Sitting here in the afterglow of day two - resting sore muscles and reflecting on an impossible collection of hard-earned memories - I feel like I'm starting to come to terms with Coachella. Read More...
Before we get into Saturday, let's not bury the day's big lede: R. Kelly joined Phoenix on stage to perform his biggest crossover that isn't from the Space Jam soundtrack, "Ignition (Remix)." Not quite the Daft Punk cameo folks rumored, definitely worthy of its own post. Which is here . Earlier in Day 1, in the space I will affectionately call EDM Town - where the electronic music tent is located - it was hard not to feel like we had been transported to another festival. Everything was a little more neon, everyone [...]
Obviously, the best music-related video of the past seven days is the yelling goats remix of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble," and the second best is Wale attempting to fight a Toronto Raptors announcer during a game. Neither of these, however, is an actual music video, so I had to pick five others. Those five are below. Read More...
So we reach the business end of this year's album poll, as voted for by the State writers and photographers. This next selection features a total of six debuts, proving that new talent is still the lifeblood of the music world. In addition there's the return of an elder statesman and a sparkling release from a pair of Irish siblings. 20. Passion Pit - Gossamer Michael Angelakos digs deep. 19. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Trouble Summery dance vibes meets pop nous. [...]
Anyone searching for insight as to Natasha Khan's ambition on her latest Bat For Lashes album need only take a look at the striking cover image. Fully nude with a male body draped across her torso, Khan is an artist without a mask, stripped of her trademark future-bohemian garb. Echoing a previous image by photographer Ryan McGinley, it preempts the album's content: laid bare to the world, she still stands confident and strong as a musician. Having stated that a new found sense of ancestry and return to her roots influenced this album, Khan [...]
Here's a weird and indefensible but completely genuine reaction that much-anticipated new albums sometimes provoke: I wish it was better . It's one thing if a band you like suddenly shits the bed on a new album; God knows, that happens enough. But when someone follows up a record that hit a chord deep within you with an album that's merely good, or even vaguely great, the reaction doesn't make as much sense. That's when you start judging it by the yardstick that only ever existed inside your brain. It's a shitty reaction because it involves judging the album [...]
This Friday sees the release of The Haunted Man , the new album from Bat For Lashes . We'll bring you a review next week, but in the meantime here's a six track taster.
Obviously, this week's best music video wasn't a music video at all: It was the one where Gunplay goes fishing . I could've watched that for at least two hours. But if you insist on actual music videos, there were some good examples of that this week, as well. We've got five below. Read More...
It's been three long years since Natasha Khan - aka Bat For Lashes - released the wildly popular Two Suns (the best album ever to feature a song based on a character from The Karate Kid ), so the imminent arrival of her forthcoming The Haunted Man is good news for anyone who loves smart, art-inflected pop music ... or just happens to have a strong affinity for Natasha Khan (i.e., a lot of people). It's hard not to be charmed by her. " Laura " - the first single from the new record - [...]
A selection of photos from Sunday at Electric Picnic 2012 by Debbie Hickey and Luis Faustino .
This was an amazing week for videos, but not a great week for videos with anything in common with each other. Here's the only narrative I thread I can pull from the five videos below: Two of them are inspirational sports stories, though that's really all they have in common. So: Olympics? We'll go with that. Watch the videos below. Read More...
Stereogum This was an amazing week for videos, but not a great week for videos with anything in common with each other. Here's the only narrative I thread I can pull from the five videos below: Two of them are inspirational sports stories, though that's really all they have in common. So: Olympics? We'll go with that. Watch the videos below. Read More... [...]
Stereogum A flurry of Bat For Lashes news hit the web this afternoon as she premiered the studio version of " Laura " on BBC1. Capitalizing on that attention, Bat For Lashes also dropped the beautiful, theatrical clip for the track. Scope all that and the NSFW The Haunted Man album cover down below. Read More... [...]
Yesterday, Bat For Lashes announced plans to release her third album The Haunted Man . And last night, she played at the Junction in Cambridge, her first British show in two years. During the show, she debuted a few new songs that will presumably appear in some form on The Haunted Man . "Marilyn" is lush synthpop, "Laura" is a still and mourful piano ballad, and "A Wall" is expansively chiffony goth-pop. Watch fan-made videos of Natasha Khan performing all three below, and check out the setlist. Read More...
Stereogum Yesterday, Bat For Lashes announced plans to release her third album The Haunted Man . And last night, she played at the Junction in Cambridge, her first British show in two years. During the show, she debuted a few new songs that will presumably appear in some form on The Haunted Man . "Marilyn" is lush synthpop, "Laura" is a still and mourful piano ballad, and "A Wall" is expansively chiffony goth-pop. Watch fan-made videos of Natasha Khan performing all three [...]
Yesterday we posted a live version of an ethereal new tune Bat For Lashes did at Australia's Vivid Festival. The second part of the Opera House set was performed acoustic with a string quartet - six songs of which five were covers (The Cure, Depeche Mode, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Dimitri Tiomkin/Ned Washington). Over the past five years Natasha Khan has taken to heightening the drama and mysticism of the most gothic tunes by artists who've inspired her; even her body language is haunting in this performance of Disintegration 's "Lullaby." So while we wait [...]
Yes, yes ya'll, we are back. Great time to get our weekly mixtapes back up and running for everyone to enjoy, as I am no longer planning my wedding or on my honeymoon. Yup, Tracy and I have been happily married for two months now, thankyouverymuch ! Here's some new stuff that trickled into our offices or that stumbled blindly into my Google Reader that I couldn't ignore. In this edition: Kings of Leon , Bat for Lashes , The Faint , Houseguest , Jem , [...]
Stereogum
State Magazine
Groove Radio PT
Radio Exile
Boards of Canada
The Weeknd - Kiss Land
Washed Out - Paracosm (Official Album Trailer)
Julia Holter - World (Official Video)
She & Him- I Could've Been Your Girl
Action Bronson - "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" (Official Video)
Daft Punk: When anonymity goes wrong
Washed Out Announces New Album: Paracosm
Review: Body Language – Grammar [EP]
Daft Punk “Get Lucky” With 1st Top 10 Hit In America
