music induced euphoria: 2010-07-11

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Arcade Fire - Month of May + The Suburbs

so I have not listened to any Arcade Fire tracks from The Suburbs on principle, as I wanted to hear the whole album all at once, but I accidentally listened to the track below, because it showed up on a podcast I subscribe to

Arcade Fire - Month of May [mp3]
holy moley can I say I freaking love this? it's crazy like Violent Femmes, only darker. I never would have expected this, I thought the band was gonna stick to the Baroque-pop thing through and through

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs [mp3]
this one is slower, more airy and Win really pushes the limits vocally as a haunting piano chimes in the background. well done.

I am half angry, half thrilled at The Needle Drop for using these songs in their June 5th podcast.

The Suburbs will be force to be reckoned with, indeed

Saturday Music Definitions: Worry

Green Day - Worry Rock [mp3]

Talking Heads - Don't Worry About the Government [mp3]

Morrissey - Do Your Best And Don't Worry [mp3]

Frank Sinatra - Don't Worry Bout Me [mp3]

Albert Hammond Jr - Feed Me Jack Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Peter Sellers [mp3]

Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry, Be Happy [mp3]

Music For Animals - Worry [mp3]

The Strokes Post #505

Friday, July 16, 2010

Band of the Week: Monuments

Monuments are from Brooklyn. They make music that sounds like the rain. Steady but mysterious. Their slower, acoustic driven tracks (“I’m Here Now”) are like One by One era Foo Fighters whereas the rest of their songs are guitar heavy and experimental, like Pink Floyd. The chord progression in “Expectations” sounds suspiciously like “Paranoid Android” but they make it their own by building the suspense into a ferocious frenzy of an ending. I’d be more concerned if they weren’t drawing inspiration from Radiohead. The songs are dizzying yet satisfying, like Explosions in the Sky through the rock’n’roll looking glass. Their self titled album does not deliver any specific musical agenda: the band doesn’t sound like anything in particular, neither band nor genre. They seek refuge in their own brand of creativity, stubbornly independent like a sailor at sea.

Check it out:

Monuments – Ice Pick Lobotomy [mp3]

Monuments on MYSPACE

The Strokes Post #504

I think we should sign a petition declaring
"Albert should always wear glasses"

the world would be a better place.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Classic Track Thursday

Los Saicos -Intensamente [mp3]

this is a Peruvian band
called Los Saicos.

they were around between 1964 and 1966. they never released a proper album--decades later, their singles would be compiled into one album

I heard them at Amoeba and was all "whoa this sounds like a Spanish Black Lips" but when I saw the date on the cd I realized that this band came waaaaaaaay before my beloved Athens band. they were one of the forerunners of the garage rock scene and have become an instant favourite of mine. they even have a song in English, "Lonely Star". if you like horror punk and grittiness in the vein of an edgy Beach Boys, look no further

GUIDED BY VOICES REUNION TOUR!

first I was ecstatic to find out that I didn't have to go to Chicago to see The Strokes and now I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO VEGAS TO SEE GBV BECAUSE THEY'RE PLAYING THE WARFIELD! la vita è dolce, no?

tickets on sale TOMORROW Friday, July 16th via Ticketmaster

09/30 – Austin, TX @ East Side Drive *
10/03 – Las Vegas, NV @ Matador at 21
10/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *
10/05 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield *
10/07 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
10/09 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo *
10/12 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
10/13 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic *
10/15 – Newport, KY @ Southgate House
10/16 – Columbus, OH @ Outlands Live
10/21 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/22 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/23 – Atlanta, GA @ The Buckhead Theatre
11/05 – Boston, MA @ Paradise #
11/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero #
11/07 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 #

* = w/ Times New Viking
# = w/ Blitzen Trapper

Guided By Voices - Twilight Campfighter [mp3]

new video: Crocodiles - Sleep Forever

Crocodiles - Sleep Forever [mp3]

watch the video HERE

via SPIN.com

The Walkmen announce new album, tour, free single

The Walkmen - Stranded [mp3]
from Lisbon (out on Sept 14th in the US on Fat Possum Records and on Oct 11th in the UK on Bella Union Records)

it kind of sounds like an ol' time band tribute to a military officer. really really uncharacteristic of the NY band, but a solid track nonetheless

DATES:
7/17: XPN Music Festival, Philadelphia, PA
7/31: Osheaga Festival, Montreal
8/6: Lollapalooza Festival, Chicago, Illinois
8/6: Official Lollapalooza After Party w/ Warpaint, Double Door, Chicago, Illinois (Sold Out)
8/12: Governors Island, New York, NY w/ Grizzly Bear
8/25: Islington Academy, London, UK
8/27: Leeds Festival, Leeds, England
8/28: Reading Festival, Reading, England
9/8: The Showbox w/ Helio Sequence, Seattle, WA
9/9: Malkin Bowl, Vancouver, BC w/ The National
9/10: Malkin Bowl, Vancouver, BC w/The National
9/11: WOW Hall w/ Helio Sequence, Eugene, OR
9/12: Music Fest NW, Portland, OR
9/14: The Fillmore w/ Japandroids, San Francisco, CA
9/15: The Music Box w/ Japandroids, Los Angeles, CA
9/17: Clubhouse Music Venue w/ Japandroids, Tempe, AZ
9/18: Belly Up Tavern w/ Japandroids, Solana Beach, CA
9/19: Neon Reverb Festival at Beauty Bar, Las Vegas, NV
9/25: Nor'easter Festival, Lincoln, NH
10/07: Royale Night Club w/ AA Bondy, Boston, MA
10/09: The Phoenix Concert Theatre w/ AA Bondy, Toronto, ONT
10/10: Magic Stick w/ AA Bondy, Detroit, MI
10/12: The Vogue w/ AA Bondy, Indianapolis, IN
10/14: Barrymore Theatre w/ Japandroids, Madison, WI
10/15: Cabooze w/ Japandroids, Minneapolis, MN
10/16: The Waiting Room w/ Japandroids, Omaha, NE
10/17: Fox Theatre Cafe w/ Japandroids, Boulder, CO
10/19: The Bottleneck w/ Japandroids, Lawrence, KS
10/20: Off Broadway w/ Japandroids, St. Louis, MO
10/21: Zanzabar w/ Japandroids, Louisville, KY
10/22: Mr. Smalls Theatre w/ Japandroids, Pittsburgh, PA
10/23: The Trocadero w/ Japandroids, Philadelphia, PA
10/28: 02 Academy, Glasgow, UK w/ The Black Keys
10/30: 02 Academy, Newcastle, UK w/ The Black Keys
10/31: 02 Academy, Leeds, UK w/ The Black Keys
11/2: 02 Academy, Brixton, London, UK w/ The Black Keys
11/4: Rock City, Nottingham, UK w/ The Black Keys
11/6: 02 Academy, Liverpool, UK w/ The Black Keys
11/7: 02 Academy, Bournemouth, UK w/ The Black Keys

The Walkmen on MYSPACE

The Strokes Post #503

more HERE

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Strokes Post #502

this one is for Teeeks:

record review: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti- Before Today

Ariel Pink’s 2010 release Before Today is a lot of things, but boring is not one of them. The psych-electronica LP is like an uncooked shake-and-bake concoction of Michael Jackson and 1960’s Warholian aesthetic—it draws you in with its enticing aromas but is not fit for consumption in its raw state. “Beverly Kills” is a dazzling dance floor number, but, like its siblings on Before Today, cannot be seriously considered as a self-sustaining musical entity. There is something missing here, or rather, too much all of the time—the over-stimulated Hollywood frontman bears all of his influences simultaneously. “Little Wig” represents a high point on the record, as it draws sensational power by combining horror-punk vocals over surfer-inspired nouveau-new-wave music. Before Today will no doubt find its strength in the arms of knowledgeable djs and subsequent plays on dance floors, but fails to strike a chord for the personal realm of headphone use.
3/5

Ariel Pink on MYSPACE

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Strokes Post #501

Monday, July 12, 2010

record review: Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

“We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.” – Tyler Durden

If Fight Club heralded the superiority of male company over the heteronormative status quo, creating a thwarted utopia of knuckles and sweat, Dum Dum Girls have presented the world with an equally magnanimous contestation to the battle of the sexes. I Will Be is dark, twisted and reeks of girl-power conniving, but there are moments when the drugs kick in and all that you’re left with is the soundtrack to a alternate-reality story of Jonah, a whale lost upon some shore, but content in its comatose inebriation (“Jail La La”). Like a toned down Siouxie and the Banshees, the LA band manages to carry fanciful beats over stifled yet powerful Pixies-inspired guitars on their debut LP. A modern-day hipster version of the Ramones, the girls' anthems are often playful and fun (the repetition of gun shot sounds rendered in whispers in "Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burnout" will slowly but surely draw out grins).The record as a whole, though, epitomizes the rare high points of the oft-laughable subgenre of “angry grrrl music of the indie rock persuasion” (so fittingly labeled in 10 Things I Hate About You). But this anger is sublimated in the dreamy tones which fit in with their label-mates at Sub Pop Records—less screaming, more subtle deviousness. Dum Dum Girls know something you don’t, and no, you’re not allowed to join the club. You just have to content yourself with watching from the sidelines.

4.2/5

Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be [mp3]

Dum Dum Girls on MYSPACE

SF's Treasure Island 2010 Lineup Announced (electronica Saturday vs indie rock Sunday)

Early Bird 2-Day and VIP tickets go on sale tomorrow, July 13th at 10am PST.

Single day tickets go on sale on Friday, July 16th at 10am PST.

more info on tickets HERE

The Strokes Post #500

I think that the musical chaos of this song adequately represents the state of affairs in my life right now. why does everything seem to fall apart all at once?