a set from Special Disco Version . Not to mention, it was free. The music got better and better as the night went on, and honestly I had no idea who was spinning prior to Yacht's set, and it didn't really matter. The place filled up [...]
***VIDEO FROM THE SHOW TO BE ADDED THIS EVENING*** The Antlers It was my first time seeing each of these bands and The Antlers set clearly stood above the rest (10/20). The band (composed of guitar, keys/synth and drums) was able to balance their delicate lyrics and soft piano with wailing guitar fuzz, thick synth and booming drums. It all worked beautifully, particularly on tracks like "Kettering." Their best song of the night (and set closer) "Two" sounded like a [...]
LCD Soundsystem 's show at Randall's Island with Blonde Redhead and Arcade Fire was almost exactly two years ago. Since then I've been forced to rely on James & Pats excellent Special Disco Version DJ sets as the band has taken an extended break from recording & touring. At long last, things are starting to heat up again. The band just announced the release of a 123 single, "Bye Bye Bayou", a cover of the Alan Vega track from 1980. Check it out below. [...]
I went through a long phase of listening to sad music that my friends constantly complained about and dubbed 'slit-your-wrist-rock.' I was taken by music that expressed pain and hurt so beautifully. Music by people like Elliot Smith, Antony Hagerty and Scott Hutchinson. Recently, I've emerged on the other end of the spectrum, focusing on the heavy wave of upbeat electro, indie-pop and nu-disco that's taken over. Tonight I listened to the The Antlers record Hospice for the first time and immediately reverted to my former self. This is an album of [...]
We're going all over the genre-map today. The only thing tying these tracks together is the fact that I've came across them this past week. First off, I stumbled upon this High Five for Sci-fi Mixtape from Danish DJ-duo Vogelspand . It's old-school Italo-Disco in all its glory. This is one of my favorite discoveries of the year. Respect to Vogelspand, this tape is blazin'. Next is "Building [...]
I got married last weekend and when deciding on music to be played throughout the ceremony, we settled on a couple of Sufjan Stevens' songs. We returned to NYC in time to catch Sufjan play the final night of his run in the city (10/7) and my new bride joked that we were taking a honeymoon to Brooklyn. As expected, Sufjan delivered. Kicking things off on banjo with 'The Mistress Witch from McClure' (video coming soon) Sufjan was joined only by a horn section and the crowd's absolute silence. He wasted no time in showing off his new [...]
'Swim Until You Can't See Land' is the first single from Frightened Rabbit 's upcoming album, due out next Spring on Fat Cat. This track as well as the B-side 'Fun Stuff' are streaming here . The album is untitled for now, but is alongside the upcoming LCD Soundsystem record as my most anticipated of next year. Thx QC. The band is currently touring thru the UK and Europe and has no current US dates listed at this time. Scott discussed the single on his myspace blog: Anyways, the song [...]
Wha-What!!? WHOA! Thom's post on Dead Air Space ... hi in the past couple of weeks i've been getting a band together for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc.. to see if it could work! here's a photo.. its me, joey waronker, mauro refosco, flea and nigel godrich. at the beginning of october the 4th and 5th we are going to do a couple of shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. we don't really have a name and the set will not be [...]
Despite being banned from Giants Stadium for life (long story), I rolled out there on the new NJ Transit train line that goes to the Meadowlands last night for U2. More on that commute later. U2's stage set was a made up of a huge claw with the stage in the middle and a gigantic 360 degree LED screen hanging above. The stage was 'in the round' and connected by bridges to a narrow rim that circled the stage so Bono and the Edge could walk amongst the fans. They started off with a few new [...]
The indie Gods smiled upon us today...and by that, I mean Pavement. After two days of rumors and a 10-year hiatus, Malkmus and company made the comeback official today in a statement from their label Matador: "Pavement's catalog ... has come to define in the eyes of many the blueprint for independent rock over the past generation," the press release says. "An evidentiary compilation release is planned to coincide with the touring sometime in 2010. ... Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion." [...]
Donning their signature white masks, Miike Snow came out swinging at a packed Mercury Lounge last night, 9/15. After opening with 'Burial', they tossed their masks aside and ripped into 'Black & Blue', a tune that, while still heavy on the electro, showed the bands strength at disco-soul. The clear highlight was ' Silvia ', a song that begins with more focused vocals and structure and then morphs into a banging electro track with thick vocal effects and building beats. The furious finale of the song had Mark Ronson , who happened to be standing in front [...]
Blackraptor.
Avicii – Two Million
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
iamamiwhoami: kin - Teaser
