Wednesday, May 25, 2011

| sleigh bells @ the vogue |

830pm - First time at the Vogue and I must say, it's a pretty nice space. Some band called obenhofer is already up on stage and making a lot of noise. Not bad, I guess. Not really that good either.



845pm - obenhofer just finished their opening set. Entertaining but nothing worth writing home about. the stage is being set up for neon indian.

853pm - it's getting freakin cold in here. On goes the jacket. Crew is still doing mic checks and fiddling with some knobbies on the keyboards. It's a really weird feeling wearing a waterproof winter jacket inside at a concert, but this A/C is relentless. Plus I got torrential rained on walking here on the way in.

906pm - Neon Indian up on stage. Solid start to the show - good energy. Actually, the main dude is moving around a lot. Maybe a little bit too much for my likely. Reminds me a young Ted Mosby meets Prince, for some reason. Still, we're groovin.


917pm. Yo what the hell is up with these strobe spotlights blasting me in the face?? This shit is blinding me!

944pm - Unable to shake the mental image of young Ted Mosby in my head every time I look at the lead singer of Neon Indian. Because of this, I can't help but feel I'm part of a HIMYM flashback. Given how much this guy is gyrating to his own jams, this isn't a good thing.

949pm - Neon Indian is done and I feel like I just watched 45 mins of that pikachu clip that gave kids seizures when pokemon came out in japan. For the love of god, why would you insist on blinding the audience? We came to hear AND see the band. "Deadbeat Summer" definitely gets the biggest pop from the crowd. Apparently we heard a couple tracks from the new album, which is coming in the Fall. Nirvana on the house system now and people are diggin it.

1009pm - Almost set up for sleigh bells. Just noticed the old guy next to me is here with his teenage daughter. Neither of them look like they're having fun. Ok, I've got to stop looking.. It's making me sad.


1012pm - Lights get dim and some death metal is blasting. CRAAAAZY entrance for Sleigh Bells. Alexis rockin a black leather jacket with the #23 Slay Bells jersey. Lighting rig in the background is amazing. It's been a long time since I've felt this kind of energy at a show. Unreal.



1036pm - "Infinity Guitars" is fucking slaying this room!!!! Holy shit!!!!


1050pm - Show's out already? Short set but the crowd is happy. We got most of the album plus some a couple I've never heard before. Out on the street and everyone's still buzzing about their favourite song. My ears just got blitzed.

extras via Twitter:



| firefox fail |

so I haven't been able to log in and only now realized that Firefox 4 and Blogger have compatibility issues... post coming soon. :)

Monday, May 16, 2011

| BONO. WENT TO SEEEE! |

I cannot get enough of Fox News' retardation over Common being invited to the White House.


As a fan of critical thinking and music, it's a treat to see Jon Stewart argue circles around Bill O'Reilly. Somewhere, Ludacris is laughing his ass off to this.



Sunday, May 15, 2011

| a burning in my heart |

// Death Cab For Cutie - You Are A Tourist //



Frickin' rad music video from indie rock mainstays Death Cab For Cutie. That guitar riff really reminds me of Modest Mouse's "Float On", which is one of the most awesome (and most fun to sing) songs the last decade. Oh yeah, they supposedly did this in one take. No big deal, right?

Look out for their 7th(!) studio album, Codes and Keys, out later this month. As always, it should be a good one.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

| yes, love kills |

// Natalia Kills - Wonderland (Director's Cut) //


Not overly interested in Gaga comparisons, but if I had to comment: Natalia Kills is a WAY more attractive and just the right amount less nutty. I'm listening through her album right now and enjoying it a lot. Solid chick, and a likely superstar on the brink.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

| the single life: issue twenty |

// Ellie Goulding - Heartbeats (Cosmonaut Grechko Edit) //


I've posted a Cosmonaut Grechko track before, and I'm stoked to share another one of his outstanding chilled-out remixes. This time, he reworked Ellie Goulding's cover of The Knife's "Heartbeats". The quality is a little on the bunk side, but this is the one and only version out there as far as I can tell. This is a precious find as we start gearing up for warm summer nights and star gazing. First up on a stacked post, and it's a beauty.


// Jim Jones f. Lloyd - Believe In Magic (Prod. by Girl Talk) //
Easily the most radio-friendly track Jim Jones has done in years, "Believe In Magic" looks to be a strong contender for playtime in summer playlists. With Lloyd on the hook, the track has a sort of happy-go-lucky vibe to it. Credit party master Girl Talk for putting a fine instrumental together using the Honey Cones' "Want Ads". I've never been a huge Jim Jones fan, but there's no way you can ignore this one. It's destined to be cranked up loud and on repeat all year long.


// Al Bizarre - Fresh Scream (Original Mix) //

After briefly masquerading around the internets as a lost Skrillex track, "Fresh Scream" was soon found out to be a track by Al Bizarre, whom I will admit I cannot find a lick of info on. All you need to know is that Skrillex got jacked and lost pretty well all of his work, including the material for his new album. This is a small setback for one of the reigning kings of dubstep, but I bet he'll come back with some crazy shit. Back to Al Bizarre, though, it's probably not the worst thing in the world if people mistook his track for a Skrillex joint. Dare to dream, Al.


// Beastie Boys f. Santigold - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win //


Download

Beastie Boys? Good. Santigold? Goood. Though Santi's voice is a tad too noticeable throughout parts  of the song, the final product definitely pops and comes off as a brilliant collaboration. The loose reggae beat and muted trumpets are an odd pairing but really make the track come alive. I've tried to follow the lyrics, but my eyes crossed and I got a headache. Just bump this as loud as possible, and your feet will do the rest.

// Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues //


It's taken me a very, very long time to come around, but I think I'm finally starting to "get" Fleet Foxes. The Seattle-based band is widely heralded as the catalyst behind the recent surge in popularity for folk music. If you can disspell the hippie-music stigma of the genre, Fleet Foxes are a real treat to listen to. There is a certain grounding, or perhaps humbling quality to their music which I would think everyone could use once in a while. When seeking a departure from the boisterous, head-splitting stuff we usually bombard our ears with, look to Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues. Their self-titled debut from 2008 is also stellar and highly recommended. Consider me a regretable late adopter on this one.

// Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks (Gigamesh Remix)


Download

Relatively new to the scene, LA indie rockers Foster The People have made a sizeable splash in the market with their hit single, "Pumped Up Kicks". As things tend to go in the internet age, a good sign of a song's flexibility and popularity is the remix treatment it receives. This remix by Gigamesh punches up the song's dance factor quite nicely. It's pretty standard fare as far as electronic dance remixes go, but it's still a nice spin on the original.

// Swizz Beatz f. Mary J. Blige - It's You //


Download

Oh you fancy, huh? Swizzy continues ramping up to the release of his second studio album, Haute Living, with the Mary J. Blige-assisted "It's You". As you can tell by the title of the album, the former Ruff Ryder is now aiming to inject some class into his work. "It's You" is about as close to cocktail party music as we've ever heard from him, and the subdued tone actually works pretty well. Mary J. on the hook is like clockwork. And the winner is.....

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

| bad, real bad: me no like |

// Nicole Scherzinger f. 50 Cent - Right There //


Me no like anything about this song. Someone please give Nicole Scherzinger a sandwich and remind her she's not from Barbados. I've given Scherzinger mad love for most of her previous solo singles, but this is pretty damn cheesy. There's not much to like here unless you like fake accents and backup dancers that look scarily similiar to Amber Rose.

Do people from the Caribbean get offended when regular people from Kentucky mimick their accent? I mean, I'd be a little bit peeved if I ever found out that Tai Mai Shu was actually some skinny white kid. Just sayin'.

Funny, though, how this would probably be a mega hit if this was Rihanna featuring Lil' Wayne. Seriously, picture Rihanna strolling on that weird sideway conveyor belt thing. Imagine Weezy and his Cheshire Cat smile in front of the pretty blue sky backdrop. Instead, we have undernourished/over-exercised Nicole Scherzinger and The Original Slur Master himself, 50 Cent. Unfortunate.