Intro by Fense: Each year I look forward to posting Nate's top album picks. First, he uses phrases like "silly-good." But it's mostly because he always has a different perspective, sometimes finding obscure items to drop in or checking out albums I wanted to hear but didn't have a change to for some reason or another, other times dropping in albums from genres I typically ignore (um... hip hop). This year he went one step further and gave us his top 15 local songs as well. (BONUS!!!) Read on and let us know your favorite pick of 2012! [...]
Well we made it through the year, through another apocalypse, through another mud-slinging election and we are safely landing in the warm bosom of 2013, emerging anew. I'm not going to pretend I listened to everyone's favorite album this year, but after some reflection, 2012 was a pretty-fucking-good year. There was hardly a game-changer in the bunch with perhaps the exception of one rap wunderkind from Compton, but that doesn't make it my favorite record of the year. My list is dominated by guitar, call me old-fashioned, call me predictable (I might be)-I still find that the ancient [...]
Suggested NYC Concerts The Best Indie Shows Hand-picked Each Week Is it really already December? As the year begins to wind down, there are a ton of great bands in town playing shows across Brooklyn and Manhattan. Of all those shows, we're not surprisingly most excited about the one we're putting on at Knitting Factory in Williamsburg on Friday night . I started this blog 3 years ago, and to celebrate our birthday/anniversary, we decided it would be [...]
Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: Built To Spill, Yuck Song: Cymbals Eat Guitars - Hawk Highway [download here ] What's so good? These days [...]
photo by Brittney Bollay Seattle can now claim a hold on summer as we reach post-80 degree weather this week! (Sorry, rest of the country, but we've earned this!) No matter where you are, though, or whether you're sitting out on the beach, picnicking in a park, heading out on a long roadtrip or just chilling at home, you're going to want to soundtrack these hot summer days with some hot new jams. To help beef up your playlists, we've asked KEXP DJs and staff what's in their heavy rotation this summer. Carol [...]
After taking its sweet time last year, summer has struck back with a vengeance. At least here in the midwest, 90+ degree temperatures and clear, sunny skies are quickly becoming the norm. Of course, with the changing of the seasons not only comes trips to the beach and increased slushie sales but exuberant, feel-good summer jams. As is our tradition here at Music For Ants, we're providing a mix that will hopefully soundtrack some of your 2012 summer memories. Download below or take a listen at Spotify . Enjoy! MP3 Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built [...]
Here is this week's music singles chart for the week ending April 15 - 21. So we have a new #1 and it goes to Kingston's PS I Love You. Sentimental Dishes/Princess Towers are taken from the upcoming album "Death Dreams" which drops on May 8th. Love both of these tacks and can't wait for the new album. There are new debuts from Great Lake Swimmers and Bear In Heaven. Just for kicks in this week's chart, I added Gotye thanks in part of SNL and Glee's version of the song. Check it out! [...]
[Check out these new songs from three massive albums we anticipate this year...] Japandroids , "The House That Heaven Built" — When we last saw Japandroids play an FYF Fest set , they revealed a few new songs as they were busy recording their long-awaited follow-up their 2009 debut "Post-Nothing." We finally have a taste of the forthcoming record titled "Celebration Rock" (out June 5 via Polyvinyl), and "The House That Heaven Built" is another tasty slice of pop-punk featuring explosive guitar riffs [...]
HBO's medieval drama Game Of Thrones premieres April 1, and this season's plot involves five different claims to the throne and these respective factions' ongoing clobbering of one another (#TeamRobb). But, yet another mantle is up for grabs, one that involves absolutely nobody getting their head cut off; the claim to "your album of the summer," a competition that includes many of the 25 albums in our list. While bands like Beach House and Bear In Heaven have already earned their inclusion, many details are just beginning to emerge about many of the [...]
Click image to download full album Sounds like: Japandroids, Bear In Heaven, No Age "Cymbals Eat Guitars - Shore Points" What's so good? It's almost here, guys!! Cymbals Eat Guitars drops their new album, Lenses Alien , on August 30, and I think all you dedicated fans will be pretty pleased. Sure, it's a new release, but I feel 16 years old again while [...]
Click image for more artist information Sounds like: Japandroids, Bear In Heaven, No Age "Cymbals Eat Guitars - Definite Darkness" What's so good? Step into the psych-pop sound of Cymbals Eat Guitars' new single, "Definite Darkness." It's a wondrous teetering blend of progressive pop and psychedelic grunge that refuses to meld into one specific genre; the same goes for the band itself. [...]
Click image for more artist information Sounds like: Japandroids, Bear In Heaven, No Age "Cymbals Eat Guitars - Definite Darkness" What's so good? Step into the psych-pop sound of Cymbals Eat Guitars' new single, "Definite Darkness." It's a wondrous teetering blend of progressive pop and psychedelic grunge that refuses to meld into one specific genre; the same goes for the band itself. [...]
takes some amazing - mostly music-related - photos. Here are just a couple of his recent shots that I like: (Women) (Japandroids) (HEALTH) (Caribou) (Bear In Heaven) You can just tell from his pictures that he connects with these artists and he chooses them wisely too. He's only one year [...]
I was extremely excited and sort of not that excited about this show for a long time. Looking forward to it because I hadn't been to a show at the Blind Pig in probably a year and a half, and because I have been all about Brooklyn's Bear in Heaven and Vancouver's Japandroids for quite some time. But I wasn't looking forward to it because Monday shows are difficult to recover from. And to make things worse, the show was in Ann Arbor, which, thanks to my recent move, was now just about [...]
Though Brooklyn's Bear in Heaven has been around since 2003, it was just last year that they made their biggest splash with their album "Beast Rest Forth Mouth". Since I'm usually way behind the game, I just finally picked up this album a few weeks back and have given it a few listens and am really liking what I'm hearing. I've been struggling with how to describe the sound of the album, but I think I'm comfortable in saying that it reminds me a little bit of the subtle electronic future and/or outer space, but not [...]
It's been a crazy last year-and-a-half for the Vancouver noise rockers Japandroids . Not only did they release the wonderful Post-Nothing , but not they can sing all their songs live and are playing Bonnaroo this June. How many of us can say that? Anyhow, the duo of Brian King and David Prowse are now gearing up for their next venture. Per Pitchfork , the band will be releasing a series of 73 singles (five to be exact) throughout 2010. Each will include one new song (along [...]
Harlem (recently signed to Matador) Play Spaceland on February 20th Echo Mondays in February: Useless Keys 1/16/10: A.A. Bondy (now at Ticketweb) 1/17/10: The Yummy Fur (now) 1/21/10: Music Go Music (now) 1/30/10: Bowerbirds (now) 2/16/10: Magic Kids / Pearl Harbour (now) 3/12/10: The Cave Singers / The Dutchess and the Duke / The Moondoggies (now) 3/24/10: Cymbals Eat Guitars / Bear in Heaven MP3: Bag of Bags (now) Echoplex 2/11/10: Eydea [...]
I'm not sure what's more impressive: Japandroids' upcoming tour or their performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. Let's evaluate. The newly announced world tour, which launches late this month in Europe and will keep the Vancouver outfit on the road through late April with stops in the UK, Canada, and U.S., follows what was already a boatload of dates to cap off 2009 . In fact, at last count, by the time April 24th rolls around, Japandroids will have been on the road for eight of the last ten months. [...]
To whomever's in charge of booking over at Camp Fallon: we'd very much like to hug you and buy you one large beer. Over the past several months, the list of musical guests stopping by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has been as breathtaking as that kind of thing can be. The Pixies showed up. Jawbox was there. Julian Casablancas spread Christmas cheer alongside a now slender Horatio Sanz. Many, many exciting things happened. Well tonight, Japandroids will be appearing on the show to perform Post Nothing highlight "Wet Hair" for the very first time. Considering what a [...]
Happy New Year. First great music news of said new year? Soundgarden reunion is a go! How f'ing crazy is that? I guess Chris Cornell finally came to his senses. Maybe his shitty Timbaland produced R&B album, which bombed horribly, was the last straw or this is just a reunion tour cash grab. We shall see. I'm pretty pumped tough. I finally [...]
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