I know Beck’s ‘Gamma Ray‘ has more to do with global warming than children, but I can’t help but think of my boy Judah every time I hear that song. After all, what are gamma rays but the smallest and most energetic form of wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum. That sounds exactly like… JUDAH! His life force never ceases to amaze (or exhaust) me. This morning on the way to preschool as Beck’s Modern Guilt was playing, he asked me: “Is this Beck, Mommy?” Awww…I just want to eat him up. Boogers and all.
Muxtape – the popular online mixtape service that allows users to make 12-song playlists of their music and share them online – has been temporarily shut down to resolve an undisclosed dispute with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
There’s no specific reason for the shutdown listed on their site, though it is likely due to it’s recent rise in popularity, including a slot on PC Magazine’sTop 100 Undiscovered Sites.
“No artists or labels have complained,” Muxtape wrote on its Tumblr blog. “The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned. Beta users of Muxtape ForBands: you are unaffected by this outage.”
When is the record industry going to wake up, accept reality and join us in the 21st century? Not soon enough apparently.
My Canadian lo-fi hero, Chad VanGaalen, has a new album due out September 9 entitled, Soft Airplane. And considering how much I loved his prior releases – Skelliconnectionand Infiniheart – I fully expect this album to be on the top of my list for 2008.
Chad also helped Flemish Eye label mate, Women, record their debut album this year with his signature lo-fi style. Another album I adore.
I’ve been a long time fan of UK-based, Clinic. They fit right in there with my Brit Rock fascination. And the fact that they perform all their shows in surgical masks only adds to their eccentric allure. They have a new album out, ‘Do It!’ – their fifth album. Here is the new video for the track ‘Tomorrow.’
Yay! I’m in New York. So happy to be here and looking forward a fun weekend of music and friends. Another anticipated performance for me this weekend is experimental group Animal Collective. Their 2007 release, Strawberry Jam, was critically acclaimed. Here’s a new video for Water Curses off the same titled 12″ released this year.
Artist: The Helio Sequence Album: Keep Your Eyes Ahead File Under: Dream Rock Recommended if You Like: Early U2, Band of Horses Featured Tracks: Lately
The Portland-based duo, The Helio Sequence, released their third album ‘Keep Your Eyes Ahead’ in January of this year; but it’s one of those records I just keep coming back to again and again. While this post may be long overdue, the relevance of this recommendation is right on. It’s a great summer album. Perhaps it’s because there are moments on the record that sound so early U2/Joshua Tree I can’t help but feel nostalgic.
To see them live gives you an even greater appreciation of their range and talent. Drummer Benjamin Weikel is mesmerizing to watch on stage with his visceral drumming technique, as if he’s in some altered state of ecstasy. Combined with Brandon Summers refined vocals and radiant layers of reverb guitar, the duo produces a lot of good sound. It’s certainly high on my list for Best of 2008; maybe even claiming title to ‘Sleeper Album of the Year’. So go get it already. Hurry, before the summer’s up.
Artist: Elbow Album: The Seldom Seen Kid File Under: Brit Rock Recommended if You Like: Radiohead, Coldplay, Rob Dickinson, Peter Gabriel Featured Track: Grounds for Divorce; The Bones of You
“I’ve been working on a cocktail called Grounds for Divorce…,” is the opening line from the rockin’ single, ‘Grounds for Divorce,’ off Elbow’s fourth and arguably best release to date, The Seldom Seen Kid. The song is immense, snarling with emotion and emblematic of the theme of the album – the joys and sorrows of everyday life.
I’ve been obsessing over this album since it’s release in April. Definitely one of my top albums for 2008. I’m in love with Guy Garvey’s voice, which reminds me of Peter Gabriel at times and Rob Dickinson at others. It’s beautiful and melodic, regardless. Especially the track, ‘The Fix’, in which Guy collaborates with another British crooner, Richard Hawley.
Elbow is one of those Radiohead-esque English bands that emerged from the wake of The Bends and OK Computer in the 90s. For whatever reason, Coldplay was the band the masses glommed onto while Elbow remained in relative obscurity, despite their abundance of critical accolades. Lucky for you, you now know better.
In 2006,Crystal Skullsreleased their debut album ‘Outgoing Behavior‘. Featured is the track, Hard Party.
Crystal Stilts released their self-titled debut this year. They have a stripped-down, moody, garage rock sound that is heavily influenced by groups like Velvet Underground and Jesus and Mary Chain. And who isn’t these days?
So what did I learn from all this? in retrospect, I’d say my preconceived notion of ‘Black’ bands as a dark and moody rockers holds water. The Crystal set as all Indie pop rockers? Not so much. Whatever the case, it’s clear that – just like people – bands can fall into the trap of naming trends.
If you’re tired of swapping MP3 CDs with your friends, I have the solution for you. Mojo is a free music sharing application that makes it ridiculously easy to share music online with your music buddies. With just a couple of clicks, you can browse, select and download music from any Mojo user directly into your iTunes library. It’s a fabulous tool, but I have only had success sharing music with my other Mac OS X friends. There is a Beta version of the tool for Windows available, however I have yet to successfully connect with my old-school, PC pals.
the OCMD 