Here's one of the best songs from Dr. Dog's great new album, Shame, Shame . My friend Lewis may or may not comment to remind me that he showed it to me, so a preemptive thank you to Lewis. If you live in or around the twin cities, you should come see them with me at the Fine Line April 17th. Dr. Dog - Where'd All The Time Go Amazon / iTunes -Chris
Whoa. I like Sleigh Bells a lot. Apparently they hit the blogosphere sometime last fall, but they're new to me. The Brooklyn duo consists of Alexis, a singer (and former fifth grade teacher) and Derek, a beat-maker and songwriter. It's only April, but I'm getting ready to blast their songs in my car this summer. I hope you enjoy these tunes as much as I do. Sleigh Bells - Ring Ring Sleigh Bells - A/B Machines Sleigh Bells on MySpace [...]
Dum Dum Girls- I Will Be We know Kristen Gundred as the drummer/lead singer of Grand Ole Party, but on the debut album I Will Be from LA's Dum Dum Girls, we see her performing/producing as Dee Dee and bringing the funk that can be seen in GOP with her. This is a short album filled with sparkling lo-fi rock tunes that should keep your foot a tappin'. You'll know if you like their sound instantly, so if you're digging the album opener I [...]
Hey! Help my friend Kerry Alexander win Ingrid Michaelson's Everybody Video Contest ! All you have to do is watch this video over and over until your eyes fall out. If she wins, she performs with Ingrid. Right now she's in second place with over 12,000 views. Make it happen, people. -Chris
She & Him- Volume Two Despite the weekend of gorgeous weather, we are now experiencing a relapse into colder temperatures, which isn't fun. In any event, if we ever do get a nice day again, this album will fit it perfectly. It's light, fleeting and innocent, and would compliment a spring day wonderfully with its shimmering lyrics and melodies. As catchy as this is, I feel like recently we've been lacking substantial, engrossing albums that can hold my attention for a long time. Who [...]
If ya haven't heard, Broken Social Scene is coming out with a new album in May. They've already released "World Sick," and it was good. Now you can hear "Forced to Love" and "All to All" streaming over at their website. Do it. Broken Social Scene's Website -Chris
Back in 1983, Ricky Gervais of The Office and Extras fame was in a pop duo in the UK called Seona Dancing. Being a large fan of Ricky's goofiness, I instantly checked out the song to find that not only was it a completely serious attempt, but that Ricky, the lead singer, actually lays out some decent vocals. The group released two singles in the 80s, neither of which charted well, but from a few listens are actually better than I would've expected. Enjoy "More to Lose," the New-Wave piano epic from Seona Dancing. [...]
Happy Birthday- s/t This was another meh week for new releases, but Happy Birthday's self-titled debut is a bit of fresh air. It's mostly filled with catchy lyrics and hooks, and some tunes are infectious and some aren't. But it's fun all the way through, and this song coupled with the nice weather we've been experiencing has got me thinking about how great Spring is. As a side note, if any of you are awake tomorrow morning from 2-5 EST, Donovan and I will be hosting [...]
I saw this over at MBV and felt like quickly passing it along, mostly because it's catchy and magical. They Shoot Music also a lot of other greats bands that you might want to check out. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down MySpace -Chandler
I love Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, and I love Joanna Newsom. Robin's cover of "On A Good Day" from Joanna's new album makes me love both of them even more. Enjoy! Fleet Foxes - On A Good Day (Joanna Newsom Cover) Fleet Foxes's MySpace -Chris
I have no reason to post this, except that it's awesome in so many ways. You can grab totally cool Eduard Hil T-shirts here . I mean, if you really want one. -Chandler
White Hinterland- Kairos To make up for a lack of quality releases last week (and lack of an f/k HH), we were blessed with a number of great ones yesterday, which makes this week's HH quite super. Out of the bunch, I've been listening to a lot of White Hinterland's Kairos more than the others. It's simply beautiful and spellbinding, and I love it. Having said that, there seems to be an album this week for everyone. With follow ups [...]
Could Zooey Deschanel be any more adorable? She already had singing and acting in her repertoire, but in this video for "In the Sun" off their upcoming Volume Two , she adds dancing the video beautifully. This song feels perfect for the current situation in recently sunny Connecticut, where temperatures have skyrocketed into the mid-fifties! M. Ward seems perfectly content to take the backseat to Zooey in both the actual music and the video, where he makes more of a cameo that a feature appearance, although he's got his own gig so I understand. Volume Two comes [...]
I've been loving this new song from Dr. Dog . Get Pumped for their new album Shame, Shame, coming April 6th. Dr. Dog - Shadow People Amazon / iTunes -Chris
With Conan out of the late night game, our late night viewing habits have shifted to Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show only, leaving the TV dark from 11:30-12:30. Last night the Russian band Mumiy Troll made an appearance on the show. Although I had never heard of the band, (despite their having been around for 25 years apparently). They performed "Polar Bear," as you'd be able to tell from the woman who comes out on stage wearing a polar bear costume. This was far and away the most eccentric and involved performance I've ever seen from a band on a [...]
Hey! If you live in the twin cities, check out Cataldo and Laura Veirs at The Cedar Cultural Center tomorrow night . It's gonna be a great show, and I love the Cedar. Doors open at 7pm. Here's a video of Laura Veirs from NPR Music. Eric Anderson, lead singer of Cataldo and a Macalester grad, is the dude in the glasses. Enjoy! -Chris If the video doesn't load for you, here's a link to NPR .
There is a blog devoted to pictures of people hugging Joanna Newsom's latest album, Have One On Me . This is my roommate, Brian. He can be found midway down page two. People Hugging the New Joanna Newsom Album -Chris
Kate Nash seems a little...angry. Kate Nash's 2007 Made of Bricks was a really charming little album, filled with bubblegum pop piano riffs about love and growing up. I have no idea what the themes of Kate's upcoming album are going to be, it's untitled as of now, (the download from Nash's official website marks the album title as "Final Mastered Album" in my iTunes) but judging on a preliminary listen to "I Just Love You More," things seem to have changed a lot. Nash is still singing about love and things still don't seem like they're working [...]
Joanna Newsom- Have One On Me In case you hadn't been paying attention, Joanna Newsom's newest album since '06 hit stores yesterday to considerable amount of praise. Spanning over 2 hours on 3 cds, everyone's favorite harpist turns in an effort that can be categorized as nothing short of epic. In fact, the only complaint I can possibly make is that it's just too much material, which, in fairness, shouldn't be a complaint. But I just can't find 2 hours to sit down and listen to this thing [...]
This track is so awesome and made me very happy. via the hood internet . The Hood Internet - The XX Gon' Give It To Ya (DMX vs The xx) -Donovan
fork/knife
No Church In The Wild
Nas - Daughters
The Rains of Castamere by The National
CHROMATICS "THESE STREETS WILL NEVER LOOK THE SAME"
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Avicii – Two Million
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
iamamiwhoami: kin - Teaser
