Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line

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Artist: Ra Ra Riot
Album: The Rhumb Line
File Under: Indie Pop
Recommended if You Like: Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend
Featured Track: Under Ghost Rocks

The best way I can describe Syracuse-based Ra Ra Riot is Arcade Fire meets Vampire Weekend – upbeat rhythms layered over rich orchestral-based melodies. And their live shows, with their huge ensemble cast, are raucous and infectious – just like Arcade Fire.  If you like either of those bands, it would be worth your while to give Ra Ra Riot a listen.  They were the darlings of SXSW this year and are fast becoming a critics choice for 2008 as well.

‘The Rhumb Line’ is the band’s first LP and a tribute to the recent drowning of band member, drummer John Pike, who co-wrote most of the lyrics for their debut album. The title of the album, ‘The Rhumb Line’, is fitting in both its nautical theme and meaning – a term for the constant course a vessel takes in a give direction.  Which is what the remaining band members have had to do.

See them live tomorrow, September 24, at The Rickshaw Stop or watch the video for, ‘Ghost Under Rocks’:

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Treasure Island Music Festival – Rock Fist Forever

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The sun sets on Treasure Island

The sun sets on Treasure Island

Judah rocks it for his first festival.

Judah rocks it for his first festival.

Judah Meets The Morning Benders!

Judah Meets The Morning Benders!

The Treasure Island Music Festival epitomizes the ideal festival experience for me. You could almost say it’s the anti-festival. The crowd size is small – around 10,000 a day, the location is beautiful, the line up is thoughtfully curated with the most cutting-edge indie artists, and the event organization is impeccable – no lines for food, beverages or toilets and only 2 stages scheduled with non-competing performances so the attendee never has to choose or compromise. The result is a beautiful day of rockin’ music.  In an era where behemoth, corporate festivals reign supreme, these qualities do not go unnoticed.  Kudos to Noise Pop and APE. Please, keep up the good work and don’t change a thing!

Day 2 of Treasure Island was one of the better festival line ups I’ve yet to see. Fleet Foxes, Dr. Dog, The Kills and – most of all – The Raconteurs were the highlights for me.  ‘The Rockin-tours’ as Judah calls them. Quite astute for a 3 year old, for these gentleman do ROCK.  I’ve had the pleasure to see them twice this year (the first time at Bimbos!) and can say with certainty that, after last night, Jack White has firmly secured a spot in my rock god pantheon. Which is precisely what separates a Raconteurs show from so many of the shows I see these days.  It’s just straight up, fist pumping, good ‘ol rock-n-roll.  When’s the last time you’ve seen a good rock show?  The kind that just makes you want to bang your head and play air guitar. I’m hard pressed to recall one.  Rock fist forever, Raconteurs.

What do you think: Is Jack White the rock god of our generation?

Here’s one of my favorite songs from the Sunday set:

The Raconteurs, ‘Level’:  

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8tracks is the New Muxtape

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With Muxtape still battling the RIAA, 8tracks has emerged as the new online MP3 playlist solution.  8tracks allows you to create a playlist of 8 tracks and share it with your friends online.  It’s easy to use and they are Beta testing an Uploader feature for Mac users that allows you to drag and drop a playlist directly from iTunes to 8track. Hmmm, given how DRM happy Apple is, I wonder how long that will last.  Well, go check it out now before the RIAA shuts them down too.

Here’s a mix I created for the Treasure Island Music Festival this Sunday in San Francisco, featuring Fleet Foxes, Port O’Brien, The Dodos, Okkervil River, The Morning Benders, Vampire Weekend, Dr. Dog and The Raconteurs.  Can’t wait!

Listen to Treasure Island Music Festival Playlist.

For a more complete sampler of Sunday’s line up, check out HearYa’s complete playlist of all the artists featured.

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Indie Artists and 7″ Vinyl

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I’ve noticed lately that every Indie music artist seems to release their singles on 7″ vinyl these days.  I see full LPs on vinyl too but this appears to be the predominant trend.  Can please someone explain this to me?  I just don’t get it.  Aren’t we living in a digital age and still fighting for the rights of digital music?  I understand the nostalgia for vinyl, cassette tapes and 8 Tracks.  But if you’re an emerging indie rock band, what is the practicality of having a merch table full of vinyl singles?  I never see anyone actually buy them. I don’t own a turntable anymore, do you? And if you are a band that only has two songs, wouldn’t it behoove you to make them available for download online?

Someone, please help me understand.

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“She’s Magic. That’s Why She Has a Microphone.”

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My 3-year old’s latest musical obsession is Karen O. from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And frankly, I can’t blame him.  

It all started with Rock Band.  I play a lot of it and one of my favorite songs is Maps. I drum, he sings (with his console unplugged, of course, so we don’t get booed off). One day I decided to show him the video to Maps so he can work on his Karen O. moves.  To say he’s smitten is an understatement.  He watches her completely transfixed, with mouth agape.  After seeing the video for Gold Lion for the first time, he turned to me, all serious, and said: “Momma, she’s magic.  That’s why she has a microphone.”

Listen to ‘Gold Lion’:  

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Air France Video – Collapsing at Your Doorstep

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Swedish electronic duo, Air France, have released a new video for the track ‘Collapsing at Your Doorstep’ off their import-only EP No Way Down.  Their sound is very St. Etienne.  It’s sorta like a dream.  No… better.

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Lackthereof – My Haunted

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Artist: Lackthereof
Album: My Haunted
File Under: Lo Fi Indie Pop
Recommended if You Like: The National, Bon Iver, Bonnie Prince Billy
Featured Track: The Columbia

Lackthereof is the solo side project of Portland, Oregon’s Menomena drummer, Danny Seim.  He’s self recorded many albums under this moniker.  I just stumbled upon this release from earlier this year entitled, ‘My Haunted’, and can’t stop listening to it.  It’s such a beautiful, gentle, lo-fi, atmospheric album – in the same sense that Bon Iver evokes.  But his voice is like listening to The National’s, ‘Fake Empire’.  A lovely combination indeed.

He also just released a new album, ‘Your Anchor‘, last month.  Check it out as you won’t be seeing him live anytime soon. He doesn’t have any plans to take this gig outside of Portland at the moment.  

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buy it at insound!

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I Heart Girls and Ty Segall

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Girls at The Hemlock Tavern

Ty Segall at The Hemlock Tavern

It was a long night of music at The Hemlock Friday night, waiting to see my favorite local band, Girls – who I thought were opening, but ended up as headliners.  It was worth the wait as they did not disappoint.  Girls lead singer, Christopher Owens, was mesmerizing to watch in his belted dress, tattooed arms and Cousin It hair flying. I’ve already raved about these guys several times already.  They are going to go far. 

Listen to Girls, ‘Hellhole Rat Race‘:

The evening also introduced me to two other solid local acts, Ty Segall and Master/Slave.  I particularly liked Ty Segall’s sound and was most impressed with his one-man band playing ability.  To play guitar, drums and sing at the same time? Wow.  

In between sets, I was entertained by the bevy of hard-core hipster attire. There was lots of style to be had that evening and it was a step above the standard hipster uniform of slim jeans, plaid shirt and Converse sneakers. What intrigued me most is the variety of footwear presented that night – topsiders, Capezios, Moccasins and bright colored Keds were everywhere.  

Hipster Footwear

Where Have All the Hipsters Gone?

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A couple times a week, I head over to the American Industrial Center in the Dogpatch District of San Francisco to attend my – near complete – patternmaking class at Apparel Arts.  Week after week, I would inevitably share the elevator with a group of hipsters heading to 4R.  The exclusive floor of Soundflavor. Curious as to what could possibly attract such a huge population of Mission District hipsters to one floor of a building, I asked one day while riding the elevator:

Me: “What is Soundflavor?”  
Hipster: “A Music recommendation service.”  
Me: “Hmm.  Like Pandora or Last.fm?”
Hipster: “Yeah.”

Well,  I think it’s safe to say the company needs to polish up that ‘elevator pitch’. I did some research myself and found that company seems to be differentiating themselves in the ‘video playlist’ arena.  Meaning you upload your iTunes playlist or type in an artist and the site will turn your musical tastes into a custom video playlist – like your own personal MTV.

I didn’t think much more of the Soundflavor hipsters until they became noticeably absent.  I haven’t seen them for months now.  Where have you gone, hipsters?  I miss your big glasses, scruffy beards, trucker hats, plaid shirts, tight jeans and Converse shoes. I checked your website and, while it says you’re still in the building, your cute little cherry logo is nowhere to be found.  4R is a ghostland.  What happened?

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A Boy and His Soul

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We saw our dear and talented friend, Colman Domingo, perform his remarkable one-man musical – ‘A Boy and His Soul’ –  last night at Potrero Hill’s Thick House.  And it was AMAZING!  Fresh off his starring role in the hugely popular Broadway hit, ‘Passing Strange’, Colman dazzled us all with an emotional, physical and very comedic walk through his childhood memories – growing up black and gay during the 70s in West Philadelphia.

The premise of the story starts when Colman, dealing with two ill parents, is enlisted to help sell his childhood home in West Philly.  While cleaning out the basement he uncovers a treasure trove of old 70s vinyl soul albums – the soundtrack of his life. From there he recounts the hilarious and endearing tales of his family and youth through the classic grooves of the 70s soul music that permeated his home – the Ohio Players, James Brown, Earth Wind and Fire, Diana Ross and more.

Even if you didn’t grow up in the 70s or with soul music as your soundtrack, you can connect with the power of music and the link it provides to those pivotal memories and experiences in life.  It’s a brilliant performance and highly recommended by this music lover.

“A Boy and His Soul” continues through Sept. 14 at The Thick House, 1695 18th St., San Francisco. Tickets are $15-$30 on a sliding scale. Call 415-401-8081 or visit www.thickhouse.org.

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