New Kings of Leon record set for a September release

RCA will release their fourth record entitled Only By The Night on September 24th.

some tour dates can be found HERE

Kings of Leon - Red Morning Light [mp3]

Amy Winehouse has emphysema

I just read the could-be-tragic news. Hopefully, though, she'll use this opportunity to clean up. I hope she has the strength, her voice is phenomenal. She's a rare female vocalist whom I not only can tolerate, but also LIKE.

In other news, the full lineup for the Voodoo music festival has been announced HERE, including DCFC, PATD and CWK. good stuff.

Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good [mp3]

Megapuss play first concert in UCLA

I'm not sure if this band is a joke or not yet but oh well.

they consist of Devendra Banhart, Fabrizo Moretti(The Strokes),Greg Rogove (Priestbird)

I wouldn't bother but I haven't heard anything new from Fab for a while so I guess this is a good sign.

here's the vid:


and their MYSPACE

New Vampire Weekend Video for "Oxford Comma"

upon my first listening to their eponymous debut album, this was my favourite song. I still love it, but M79 is now my favourite.

anyhow, the video is pretty good. I'm glad I got a glimpse of Baio. In all honesty, when I went to see the band, Ezra and Rostam were a bit distant and didn't talk to fans; Tomson was shy but friendly, but Baio was great. Good to know some people can still be down to earth and accessible after they get famous.

watch the video below:



Vampire Weekend - M79 [mp3]

The Dandy Warhols on tour with the Upsidedowns

...to support their new record, Earth To Dandy Warhols, set for an August 19th release

tour dates and mp3 below

9/9, Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue)*
9/10, Madison, WI (Barrymore)*

9/12, Chicago, IL (Vic Theater)*

9/13, Toronto, ON (Kool Haus)*

9/14, Montreal, QC (Club Soda)*

9/16, Boston, MA (Wilbur Theatre)*

9/17, New York, NY (Terminal 5)*

9/20, Philadelphia, PA (TLA)*

9/22, Washington, DC (930 Club)*

9/23, Atlanta, GA (Variety Playhouse)*

9/26, Lawrence, KS (Liberty Hall)*

9/27, Denver, CO (Gothic Theater)*

9/28, Aspen, CO (Belly Up)*

10/3, Los Angeles, CA (The Wiltern) #

10/4, San Francisco, CA (Warfield) %

10/5, Portland, OR (The Roseland Theater)*

(* w/ Darker My Love)
(# w/ A Place To Bury Strangers)
(% w/ The Charlatans)

The Dandy Warhols - We Used To Be Friends [mp3]

ALBERT HAMMOND JR IS ON TOUR!

I check his MYSPACE and website daily in hope for updates, and he's finally posted some tour dates to support his fantastic new record Como Te Llama. Sadly, it's a very limited list, and the closest one to me is LA, which is like 4 hours away. He's playing a Tokyo show on my birthday. I so want to go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll post up some more soon, this looks like it's just the summer tour, he will definitely have more soon. Or else I shall have to resort to drastic measures, like take a road trip to LA in this age of ridiculous gas prices.

tour dates and mp3 below:

Jul 11 2008 8:00P
Spaceland Los Angeles, California

Jul 30 2008 8:00P
Prince Bandroom Melbourne, Victoria

Aug 1 2008 8:00P
The Gaelic Theatre Sydney, New South Wales

Aug 2 2008 8:00P
The Zoo Brisbane, Queensland

Aug 9 2008 6:00P
Summer Sonic Festival Tokyo

Aug 10 2008 6:00P
Summer Sonic Festival Osaka

Aug 11 2008 8:00P
Club Quattro Osaka

Aug 12 2008 8:00P
Club Quattro Tokyo

Albert Hammond Jr - In My Room [mp3]

Sondre Lerche on tour

visit our favourite Norwegian singer's MYSPACE for tour dates.

Oasis has signed a new record deal with Sony BMG, for 3 records, one of which is set for a release later this year. Read more on NME

last but not least, Sigur Ros' North American Tour Dates went on presale this morning (about an hour ago) and a lot of them are sold out. See the complete list HERE

Oasis - Don't Go Away [mp3]

Sondre Lerche - Minor Detail [mp3]

The Postelles

these guys are a great band I've recently discovered. They hail from NY, and I have NEVER said this about any band, but they remind me of The Strokes. They have a GREAT sound that is harmonious and crazy catchy in that great flower-power decade way. "Stella" has very Strokes-y guitars too. So it's appropriate that Albert Hammond Jr just produced their new single, "123 Stop", because he was impressed by their sound. You will be too! Now check them out on MYSPACE and show them some love!

According to a SPIN interview, they're gonna be in the UK for a tour, but I hope they'll be back in the US soon, and that they stop by my neck of the woods. I would love to see these guys live.

I don't have any mp3s yet, so youtube is gonna have to suffice for now:



enjoy!

on a side note, Conor Oberst (previously of Bright Eyes) has a whole bunch of new tour dates

Chris Martin is a thief, a liar, and a PRAT.

if you haven't heard already, a Brooklyn band called Creaky Boards is claiming (rightfully so) that "Viva La Vida"'s melody was stolen from their "The Songs I Didn't Write". now, I know that this is the music biz and these type of things happen all of the time, and become public knowledge with singles (for example, the LSP's "Age of Understatement" borrows a lot from Muse's "Knight of Cydonia", RHCP's "Dani California" = a remake of Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance", even The Strokes admitted to borrowing the riff for "Last Nite" from Tom Petty's "American Girl". Tom Petty was cool about the whole thing Music is a great thing, but sometimes it's hard to be completely original and you need to take things from here and there. That's just the way things work

What pisses me off more than anything is when a band denies it.

Now, make the decision for yourself. Here's the video making the claims:



also, the band blogged about it HERE

now, when I first heard it, I definitely caught onto the similarity of melodies, but thought "hey, no big deal", especially because the Creaky Boards frontman was so civil about the whole thing, not bitter at all. It's not fair how people are accusing him of wanting his 15 minutes of fame.

visit Creaky Boards on MYSPACE . at least their music won't put you to sleep.

When I saw THIS ARTICLE on NME where Chris Martin denies the whole thing, I lost it.

Seriously, man? Ok, yeah, according to your journal you were not at the gig, but hello this is the age of the internet and anyone can hear anything from any part of the world. Just because you weren't at the gig doesn't mean you're off the hook.

I am officially boycotting Viva La Vida. I was planning to go out and buy it but not anymore. I can live without it, it's been tainted with Chris Martin's ridiculousness.

ok, enough unpleasantness. some good news.

some cool new Spoon tracks are available for DOWNLOAD HERE

also, Albert Hammond Jr's Como Te Llama has been leaked online for the last couple of days, I found out yesterday and was ecstatic. I like most of the songs, a couple are less than perfect but overall it's a good record. I love this 7 minute instrumental song he does in the middle, called "Spooky Couch". I love the first half of the record a lot, but I feel like Yours To Keep is a better album overall. I like that Albert tried new things, and his guitar sounds are mindblowing, they're a lot more powerful than anything he's done before. The bass in "Victory at Monterey" [mp3] is catchy and super sexy. I love it. So, Albert, great job and I will definitely still buy it on July 8th (I actually was planning to do that regardless of what it sounded like haha yes I am a die hard fan.)

more good news, the Last Shadow Puppets are playing the debut live gig at the Reading and Leeds festivals in August:

Leeds Festival - Friday the 22nd of August
Reading Festival - Sunday the 24th of August

The Strokes - Last Nite [mp3, highly recommended!]

new video by the Last Shadow Puppets

for "Standing Next to Me":



they look great, as always =)

the Sex Pistols denied their punk-ness. wow, I don't know what to say. I've always associated the Pistols with Punk. now I have to redefine my entire existence.

there isn't very much new music news on a Sunday morning, so I'll just introduce a cool indie band I like, Oh No! Oh My!, from Texas. visit them on MYSPACE

they're working on a new record right now, so they probably won't be touring for another few months

Oh No! Oh My! - Walk in the Park [mp3]

also, some appropriate VU:
Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning [mp3]

The Muslims are on tour

I heard about this cool San Diego, CA based band during SXSW this year. They are very Velvet Underground-esque, only a bit more accessible to today's generation.

they will be playing the following dates:

June 13 @ Cake Shop (w. The Browns, So So Glos)
June 15 @ the Dunderdon store in Chinatown/SoHo (w. The Browns)
June 16 @ Mercury Lounge - 8pm (w. Afterhours, Young Punx)
June 17 @ The Market Hotel (The Browns, So So Glos)
June 18 @ DC9 Washington DC
June 19 @ Santos' Party House (Vice Party)
June 20 @ Union Pool (w. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Suckers, Wild Yaks)
June 21 @ The Castle In Hell (House show w. HTR)
July 1 @ THE CASBAH w/ The Modey Lemon San Diego, California
July 2 @ THE ECHO w/ The Modey Lemon Los Angeles, California
July 24 @ THE KNOCKOUT w/ Crocodiles San Francisco, California


The Muslims - On My Time [mp3]

In other, less happy news, R Kelly was acquitted for the whole child pornography thing. wow, just wow.

Also, I am pretty upset with Rolling Stone's new cover
don't get me wrong, I think Chris Martin and/or the rest of Coldplay belong in the spotlight right now, seeing as how their new record is pretty damn great and they're a huge band, but I hate that RS called Martin a "Rock G-d". they seem to be throwing that term around pretty loosely lately.

On a brighter note, Beck's new record, Modern Guilt, will be out July 7th! the track list is as follows:

“Orphans”
“Gamma Ray”
“Chemtrails”
“Modern Guilt”
“Youthless”
“Walls”
“Replica”
“Soul of a Man”
“Profanity Prayers”
“Volcano”

two consecutive days of awesome records (Como Te Llama comes out on the 8th). sweetness.

Igyy Pop on tour

Iggy Pop & the Stooges - 2008 Tour Dates

06/14 - Seaclose Park Isle of Wight, UK Isle of Wright Festival

06/16 - Royal Hospital Kilmainham Dublin, IE Some Days Never End

06/20 - Parco San Guiliano Venice, IT Heineken Jammin' Festival

07/04 - Skanevik Blues Festival Oslo, NO

07/13 - La Grande Armada Rouen, FR

07/19 - Garden Nef Party Festival Angouleme, FR

07/26 - Race & Rock Festival Seinajoki, FI

08/03 - Osheaga Music and Arts Montreal, Canada

08/06 - Massey Hall Toronto, Canada

08/08 - Terminal 5 New York, NY

08/24 - Clapham Common London, UK Loaded In The Park

08/28 - Zitadelle Berlin, DE

08/30 - Rock Am See Konstanz, DE

09/16 - Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen, DE

09/18 - Hamburg Stadtpark Hamburg, DE

09/22 - Ice Rink St. Petersburg, RU

09/24 - B1 Moscow, RU

The Police are playing their final show on August 7th in Madison Square Garden

The Hold Steady are streaming their entire new album entitled "Stay Positive" (due out July 15th)on MYSPACE you can also find tour dates there.

Iggy Pop - Lust for Life [mp3]

NEW STROKES SONG AVAILABLE ON NME.COM!

well it's just Julian Casablancas who has teamed up with Santogold and N.E.R.D (Pharrell Williams' band) for a song for Converse, but it sounds good for a shoe commerical

It's called "My Drive Thru", listen to it HERE

Pharrell may or may not produce the Strokes' 4th record. he did a great job with The Hives' Black and White album.

read the full story on NME

it vaguely reminds me of Spoon's Don't You Evah. I really like it, it's quite dancable (they do say "wanna dance" seven hundred times, after all) and Jules' vocals are, of course, ace.

the new AC/DC record is going to be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. I am in utter shock at this despicable move by a band which I previously considered above such stupidity. read Spin's story here.

Radiohead has a new song called Super Collider, which they played in Dublin
listen below:

I like it. a lot. it's very soothing, like most of Radiohead's songs

Meg White joined Jack on stage during a Raconteurs performance on Saturday. read NME's story HERE
The Raconteurs are still on tour for Consolers of the Lonely.

Sigur Ros is streaming their entire new record HERE, and I absolutely love it. gorgeous, gorgeous music. the record is available for preorder on their website. do indulge yourself.

Led Zeppelin made a surprise appearance during a Foo Fighters show on Saturday. read the full story HERE

Bob Dylan has added some more tour dates

Chris Martin of Coldplay said his band was "only the seventh best in the world". hahahhaha! oh man, I didn't realize what a prat the guy was. Coldplay is a good band. not great, just good. they, obviously, don't think so. hahaha

enjoy some HIGH QUALITY MUSIC below.

Spoon- Don't You Evah [mp3]

BFD 2008!

I had a blast at BFD yesterday at Shoreline, here are some photos of the best acts:

Flobots:



MGMT:






Anti-Flag:



andddd THE KOOKS!!







so much fun. I <3 festivals.

The Kooks - Do You Wanna [mp3]

Coldplay streaming Viva la Vida

HERE

the album is set for a June 17th release.

Last FM announced its first series of live music events in the US, in a partnership with The Bowery Presents, New York’s largest independent concert promotion company. Fleet Foxes and Lightspeed Champion are the first artists to play the Last FM & Bowery Presents co-promoted US concerts, kicking off a series of stateside live music events for Last FM.

Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan have joined the ranks of musicians endorsing Barack Obama. I expect more musicians to follow suit, seeing as how Obama has now secured the Democratic nomination.

I've discovered a new band I like, a pop punk act from NY called The Bloodsugars. Visit them on MYSPACE

The Bloodsugars - Purpose Was Again [mp3]

Bob Dylan - Times They Are A Changing [mp3]

Franz Ferdinand on tour

according to Pitchfork,"Franz Ferdinand have also lined up at least two "secret" shows in advance of a spate of summer festival appearances. The first, according to a Rough Trade email, goes down June 9 at London's Macbeth, while the second, according to a writeup on blog this is hull and east riding.co.uk, hits Hull's Adelphi club on June 22."

the regular dates are below:

06-09 London, England - The Macbeth
06-22 Hull, England - The Adelphi
07-04 Tallinn, Estonia - Ollesummer Festival
07-12 Ferrara, Italy - Piazza Castello
07-18 Southwold, England - Henham Park (Latitude Festival)
07-19 Gräfenhainichen, Germany - Ferropolis (Melt! Festival)
08-07 Skanderborg, Denmark - Skanderborg Festival
08-08 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08-30 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic
08-31 Scotland - Hydro Connect Festival

Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen [mp3]

Franz Ferdinand's new record is due out this October. a more extensive tour will probably follow. they are my second favourite Scottish rock band, after Snow Patrol and before Belle and Sebastian.

NEW SONG BY ALBERT HAMMOND JR AVAILABLE ON SPIN.COM!

!!!
it's called GfC. I've previously heard some versions on YOUTUBE but the studio version is BREATHTAKING. seriously, I'm floored. his new record is like an awesome birthday gift for me, only a month early. and I'm sure as hell not complaining

Albert's debut record, Yours To Keep is fantastic, and his second record seems like it's gonna surpass even that. I didn't think it was possible, but hey, he's a Stroke, right? they're just amazing like that. do you hear what he's doing with his voice? it's totally like Jules challenging himself on First Impressions...GAH I AM SO EXCITED!!

read the SPIN article HERE and download it there too, or, what the hell, I'll make it easier

Albert Hammond Jr- GfC [mp3-highly recommended!!]

oh, btw, according to Rolling Stone, vinyl is making a comeback. it's about time.

Kurt Cobain's ashes have been stolen

from their home with his now "suicidal" widow Courtney Love. Read NME's story HERE

Albert Hammond Jr has spoken to NME about his new record (due out July 8th) and says that "I'm really proud of the power this record has. I feel like my melodies and song arrangements have matured. Lyrically, I tried to have the words flow out more freely and not try to write one song but many. I would just sing and sing and then arrange the words afterwards."

read the full story HERE

tickets are on SALE for the download festival in SF (actually, Mountain View at Shoreline) on July 19th, featuring such artists as Brother Ali, Yeasayer, Tapes n Tapes, Louis XIV and Brand New view the full lineup HERE

Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box [mp3]

MGMT release video for "Electric Feel"

watch it below:


an excellent song, if I do say so myself. I do prefer the vid for "time to pretend" but that's just me. MGMT have been in the spotlight lately, with good reason. excellent, excellent band, and they will be performing at BFD next Saturday. more tour dates below:

Jun 4 2008 8:00P
Billabong Design for Humanity at Avalon/Spider Club Hollywood, California
Jun 6 2008 6:00P
KWOD Rock the Vote Davis, California
Jun 7 2008 11:30A
Live 105 BFD 08 - Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View, California
Jun 8 2008 8:00P
KBZT Independence Jam Chula Vista, California
Jun 9 2008 11:45P
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Los Angeles, California
Jun 11 2008 9:00P
Hi-Tone Memphis, Tennessee
Jun 12 2008 12:00P
Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee
Jun 14 2008 8:00P
KNDD 107.7 The End’s Summer Camp Redmond, Washington
Jun 23 2008 8:00P
Tavastia Helsinki
Jun 24 2008 8:00P
Hove Festival Hove
Jun 25 2008 8:00P
Accelerator Festival Stockholm, Stockholms län
Jun 27 2008 8:00P
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury
Jun 28 2008 8:00P
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury
Jun 29 2008 8:00P
Lancashire County Cricket Ground w/ Radiohead, Bat For Lashes Manchester
Jul 3 2008 12:00P
Roskilde Festival Roskilde
Jul 5 2008 8:00P
Werchter Festival Werchter
Jul 6 2008 8:00P
Les Eurockéennes de Belfort Belfort
Jul 7 2008 8:00P
Rolling Stone Milan
Jul 8 2008 8:00P
Zenith w/ Kings of Leon Paris
Jul 10 2008 8:00P
Alive 08 Festival Lisbon, Lisboa
Jul 12 2008 8:00P
T in the Park Balado, Scotland
Jul 13 2008 8:00P
Oxegen Festival Punchestown
Jul 23 2008 8:00P
Paradise Rock Club Boston, Massachusetts
Jul 24 2008 9:00P
Paradise Rock Club Boston, Massachusetts
Jul 25 2008 8:00P
First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 27 2008 12:00P
McCarren Park Pool Party Brooklyn, New York
Aug 2 2008 12:00P
Lollapalooza Chicago, Illinois
Aug 4 2008 2:00P
Osheaga Festival Musique et Arts Montreal, Quebec
Aug 9 2008 8:00P
Summersonic Festival Osaka
Aug 10 2008 8:00P
Summersonic Festival Tokyo, Tokyo
Aug 22 2008 12:00P
Reading Festival Reading, South
Aug 23 2008 12:00P
Leeds Festival Leeds
Sep 6 2008 8:00P
Virgin Festival Toronto, Ontario
Sep 20 2008 7:00P
Hollywood Bowl w/ Beck and Spoon Los Angeles, California
Sep 27 2008 8:00P
Austin City Limits Austin, Texas

I almost shelled out 60 bucks to see them at a sold out Slim's show a couple of months back. they shall be quite a spectacle to behold, I'm sure.

MGMT- Time to Pretend [album version] [mp3]

THE RACONTEURS headline San Francisco's Treasure Island Festival

It's a two day gig, the weekend of September 20-21st.

the line up for Saturday:
JUSTICE
TV ON THE RADIO * GOLDFRAPP * HOT CHIP
CSS * ANTIBALAS * AESOP ROCK * AMON TOBIN
Foals * Mike Relm * Nortic Collective:Bostich+Fussible

The lineup for Sunday (far superior):
THE RANCONTEURS
TEGAN & SARA * VAMPIRE WEEKEND * SPIRITUALIZED
OKKERVIL RIVER * THE KILLS * TOKYO POLICE CLUB * DR.DOG
John Vanderslice * The Dodos * Fleet Foxes

buy Sunday tix HERE tomorrow

or a two day pass HERE

The Raconteurs - Salute Your Solution [mp3]

Tokyo Police Club - The Harrowing Adventures of... [mp3]

Vampire Weekend - M79 [mp3]

the official website is HERE

rolling stone rates the greatest guitar songs of all time

Rolling Stone just put out a list of the 100 greatest guitar songs, and I find it highly satisfactory.

the top ten are as follows:

1. Chuck Berry- Johnny B Goode
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Purple Haze
3. Cream – Crossroads
4. The Kinks – You Really Got Me
5. The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar
6. Van Halen – Eruption
7. The Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
8. Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
9. The Allman Brothers Band – Statesboro Blues
10. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit

also on the list, a few of my personal favourite songs:

The White Stripes- Seven Nation Army (#21)[mp3]

ACDC- Back In Black (#29)[mp3]

Television- Marquee Moon (#41)[mp3]when I first got Television's eponymous debut record, I had that 10 minute masterpiece on repeat for about 4 hours. tis an amazing, amazing song.

and, of course, my favourite band (The Strokes) made the list with the closer to my all time favourite record, Is This It, Take it or Leave it (#71)[mp3] Albert owns that song. well, Nick helps, but still.

here's a great live version:


Jules is all over the place =)

A Hawaiian man named Jake Shimabukoro did a surprisingly good cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps with a ukelele. watch the video below:




Rolling Stone also gave a shout out to Tokyo Police Club, a cool Canadian band I've been listening to recently. good stuff.

new sigur ros record etc etc.

so the new Sigur Ros album, með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (which loosely translates into "with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly"), is set for a June 24th release, which is great, because they just finished the record. I love that bands are starting to shorten the time between finishing an album and releasing it (Albert Hammond Jr, however, has been done with his record since February and it isn't due until JULY. grr.)
anyhow, the Icelandic band has this cool promo, where you can download their new single for free on their website

they are currently touring Europe, for tour dates click HERE

in other news, The Smashing Pumpkins are celebrating their TWENTIETH anniversary (crazy, I know) by playing shows in August and September in the US, and Pitchfork says they'll be in Chicago, NY, and LA, each show having "special guests". sounds interesting. I really love the Pumpkins, though they've been getting a lot of backlash lately. they have always been and remain to be a top notch band. Zeitgeist is a fantastic record.

in other news, My Chemical Romance apologized to the family of Hannah Bond, a girl who committed suicide after listening to their music, and maintained that they are anti suicide. read an article from NME HERE

Morissey of The Smiths is rumoured to start an official blog. more updates later.

oh, one last thing, Weezer is on the cover of Spin's JUNE ISSUE. =) good going guys, that's their second time around.

The Smashing Pumpkins - Today [mp3]

kooks b side

The Kooks - No Longer [mp3]

I shall see this awesome band in 2 weeks =)

the new Weezer video kicks so much ass

watch the video for their new single, Pork and Beans, below:



it features a lot of the so called "youtube celebrities". brilliant.

Weezer's new record, yet another eponymous album (this one deemed the red album)is out June 3rd.

the man is trying to supress me.

so my box account [where I upload all of the songs I post on this blog] was shut down because I've been posting mp3s here so I just went ahead and created a new one. the only songs which I'm reuploading are "The Start of Something" by Voxtrot and "Scared" by Albert Hammond Jr because they were the ones which were downloaded the most, not to mention two of my favourite songs. if you guys want me to reupload anything, I'd be happy to, just drop me a message.

I've just finished my first year at uni, and I'm enjoying the nothingness that I am lucky enough to have right now. more posts soon, I promise, I just need some days of absolute emptyness.

just one scrap of music news that is pretty cool, Alicia Keys wants to collaborate with The White Stripes, because she admires their raw sound and parallels it with her own voice. keep a look out for that [I of course will keep you posted]

Flight of the Conchords

I finally got their record last night. it's ridiculously good. go out and buy it NOW.

these guys are hilarious:


Flight of the Conchords -The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room [mp3]

oh, and as of now, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Ashlee Simpson are married.

F of the C are on tour right now, cities listed below:

May 26 2008 8:00P
Sasquatch Music Festival George, Washington

May 27 2008 8:00P
Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium San Francisco, California

May 29 2008 8:00P
Davies Symphony Hall San Francisco, California

May 30 2008 8:00P
Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, California

Jun 1 2008 8:00P
Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, California

stuck in the past.

time feels like it's stopped moving. I'm going to honour this moment by listening to one of the greatest, Nirvana.

Kurt Cobain, I bow down to your greatness. may you RIP.

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit [mp3]

Jules is back.

I am in a FANTASTIC mood. The final that I was really worried about turned out ok because I studied everything that was on the exam. it was amazing. like every passage on the IDs I specifically reviewed...anyhow, I have 2 more to go and I'm not too worried about those.

and, of course, because this is a MUSIC blog,
THE STROKES' JULIAN CASABLANCAS, Santogold and Pharrell are collaborating on a new song for Converse. MY DEAR LORD. Julian's voice floors me. updates will come soon.

The Strokes - New York City Cops [mp3]
damn good song.

in other news, Ben Gibbard makes me laugh. He said: “The second Postal Service album is threatening to become the Chinese Democracy of indie rock. It will come out eventually, or maybe it won’t.”
clever boy.

oh and The Decemberists are playing an Obama benefit gig in NY tomorrow afternoon. more power to them.

let there be love. and music. and no more finals.

I am dying here. I don't feel like studying but I have a massive exam tomorrow. may the g-ds help me.

I have had this on repeat forever. it calms me down and helps me focus. I love Liam's voice but Noel's is a nice variation... tis my favourite Oasis song:

Oasis - Let there be love [mp3]

in other news, Michael Jackson's "thriller" was induced into the library of congress as a “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” addition to the history of American music.
good song.

I am very pissed off, because this very cool festival: the new American music festival
is on my birthday, but in Pennsylvania. LAME. such a fantastic lineup.

ok that's all for now, I should start studying.

New Panic Video

Panic at the disco's new video for That Green Gentleman (things have changed) can be seen below
such a good song. cute video.



I posted enough mp3s from Panic's new record here

New Weezer

Weezer's new single, Pork and Beans, came out a couple of weeks ago, and their new record (also called Weezer, haha those guys aren't very good at coming up with album names...or perhaps they just love eponymous records) is out June 3rd.

listen to the song here:


Weezer - Island in the Sun [mp3]

Interpol

what is it about NY bands being so damn awesome?
I've had Evil on repeat for quite some time now.

they are playing festivals in Europe right now

Jul 1 2008 7:00P
Train Aarhus

Jul 3 2008 7:00P
Quart Festival Kristiansand

Jul 4 2008 7:00P
Arvika Festival Stockholm

Jul 5 2008 7:00P
HEINEKEN Open’er Festival Gdynia

Jul 6 2008 7:00P
Ruisrock Festival Vantaa

Jul 11 2008 7:00P
OXEGEN Festval Punchestown, Kildare

Jul 12 2008 7:00P
T in the Park Scotland Kinross-Shire, Scotland

Jul 15 2008 7:00P
Band Apart Festival Ferrara, Ferrara

Jul 16 2008 7:00P
Montreux Festival Montreux

Jul 18 2008 7:00P
Summercase Barcelona Barcelona, Barcelona

Jul 19 2008 7:00P
Summercase Madrid Madrid, Madrid

Jul 20 2008 8:00P
Latitude Festival Suffolk

Jul 26 2008 7:00P
Pemberton Festival Pemberton, British Columbia

also, the new DCFC comes out tomorrow. I already have it but that's beside the point.

Interpol-Evil [mp3]

hardly strictly bluegrass festival

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are headlining this FREE FESTIVAL at Golden Gate Park this year from October 3rd-5th.

Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused [mp3]

The Killers add a new show

Atlantic City, New Jersey, on August 1st at the Borgata Hotel Casino

presale tickets are available to members of their fan club next Thursday.

To purchase tickets login to The Killers Victims, go to the "Travels" section of the site, and click the "More Info" link next to the show you would like to attend. Tickets are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Limit four (4) tickets per person. Purchase your tickets as soon as possible because quantities are limited. Tickets will be on sale to the general public on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 10:00 AM EST.

as of now, the only dates that are public domain are the ones overseas

Aug 3 2008 8:00P
Osheaga Festival Montreal, Quebec

Aug 14 2008 8:00P
Pukkelpop Festival Hasselt

Aug 15 2008 8:00P
Highfield Festival Erfurt

Aug 16 2008 8:00P
Frequency Festival Salzburg

Aug 21 2008 8:00P
Marlay Park Dublin

Aug 23 2008 8:00P
Reading Festival Reading

Aug 24 2008 8:00P
Leeds Festival Leeds

I am giddy at the fact that they are touring. I must see them live very very soon.

The Killers - Under the Gun (original b-side version, not Sawdust version) [mp3]

The Killers - Uncle Johnny [mp3]

The Killers - Romeo and Juliet (dire straits cover)[mp3]

now, watch this video and try to keep a straight face:

it's Friday morning and I don't want to work on Milton

so here's some good music instead:

in honour of my excitement about seeing Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin next week (in the middle of finals week, mind you)
SSLYBY-I Think I Wanna Die [mp3]

and,
Empty Rooms-We've Been Waiting For You [mp3]
they're a cool SF band I've recently discovered. I've had that song on repeat for a while. visit them on MYSPACE

and finally, because I'm super stoked about BFD (it's in a month!)
MGMT - Time to Pretend [mp3]

and,
The Kooks -See The Sun [mp3]
their new record is really great. go buy it immediately.

Berkeley's very own Morning Benders are Spin's Artist of the Day

read the SPIN ARTICLE HERE

you can also find an mp3 of their song "boarded doors" above.

Liam Finn in San Francisco tonight

Liam Finn is opening up for Laura Viers at Bottom of the Hill tonight

I've attached some bonus material not found on his record

I am super stoked. Once again, if you do not know who this genius is, check him out:

Liam Finn - I found a noise in ATP [mp3]

Liam Finn - I will explode [mp3]

Liam Finn - Never feel the same [mp3]

ALBERT HAMMOND JR'S NEW ALBUM IS COMING OUT JULY 8TH!

"omg omg omg" was my reaction when I first saw the headline...my roommate told me she thought someone had died...
anyhow, yeah, Albert's been done with the new record for a couple of months now, they're just making all of us fans anxious GAH.
but I am super stoked because he will be touring soon, and then reunite with THE STROKES and holy crap music will be music again.

so the new record is called como te llama, and the track listing is as follows:

1. "Bargain of a Century"
2. "In My Room"
3. "Lisa"
4. "GfC"

5. "The Boss Americana"
6. "Rocket"
7. "Victory at Monterey"
8. "You Won't Be Fooled by This"
9. "Spooky Couch"

10. "Borrowed Time"

11. "G Up"

12. "Miss Myrtle"

13. "Feed Me Jack Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Sellers"

here's my favourite off of his first record:

Albert Hammond Jr - Scared [mp3]

new death cab for cutie

their sixth album, Narrow Stairs, is due out for a May 13th release

download a session version of a movie script ending HERE

for tour dates and other cool stuff, visit DCFC on their MYSPACE.

someone still loves you boris yeltsin

I've been pretty stoked about seeing these guys at Rickshaw in May, here are some other Tour Dates + an mp3

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - 2008 Tour Dates

Apr 23 - Johnny Brenda's ++ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Apr 24 - Black Cat Backstage ++ DC, Washington DC
Apr 26 - The Map Room ++ Charleston, South Carolina
Apr 27 - Criminal Records (acoustic in-store) Atlanta, Georgia
Apr 27 - The Earl (w/Via Audio) Atlanta, Georgia
Apr 29 - The Hi Tone Cafe ++ Memphis, Tennessee
May 5 - The Opolis ** Norman, Oklahoma
May 6 - Hailey's (w/Port O'Brien) Denton, Texas
May 7 - The Mohawk (w/Port O'Brien) Austin, Texas
May 9 - Modified ** Phoenix, Arizona
May 10 - Club Congress ** Tuscon, Arizona
May 11 - Beauty Bar ** San Diego, California
May 13 - The Echo ** LA, California
May 14 - Rickshaw Stop ** San Francisco, California
May 16 - Towne Lounge ** Portland, Oregon
May 17 - The Vera Lounge ** Seattle, Washington
May 19 - Media Club ** Vancouver, British Columbia
May 20 - Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah
May 21 - Hi-Dive Denver, Colorado
May 22 - The Slowdown Omaha, Nebraska
May 23 - The Picador Iowa City, Iowa
May 24 - 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 25 - University of Wisconsin- Memorial Union (w/ Ha Ha Tonka) Madison, Wisconsin

++ (w/ Via Audio)
** (w/ Port O'Brien)

SSLYBY - House Fire [mp3]

also, check out their MYSPACE, there are some good songs on there

concert review: Panic at the Disco @ The Warfield

yeah so I saw Panic 2 Thursdays ago when they kicked off their honda civic tour (which they deemed their Happy Birthday Brendon tour, with said lead singer attaining the ripe old age of 21...oh the lucky bastard...) anyhow, I've been swamped with work so I haven't had the time to write a proper review, and now, it's been such a long time (and, quite honestly, too many joints) that I won't be able to recollect everything from that night, just the important things which I so smartly wrote down the next day. so be forewarned, this is not a review, but merely a summary of the night's events.

first off, their incredibly catchy "she's a handsome woman" off their new record was stuck in my head for DAYS after. they introduced it by stating "this is a rock and roll song". thanks, Panic. but in all honesty, Panic has undergone some major changes in the past couple of years. they've shed their whole burlesque/vaudville/electronica-pop coat and (successfully) moved on to...well, they moved on to back in time when music was music and the voice was more than capable of what most synthesizers do today. also, their record has a lot of different "genres"..taking influences from folksie stuff to blues to country to good ol' rock n roll. this being said, hello Ryan Ross, who knew you had such an amazing voice?! he gave a spectacular rendition of "I have friends in holy spaces", which Brendon sings on the record.

She had the world [mp3] if his vox don't make you tear up, even just a bit, you are DEAD INSIDE.
I also really adore this song: Behind the sea [mp3], but that might just have to do with the fact that Ryan winked at me while singing it. whew. "we're all too smart to talk to g-d". yep, yep, yep.

for the record, their new album makes you feel a myriad of emotions, all good, ranging from excited/giddy [their lead single, nine in the afternoon, of course, referencing Ryan's complaint that he thought it was 7 in the afternoon when they were stuck in the recording studio with no windows for ridiculous amounts of time] to really quite at home [northern downpour]. Pretty. Odd. is to good-soundtrack-to-your-life music what A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was to a workout playlist...meant to be.

their performance was obviously a bit less than perfect, they seemed a bit intimidated and unsure of themselves. Ryan delivered through and through, though, and all of them performed quite well, the guitars BLEW MY MIND AWAY (bass included) that green gentleman anyone?
anyhow, yeah, even though their performance was not up to their own standards, it was still pretty fucking amazing.

they played a lot off of their first record, only all remixed versions. Brendon encored with "Time to Dance" [which he explained was their first recorded song] by himself on an acoustic guitar, asking the audience to full in for the missing keyboard intro. come to think of it, there was a lot of acoustic-guitar goings on during that show. the rest of the band joined Brendon after he finished to sing a couple more encore songs, Pas De Cheval [I LOVE this one. for some reason, it reminds me of Aretha Franklin. a LOT.] and Mad As Rabbits, the closer to their record.

oh, just for the record, there were three opening bands: phantom planet, the hush sound and motion city soundtrack, and PP was BY FAR the best, they gave such a spectacular performance, really genuine and heartfelt. they're just a great band who love what they're doing. it's kind of sad how that's refreshing...so many people in the music industry have just lost touch with the music and the connections it's supposed to induce with the fans...

one final thought: I almost started crying when they sang "there's a good reason these tables are numbered honey, you just haven't thought of it yet"...by far my favourite by them, and I quite enjoyed the twist they added to it.

so yeah, I stick to my word, they are, and have always been a great band. people were far too hard on them, partly because of how played out "I write sins not tragedies" became, but COME ON, most of the band weren't even 18 when they made their first record! they are musical prodigies, and more importantly, willing to learn and adapt, as they displayed with their much matured and very enjoyable sophomore record. not to mention they deliver great live sets, which is so important. I've seen them twice now and will definitely trek a third (and fourth etc) the next time they're in the neighborhood.

Pete Doherty behind bars

so Pete Doherty of The Libertines/Babyshambles has been arrested and will spend about 3 months in prison. That sucks. His situation always saddened me, he is such an amazingly talented musician who has some really fucked up things in his life.


read SPIN article here

Babyshambles - Janie Jones [mp3]

on another note, I finally got the new Panic album. I adore it. when people said they had a butt load of Beatles' influences, they weren't kidding. I heard some Aretha Franklin too haha. a formal review will shortly follow.

Panic at the disco - When the day met the night [mp3]



finally, Bob Dylan has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
how cool is that?
Bob Dylan -Just like a woman [mp3]

sexual self sufficiency.

I forgot how often I used to watch this video. you can't watch it once. it's more addictive than nicotine. the director wanted to make it look like The Strokes were achieving orgasms. needless to say, the effect was achieved and then some. to me, this song is the perfect answer to sexual self sufficiency.

The Strokes - Reptilia [mp3]

and also a great tune to have on repeat for 5 miles and/or a whole bunch of ab exercises. boo ya.

I cannot wait until Albert's album comes out in June and he begins touring. because the sooner he does that, the sooner The Strokes will be out with a new album and the sooner I can achieve nirvana.

sunshine.

I was listening to "Sunshine" by Matt Costa and windows media player continued with the Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack, one of my favourites. That record got me to listen to Sufjan Stevens, so I am pretty indebted to that. Damn good movie too.

I thought I'd share this:

Devotchka- Til the end of time [mp3]

Devotchka is brilliant, I'm glad they're getting noticed nowadays.

concert review: My Chemical Romance @ The Warfield

Thursday night I went to see My Chemical Romance at The Warfield and was pretty taken aback.

First of all, the opening act, Billy Talent, blew my mind away. They are that band who inspire you so much after hearing a couple of songs, you immediately want their entire discography and accompanying lyrics. They reminded me of all of that angst and rebelliousness I had in high school. I've become a lot more passive lately and seeing them brought me back to a better time. The same can be said of MCR.

Let's begin with the quality of sound that they displayed. Perfection. Frankie's rhythm worked so well with all of Ray's solos. Mikey and Bob gave some damn good backbone with their respective bass and drums.

Their stage presence: Mikey finally helped me understand why everyone is in lust with him. He embodied that sexy musician in an alternate universe look, with his hair in his face and such concentration to his bass that you'd think he was a robot.
Frank and Ray made out for a few seconds. Priceless.

Gerard and Frank both lit cigs onstage and just started smoking. Their complete lack of concern for CA state laws or getting in trouble with the Warfield people was brilliant.

GERARD IS NO LONGER BLOND! thank goodness. also, he had this constant hip thrust thing while he was singing that drove me cah-razy.He also jumped up and down and urged people to do the same.

Also, they incorporated Bob quite nicely (the drummer is usually forgotten) and Gerard told the audience it was up to him whether or not they finished their set.
Gerard's voice was strained, he seemed completely drained, but he still gave a great performance. Regardless, his voice was overpowered by the music and the audience's singing, because nearly everyone knew all of the lyrics to all of the songs and were singing along. Myself included. Twas brilliant.

The people at the show were what you would classify as "emo" or "outcasts" and I realized how MCR, and music in general, really is all that those people have. I mean I used to be kind of emo in high school. I understand how hard it is not to be accepted by your peers and not to be good enough for your parents. MCR indeed serves as a refuge for these guys.

The set list was amazing. Of course, they played what they told the audience was hailed as MTV's summer anthem of 2004, "I'm not ok (I promise)". Much to my surprise and pleasure, they played my favourite, "House of Wolves". Most of the songs came from their latest record, The Black Parade, a couple from their debut and a handful from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, including a song which I think is one of the sexiest things of all time: "You Know what they do to guys like us in prison". Oh what that song does to me...

The most moving song was, hands down, "Cancer". Their performed it superbly and the audience's reaction was chilling. It was really obvious how much the song meant to everyone, and to all of us in different ways. Most amazingly, everyone was quiet and attentive, and nobody was singing aloud in a way that overpowered the band. Everyone was in complete unison and harmony, twas beautiful.
They gave an encore with their immensely popular "Helena" which Gerard pronounced "Helayna". Finally, I was confused about how to pronounce that for ages.

So I am going to do what plenty of music mags have done before me without me fully understanding it, and hail My Chem as one of the greatest live acts of today. It wasn't so much about a superb sound (don't get me wrong, they were fucking brilliant but that's not the jest of it) but the atmosphere. They weren't pretentious at all, Frankie took time after the show to take pictures with fans and sign autographs (he was quite patient with my stupid temperamental camera that went off at the wrong time). They were fully involved with the audience without losing their grip as musicians. But most importantly, I know that seeing them perform was probably the highlight of a lot of people's lives. And that's what music is all about. Changing lives and inspiring people. Letting some misunderstood teenager know that someone else has been there and that there is an end to all of the misery which seems like it'll never cease. Gerard told us just to go out there and do what we love. I'm really thankful that he follows his own advice.

Dead!:


"if life aint just a joke, then why are we laughing?" yep, their lyrics kind of kick ass.

My Chemical Romance - House of Wolves [mp3]

midterms time = music time

well, can you blame me? I need to retain what little sanity I have left.

The Strokes - Clampdown (Clash cover) [mp3]

The Strokes/Regina Spektor - Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men [mp3]

The Strokes/Eddie Vedder/Josh Homme - Mercy, Mercy Me (Marvin Gaye Cover) [mp3]

New Kooks album

It's titled "Konk" and is set for a April 14th, 2008 release

The Kooks will soon tour to support their new record:

5 Apr 2008 Elysee Montmartre Paris
16 Apr 2008 Le Printemps de Bourges festival @ Le Phenix De Bourges
19 Apr 2008 Magazzini Generali Milan
22 Apr 2008 Apollo Manchester
23 Apr 2008 Oasis Swindon
24 Apr 2008 Newport Centre Newport
25 Apr 2008 Arena Hull
27 Apr 2008 Academy Birmingham
28 Apr 2008 Academy Sheffield
29 Apr 2008 Corn Exchange Edinburgh
1 May 2008 Brixton Academy London
2 May 2008 Brixton Academy London
3 May 2008 Pavillion Plymouth
5 May 2008 Dublin Castle Dublin
18 May 2008 House Of Blues san Diego
18 May 2008 House of Blues San Diego, CA
19 May 2008 The Wiltern Los Angeles
19 May 2008 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
25 May 2008 George Sasquatch Festival George, Washington
25 May 2008 Sasquatch Festival George, WA
26 May 2008 Wonder Ballroom Portland
26 May 2008 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
29 May 2008 Ogden Theatre 16+ Denver
29 May 2008 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
29 May 2008 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
31 May 2008 Fine Line Music Café 18+ Minneapolis
31 May 2008 Fine Line Music Café Minneapolis, MN
1 Jun 2008 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee
2 Jun 2008 Vic Theatre Chicago
4 Jun 2008 Kool Haus Toronto
9 Jun 2008 Paradise Rock Club 18+ Boston
10 Jun 2008 Terminal 5 New York
11 Jun 2008 Terminal 5 New York
15 Jun 2008 Isle Of Wight Festival Isle Of Wight
18 Jun 2008 Columbiahalle Berlin
20 Jun 2008 Southside Festival Stuttgart
22 Jun 2008 Hurricane Festival Hamberg
24 Jun 2008 Hove Festival Arendal
5 Jul 2008 Main Square Festival Arras
6 Jul 2008 Rock Werchter Werchter
12 Jul 2008 T In The Park Kinross
16 Aug 2008 V Festivals Hylands Park Chelmsford

their new single is as catchy as ever and is out tomorrow:



The Kooks - Young folks (Peter Bjorn and John cover) [mp3-HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

outside lands festival

so yeah, this year on August 22-24, some of the time's coolest bands will be in Golden Gate Park, SF for the Outside Lands Festival. The headliners are *DRUM ROLL*:

TOM PETTY!
RADIOHEAD!
and
JACK JOHNSON!

other great artists to look out for: Andrew Bird and Black Mountain
see the entire lineup HERE

so yeah, if you have a few hundred bucks to spare, you should definitely go.

TICKETS go on sale Sunday at 10AM

Tom Petty- Room at the top [mp3]

Jack Johnson - Better together [mp3]

Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling into place [mp3]

Andrew Bird - Imitosis [mp3]

Black Mountain - Stay Free [mp3]

the last shadow puppets

in case you've had a deficiency of sexy awesomeness in your life, take heed of this new supergroup comprised of Alex Turner from the Arctic Moneys and Miles Kane from the Rascals. I remember when I first heard about these guys about a month ago, I went bonkers. I ADORE ALEX TURNER. and Miles is pretty cool too. they performed for the first time March 4th in Brooklyn. anyhow, their record is titled "The Age Of The Understatement" and is due out for a April 21st release in the UK and a May 6th US release. knowing these two talented bastards makes me confident that said album will rock your socks off. so let's engage in some positive materialism and support these talented blokes!

here's their single:



The Rascals on MYSPACE

Arctic Monkeys - From Ritz to Rubble [mp3]

Arctic Monkeys - The Bakery [mp3]

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement -live [mp3]

Arcade Fire

so apparently I haven't been listening to Funeral thoroughly enough (I never actually just sat down and listened to it.) I just realized that Une Annee Sans Lumiere has French lyrics
oh lord.

I really like Arcade Fire. they produce good music with a great vibe. yay Canada! oh, and they did all those Obama-benefit shows. <3

Arcade Fire - Une Annee Sans Lumiere [mp3]

PS I love them with Bowie:

concert review: Vampire Weekend @ Rickshaw Stop

"Do you guys wanna do it?"
Yacht's bouncing frontman Jona Bechtolt inquired.
The audience gave a fairly reserved affirmative response.
"DO YOU GUYS WANNA DO IT?" he yelled again.
This time, he met a more enthusiastic collaborative "YEAH!"

He then joined his partner in crime Claire Evans in singing an infectiously catchy opening song that kept repeating "it's boring", followed by some cool bass sounds and finally ending in "you can live any way you want". Thanks Yacht, but I'm sure the people in the audience already knew that.

They continued singing to a purely synthesized sound that would make Daft Punk proud. Add an energy filled exhibitionist display of dancing and you have quite the recipe for good rave music.

The problem was, Yacht seemed a bit out of place, seeing as how this was an all ages show (with actual children in the audience), and of course, the headlining band being clad in Lacoste fresh from the Ivy Leagues.

Other than their obvious displacement in an otherwise accommodating venue (really, any other night and the Portland based band would have fit right in), Yacht gave a memorable performance which was short and sweet (a bit under 30 minutes) and ended in a reflective song which they dedicated to Easter: "Will we go to heaven or will we go to hell?"

Their performance made it is obvious that they don't seem very concerned with this question, because they are living in the moment and putting all of their efforts into creating palatable tunes that will soon become club favourites. Needless to say, they are doing a damn good job so far.

When Vampire Weekend finally came onto stage, it became clear just how accomplished they are at doing what they intended from the beginning: playing classical music with rock instruments. Beginning with "Mansard Roof", they played all of their songs except for "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance", as well as a couple of lesser known songs of their's.

Lead Singer Ezra Koening wished a Happy Easter to those in the audience who observe the holiday and continued by saying "to some, this is a religious celebration..." [cheers] "so let's make it a religious experience". Oh Ezra, how you read my mind I have no idea.

He asked the club to turn down the lights for one of my favourites, "I Stand Corrected", which is a slower, more soulful tune which is uncharacteristic of the energy filled twenty somethings from New York.

They played "Ladies of Cambridge" (previously named "Boston"), which drummer Chris Tomson told me was a b-side to their Mansard Roof single. They followed that with my personal favourite, M79.

They dedicated the next song, A Punk- perhaps their most widely known tune - to a couple of girls standing in the front with DIY sunglasses with "OH" written on each lens. These two lucky gals were invited by keyboardist Rostam Batmanglijon stage to dance to the ridiculously dancable song. Seriously, I dare you to listen to it and be still. It is impossible, your body involuntarily will start to move and shake.

Ezra then instructed the audience to help him sing "One (Blake's Got a New Face)", giving them the task of reiterating the parenthetical chorus in the higher pitch. According to Rostam, Blake is a friend of their's with a pretty face currently pursuing graduate studies at Stanford University.

The next song they played is yet to be titled but its quality matched (and actually surpassed) the debut. People who think that VW is going to suffer sophomore slump will be pleasantly surprised to the contrary. "Now it's a different game," Ezra sang. No, you're wrong there Ezra, it's the same game and these guys have mastered it.

The only bad thing I have to say about this performance would be that they did not oblige to the audience's imploring cries of "encore!" In all fairness, they played nearly all of their songs, and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" would be quite a feat to perform live, considering they were modestly equipped with only a handful of instruments. It would have been nice to hear them cover something though.

Ezra's voice was perfect. They all gave spectacular performances, and most notably, Chris Baio reminded us how the bass is supposed to be played. The band had boundless energy during the performance and were completely in sync with one another. The show was fun and memorable, and VW promised to come back to SF soon. After they performed, Ezra kind of rushed out of the venue, Rostam followed suit a while later while Chris Tomson stayed behind, chatting with fans and putting away his drum set. Bassist Chris Baio peeked out about half an hour later, evidently shy but friendly. He told Tomson that he was headed out to a bar to meet a couple of friends. Vampire Weekend seem like they are still in their "whoa, I'm a rock star and have boundless opportunities" stage and they are obviously exploring these new grounds independently. Give them a couple of years and they will grow stronger as a band and develop those indestructible ties that compel bands to voluntarily spend all of their time together, not only time spent making music.

As I walked away from the stage, Tomson thanked me for coming to the show and wished me luck in an internship that I was discussing with another fan who works at KFOG. I was touched by his demeanor and thanked him before heading out into a happier world-one that has forever changed because I saw such a genuine and musically accomplished performance and had the chance to speak to one of the nicest people and definitely the most friendly musician I gave ever met-that drummer who always has an inviting grin on his kindly goofy face.


Vampire Weekend - A Punk [mp3]

Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance [mp3]

Yacht: See a Penny (pick it up):

Voxtrot!

I discovered Voxtrot when I went to see the Arctic Monkeys in concert, and was very angered by all the people in the audience who were booing this very talented band because they were eager for Alex Turner et al. I bought their record, and absolutely loved it (I still listen to it quite regularly). If I remember correctly, this band hails from Austin, TX. All of the people I've talked to like Voxtrot's older stuff (EPs, seeing as how the eponymous record that I have is their debut) more, and I found some mp3s floating around the internet. I realized what all of those people meant. Their old stuff is gold (I still love their debut record but wow I never realized I could like them more). Anyhow, I need to go down and get their EPs but here are a couple of mp3s for you all to enjoy. The second one is so very brit pop, I LOVE it.


Voxtrot - Trouble [mp3]

Voxtrot - The Start of Something [mp3-HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

and, here's one off of their debut album

Voxtrot - Firecracker [mp3]

catchy, isn't it?
=)

old stuff, new stuff

drip drip drip, I watch my Brita filter at work.
yes, it takes me a little while in the morning to get my brain functioning at full capacity. my daily dose of music blogs usually does the trick though.
a favourite of Snow Patrol is stuck in my head right now...

Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes [mp3]

the new we are scientists album is out...Brain Thrust Mastery
pitchfork review
We Are Scientists - Impatience [mp3]
I have yet to listen to the album in its entirety, so I cannot give a fair review of it but I like what I've heard so far

oh, and I like Spin's artist of the day for yesterday:
PlayRadioPlay! - review + mp3 here
in my opinion, his voice is a good fusion of Ben Gibbard and Win Butler. he still has a lot of work to do but he's on the right track.

3 more days until Vampire Weekend! ah! I am so excited.

oh, and just for the hell of it, here is that trippy MGMT video we all love so much:

they will be at Slim's on April 24th
=)
visit MGMT on Myspace

I've had a pretty weird week. but spring break is nearly upon me so I should probably get some work done...

but just remember, in the words of Dwayne from Little Miss Sunshine, "do what you love and fuck the rest". college is NOT supposed to be a time when you earn a degree so that you can have some arbitrary career that you can't stand. DO WHAT YOU LOVE. it doesn't matter if that means being temporarily (or permanently) broke. work shouldn't have to feel like a burden.

Fall Out Boy...oh boy.

apparently, FOB wants to join the Guinness Book of World Records by playing in Antarctica...hahah they always made me laugh.

read more here

I stopped listening to them after I saw them live. They were like 1 step above terrible. Out of sync, weak vocals, no connection with audience, barely audible bass. The acoustic set was good though. I also deleted all of my FOB songs off of my computer (and trust me, I had their entire discography, plus b sides etc) which I'm kind of regretting because Infinity on High was a pretty good pop record. I just really can't forgive bands who suck live. At least I have the records in disc form at home.

anyhow, enjoy a good live cover of "love will tear us apart"



watching it just saddens me more...my high expectations for FOB were shot dead.

blast you midterms

I've been feeling pretty unmotivated lately.
I need a nap and some food.
Vampire Weekend, 5 days awayyyyyyyyyyyyy. oh that shall revitalize me to the max.
and Spring Break could not have come at a more necessitated time.

this is how I'm feeling towards school right now:
Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I love you less and less [mp3]

and...the new Animal Collective...(quite good)

Animal Collective - Water Curses [mp3]

new Raconteurs album out next week!

wow, so apparently the Raconteurs' new album is coming out on the 25th, entitled "Consolers Of The Lonely". Way to spring that one up on us boys! I can't wait, Broken Boy Soldiers was one of my favourite albums of 2006 and I wanna see if they can beat sophomore slump. They probably can, seeing as how they're a super duper super group but hey you never know...

read Spin's two cents here

see what Rolling Stone has to say...

my favourite off of BBS:

Raconteurs - Hands

and, I am sorry but I cannot help myself. I was reading The Music Slut's blog and Delta Spirit was mentioned. DS is one of my new favourite bands, do yourself a favour and check them out. If they are playing a show within 50 miles of your area GO AND SEE THEM. It will change your life, I guaruntee it.

Delta Spirit - Trashcan

Delta Spirit's MYSPACE

ok, back to studying.

this is neccessary.

by far my favourite off of FIOE...and it is keeping me sane while I'm studying...

The Strokes - Ize of the World [mp3]