Wednesday, December 16, 2009

WHITE SKY

you can listen to the song that has defined my life since i first heard it on vampire weekend's myspace.

i would like to also point out that today, december 17 2009, is my two year anniversary with this band. two years ago today i downloaded cape cod kwassa kwassa and that radiohead cover whilst sitting at my dad's computer doing work for my job. this is the best present i could imagine on our anniversary, thanks guys

SORRY

about my lack of updates. i have really been posting nothing and i apologize to the five people who read this blog. i'm going to make it up to you now, though.
on a whim the other day i decided to download the complete beirut discography. zach condon is a truly impressive songwriter. his work really has to be heard to be believed. and he's so young, which is stunning and really inspiring.



I MEAN, LISTEN TO THAT GOD DAMN VOICE.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

2009 IN LISTS

gonna keep some of my classic lists from LAST YEAR and spice it up a bit with some new ones too. but! NO REPEATS!

TOP 4 TIMES I SAW VAMPIRE WEEKEND IN 2009
1. all points west, 7.31
2. columbia university, 4.18
3. some random studio in midtown manhattan, 7.22
4. new york times building, 1.12

TOP 5 HOTTIES I SPENT THE MAJORITY OF CONCERTS STARING AT IN 2009
1. CHRIS BEAR, drums, grizzly bear
2. HAMILTON LEITHAUSER, singing, the walkmen
3. ALEX SCALLY, guitar, beach house
4. LUKE TEMPLE, singing / guitar, here we go magic
5. ROBIN PECKNOLD, singing / guitar, fleet foxes

TOP 3 "MAINSTREAM" SONGS I REALLY UNDENIABLY LOVED IN 2009
1. lady gaga's "bad romance"
2. lady gaga's "poker face"
3. lady gaga's "paparazzi"

TOP 3 SONGS IN WITH SOME VOCALS IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE
1. very best + ezra koenig "warm heart of africa" (not sure what language this is)
2. maluca "el tigeraso" (spanish)
3. fool's gold "surprise hotel" (hebrew)

TOP 5 HOT ACCENTS OF 2009
1. thomas mars, phoenix
2. everyone else in phoenix (when talking in interviews)
3. orlando weeks, the maccabees
4. sam eastgate, late of the pier
5. romy madley croft and oliver sim, the xx

TOP 5 BEST COVERS OF 2009
1. white hinterland "my love" (justin timberlake)
2. local natives "warning sign" (talking heads)
3. skeleton me "fireworks" (animal collective)
4. solange "stillness is the move" (dirty projectors)
5. britt daniel + white rabbits "instant karma" (john lennon)

BEST MUSTACHES OF 2009
the men of LOCAL NATIVES
namely singer and guitarist taylor rice (in nike shirt)

TOP 5 MOST AWESOME / RIDICULOUS LYRICS OF 2009
1. "when i saw you at the discotheque... send my vibe out to you" --- discovery, so insane
2. "i know the horizon is flat and motionless like the ekg of a dying woman" --- dirty projectors, temecula sunrise
3. "duel it duel it duel it jugulate duel it duel it" --- phoenix, lisztomania
4. "i just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls" --- animal collective, my girls
5. "in december drinking horchata i'd look psychotic in a balaclava" --- vampire weekend, horchata

TOP 5 SEXIEST JAMZ OF 2009
1. dirty projectors, stillness is the move
2. discovery, so insane
3. very best + MIA, rain dance
4. late of the pier, heartbeat
5. warpaint, krimson

BEST USE OF AN IPHONE IN 2009
THIS

TOP 5 RIDICULOUS / DUMB THINGS I DID FOR MUSIC IN 2009
1. stand outside a window in 40 degree weather to see white rabbits at a 21+ bar
2. wait for 2+ hours while katy perry cleaned her shit out of the studio at mtv unplugged so i could see vampire weekend tape mtv unplugged
3. stand in the mud/rain for 3+ hours to see fleet foxes, national, vampire weekend, yeah yeah yeahs, jay-z
4. arrive almost four hours early to williamsburg so i could get into grizzly bear
5. sleep on my friend's floor at smith college so that i could stay for the entirety of the walkmen's set at pearl street

TOP 5 THINGS I AM REALLY EXCITED FOR IN 2010
1. CONTRA
2. TRANSFERENCE
3. NEW YEASAYER! NEW ARCADE FIRE! NEW NATIONAL? NEW WALKMEN? NEW ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI?
4. seeing white rabbits inside a building
5. warpaint's full-length

TOP 5 BANDS THAT I EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM IN 2010
1. local natives
2. warpaint
3. sleigh bells
4. cloud nothings
5. two states

LOCAL NATIVES

arcade fire + vampire weekend = local natives, and they are going to be huge in 2010. just you watch.



these dudes have oft-anthemic killer jamz and a transfixing amazing insane live show. i don't want to live in a universe where that does not spell SUCCESS.

proof:

SUN HANDS --- LOCAL NATIVES

WATCH IT LIVE for more proof

Monday, December 7, 2009

CLOUD NOTHINGS

i am ashamed to admit that i looked up this band because of how cute they appeared in the brooklynvegan photo set that introduced me to their existence.

look at their bassist. you will understand


anyway, it turns out that they're really good. don't you love how that works out sometimes!

CAN'T STAY AWAKE --- CLOUD NOTHINGS

Saturday, December 5, 2009

FAVORITE CONCERTS OF 2009

i only did six last year, but i've seen sixty-seven bands so far this year (not counting the five bands i saw multiple times) and i felt like ten shows had to be represented. let's count backwards, shall we...

first, some props to beach house, hatcham social, here we go magic, andrew bird, and japandroids for putting on excellent shows this year that didn't make the cut.

10. WARPAINT 10.16 @ PEARL STREET NIGHTCLUB
having only heard elephants i expected good but not great and then there were three beautiful girls on this tiny stage who proceeded to make some of the most haunting, powerful, and gorgeous music i'd heard all year - well played, ladies.

9. DIRTY PROJECTORS 7.19 @ WILLIAMSBURG WATERFRONT
the sun set behind their heads: i see that my silhouette is golden, yeah; dancing, sunlight - dave and amber and angel and brian broke out some tracks from rise above and new attitude, "gimme i need some more don't ask what for."

8. RA RA RIOT 4.4 @ WEBSTER HALL
what i said then: "no one in this cavernous room stands still, and everything jitters electrically." this band deliver, constantly, without fail.

7. YEASAYER 8.13 @ A PIER ON THE LOWER WEST SIDE
ambling alp before we knew what it was, tightrope, sunrise, 2080 - all well and good, but what still sticks with me is wait for the wintertime, this intense sensual onslaught.

6, 5, 4.
FLEET FOXES,
THE NATIONAL,
VAMPIRE WEEKEND,
at ALL POINTS DAMP 2009
fleet foxes played, the gathering clouds eerily visible, an extraordinary and otherworldly cold breeze coming out of nowhere, and at the end of their set as if by magic it began to rain; the national came on and it started to pour and matt berninger sang with his eyes closed standing very still until mr. november when he came down with us and the crowd wrapped him up in open wet arms; vampire weekend came on and it was raining so hard they had to stop using half the cameras and toward the end of oxford comma one of the cameramen on stage snuck up behind ezra's back and the picture on the screen was that plaid shirt and that huge crowd and new york city behind us and this black black terrible beautiful sky. i knew vampire weekend could bring in the rain, and bring it they did - but the national and fleet foxes surprised me.

3. THE WALKMEN 9.20 @ PEARL STREET NIGHTCLUB
a foot off the floor on a low stage in a dark room hamilton leithauser screamed a song about someone named angela the way he yells everything, that fantastic and breathtaking and incredible yell, from somewhere i can't see in a skinny tall blonde guy, and the drums and the drums and the drums and the reverb on the guitar and the horns. the walkmen know what they are doing.

2. FOOL'S GOLD 11.21 @ PEARL STREET NIGHTCLUB
jamming out a song of seven minutes in length into possibly fifteen ecstatic sweaty minutes of dancing with three afro-pop guitars and saxophone and countless means of percussion and melismatic hebrew vocals - does this sound like the most amazing fifteen minutes of your life, or does this sound like the most amazing fifteen minutes of your life.

1. GRIZZLY BEAR 5.29 @ TOWN HALL
this is summed up by a text i sent to my father while i was walking down the stairs out to the street with nicole afterwards. "gb just blew my mind off my face"


still coming: favorite songs, what i'm looking forward to in 2010, and a LIST SUMMARY of 2009 :)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2009

i just made my top five list for pitchfork's reader's poll and figured i'd do it RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW for you guys!

runners up:
passion pit, manners
phoenix, wolfgang amadeus phoenix
various, dark was the night
it's frightening, white rabbits

#5 FOOL'S GOLD, FOOL'S GOLD

NADINE

#4 DIRTY PROJECTORS, BITTE ORCA

REMADE HORIZON (LIVE FOR WXPN)

#3 LATE OF THE PIER, FANTASY BLACK CHANNEL

SPACE AND THE WOODS

#2 DISCOVERY, LP

SO INSANE

#1 GRIZZLY BEAR, VECKATIMEST

CHEERLEADER


this top 5 is not very diverse in terms of place --- three bands from brooklyn, one from LA, one from britain. i think it is very diverse in terms of sound (and even moreso when we consider the runners-up!) starting off with fool's gold, a very world-beat album, to dave longstreth's deconstructed talking headsy/pop opus, to synthed out british eighties revivalist new wave, to an electronic pop album by two guys who helm orchestral indie bands, to VECK, FUCKING VECK, far and away the greatest thing i heard this year, total pure gorgeous quasi-pastoral dizzy orchestrations. beautiful.
but seriously, all these albums are so different and so great and real standouts in their respective fields. each one is worth your time!
this was a great year and i'm looking forward to 2010 more than anything.
i'm going to do favorite songs, concerts, and things i'm looking forward to next year. i'm in the middle of writing little blurbs and stories about every song, i'm excited for you to read them!

Monday, November 30, 2009

WRITTEN IN REVERSE

TIME FOR YOU GUYS TO HEAR THE FIRST SINGLE FROM SPOON'S TRANSFERENCE.


WRITTEN IN REVERSE. it takes some NPR spelunking to find it, but i'm sure you'll be able to. that piano intro.... dear god in heaven. if my roommates were not in my room i probably would've screamed out loud. something about that piano is sooooo sexy. i don't even know what it is.
i'm sure you REMEMBER THIS POST... well, my feelings have not changed.

BONUS FLASHBAQ TIME: SPOON LIVE SOMEWHERE IN KNOXVILLE IN JUNE OF 1996. i was FIVE YEARS OLD when this show was recorded and it's full of some of my favorite spoon songs. take a walk doesn't even have real lyrics yet BUT IT'S SO SICK.

archive.org has a ton of spoon bootlegs you should check out. i'm making my way through all the pre-2000 ones! i can't believe i've only seen this band once --- and when i saw them i only knew gimme fiction stuff. NOW THAT I AM AWARE OF THEIR ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY...

OLD SCHOOL DPZ



lately i've been really into dirty projectors circa getty address (2005) and the new attitude ep (2006). both of these recordings precede the lineup pictured above and are totally ridiculous and awesome. to give you a hint: for getty address dave longstreth gathered together a touring lineup of about fifteen people which included TWO FLUTES, TWO SAXOPHONES, and TWO CELLOS.

anyway, here is a DIFFERENT LINEUP ENTIRELY doing two TOTAL JAMS for a college radio station in 2006. i wish more than anything that they had two sheep asleep up, but unfortunately they do not :( these recordings are amazing, though! check them out.

FUCKED FOR LIFE --- DIRTY PROJECTORS (from new attitude)
NOT HAVING FOUND --- DIRTY PROJECTORS (from getty address)

also, here's my favorite song from getty address, FINCHES' SONG AT OCEANIC PARKING LOT.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

FOOL'S GOLD

i went to go see fool's gold last weekend. sweet afro-pop jams, sung in hebrew, lots of percussion and saxophone. i wish i'd been into this in the summer. i've got to drive around playing their music ASAP!!
they're awesome live, let me tell you --- so much fun! such nice dudes, as well.



SURPRISE HOTEL --- FOOL'S GOLD
you can download this, just click "read full post."

and watch NADINE

Thursday, November 19, 2009

IDIOT DRIVER IDIOT DRIVE


reading decade-end lists really just makes me sad that people do not understand the pure unadulterated genius which is this band, spoon. their evolution as a band / sound absolutely blows my mind.

IDIOT DRIVER --- SPOON from telephono, released when i was five years old.

Monday, November 16, 2009

ME & MY YOU & YOUR

edited out of the review i am writing on this for PMA:
I read Andre Breton’s Soluble Fish today and I was struck by this one line: “The ground beneath my feet is nothing but an enormous unfolded newspaper” and my heart and my head and everything in me read, after the word “is:” HOT GARBAGE AND CONCRETE AND NOW THE TOPS OF BUILDINGS I CAN SEE THEM, TOO. So maybe what I am getting at here is that I am not impartial and perhaps somewhat of a terrible liberal arts student, inserting song lyrics into world-renowned surrealist works. Throughout everything the point remains that I like a band called Vampire Weekend and I like them a lot because perhaps with some strange telepathy they are capable of making songs that sound like what I want music to sound like. Luis asked me to be objective with the misguided faith that objectivity was possible for me, but I have never been able to make sense of my love for this band. I cannot explain it to people when they laugh at the round and complex number of times that I have seen them play live (eight as of now, probably ten by February). But I will try to make sense of how much I love Cousins, which is the first single from their second album, which is called Contra.

you can read the finished review on pma when it's done, i'll link you. for now:

COUSINS --- VAMPIRE WEEKEND (LISTEN ON PMA)

you can now read my completed review there as well.

PARDON ME WHILE I BECOME RELIGIOUS



GET THE MOTION --- SAM BUCK ROSEN
this song is so hot, i can't even get over it. i forgot how hot it was. the saxophone! the sexy lo-fi fuzz! the voice! gah! everything! lately i've been listening to it on virb because it was UNAVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD.
BUT NOT ANYMORE

if you do one thing that i recommend today, make it this thing. download this song right now, seriously. and then get down.

ps. this shuffled on my computer into lady gaga's recently leaked "fame monster" which is INCREDIBLE. seriously, go get your hands on that for sure.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

200

in honor of my two hundredth post and the constant youtube linking i've been doing lately, here's a fantastic, fantastic, fantastic cover i discovered by born ruffians' luke lalonde and his sister in a garage somewhere in canada, doing animal collective's fireworks.



all the singing in this is perfect. i love how luke does that whole "i've been eating with a good friend..." part. he has such a fantastic voice.

i've just rediscovered my love for born ruffians. every time i am on the radio i play something of theirs.

Friday, November 13, 2009

HOLIDAY SHORES



this florida quintet sounds like the walkmen covering vampire weekend. aka, AWESOME.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

OH MAN



born ruffians' new album is going to be AWESOME if the rest of it's anything like this. how GREAT is 2:30??? luke lalonde might be one of the best young songwriters out there. just sayin. but, i mean, come on.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

B I LL IEHO L ID A Y


these girls are truly incredible. you should see them live, too!

jenny lee lindberg (center in this video) is a phenomenal bass player, you really have to listen to believe it. even when the songs start off as moody dueling-guitar jams --- just listen.
KRIMSON --- WARPAINT

Saturday, November 7, 2009

INSTANT KARMA



lennon's instant karma covered by the inimitable white rabbits with the inimitable mr. britt daniel (can i marry your voice please). i am only blogging about three bands now, have you noticed?

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I LIED

there are days when i try to deny that my heart beats to the tune of merchants of soul. those are days when i lie to myself.



MYSTERY ZONE --- SPOON. here is a song from transference.
MONKEY FEELINGS --- SPOON. here is an old and fantastic b-side.

because i am required to mention white rabbits in this post:

percussion gun on TV with britt daniel on piano (don't tell me you didn't recognize him in the lower left with his distinctive nose and all). i died a little bit when i went to watch this and jimmy kimmel said "with a little help from britt daniel from spoon." oh god, universe! you're trying to kill me!

Monday, November 2, 2009

ALSO WHITE RABBITS. I'M ONLY GOING TO BLOG ABOUT TWO BANDS EVER AGAIN OR AT LEAST UNTIL TRANSFERENCE LEAKS


(bonus points for one of my favorite band photos ever)

WHITE RABBITS FOR DAYTROTTER
as always, the little essay by sean moeller is a perfect encapsulation of what makes this band so fucking great. foxhunting especially sounds fantastic recorded here. i love what this band do with their multitude of instruments - that whole fuzz section at the end with the piano sounds so ethereal and terrifying. i am beginning to realize why they called their album "it's frightening."

also, i mean, how many radically different incarnations of percussion gun have we heard? there's THE LOUD VERSION, the QUIET SEXY VERSION they played for kexp, and now THIS quiet sexy version, and then there's the version for la blogotheque which is IN THE MIDDLE. i wish more bands would reinvent their songs like this.

these dudes are boss. boss boss boss.

MORE VAMPIRE WEEKEND JAMS OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND EMBRACE THE FACT THAT NO ONE READS THIS BLOG AND I CAN JUST TALK ABOUT VAMPIRE WEEKEND

CALIFORNIA ENGLISH

i am unsure if that is autotune, bad sound quality, or if ezra is singing in ewe (a language spoken in ghana. i can sing some songs in ewe. just putting it out there). rolling stone described this once as a "frenzied punk scramble" --- i guess, but throw in some ska flavor and autotune. these boys just fuck with genres like nobody's business.

HOLIDAY

if you are feeling all "WHAT DA FUCK" after calif. english i'm sure holiday will make you feel better. pretty classic with that perfect quick energy. when i saw them play this live i didn't realize how brilliant it was - i saw them do it acoustic, and electric that pickup out of the break sounds much better.

Friday, October 30, 2009

TRANSFERENCE

is spoon's seventh album, january 26 2010.



tracklisting:

01 Before Destruction
02 Is Love Forever?
03 The Mystery Zone
04 Who Makes Your Money
05 Written in Reverse
06 I Saw the Light
07 Trouble Comes Running
08 Goodnight Laura
09 Out Go the Lights
10 Got Nuffin
11 Nobody Gets Me But You

this is shaping up to be the best january ever!
WRITTEN IN REVERSE --- SPOON. how sick will this be on the album?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

MAKING GOOD ON THAT PROMISE



ASSORTED JAMS --- SURFER BLOOD
intensely and adorably likeable. built on a very classic and very delicious pop structure.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

THE ONLY BAND I WILL BLOG ABOUT EVER AGAIN


this fucking band.

COTILLION BLUES --- WHITE RABBITS
this fucking song.

huge. messy. ecstatic. piano / horns / great layered vocal around the end, "oh what can i do." greg roberts recorded the vocals on this whilst drunk at 3am. this is so good i can't wrap my head around it. i want to revise my best of list from last year. i listened to it for the first time about ten minutes ago and by the end of it i had my head in my hands and kept saying "oh my god." PERFECTION

i promise my next post will be about a different band.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

NOW, YOU WERE THE KID ON MY SHOULDERS



i'm just going to cut and paste my facebook status and those of my compatriots to tell you WHAT WENT DOWN LAST NIGHT when i endeavored to see white rabbits after an epic saga of show cancellation and reinstation and relocation to a 21+ venue and all that drama.

"21+ so standing outside by the window at the basement, surprisingly great sound, better when opened halfway through white rabbits' set by some random guy, drinking coffee and cider, invited in just to hear percussion gun. best night ever."
--- me

"Tonight shall go down as the Night of All Nights. Percussion Gun ♥"
--- olivia

"This is gonna be a night to tell the grandkids."
--- danielle

i snagged a setlist. they covered atlas sound's "shelia" and it blew the original out of the water. someone had better youtube that asap. i have to see them again now so that i can actually be inside the building for their entire set. this band is fantastic, especially live. go see them now.

here is a quiet and sexy and wonderful version of one of the year's best songs - coincidentally the only one i watched from inside. except, they played the REGULAR VERSION. which is a jam if there ever was one.
ANYWAY, this is quite enjoyable...
PERCUSSION GUN (LIVE) --- WHITE RABBITS

Monday, October 19, 2009

SEA OF RUM



"the devil went ahead in a fishing town
now he lives on a beach on long island sound."

all percussion and wrapped-up voices. fantastic.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

WARPAINT



these ladies are fantastic. i saw them friday opening for school of seven bells. INCREDIBLE. here's a great song:
ELEPHANTS --- WARPAINT

Thursday, October 15, 2009

LIGHTER OF FIRES



another contender for song of the decade. so great and so gorgeous.

the great talent of this band lies in their versatility. what's the continuity between their three albums? um, the trombone?

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

SAUVIGNON FIERCE

"i get up without warning and go flying around the house in my sauvignon fierce, freaking out. take a 45-minute shower and kiss the mirror, say look at me baby, we'll be fine, all we gotta do is be brave and be kind"



BABY WE'LL BE FINE --- THE NATIONAL
for lack of a better word, this song is stunning.

alligator, as a full album, is worth your time.

added: LIT UP (LIVE) --- THE NATIONAL
AVAILABLE (LIVE) --- THE NATIONAL

Thursday, October 8, 2009

PARASITES

one of my favorite songs that no one's ever heard is the soft pack's "parasites."



i truly appreciate this song but i MOST APPRECIATE it recorded for daytrotter.

PARASITES --- THE SOFT PACK. other songs too, but parasites is the best.

a big powerful punch in the face of a song. all constancy, down to matt lamkin's voice (what an great voice) - until that moment when things fall apart and come back together. truly incredible.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

IF I WROTE YOU A SYMPHONY

MY LOVE --- WHITE HINTERLAND
i'm a sucker for a well done pop cover, and casey dienel's got a voice LIKE NONE OTHA.

here's a duet that i love, with ms. dienel and another really fantastic underrated dude:

PAYING FOR IT --- CASEY DIENEL AND SAM BUCK ROSEN

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

ALL HANDS AND THE COOK

i'm pretty sure i've talked about this song before. let's talk about it again.



LISTEN TO IT LIVE, HERE

recorded, this song is good. live, different story, live it is great, live it is borderline terrifying. the walkmen know how to write a song that hits you in the face. this song might as well beat the shit out of you and then there's what hamilton called in an interview "the happy section" which is really just "the less violent section" when it will drive you to the hospital. all the reverb on the guitar and the organ and how subtle and insistent the drums are and the words, and how the words are delivered: "you were lost when i found you" --- there is something antique about this, something old, something dug up, something kept dusty in your attic, some dark familial secret. in my first post on this blog about the walkmen i wrote about how they know how to create these landscapes with music. you can see and you can feel everything, you can walk into everything, you can touch everything, everything pulls at you. what do you see in this one?

Monday, October 5, 2009

HORCHATA



okay i think i can do this now.

HORCHATA --- VAMPIRE WEEKEND

ezra kills on this, by which i mean his voice sounds like stabbing me in the heart. that part with "ohhhh you had it but ohhh no you lost it!" let's just NOT TALK ABOUT IT. i love the breaks with the drumming and the "ohhhhh!" it kind of throws back to m79. they make great use of the marimba (almost as great as paul simon's "can't run but," except considerably less sexy than that song --- face it, "can't run but" is HOT. i wish i could find an mp3 because that song is sexier than hell, entirely without intending to be). the only sexy thing about horchata is ezra's voice, which just does that naturally. "the lips and teeth that asked how my day went..." DIDN'T I SAY I WASN'T GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT?

horchata goes in a different direction - the first thing i thought was "this is weird" - but when you listen to it, it is very natural. the electronics are a bit like white sky and a bit like discovery, there are some lovely strings on it, it's got those sweet pining regretful lyrics that i adore. the way it builds at the end (from 2:20) is just fantastic, adding pieces and pieces and pieces and then backing it all off.


i almost like it better live, HERE, IN TORONTO. fantastic how they do the marimba line on the guitar.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

IMPORTANT SONG

a little bit south of provence in france is the camargue.



when i was in france we drove through here. it was wintertime and colder than usual. the countryside is full of these old stone houses, wild horses, green brush, salt flats.

this is the song i listened to, over and over and over.

SHAKE A FIST --- HOT CHIP

Friday, October 2, 2009

DECADE

this is the first full decade of my life. needless to say it's pretty damn important to me. it is so hard for me to pick what my favorite albums are because i am very much a child of this decade and all my music is loose, intangible, unassigned. here are five that stood out to me. without these albums i would not be who i am. without these bands i would not be who i am. each of these albums are lovely unique creatures. i wish i could properly extend my thanks to everyone who had any hand in making any of them. i am forever in your debt. thank you guys.

TOP FIVE IN ORDER


FLAWLESS. FLAWLESS, FLAWLESS, FLAWLESS.


not flawless. endearing in its flaws. beautiful in its flaws. there is a great sense of foreboding in this, and there is a great sense of fun, and there is a great sense of talent. so much happening, but not too much. never too much.


gorgeous, chilling, incredibly influential. i remember spin once said that funeral made it no longer okay to just mope and sound like joy division. now you have to overcome something, and you have to sing about it in french it over a string quartet.


sexy, self-assured, incredibly influential. this put a sound to a time and a place and an aesthetic that it can bring you back to unfailingly. what an achievement for five twenty-something kids.


all sweet smart simple love songs and fuck-you songs disguised as songs about grammar and songs about things no one would ever think to write songs about. like dancing alone in the summer - blind sweaty ecstasy, buried melancholy.


i think the final three albums here will one day prove to be very important. we've seen it with funeral and is this it already, and i think we'll end up seeing it with vampire weekend. the first two aren't necessarily the ones that i thought were really influential, they were just the two that i liked the most. i didn't rank this by MOST INFLUENTIAL (because if i did the strokes would be #1).


RUNNERS UP, IN NO ORDER

--GRIZZLY BEAR "VECKATIMEST" gorgeous, sweeping, lovely, i think the word is "epic"
--MIA "ARULAR" a true badass and a true innovator
--THE NATIONAL "BOXER" stunning, glorious, calming
--THE WALKMEN "EVERYONE WHO PRETENDED TO LIKE ME IS GONE" the walkmen IS - reverb, insane drums, organ, and THAT FUCKING VOICE.
--DIRTY PROJECTORS "RISE ABOVE" black flag reimagined as talking heads-y afropop. does this not sound amazing to you
--RADIOHEAD "HAIL TO THE THIEF" of course
--ANIMAL COLLECTIVE "FEELS" the best thing they have ever done, or will ever do
--NEW PORNOGRAPHERS "MASS ROMANTIC" a perfect framework for indie pop music
--BLOC PARTY "SILENT ALARM" angry when it wanted to be, sexy when it wanted to be, always confessional
--INTERPOL "TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS" vacant hollow sound. "puts the weights in my heart"
--BELLE AND SEBASTIAN "FOLD YOUR HANDS CHILD, YOU WALK LIKE A PEASANT" the beginning, for me
--SPOON "KILL THE MOONLIGHT" sparse, sexy, sharp, amazing
--TAPES N TAPES "THE LOON" hype and backlash and bullshit. tapes n tapes made good

Thursday, October 1, 2009

I MADE THE BEST OF IT



i am in love.
this song is beautiful.

EVERYONE WHO PRETENDED TO LIKE ME IS GONE --- THE WALKMEN

hamilton has a real gift for saying a lot with a little. there is very little in this song. it has this great bleak energy. the way it all builds up - the drums. holy shit. always the drums, with the walkmen. if the rat is as hopeless as you can be, this song is how you got there. "i made the best of it." over the organ and the drums and that fantastic reverby guitar, over loops of itself, over everything - "i made the best of it." i did all i can do. i did all i can do. this is a perfect song for the fall. leaves crunching beneath your feet. you are walking with your head down. you did all you could do.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

IMPORTANT SONG



KID ON MY SHOULDERS --- WHITE RABBITS

i pretty much consider this song "the jam." there was a time when i was driving my car and was gaining on another car that i thought was my coworker's who always drives around blasting eminem and shit, so i tried to find an appropriately badass song to stoplight-confront him with. i settled upon kid on my shoulders. the car wasn't my coworkers - it belonged to a bunch of grown-up bitties ready for a night on the town. IRRELEVANT.

that piano / bass thing is incredible. you can feel that this song is building to something, and it eventually builds to that fantastic last half: "we held our tongues throughout it / one day we'll laugh about it." what a great lyric that is, and what a stunning thing to sing - with the piano - a hundred times.

white rabbits are playing pearl street in northampton on october 20. you should make it a priority to be there.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I'D ACCEPT "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE"



dirty projectors "when the world comes to an end" on fallon.
this band can do no wrong.

Monday, September 28, 2009

I MADE FIFTY!



here are the fifty bands i've seen this year and a song by each. i only counted repeats once... i did see vampire weekend four times, grizzly bear and here we go magic three, antlers, beach house, walkmen twice.
* are shows that blew my mind off my face.

1/10 VAMPIRE WEEKEND
2/28 FINAL FANTASY AND GRIZZLY BEAR
3/27 THE SOFT PACK AND FRIENDLY FIRES
4/4 JON MOSES, CUT OFF YOUR HANDS AND *RA RA RIOT
4/16 ANTLERS, BEACH HOUSE, AND THE WALKMEN
4/18 VAMPIRE WEEKEND
5/13 DAVE TRIGGIANO AND CHIDDY BANG
5/29 HERE WE GO MAGIC AND *GRIZZLY BEAR (i wrestled for a long time with this as the best show of my life. i don't really know.)
6/18 CALEXICO AND *ANDREW BIRD (every andrew show will blow your mind)
6/20 *HATCHAM SOCIAL, MIIKE SNOW, MACCABEES
7/3 BACHELORETTE, HERE WE GO MAGIC
7/12 JEMIMA PEARL, PONYTAIL, FUCKED UP, AND MISSION OF BURMA
7/18 BEAR HANDS, *JAPANDROIDS, FUTURE OF THE LEFT, FRIGHTENED RABBIT, GRAND DUCHY, AND RAVONETTES
7/19 CRYSTAL ANTLERS, MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC COMPANY, AND *DIRTY PROJECTORS
7/22 VAMPIRE WEEKEND
7/26 GRUPO FANTASMO, HEALTH, AND BLACK LIPS
7/31 HEARTLESS BASTARDS, SEASICK STEVE, *FLEET FOXES, *THE NATIONAL, *VAMPIRE WEEKEND, YEAH YEAH YEAHS, AND JAY-Z
8/13 AMAZING BABY AND *YEASAYER
8/23 MAX TUNDRA, WIZ KHALIFA, GIRL TALK
8/30 VEGA, BEACH HOUSE, GRIZZLY BEAR
9/20 THE DIG, HERE WE GO MAGIC, *THE WALKMEN
9/26 ELIZABETH AND THE CATAPULT, ANTLERS

elizabeth and the catapult were my fiftieth band; big ups to them.
please use this occasion of this post to listen to hatcham social, the dig, japandroids, bear hands, soft pack, AND that version of dirty projectors' remade horizon that i posted - i'm actually going to use "INCENDIARY" to describe it.

btw, you CAN download these songs if you click "READ FULL POST," go to the post, and go to the download link therein.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

UNDERLINE EVERYTHING



IS SQUALOR VICTORIA THE SONG OF THE DECADE?

i started listening to the national for a reason that's less than ideal, so i'm not going to disclose it on the internet, but i would be lying if i said i found out about them through some random hype machine escapades, bored searching through music blog archives, or for even better reasons like accidentally seeing them live. shamefully, i bought boxer only recently, but then i was hooked. revelation time. what is this beautiful creature? matt beringer has a voice like whale singing and cake icing. squalor victoria is all fast drums and mournful strings. can't you FEEL it when the piano comes in? something must happen here. something must happen here. what will happen here? and the piano happens. and the voice happens. and it all happens. this is a perfect song. it speaks of a thousand things.

when i saw the national live i was not convinced by them and i was not one hundred percent sure that they were something fantastic until they played squalor victoria. after they played squalor victoria they played...

IS ABEL THE SONG OF THE DECADE?

abel. and i remember it was pouring rain and i was soaking wet and i heard "MY MIND'S NOT RIGHT" and i was talking to simone at the time and then i started yelling the words in her face in the middle of the sentence (i'll leave you to wonder about the validity of that statement because right after the national i saw vampire weekend for the eighth time). whereas squalor victoria is all polished and smooth, with that rainy new-york gloom, abel is just a perfect rock song. the best part is maybe two and a half minutes in: "abel, my mind's... come loose inside the shell!" and then the guitar. what a great song. wonderful to stand in the pouring rain and scream that something's wrong with you. something's inherently wrong with you if you'll go through something like that for music, and maybe by wrong here i just mean REALLY, REALLY RIGHT.


IS BOXER THE ALBUM OF THE DECADE?
this was so hard for me to decide because i love alligator too.


(note chandelier)

let's just say these would both make a top fifty for me.

ps. let's CONSIDER AARON DESSNER too!

I DID WHAT I THOUGHT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO



SUNLIGHT --- HARLEM SHAKES

harlem shakes DID WORK on this song: sweet upbeat pop with offbeat keyboards and horns. try not to die when the trombone comes in. to throw in some melancholy, this band called it quits last week, i think.

Friday, September 25, 2009

DO YOU HAVE EIGHT MINUTES AND FORTY FOUR SECONDS

this song pretty much just punched me in the face and then i cried for a long time.



DO THESE GUYS LOOK LIKE THEY ARE ABOUT TO BREAK YOUR HEART? NO. WILL THEY DO IT? OH HELL YES.

WAKE --- THE ANTLERS

guh guh guh guh guh. just wait for the end. JUST WAIT FOR THE END. seriously, i cried a little bit.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

DEAR THE WALKMEN,



STOP BEING SO GOOD (AND CUTE)

POSTCARDS FROM TINY ISLANDS --- THE WALKMEN

this band is fucking awesome. end of story. i saw them in a tiny venue in northampton on sunday. MIND = BLOWN. it was truly incredible.

here are some new songs for you to check out:
THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE. this reminds me of white sky a little - new, unrecorded, unreleased, can't imagine my life without being able to listen to it. not to mention the lyrics about going out to lunch. i love in the chorus when there's empty spaces vocal-wise and hamilton just goes "ohhh!"
"THE ONE WITH THE WHISTLING"
funny story - when i first saw them they opened with this song and the horn section (EIGHT PIECE at webster hall!!) came out HOLDING THEIR INSTRUMENTS and just whistled. anyway, this sounds like some beautiful spaghetti western long shots across lovely italian plains.
A SAD ONE

Monday, September 21, 2009

BAWLING



think of the saddest album you've ever heard - some classic bright-eyesy shit. think about it good and hard. now multiply it by ten. and then you have hospice. i am on track two and i am about to cry. i saw them open for the walkmen in april and i might go this saturday to see them in northampton!

KETTERING --- THE ANTLERS.

luis at pretty much amazing described hospice as "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius" - yes, LIKE THE DAVE EGGERS NOVEL. pitchfork gave it an eight-point-something. basically, we can just assume this is the best concept album in a looooooooooooong time.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

COCONUT NIGHT

We Are Wolves || Coconut Night from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.



incredibly bitchin' video. amazing wardrobe as well

Friday, September 18, 2009

OH BB JULIAN



11TH DIMENSION --- JULIAN CASABLANCAS

you did it bb. you really did it. thanks for giving me an excuse to google image you today. i would like an excuse to google image you all the time. i always feel guilty about doing things like that without a reason. thank you for crafting this delicious eighties-y pop gem for us. your voice makes me want to die. in the best possible way. love u man.


FLASHBACK... i was ELEVEN when this was shot. wow.

EPs OF THE DECADE

this one was easy for me to figure out.


RA RA RIOT EP
i was talking about this with my friend theo one night - as i was disappointed by the virgins' full-length after how great their EP was, theo felt disappointed by the rhumb line after how great this EP was. he said something like "they took all the energy out of some of the songs." i like the rhumb line quite a bit so i don't necessarily agree, but this EP is half the length and twice as awesome. and that's truly saying something, i think. it's worth noting that the EP has a manner to act and everest - two of the sexiest, angriest, most affecting songs i know - and the album doesn't. that alone gives it an edge.

OTHER FAVORITES:

VAMPIRE WEEKEND "MANSARD ROOF EP"
MANSARD ROOF is all the triumphance in simplicity. LADIES OF CAMBRIDGE is all tempo shifts and bar chords and heartbreak. fledgling bands out there, take a tip from ezra and rostam and chris and chris: THIS is how you make a name for yourself.


PROFESSOR MURDER "RIDES THE SUBWAY" EP
i haven't blogged about this band but they are worth your time. the most fun dance music i can really imagine.


GRIZZLY BEAR "FRIEND"
for shift, and alligator, and HE HIT ME, one of the best covers of the decade.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

ALSO ELLIGIBLE

here are some random albums and songs i feel contend for best of the decade, in no order, with a "review" of less than ten words.

JAMS:
A MANNER TO ACT --- RA RA RIOT
creepily affecting
I LUV THE VALLEY OH! --- XIU XIU
physically hurts
DUPPY CONQUEROR --- SAM BUCK ROSEN
this song makes you feel like you can do anything
STILLNESS IS THE MOVE --- DIRTY PROJECTORS
R&B diva + talking heads guitar = gold gold gold
WOMEN'S REALM --- BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
mom bought this album when i was 11. thanks mom
FIGHT AND KISS --- WE ARE WOLVES
feels like being punched. and being kissed
NOBODY MOVE NOBODY GET HURT --- WE ARE SCIENTISTS
so intensely singable. what's mine is yours
SKIN IS MY --- ANDREW BIRD
the most talented man in rock music. no contest
DEAD LEAVES AND THE DIRTY GROUND --- WHITE STRIPES
straight simple rock knows how to be heartwrenching
SHINE A LIGHT --- WOLF PARADE
another song that makes you feel you can do anything
BE GOOD --- TOKYO POLICE CLUB
straight playful indie pop. TPC could write the book
HOW WE KNOW --- THE THERMALS
this is a love song. did you know that?
JUST DRUMS --- TAPES N TAPES
hype can make good - very, very good
THERE THERE --- RADIOHEAD
well, duh.
USE IT --- NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
two sips from the cup of human kindness & i'm shitfaced
ABEL --- THE NATIONAL
a perfect rock song
ELECTRIC FEEL --- MGMT
there is no denying that this song is awesome.
YOU! ME! DANCING! --- LOS CAMPESINOS
big buildup and glorious breakdown
THE GOOD ONES --- THE KILLS
fuzz, drum machine, sexy croon. delicious
OBSTACLE 1 --- INTERPOL
EVIL --- INTERPOL
joy division if the strokes are the sex pistols. an equal and opposite reaction
BANDAGES --- HOT HOT HEAT
i pray this goes down as the classic it is.
TAKE ME OUT --- FRANZ FERDINAND
another classic
WE USED TO VACATION --- COLD WAR KIDS
nouveau blues. piano embodies discord
OVER AND OVER AGAIN --- CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH
hype made good. again.
ALMOST CRIMES --- BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
first two lines of lyrics = GOLD
HELICOPTER --- BLOC PARTY
the first song i binge-listened to, eighth grade
ATLAS --- BATTLES
this sounds like industry. incredible metallic creativity
NEIGHBORHOOD #2 (LAIKA) --- ARCADE FIRE
BLACK MIRROR --- ARCADE FIRE
WAKE UP --- ARCADE FIRE
this band changed everything.
DID YOU SEE THE WORDS --- ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
the best song they have ever made. no contest

ALBUMS:

DIRTY PROJECTORS "RISE ABOVE"


NEW PORNOGRAPHERS "MASS ROMANTIC"


BLOC PARTY "SILENT ALARM"


WE ARE SCIENTISTS "WITH LOVE AND SQUALOR"
(extra points here for being named after MY FAVORITE SALINGER SHORT)


PROFESSOR MURDER "RIDES THE SUBWAY"


RA RA RIOT EP


BELLE AND SEBASTIAN "FOLD YOUR HANDS CHILD, YOU WALK LIKE A PEASANT"


SPOON "KILL THE MOONLIGHT"


GRIZZLY BEAR "YELLOW HOUSE"


ARCADE FIRE "FUNERAL"


THE NATIONAL "BOXER"


RADIOHEAD "HAIL TO THE THIEF"


SUFJAN STEVENS "COME ON FEEL THE ILLINOISE"


TAPES N TAPES "THE LOON"


WHITE STRIPES "WHITE BLOOD CELLS"


sorry about that monster of a post. all these albums and songs are worth a listen. i might add more, i feel like i've forgotten a bunch!