If you haven’t heard of The Books, the electro-folk duo from Manhattan, here’s a primer for virgin ears: The Cello Song featuring Jose Gonzales. I love that song so much I had to look up a word just to describe it: unctuous. It can mean something that’s excessively smooth or…buttery. I’m torn as which to apply.
Everything they do sounds like it belongs at the sorta-kinda inspirational/accepting/life changing/fuck it I’m gonna do it! climax of an Indie movie. Not like, Michael Cera Indie movie, but maybe The Squid and The Whale. Or something. Either way, I’m pumped that they’re making a stop in Ithaca during their six show mini tour of the East coast. The show is going to be held at the Cornell Cinema and it’s going to look like this. I got my ticket already. Get yours here. You can bet there will be A&V coverage of the event. Look for the morning after post, March 31st.
So one day, my friend Brian (or, as I so lovingly call him, Tamagotchi) tells me that I have to listen to this band. The band is called Vampire Weekend. Instantly the names Edward Cullen and Stephenie Meyer and Kristen Stewart flash into my mind, which leads me to think, “Wow, that’s a lame name for a band,” and I completely ignore his advice. Two weeks later, I am in love with this pre-vampire trend-named band, and totally ready to marry lead singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig.
Although I had fallen in love with this musical delight, I never fail to immediately doubt a band’s ability to perform well live. This is the result of attending numerous concerts and music festivals, at which I typically find myself (with the exception of Arctic Monkeys, Ben Folds, Yelle, The Police, and Justice) pretty disappointed. Of course, performing live is much more complicated than recording in a studio, but if a band can sound just as good, and if not better than their music playing from my iTunes or the radio (what’s a radio?), I am impressed. Knowing that the music I love is a result of hard work and genuine talent, genuine enough to maintain its allure no matter how it is showcased, only fortifies my respect and fondness for it.
Needles to say, the video above (sent to me from Tamagotchi) only fortifies my respect and fondness for Vampire Weekend. Enjoy.
Ah, the post-Valentine blues. Don’t act like they haven’t hung over your head one year or another; the feeling of solitude and heartache only such a pseudo-holiday can bring. Yet, as the old saying goes, misery loves company, and boy, does As Tall as Lions songwriter Dan Nigro make good company. The band’s early self-titled release chronicles not a budding romance or a messy courtship, but the ruinous aftermath of a naïve but fiery love’s thrashing.
We start out in the midst of an already-tumultuous relationship, rang in with a forceful beat behind Stab City. Such vigor seems to flow through the first half of the album, in the somewhat dainty Song about Luna, A Break A Pause’s caustic tongue-lashings, and the not-at-all-surprisingly impassioned Love Love Love. The appropriately haunting Ghosts of York meanders with an unsettling tone behind its story of a slow downward spiral, which follows through the second half of the album as its theme. At least, until the end; Maybe I’m Just Tired culminates such a twisted trip perfectly, juxtaposing the very dreamlike echoes and chimes with a somber piano and Dan’s hurt, longing voice. Chills still creep down my back whenever I hear the closing line, “But I know I’m not good enough, for you.”
A catchy little ditty with a story to boot. While the song is available for download…it’s just not the same without Leo. Check out Impactist’s Vimeo page for more animations.
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to play music instrument-by-instrument on separate record players like an orchestra caught somewhere between Carnegie Hall live and a room full of iPods. Strangely enough, Otomo Yoshihide and Yasutomo Aoyama have pretty much constructed my oddly specific hypothetical–minus the vinyl. It’s a symphony of white noise, and it’s pretty solid. (More…)
They crash corporate parties, redefine the very meaning of a marching band, and (most importantly) look good doing it- they’re The Extra-Action Marching Band. Catch them on Flickr, Facebook, and the plain old Intertubes.
Or maybe you have. I’m talking about Galt MacDermot’s 1966 recording of his song Coffee Cold. And while you might not know the name, guys like Busta Rhymes, Run DMC, Prince Paul, Dan the Automator sure do, with each of them having taken a hit of the Galt for their own work. The Handsome Boy Modeling School made this ridiculously good track.
So it should come as no surprise that when I saw this on Vimeo, I had a minor freak out. Playing off the concept of a real time digital global jam session, musician Dumbfoundead organized a tribute to basically everyone who has ever heard of Galt MacDermot, either directly or indirectly. I fucking love the addition of the spanish language and the guitar solo. Really great stuff.
I know, I know, jazz flute = Ron Burgundy, right? Wrong. Meet Greg Pattillo, the man who is making the flute hip again. On his own, he’s done some beatbox/flute remixes of Inspector Gadget and Sesame Street, among others. But that’s not it. He’s currently part of a group called Project Trio. So, that said, it’s not a bad idea to spend an unbelievable amount of time going through his YouTube channel. Worth it.
Inspired by Stephen Colbert’s recent duet with Alicia Keys on his show, we’ve put together a list of celebrities who’ve dabble in the art of song and dance. Think you’ve got one we forget? Leave us a comment.
#1. Ricky Gervais Sings a Lullabye
In what seems to be a bizarre cameo (I feel like this guy doesn’t exactly play to Sesame Street core viewers), Ricky Gervais actually shows off a pretty good voice. And what the hell, if George Carlin could play Mr. Conductor, whose to say Ricky Gervais is out of place?
#2. Williams Shatner and Ben Folds Cover Pulp
I am so torn about this performance. I mean, while I do like it better than the original (I mean, seriously, who is he trying to fool with the faux moody hipster swag?), it’s still William Shatner. Ah, who am I kidding? Shatner’s the man. Go Bill.
What do you get when you mix Vivaldi, hip hop, glockenspiels, analog synths, and a toy piano? You get the amazingly fresh sound of Emily Wells.
I’m not totally sure what it is that makes her so interesting. Maybe it’s the trippy quality of her voice. Maybe it’s the fact that she uses no prerecorded loops at her live shows. Maybe it’s the clairvoyance with which she channels Biggie Smalls. I mean, I do enjoy an out of place hip hop cover. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the result of seeing an artist who is truly unique. Whatever it is, Emily is definitely someone to watch in 2010.
Check out the tracks below. She recently worked on a stellar instrumental track with Jeremy Sole. Catch Emily live at The City Winery in New York on Janurary 2nd.
