a belated SEASONS GREETINGS from The Strokes!

ah! I almost cried on Christmas 'cause they hadn't posted one this year, but it seems like it was just a tad belated is all!

haha @ Fab.

Classic Track Thursday

Pixies - Here Comes Your Man [mp3]
from Doolittle (1989)

Pixies are one of those bands that can easily overwhelm you if you jump into their discography too fast. the best way to attack this band is album by album. goodness knows that each of their LPs are insane enough to keep you occupied.

Doolittle is a wicked album, it's intense in all the right ways: loud + obnoxious underground bliss with plenty of screeching female background vox to go around. but this track is a bit different from the rest, it's...well, almost a pop song! a rare and beautiful change of pace from one of the most brilliant bands of all time.

The Strokes Post #312

[probably my favourite version of this song. *tears up a bit*]



I wonder if Jules has seen that video lately. that whole concert was so incredible, and he concluded it with such magnificence. what I would do to have seen The Strokes in 2003...le sigh

contest winners announced!

okaaaaaaaaaaay so the winners were chosen randomly, but in a special way.

what I did was I compiled a list of the songs which I loved this year. the ones which continuously warranted that little "repeat song" icon. they didn't have to be released this year, they just had to be songs which I really adored this year: the songs I could not get enough of.

I ordered the songs into a playlist which was sorted alphabetically by artist, and then made a corresponding list of people who entered the contest (ordered chronologically). finally, I put the playlist on shuffle and matched up the winning songs with their corresponding entrants. viola!

also, this way, everyone gets a little treat, a nice zip file of 42 songs. if you're interested in what your "song" was, you can open up the word file and figure it out based on the track number. trust me, the mix is well worth checking out =)

Hanan's favourite songs of 2009 [ZIP FILE!]

so, without further ado,

the winners of the TELEKINESIS album (and their corresponding songs):

Mary Shea [Audrye Sessions - "Perfect, Sometimes"]
K. [Death Cab for Cutie - "I Will Possess Your Heart"]
Charles [My Bloody Valentine - "When You Sleep"]
Fred [Stereophonics - "Maybe Tomorrow"]
Shane [The Wombats - "Let's Dance to Joy Division"]

(these guys were smart to mention my #1 album in their response because it heightened their chances of winning. it's basic Algebra II. what happened after I had 5 winners was I kept hitting the shuffle button until it landed on 5 people who requested Telekinesis. there were fewer of them, you see, so the laws of permutation tell us...oh man I'll stop now)

the winners of ANY ALBUM OF THEIR CHOICE [from the top ten or honourable mentions] (and their corresponding songs):

Nate [Beirut - "Elephant Gun"]
Edith [Casper Bangs - "Queen of Hearts"]
Maryanne Sullivan [Cage the Elephant - "Back Against the Wall"]
Olivia [Free Energy - "Dream City"]
Connor Green [Mister Loveless - "Just Thoughts"]

so, what I need from you guys now is a quick email, specify if you'd prefer CD or vinyl, include your mailing address, and, if you're in the latter group, tell me which album you want.

congrats to the winners, thanks to everyone who entered the contest, and rest assured, there will be many more giveaways in the future!

The Strokes Post #311

I recall hearing Julian say "this is our favourite song, of all our songs" about "When It Started" in a bootleg. he was probably just faded but still. "When It Started" is a beauteous song.


"NYC Cops" is on the opposite end of the energy spectrum from "When It Started" and is one of my favourite songs of all time.

record review: The Almighty Defenders (eponymous debut)

Labels are not cool.
Unless, of course, they are self-inflicted.

I remember the first time I read about Black Lips, the so called “flower punk band” from Georgia. I chuckled a bit—but when I heard the music, I understood. This garage punk was flowery! There was something I couldn’t exactly put my finger on, a subtle trace of… fragrance and silkiness, and “flower punk” was the best way to describe it. I was a tad annoyed that the band beat me to it.

In addition to releasing their fifth LP—the unbridled and effortlessly brilliant 200 Million Thousand—earlier this year, Black Lips teamed up with their friends King Khan + BBQ to form “The Almighty Defenders” and released an album under that moniker. Nope, there isn’t any trick to their name, it’s exactly what it sounds like.

“Gospel punk”.
Oh, dear.

What really amazed me about this record was that it didn’t sound so much like a supergroup, but more like…well, gospel punk. Supergroup efforts are always emphatically…super. Like, you can always tell the difference between a song by a regular band and one by a supergroup; the latter always has an element of heaviness which doubtless comes from collaborative songwriting from a group of experienced songwriters (as opposed to regular bands, who, for the most part have one primary songwriter). Anyhow, The Almighty Defenders don’t sound like a supergroup at all; their songs are lighthearted and lucid. Maybe it’s because the two bands are friends, maybe it’s because they’ve collaborated on stage before, but whatever the reason, I am very grateful for it.

While each track is distinctly deviant, the whole album is filled with 50’s beach rock influences and percussion galore. I found myself twisting and turning and being completely overtaken by the bass in “The Ghost with the Most”. The craziest thing, though, is that the label “gospel punk” hits the mark exactly. And I never would have predicted that the melding of those two genres would result in such a ferociously danceable album.

Don’t fret, The Almighty Defenders are here to get rid of all of your Jihad Blues. I guess I don’t hate all evangelists after all.

4.5/5





Highly recommended, especially for people like me, who really love Black Lips but haven’t gotten into King Khan yet. It’s a great way to transition into King Khan + BBQ’s work. Give my favourite track a listen below (vocals courtesy of Mark Sultan aka BBQ):

The Almighty Defenders – Cone of Light [mp3]
I dare you not to love this song. It makes me shake like a Polaroid picture!

newly leaked Elliott Smith song

many thanks to Nate for bringing this to my attention

the track, which comes from From A Basement on a Hill era (his last studio album, released posthumously), is beautiful. it's "instrumental" in the fact that there are no vocals, but it is so much more than your conventional "instrumental" track. it's loud and aggressive and I love it. Elliott was such a great songwriter, these gems continue to prove so.

Elliott Smith - new instrumental track [mp3]

The Strokes Post #310

record review: Jamie Cullum - The Pursuit

Whenever I watch period films, I always find myself wishing that I were British. Adaptations of Jane Austen novels have the uncanny ability of making me renounce centuries of progress and women’s suffrage and all that—and just make me want to live in the English countryside amongst ducks and pigs and needlepoint.

Jamie Cullum seems to have precisely the opposite problem. The British singer seems to wish he were American. Opening with yet another Cole Porter cover, Cullum’s lucid third album, The Pursuit, is a lovely reminder of the loveliness that is jazz.

His latest musical offering raises the bar of his own standards: everything is faster, bolder, and delivered with a fresh new confidence. The exploding piano on the cover is a great aesthetic analogy to the foreign thrashing found inside this album.

Lead single "I'm All Over It" treads ever so slightly into the territory of a recent hit single by an American singer, but, of course, redeems itself by retaining a slightly superior, slightly snide British air, maintaining Cullum's musical ingenuity.

This is the voice of Jamie Cullum, all grown up. Ever the romantic, Cullum even invites his fiancée Sophie Dahl (granddaughter of everyone’s favourite childhood author) to lend backing vocals on “Mixtape”—a song that strikes very close to home (“I'm a gentle soul I'm sure /But on the stereo I'm a dictator”): we are all guilty of forcing our taste in music on others…or is it just me?

Cullum flip flops between the old and the new throughout the album: he concludes The Pursuit with a Sweeney Todd cover which is then followed by the synth driven "Music is Through" — a song which is strikingly different from anything he's ever written in the past. Jamie Cullum has managed to find the perfect meeting point between his oldie influences and a thoroughly modern perspective— and The Pursuit stands as a audible manifestation of his success therein. A jazz singer’s music has become club-appropriate— well, I’ll be damned.

4/5

Jamie Cullum - You and Me Are Gone [mp3]

The Pursuit was released in the UK on the 10th of November, and shall see a March 2nd release in the US

you can buy it now at AMAZON.co.uk

tour dates can be found HERE
I'll see you guys at The Fillmore in March.

The best and worst of 2009

2009 was a great year for music. I have already posted my favourite albums of the year, but I have a few more superlatives up my sleeve. but first, here's a list of things I really didn't like very much, just so y'all can have a definitive list of the artists who incurred my wrath this year

artists who released albums that disturbed, disgusted, or quite simply disappointed me:

Green Day
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Neko Case
the xx
Elvis Costello
Monsters of Folk
Lily Allen
Pearl Jam
White Lies
Discovery
La Roux
Grizzly Bear
Bat for Lashes
Passion Pit
Lady Gaga
Dirty Projectors
Ida Maria
Wilco
U2
The Big Pink
Florence and the Machine
The Drums

worst concert of the year: The Virgins @ Great American Music Hall (20 May 2009)

best concert of the year: Franz Ferdinand @ Fox Theatre (15 April 2009)
runner(s) up: Julian Casablancas @ Regency Ballroom (17 November 2009)//Andrew Bird @ The Fillmore (19 February 2009)

album from 2008 that I really grew to love in 2009:
The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
The Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations [mp3]

runner up: The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement
The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made for You [mp3]
(I liked this album last year, but ADORED it this year)

saddest breakup: Harlem Shakes
Technicolor Health is one of the most delectable albums I've heard all year, but sadly, the band disbanded a couple of months ago, and their breakup prevented me from including them in my best albums of the year list. RIP, sugary goodness. we hardly knew ye.
Harlem Shakes - Nothing But Change Part II [mp3]

best new band: Free Energy
the great thing about this band is that they aren't REALLY a new band. they're actually more or less the reformation of a band called Hockey Night. they are so much fun, but, more importantly, they know what they're doing. even though their songs are lighthearted, you can tell that each note is deliberate. the proof is in the pudding: on the strength of their debut single (and a couple of extra songs) alone, they have landed tour dates throughout the country-- without a debut LP (or even EP!) to their name.
Free Energy - Something in Common [mp3]

cover of the year:
Cage the Elephant - Psycho Killer (Talking Heads cover) [mp3]
this is so right in so many ways.

EP of the year: Calypso - Teen Age
Calypso - Casually Sad Mercedes [mp3]
I imagine that this is the type of music which pisses G-d off.

band of the year: Phoenix
Phoenix put out a flawless album that was unanimously loved by fans, critics, and even mainstream audiences. they are first and foremost perfectionists, but they don't let that from keeping them down to earth and extremely loveable. viva France!
Phoenix - Lisztomania [mp3]

song of the year: Girls - Lust for Life [mp3]
last year it was "Kids". this year, it's "Lust for Life". what can I say, I'm a sucker for upbeat, slightly bittersweet songs from indie darlings.

The Strokes Post #309

this was actually the video that inspired me to post Is This It songs as Strokes posts until the end of the year. "in many ways we'll miss the good ol' days". there is so much truth in that little statement, it scares me.


"Alone Together" is one of their best live songs. love love love it. whenever I watch these live videos, I notice that both musically and aesthetically, The Strokes are so random and eclectic, but somehow it all seems like, ordered chaos. like a bag of jelly beans.

must watch video: Beirut's "Guyamas Sonora" on La Blogotheque

somehow this video had previously eluded me and my frenzied Beirut binges, but, better late than never:



"Guyamas Sonora" is my favourite Beirut track ever. what I really love about this video is that it properly showcases how the music of Zach Condon cannot be contained within 4 walls. it's so sonically expansive, so far beyond the realm of reality.

Sunday Morning Covers

ZIP FILE

Jamie Cullum - Not While I'm Around (Sweeney Todd cover) [mp3]
I swear I will get around to reviewing Jamie's new album soon, alongside a few others.

Monsters are Waiting - I Wanna Be Adored (The Stone Roses cover) [mp3]
I sing this song all of the time, so hearing a lady sing the song just seems natural

Sondre Lerche - Bluish (Animal Collective cover) [mp3]
did you forget about Sondre? well, here's a nice reminder: don't.

Hot Chip - Transmission (Joy Division cover) [mp3]

Spoon - Melted Pat (Guided By Voices cover) [mp3]

Robbers on High Street - Cool It Now (New Edition cover) [mp3]

Andrew Bird - The Giant of Illinois (The Handsome Family cover) [mp3]

Elliott Smith - Waterloo Sunset (The Kinks cover) [mp3]

Belle and Sebastian - Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles cover) [mp3]
hurrah for lighthearted covers

Ryan Adams - Everything In Its Right Place (Radiohead cover) [mp3]
wow.

The Botticellis - Here I Go Again (Whitesnake cover) [mp3]

of Montreal - Computer Blue (Prince cover) [mp3]

Beck - European Son (Velvet Underground cover) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #308

The Strokes - Soma - Live on Conan
Uploaded by Consommateur_74537. - Explore more music videos.

I know that the above song is the demo version from The Modern Age EP and technically not the version on Is This It but I just really love that fucking solo.

PS I just wiki-ed Is This It (which I hadn't done in maybe 4 years) and holy moley that's gotta be the most thorough wiki article on any album I've ever looked up. it was NOT that thorough the last time I looked at it.

Saturday Music Definitions: Hold On

The Beatles - You Really Got a Hold on Me [mp3]

Okkervil River - You Can't Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man (demo)[mp3]

Lou Reed - Hold On [mp3]

The Replacements - Hold My Life [mp3]

Phoenix - Holdin' On Together [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

John Lennon - Hold On [mp3]

Guided by Voices - Hold on Hope [mp3]

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Hold on To Yourself [mp3]

The Strokes Post #307

album of the decade. the most timeless, perfect album of all time. the one that makes me feel at home, anywhere. when I'm alone, or with friends, sad, or happy, or tired, or energized, or running, or writing, or on the train, or on my lunch hour, or really fucked up, or lying on my floor with my record player on. the damn album that started it all. that made music matter. to me. the one that alienated me as the crazy music blogger who obsesses over The Strokes. well fuck you if you don't get it. because Is This It is my fucking soulmate.

12 songs. 6 days. you do the math.





in the sun sun having fun it's in my blood.
I just can't help it.

I love the US and UK versions equally. I listened to the US one maybe 2349 times before I found out about NYC Cops. now, I usually listen to the UK version, but they're both equal in my book. plus, the US one has the album art that will end up on my left arm. once I save up a little money. it's gonna be the most bitchin tattoo in all of North Dakota.

Band of the Week: Explosions in the Sky

Some music is loud,
some music is soft.
Some music is nothing more or less than a transcendent experience.

Explosions in the Sky are from Texas. They make experimental music that will lift you beyond the realms of ordinary musical expression. The various instruments fall into place more seamlessly than two conjoining puzzle pieces finding their place on a table. It's wonderful, powerful music, and it will take you to places that you never bothered to visit. The band has been around for ten years, and their discography is varied and colourful. They recently joined The Flaming Lips on tour.

Just as Costco gives out free samples knowing that you'll most likely go home with a 10 pound tub of whatever it is you're tasting, Explosions in the Sky offer a cornucopia of free downloads--knowing full well that you won't be able to walk away unaffected. On their WEBSITE they offer a whole album (The Rescue) for free, as well as a single song from each of their albums. What a smart group of lads, they've figured out that a bit of bandwidth is a fair trade for inspiring lifetime fans. You'd better bet your bottom dollar that if I ever come across their records in a shop, or see that they are playing a venue within a 50 mile radius that I'll be the first one to bust out my wallet.

Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand in Mine [mp3]
from The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (2003)

visit the band on MYSPACE

The Strokes Post #306

my first semester as an English major, I was obsessed with this poet named Gascoigne, and wrote about him instead of Spenser for my class on Spencer's Faerie Queene. I tend to do things like that...I don't hold well to restraints. plus, I really despise Spenser. anyhow, one of Gascoigne's best pieces was a satirical essay called A Delicate Diet for Dainty Mouthed Drunkards, which ostensibly is an anti-drinking piece, but in essence pokes fun at what it's supposedly supporting. he so wisely stated that one should drink "no more than is convenient", something that can be stretched as you see fit
















t

in any case, I love drunkards. Happy Holidays, everyone.

Free Energy record a Daytrotter sesh

Sean Moeller, you are my hero. thank you for doing what you do. seriously, that is one killer article.

Free Energy - Something in Common (Daytrotter) [mp3]

head on over to read the article and download the songs

Classic Track Thursday

Lou Reed - Satellite of Love [mp3]
from Transformer

you know, I have all of these fantasies of moving out to NYC and being a music writer, and whenever I think about it, the soundtrack which pops in my head is primarily composed of Lou Reed singing. his songs always embody New York for me, very powerfully. I think it has to do with the mixture of drugs, smooth flowing rock n roll swagger and the sheer dancibility of it all.

his album Transformer is a keeper. it's his second solo album, and was released in 1972. it also contains "Walk on the Wild Side", a song Strokes fans might know because our boys love to cover it. the album was produced by David Bowie, and marks Reed's solid transition into the dark side of glaaaaaaam. gotta love it. seriously, the Reed/Bowie friendship is one of my all time favourite rock n roll relationships.

PS I really want this bloody shirt.

The Strokes Post #305

this picture is from the newest issue of SPIN. I really like it because it reminded me of this conversation I had with a classmate of mine, like yeaaaaaaaaaars ago. I had just gotten into The Strokes (like, maybe 2 months in), was citing them as my favourite band and listening to them endlessly (haha not much has changed)...anyhow, that was before I had really looked into the band, and I had only seen a few pictures of them. the only one I had seen of Jules was his SPIN cover

anyhow, so this girl asks me if I thought Julian was hot and I was all "um, no I don't think of him that way, to me he kind of looks like a kid. and you know, I'm not a pedophile. Fabrizio on the other hand...damn, I'd tap that shit"

haha anyhow the innocence of the above picture brought back memories of when I was blissfully (?) ignorant of Julian's sex appeal.

MUST WATCH VIDEO: Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension

"sin is honoring desire above what you know is right"



Julian Casablancas' debut video just combined all of my favourite things:
fabulous music, 80's glam leather fashions, a nod to the Thriller video, violence, Victorian corruption/coats/handwriting, AND JULIAN HIMSELF WITH A GUITAR AND DRUMMING. and did you guys see, he has a tattoo on his upper left arm? I didn't know he had one there, I wonder what it is.

best of all, he writes out different aphorisms like Voldemort does, you know, in the air but they look like fire? and the whole video follows the theme of one of my favourite lyrics in the song: "so when's it coming, this next great movement that I can join?"

I am in awe. in shock. I am so happy.

Julian Casablancas - I'll Try Anything Once (Strokes "cover") [mp3]

The Christmas Mix

some old favourites and some newer ones that will surely turn into classics (in my book at least)

ZIP FILE

Crocodiles & Dum Dum Girls - Merry Christmas, Baby (Please Don't Die) [mp3]
Crocodiles put out an insanely good record this year. so good, in fact, that it got stuck in summer trips to the beach and didn't make it to any end of the year lists (its place was usurped by Girls' Album). check it out, though, it's called Summer of Hate and is consistently awesome, lo-fi neo-punk grimey goodness.

Goldfinger - White Christmas [mp3]

Death Cab for Cutie - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) [mp3]

Black Lips - Christmas in Baghdad [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

blink-182 - I Won't Be Home for Christmas [mp3]

Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today [mp3]

The Drifters - I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas [mp3]
(le sigh)

Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree [mp3]

The Who - Christmas [mp3]

and, three versions of my favourite Christmas song ever:

Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting - Baby, It's Cold Outside [mp3]

Leon Redbone & Zooey Deschanel- Baby, It's Cold Outside [mp3]

Ray Charles & Betty Carter- Baby, It's Cold Outside [mp3]

I have a bit of an obsession with winter, snow, and Christmas music. this is what it looks like outside of my place right now



(and I stepped outside barefoot, in the shorts and tank which I slept in)
we got, like, a week and a half of cold weather. DOUBLE YOU TEE EFF?

The Strokes Post #304

an avalanche of goodies today:



my goodness do you hear that voice. it gets better every day. I am so stoked for the new Strokes record, yo!

secondly, Julian told NME that he wants to make "weird" music that is "not electronic". I can only interpret that as his plans for The Strokes, 'cause I think this solo shindig was a one time thing.

andd the video for 11th Dimension is supposed to premiere today on BABELGUM, and the link is up but it's one of those 0:00 videos, it's not functioning properly yet. that is what the refresh button is for! also, you can keep yourself busy with the teaser trailer, which is amazing. AMAZING.

The Strokes Post #303

ok so first things first: the beginning of his singing reminded me very strongly of LOU REED (a vibe which I have not gotten at all in the whole solo thing, he used to emanate it all of the time in The Strokes), and I swear that just reawakened my passion for The Strokes all over again.

the rest of the video is just MAGIC. it's like, the ultimate Christmas miracle. and this is coming from a secular blasphemer who was raised in an infidel's faith (who, regardless, probably loves Christmas more than you and your grandma combined)

now if we could just get Julian and the boys to dress up in reindeer sweaters, my life will be complete.

The Strokes Post #302

oh, the joys of Christmas music.
and Christmas photos.

Beirut interview with RS

just came across this.

Sunday Morning Covers

ZIP FILE

Okkervil River - Some Weird Sin (Iggy Pop cover) [mp3]

Fiona Apple - Why Try To Change Me Now (Cy Coleman cover) [mp3]

The Dandy Warhols - Primary (The Cure cover) [mp3]

The Morning Benders - Mother and Child Reunion (Paul Simon cover) [mp3]

The Soft Pack - Grinding Halt (The Cure cover) [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

Ryan Adams - Caribbean Queen (Billy Ocean cover) [mp3]

The Section Quartet - No One Knows (QOTSA cover) [mp3]

Foo Fighters - Band On The Run (Paul McCartney & Wings cover) [mp3]

io echo - I Want You (She's So Heavy) (The Beatles cover) [mp3]

The White Stripes - Get Rhythm (Johnny Cash cover) [mp3]

Ron Sexsmith - Listen To What The Man Said (Wings cover) [mp3]

Jenny Lewis feat. Ben Gibbard - Handle with Care (Traveling Willburys cover) [mp3]

The Smashing Pumpkins - Soul Power (James Brown cover) [mp3]
I especially love this one because I just finished reading The Commitments. I <3 Irish lit.

The Strokes Post #301

this photo is on JulianCasablancas.com and the lights just makes him look like magic.

if you haven't seen them yet, here are his East Coast dates

JAN 08 – BOSTON, MA Paradise Rock Club

JAN 10 – PHILADELPHIA, PA Trocadero

JAN 12 – WASHINGTON DC 9:30 Club

JAN 14 – NEW YORK, NY Terminal 5

JAN 15 – NEW YORK, NY Terminal 5

he will also perform on Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night

Saturday Music Definitions: Sun

you know what I love?
marathons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

I have loads of songs with "sun" in the title, so I've picked ones I think most people haven't heard.

The Swimmers - Give me the Sun [mp3]

Antony and the Johnsons - Daylight and the Sun [mp3]

Death Cab for Cutie - No Sunlight [mp3]

Eddie Vedder - Hard Sun [mp3]
from Into The Wild

Patrick Wolf - The Sun Is Often Out [mp3]

Stereophonics - Lying in the Sun [mp3]

Doves - Catch the Sun [mp3]

The Dashing Suns - I Wanna Run [mp3]

The Strokes Post #300

this is a wicked demo version of "Is This It" that reeeeeeeeeally makes the Pixies "Where is my Mind" undertone obvious

The Strokes - Is This It (demo) [mp3]

tattoo idea

I'm cleaning my room right now and came across a slip of paper on which I was toying with a tattoo idea. the ideal placement, methinks, would be centered on the back of my neck, like, a couple of inches underneath my hairline. it wouldn't be concealed, because my hair is up 94% of the time.

thoughts?

mp3s: Phoenix SPIN session

at K.'s request, I managed to make mp3s of the session, but only half of it. here are the two songs from WAP, enjoy

Phoenix - 1901 (SPIN session) [mp3]

Phoenix - Lisztomania (SPIN session) [mp3]

Band of the Week: Cage the Elephant

Bowling Green, Kentucky.
I don't know what it is that you did exactly, but thank you for having whatever oppressive factors that led our boys to retaliate with musical insanity.
I really do appreciate it.
Cage the Elephant are two brothers and three of their friends who like to make noise. Lots of noise. They like to inebriate your ears with filthy racket and they do one hell of a good job at it.
They have been one of the best bands of the year. They have toured their asses off, managed to create a following first in Europe and then in the US. And now I hear them on alternative rock radio stations. Beautiful.
Their record, which beautifully blends elements from Beck and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, is fantastic. It was definitely one of my favourites this year.



Let's go. Party.

Cage the Elephant - Back Against the Wall [mp3]

Vampire Weekend: White Sky

the track, it's so delectable. it's like ice cream cake topped with warm fudge. can you tell I've been eating sweets all day?

Vampire Weekend - White Sky [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]
many thanks to Pop Tarts Suck Toasted!

I tried downloading it yesterday, but web sheriff had attacked all of the blogs which posted it.

download it, quick, before he targets MIE too!

Phoenix record an acoustic set for SPIN

watch it HERE

it's simply breathtaking. the sound quality is beyond amazing.

these boys, they seem to do no wrong.

"well, not obscure, just Hungarian". ahhaha. I also enjoyed Christian's spasms. I love Phoenix so much, you can hear and see how much they get INTO their music.

The Strokes Post #299

this is where I wish I knew Spanish. in any case, I'm enjoying the Che Guevara/Marxist imagery.

thanks to Rodrigo for the scans!