Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Roots are for lovers...and haters.
Well, now we can add one more thing to the ever-expanding list of the things The Roots have improved upon....
Ever heard of a little band called Monsters of Folk? (If you haven't, WHEEERRREEE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?? They're a supergroup featuring Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket & M. Ward of She & Him...)Anywho, here is the lovely song that they released, one of my personal favorites actually, called "Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)". Give it a listen:
Pretty solid track, right? Or at least I thought so until I heard THIS:
I hate to say I told you so...That's a lie. I actually totally love it.
I TOLD YOU SO!
"Dear God 2.0" is on The Roots' new album, How I Got Over, which will drop June 22nd.
You're welcome, World.
"But he smells like ranch dressing!!"
Man, I can't wait to be a parent.
Free Tunes Tuesday - BONUS
Among my recent musical discoveries was a band from England called Canterbury and while I'm shocked that they don't have a blog section on their website called "Tales" what they do have is a bunch of free music. (If you like what you hear, you can always send the band a few bucks...or ehhhh shillings? pounds? pence?)
You can get their entire album "Thank You" or you can download their song "Gloria" that has been stuck in my head for the past week at http://www.canterburythankyou.com/
(For the record, I suggest that you listen to this song before watching the video, bc I'm not entirely sure what's going on here. Except it's in slow motion and I think they're playing that game where you try and get people to look at a circle and if they look then you get to punch them?? If you went to middle school, you TOTALLY know what I'm talking about.)
Free Tunes Tuesday
http://www.spin.com/articles/free-album-spins-picks-bonnaroo-2010
The house that Jack built...
Now I understand why many people would be skeptical about the idea of White's better have becoming a performer in her own right. That being said, you need only to look at the strong female musicians he surrounds himself with (Meg White, Allison Mosshart) to be reassured that if Elson didn't have what it takes, Jack wouldn't be promoting her career. Not to mention releasing her album on his label.
Her singing is very Emmylou Harris-esque, in that its strength comes in its subtlety. If these live videos are an indication, I think Elson has got quite a nice little future ahead of herself in the music industry. You can follow my lead and order her album at www.thirdmanrecords.com (Also, a little bird told me that you will be able to watch last night's performance from Elson on the site tomorrow (May 26th, at 12pm CST)
Here's a look at what you can expect from her debut LP:
Monday, May 24, 2010
Under Cover - Leona Lewis
Her most famous cover is her version of Snow Patrol's "Run"...Here's the original...
Now I love Gary Lightbody. Probably more than anyone. Probably more than I should... but grab a tissue and listen to Leona's chart topping version...
On on some rare occasions, I think Leona's version far surpasses the original. Case in point, here's Oasis' classic, "Stop Crying Your Heart Out".
Now...Leona's take...
Now if Leona's any indicator, I think Simon Cowell bringing X Factor to the states may be the best thing that ever happened to us. Sorry Seacrest....I for one say bring it Cowell!
"It's All I See These Days"
In case you didn't know: last Tuesday, The Black Keys released a new album called "Brothers" which I've been more than a little obsessed with since. I hardly ever recommend buying an album before you hear it, but in this case I'm willing to suggest you make an exception. It's THAT good.
The Black Keys are schedule to open up for Kings of Leon on their nationwide tour this fall. For more information and tour dates, check out www.theblackkeys.com.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Eclipse Soundtrack Announced
Lead single from "Twilight" - "Decode" by Paramore
Other notable tracks - "Eyes On Fire" by Blue Foundation, "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron and Wine, "Never Thinks" by Rob Pattinson
Lead single from "New Moon" - "Meet Me On The Equinox" by Death Cab for Cutie
Other notable tracks - "Hearing Damage" by Thom Yorke, "No Sound but the Wind" by Editors, "Roslyn" by Bon Iver and St. Vincent
As you can see, there are some left of center heavy hitters in these films and I'm sure the impending release of Eclipse on June 30th will prove to be the same.
Here's the Eclipse Official Soundtrack Listing:
1. Metric- Eclipse (All Yours)
2. MUSE- Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
3. The Bravery- Ours
4. Florence + The Machine- Heavy In Your Arms
5. Sia- My Love
6. Fanfarlo- Atlas
7. The Black Keys- Chop And Change
8. The Dead Weather- Rolling In On A Burning Tire
9. Beck and Bat For Lashes- Let’s Get Lost
10. Vampire Weekend- Jonathan Low
11. UNKLE- With You In My Head (Feat. The Black Angels)
12. Eastern Conference Champions- A Million Miles An Hour
13. Band of Horses- Life On Earth
14. Cee Lo Green- What Part of Forever
15. Howard Shore- Jacob’s Theme
BONUS TRACKS
16. Battles- The Line
17. Bombay Bicycle Club- How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep
No official word yet on what the lead single will be, but it's looking like the band that acted as Stephanie Meyer's muse throughout the writing of the books, Muse will finally get the honor. (They are the only band that previously appeared on both the Twilight and New Moon soundtracks...just FYI)
Muse released the song "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)" earlier this week. Lead singer Matthew Bellamy wrote the song after a breakup with his girlfriend and talked to BBC Radio 1 on Monday saying "It was a song looking right back on that moment that you first get with someone and everything feels like its going to go on forever...[It has a] kind of like a cheesy love sentiment.”
Another possibility of a single comes from another band featured on the soundtrack, Metric. Recently singer Emily Haines recounted her experience on ilovemetric.com - here's a clip from the blog...
“I’ve always wanted to write music for film, but I never expected to start with something on this scale, so you can imagine how surprised I was when out of nowhere I got a phone call from Howard Shore, who I’d never met or even spoken with before. Most people know him as the man who wrote the acclaimed score for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I grew up on Shore’s earlier works... To my amazement, Howard was calling to ask me to work with him on his latest project: scoring the next Twilight movie, Eclipse. He wanted Jimmy & I to write the theme song for the pivotal last scene in the movie, integrating the music from his existing score into a composition that would express the emotional ending of the film. Seriously?!?! The lyrics would have to be in the voice of the main character Bella, and we had to stay within the confines of harmonic and melodic themes Howard had in mind for the last scene."
I'm always interested to see how the task of scoring film's with contemporary music comes about and it's refreshing to have this amount of insight into the process. Take it or leave it, the soundtrack drops June 8th and Eclipse hits theaters June 30th.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Come over here pony...
Tired Pony is a new supergroup consisting of featuring Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol) Peter Buck (REM), Scott McCaughey, Iain Archer, Richard Colburn (Belle and Sebastian), Troy Stewart and Garret "Jacknife" Lee.
Oh, and if that wasn't enough, they're adding in guest performances from M. Ward (She & Him, Monsters of Folk), Zooey Deschanel (She & Him) and Tom Smith (Editors)...
Gary Lightbody (AKA: The object of Emo Sarah's affection) and company will be performing tracks from their new album "The Place We Ran From" (in stores July 12th) for the first time on July 14th at The Forum in London.
If you have the means and desires to pop across the pond for the show, be sure to sign up to receive the pre-sale code at www.tiredpony.com
Life just got infinitely more exciting for yours truly. And my little emo heart can hardly contain the excitement. Here's a look into how Tired Pony came together...
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Deja Video?
Well, afterwards a thought occurred to me. Well three thoughts actually...
1) Man. I totally have a weird crush on Albert Hammond Jr.
2) This video is like a warning to all guys who dare to wear white jeans...unless they're named Andrew W.K...then its totally ok.
3) Hmmm. I've recently seen another music video that totally ripped this one off.
Exhibit A: Taking Back Sunday's "Sink Into Me"
See what I mean? Pretty "similar" huh? Once I started to think about it, this isn't the first time that TBS has released a video reminiscent of another band's work.
Exhibit B: Foo Fighters - "Best of You"
Now here's TBS's video for MakeDameSure:
Now. Taking Back Sunday isn't the only band to release something reminiscent of another act.
Exhibit C: The Bravery "An Honest Mistake"
Pretty cool, huh. Like a giant lifesize game of Mousetrap. Well, Ok Go may be best known for their treadmill running video for "Here It Goes Again", but give recently they've gotten a lot of praise for this video too (Which was released well after that "An Honest Mistake" mind you.)
Exhibit D: OkGo "This Too Shall Pass"
Ok. Now let's see that video in reverse!
So, really it was just the paint element that was similar to the OkGo video. But sometimes there is just certain elements of a video that can stand out enough to feel like plagiarism.
Exhibit E: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus "My Guardian Angel" (Pay special attention to the use of a lightbulb as a microphone)
Now, let's take a look at Paramore's video for "Ignorance"....
Oh and I just noticed something else! Watch the "Ignorance" video again. See that blue box Hayley's dancing around in? I know where I've seen that before....And I'd bet money you do too...You might not want to admit it, but I know the truth!!! BEHOLD...
Exhibit F: N*SYNC "Bye Bye Bye"
For the record, I love all of these acts and music videos in general. I just think these similarities are interesting a deserved to be pointed out. I'll be on the look out for more Music Video Knock-Offs...SO STAY TUNED!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Summertime Suggestions
Minus the Bear
with Young the Giant
May 16th - Austin - La Zona Rosa
Why you should go: I caught Minus the Bear at the Filter day party during SXSW in March and was truly impressed with how spot on they sound live. They're signed to Dangerbird Records, which just happens to be one of the only labels that I see eye to eye with musically. They just released their new album "Omni" last week and while it's not for everyone, it's definitely worth a listen.
mewithoutyou
July 16th - Dallas - Prophet Bar
Why you should go: 2 reasons: 1) I've never had a bad time at a mewithoutyou show 2)If you don't use it, you'll lose it...And by "it" I mean live acts coming to play in the musical wasteland formerly known as Dallas.
Silversun Pickups
with Against Me! & The Henry Clay People
July 19th - Austin - Stubbs BBQ
July 20th - Houston - Warehouse Live
July 21st - Dallas - The Palladium Ballroom
Why you should go: Have you heard "Swoon"? Why in the hell would you not want to see if they can pull that off live??? (For the record...they can.)
Robert Plant & The Band of Joy
July 24th - The Woodlands - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 26th - Austin - Stubbs BBQ (SOLD OUT)
Why you should go: 2 reasons. 1) It's Robert Plant 2)The Band of Joy consists of Patty Griffin, Darrell Scott, Byron House, Marco Giovino and Buddy Miller AKA some of the most talented musicians on the planet. (Sidenote: Robert Plant and The Band of Joy will release their debut album in September. )
Paramore
Honda Civic Tour w/Tegan and Sara, New Found Glory and Kadawatha
September 8th - The Woodlands - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
September 10th - Dallas - Verizon Theater (Formerly Nokia Theater)
Why you should go: Whether or not people want to admit this, Paramore is here to stay. The band has worked through their growing pains and internal tensions and have come out a stronger, more united front. They've grown leaps and bounds over their last 3 full length albums and show no signs of slowing. While they are still lacking the major airplay and notoriety, Paramore's journey feels a lot like No Doubt version 2.0. Plus, Tegan and Sara put on a great show, or at least they did when I saw them at ACL. Oh, and props to Hayley for getting to tour with her boyfriend's band. (She's dating NFG guitarist Chad Gilbert...in case you were unaware.)
Oh...and for the record, I believe Hayley had the flu when she did this performance. Impressive, no?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
"Sometimes you die by the drop..."
Sorry Meg...I love The White Stripes and all, but Jack White and Alison Mosshart are a match made in Rock and Roll Heaven. A place I've heard there is a stairway to...
The Dead Weather's debut album Horehound is in stores now. They're new album drops May 11th.
Clusterfunk 2010
Clusterfunk 2010 is gonna be the best way to celebrate the end of another semester. The show starts Friday at 6pm and will feature performances from Sounds Under Radio, Flawless Escape, The Black and Blues, Matt Harlan, The Phuss, Ray Johnston, Chandler Nash, Johnny's Body, The Headliners...Plus this will also double as the CD Release show for the new album from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
Tickets are only $10, and don't forget that you will be able to register to win tickets to see Paramore EXCLUSIVELY at the show!
See ya there!
PS: I love words that sound like obscenities, but actually aren't....CLUSTERFUNK.