El Chico Pico

new explosions

2011-03-08T11:05:00.001-08:00

like? no like?

the Hood has my number

2011-02-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

With a track titled "Virginia is for Cameras" i'm pretty much obligated to share.

The Hood Internet - Virginia Is For Cameras (Clipse x Matt And Kim) by hoodinternet

Explosions

2011-01-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

Explosions in the Sky will be releasing their 6th studio album "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care" on April 26 (US date), claiming it sounds very different than their previous endeavors.

Here's two little videos they put together to tease us all.

Explosions In The Sky from Explosions in the Sky on Vimeo.

Take Care, Take Care, Take Care from Explosions in the Sky on Vimeo.

New Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts

2011-01-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

Woot.

Hype Machine has a full stream.

new album

2010-11-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

"Also, we don't want to say too much about it this early, but our new album will be coming out in spring 2011. We're pretty excited about it."

I'll just put this here.

The kids of Staten Island’s PS22 Chorus cover MGMT’s “Kids.”

2010-10-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

Kickass Cover of the Day: The kids of Staten Island’s PS22 Chorus cover MGMT’s “Kids.”

Metallifluous! [via the daily awesome awesome]

4 Bonjour's Parties

2010-09-25T19:32:00.001-07:00

4 Bonjour's Parties is a 7 piece from Japan. and I heart them. let's heart them together.

final score -
4 Bonjour's Parties = 7 stolen barber smocks
Brass Beats Hair Salon = mad instrument haul

How About That of the Day: Norwegian lovers Njal and Elin got...

2010-09-12T19:18:00.001-07:00

Sent to you by Dana via Google Reader:

How About That of the Day: Norwegian lovers Njal and Elin got...

via The Daily What on 9/10/10

How About That of the Day: Norwegian lovers Njal and Elin got engaged at a Band of Horses concert in Oslo. When BoH were informed of this, they did what any band would do: They showed up unannounced at the couple's wedding ceremony to surprise them with a private performance of "Marry Song."

Congrats Njal and Elin! You lucky bastards.

[fark.]

Things you can do from here:

Subscribe to The Daily What using Google Reader
Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

band i'm enjoying today - Moonlit Sailor

2010-09-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Moonlit Sailor is a four piece melodic post rock band from Sweden; enjoying their album "So Close to Life" (2009).

They're not reinventing the genre or anything, it's just well-written and enjoyable.

Here's "Sunbeams" and "Hope" the first two tracks off the record:

You can stream the whole album here, and here is their home on the internet.

Nico Muhley's website

2010-09-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

Muhley talks about music, his processes, how he listens to music, and pieces he's paying attention to and why on his site.

I found it very interesting, and a great way to learn about music. It's like having him sitting with you and his record collection, saying, “here, now listen to this!”

Like this one here - "Ignorant Boy, Beautiful Girl" by Loney, Dear

Patients

2010-06-01T21:34:00.001-07:00

So this fellow, Ben Cooper. I heart him and his many musical projects. While starving for his next Radical Face record (what's that? don't know Radical Face? well then click click.) he released his previously-only-100-CDRs-made project: Patients for free download on the internets.

This song "Mind UR Manners" first struck me cuz it sounds like he sampled one of these spinny toys to make the song. I hope did.

Enjoy, and long for his new record here.

i heart son lux

2010-04-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

recently, i heart Son Lux- classically trained, exploring beats and chant/mantra style vocals, with interesting religious overtones, and a prolific remix roster.

the recurring theme of "put down all your weapons... let me in through your open wounds" is haunting me as of late.

check opener "prologue"

which is followed by "Break".

and here's what he did to Beirut's "A Sunday Smile"

where he lives on the internet and his label.

almost as good as Ben & Kelly entering the room to Hoppípolla

2009-12-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Super fun, and i think the reason i hate weddings to much is that the music is usually lousy.

Glad that's not always the case.

jónsi

2009-12-01T10:17:00.001-08:00

click click

Billy "Wildcat" Jean

2009-11-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

This one's for Killip. See, all i needed was an "in".

and here it is.

Thanks to Hood Internet.

Kwoon - I Lived on the Moon

2009-08-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

An animated music video set to "I Lived on the Moon" from French post-rock group Kwoon. The story is that of a father, who tells his son to never let go of his dreams. When the weight of the world eventually crushes the father, the son must carry on with his words.

Beirut on Letterman

2009-02-14T23:51:00.000-08:00

I want BOTH of those horns and a string section.

USC Marching Band + 2/5 Radiohead at the Grammy's

2009-02-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

A lot getting said about this performance... I thought it looked like a lot of fun. Mostly I liked how stoked the guy at the end of front drum line seemed to be there.

Sigur Rós Hearts Coffeehouses

2009-02-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

From sigur rós's site, a quote from an interview Andy Gill did of Jónsi-

"it's nothing to do with us," he says. "we just live our normal lives in our small reykjavik, we have our own apartments, our own families and kids, and our fame doesn't affect us at all, i think. we never think about it, we never talk about it, and we don't make a big thing out of it – we don't play the media game, stuff like that. we just like to be able to walk down the street and go to a coffee-house, things like that."

Dark Was The Night

2009-02-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

From the Dark was the Night site, via Stereogum-

Dark Was The Night will be released on February 17th, 2009. It’s comprised of 31 exclusive tracks and it will be available as a double cd/triple vinyl/download and will benefit the Red Hot Organization – an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture. They are the people responsible for albums including No Alternative, Red Hot and Blue and many more, and this is their 20th year, and this is the 20th release!

Looks like it's going to be an incredible mix tape with a lot of my favorites showing up to support the cause. From Sufjan's epic cover of "You are the Blood", a new track from Beirut, and Feist's partnering with Ben Gibbard to The Books working with Jose Gonzales, and Sigur Rós's side project Riceboy Sleeps lending a hand, I can't help but get excited. I'm stoked to see these guys offering their skills to a good cause.

Dark was the Night has a cool set up where you can customize a little widget to hear up to 3 songs each, so below are 2 sets of 3 songs each, all 6 are songs I was excited to share.

Give a listen.

First new single from Great Lake Swimmers

2009-01-28T11:40:00.001-08:00

From Stereogum, click here to listen to/download “Pulling on a Line”, the first single from Great Lake Swimmers' upcoming album Lost Channels.

New Decemberists in March

2009-01-07T13:00:00.001-08:00

I missed the news when Pitchfork announced it last month- The Decemberists will be releasing a new full length on March 24th, entitled "The Hazards of Love". The tracklist can be found on their news page.

You Ain't No Picasso has live recordings of Colin playing a few of the songs solo.

And here's two tracks from the "Always a Bridesmaid" single series, released this last October through December.

Valerie Plame
A Record Year for Rainfall

Detektivbyrån saves the world

2009-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

Put one more coin in the "I Heart Detektivbyrån" jar:
for every record they sell, they're donating a dollar to Amnesty International.

High-five Detektiv. High-five.

Thom York does Seven

2009-01-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

thank you so much Tim for showing me this!

Tunng in a boat

2008-12-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

TUNNG - Bodies
by lablogotheque

Beirut’s back!

2008-11-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

After a 6 month break, Zack Condon is back with a double EP release. One EP is new Beirut material, based around Mexican funeral marches; the other EP is home-recordings based on the style that Zack was playing pre-Beirut. Bits of the good news taken from a Pitchfork interview:

“… very naive, martial-sounding funeral bands from small towns around Oaxaca […] It's very march-y in some senses. The songs are longer than I'm used to doing, which is interesting to me. I'm pretty accustomed to sticking to, like, three-minute pop songs. These actually have a few movements in them. Nothing huge and epic, this isn't an opera. [Laughs] It's very brass-heavy, very squawky, with these constant churning rhythms.”

Bloc Party’s “Flux” video

2008-10-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Bloc Party takes all that’s good from electro and after-school japanese television and renders this tale of love and betrayal.

Shots Ring Out has a fun little interview with the director and some behind the scenes shots.

Directed by Ace Norton, be sure to swing by his site and check out more of his work.

Thanks to Cliptip for the find.

New Great Lake Swimmers coming soon

2008-09-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Good news from Toronto-based Great Lake Swimmers, they've been working on new material and hope to release their 4th full-length Spring 2009. Read more from the band's news page.

Here’s “Your Rocky Spine” and “There is a Light” from their current release Ongiara.

Issue 0018 - "Wermland” by Detektivbyrån

2008-09-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Click here to download Issue 0018 - Wermland.

La Blogotheque vs. Priscilla Ahn

2008-08-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Split Series Priscilla Ahn - Dream
by lablogotheque

Like what you see/hear? La Blogotheque has more.

Indie rock in Skate Vids?

2008-08-05T17:14:00.001-07:00

Lakai Shoes seems to be trying some new things in the world of skate videos. Check out this opener for their new video Fully Flared, shot with high-speed video, complete with beautifully exploding ledges and bleachers, set to M83's "Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun". Those super steady pans, the saturated colors, the grace and sensitivity that the high-speed video has captured, the rippling in the clothing, the lighting- the attention to skateboarding and the attention to lighting and framing seem to have been considered carefully together. Just the opening shot, we don't even see a skateboard for the first 40 seconds, and when we do, it just slides out silently, gracefully. It seems like all the elements are dancing together: the board, the shoes, the shadows.

Then, Lakai sets off into their video with some awesome skateboarding videography, set to-- The Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go"?!
Good work guys.

Chapter 4 of Fully Flared sets 6 interacting, simultaneous frames of skaters on the screen at the same time, with a track that's led by accordion and backed by break-beat!

Icelandic version of Múm’s “Finally We Are No One”

2008-07-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here's Loksins erum við engin, the Icelandic version of Finally We Are No One (2002), Múm's second full-length. It's a wonderful album, and it's incredible to hear it in Icelandic, Múm's mother-tongue. Click here to play/download “Grasi vaxin göng” (Green Grass Of Tunnel).

I looked around to see if I could find a link to where one could buy this if they wanted... but I couldn't find anything, from the label, or the band's website. So, here's the link to the Icelandic version of the album, Loksins erum við engin.

Fleet Foxes video for White Winter Hymnal

2008-07-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

In love with the song? Well, click here to download it, and play it many many times.

Another single from the new Mogwai

2008-07-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

ok, new mogwai, The Hawk is Howling is coming September 22nd, old news.

Now, here's the second single to be released from the disc, The Sun Smells too Loud. Shimmering, nostalgic and just a feel-good piece.

With the sneak peak that these two singles give us, i'm excited to hear what the Hawk is all about. Click here to play/download the track.

Sounds like a lot of fun so far.

new Mogwai coming soon

2008-06-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

From the band's website:

Our new album The Hawk Is Howling is released by PIAS/Wall Of Sound on September 22nd and Matador in America on September 23rd. It is just over 63 minutes long. It was recorded by Andy Miller at Chem 19 in February apart from one song which was recorded by Tony Doogan at Castle Of Doom last summer. It was mixed by Gareth Jones at Castle Of Doom in March and mastered at Abbey Road by Sean Magee in April.

and wikipedia quotes Barry describing the new LP:

Mogwai member Barry Burns described the album's songs as being "dreamy ballads about forbidden love gone awry, one minute pointless instrumentals and [...] spoken word about the future of the music industry in India.

that's such good news. and to get us excited even more, click here to listen to/download track two of the disc, Batcat.

and in case you missed it, here's the video for Friend of the Night, one of my favorites from their last full-length.

Detektiv! Detektiv!

2008-06-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

i heart Detektivbyrån mucho, and i'm very excited about their upcoming full-length, Wermland. They've already self-produced two EPs, a split and a single that all sound amazing! Wermland seems to be right on track with being awesome, and with vocals.

the only sadness is that if you want to pre-order the cd, you get it from sweden, for US$23 plus $9 shipping.

hot crackers that's a lot for a cd.

here's the official invite from detektivbyrån to you. watch, and then join with me in crying about how expensive getting cds from sweden is.

Visual Arts Student plays Radiohead on old hardware

2008-06-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

Beirut makes me happy. Beirut makes me sad.

2008-06-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

So first the good news:
The folks over at La Blogotheque, (the people responsible for the "Take Away Shows" videos, such as this one for the Suf) have created a DVD of "take away" style videos featuring every track on Beirut's latest "The Flying Club Cup". Better news still is that they have ALL the videos online here, so check them out, starting with this one for Nantes:

BEIRUT - Nantes - from The Flying Club Cup
by flyingclubcup

and now the bad news, which is a little old, from the band's news page dated April 3rd. (I know, i know... that's ages ago in music blog years). Seems that the band's taking a break of sorts. Here's an excerpt, which shows Beirut's going through some growing pains.

... but going through all that really does have its low points along with the highs. The responsibilities of gathering people around your vision, working with great people like those who work directly for the band and those at the label, wanting to insure that every show is as good as humanly possible so that every single person in the audience sees that we put in a real effort, all of that leads to a lot of issues in terms of doing right by people who have done you right.

It's come time to change some things, reinvent some others, and come back at some point with a fresh perspective and batch of songs.

Please accept my apologies. I promise we'll be back, in some form.

So, Zach promises to be back, which is the good news that follows the bad news... it sounds like they're doing the right thing. Head over there to read the whole entry, it's an interesting inside perspective.

New Sigur Rós album available for pre-order

2008-06-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

There's a ton of info about the new album on their site, and it's a good read for those who are interested. Also, you can pre-order the album from that page as well. Sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. They went to havana to record some vocals! crazy-town.

anyhow... fun stuff. an interesting sidenote, the price of the "deluxe" option was US$60 when it first was offered online, and then a few hours later was bumped up to US$100.

New Sigur Rós Single and Video

2008-05-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

Sigur Rós is giving away the first single off their upcoming full-length.

Go to them, and receive single, and if you're ok with a "running through the forest and around a campfire naked" celebration of human anatomy, check out the video.

Here's the single Gobbledigook for your non-video listening enjoyment.

Ratatat hearts the Pred

2008-05-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Depending on how much of a fan you are of Ratatat and the Predator, today's post will either leave you elated, or disgusted.

But no in-betweens, that's for sure.

Unless you're a cold-hearted machine, trudging through the monotony of life with the passion of a paperclip.

The second single off of Ratatat's upcoming full-length LP3, "Mirando" has been set to a sliced-up helping of the Pred, round 1. No where near as awesome as THIS, but pretty dang close.

pretty dang close.

Indexed knows how it is.

2008-05-15T14:29:00.001-07:00

from the good people at indexed.

Sneak peak at new Sigur Rós

2008-05-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

From the band’s news page-

On the dót widget there is a new short clip called “assault and battery” filmed on the 2nd of may as the band were wrapping up the recording of their next album.

The video shows some behind the scenes snippets from the artwork process as well as a few short snippets from the final mixing of the album.

The above mentioned are very short clips, but there's also a live performance of Ný batterí to check out. Just click the silver play button below to enjoy.

New Postal Service album less and less likely

2008-05-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

I came across this today from Teletext Planet Sound concerning any new Postal Service work:

Postal Service shuts?
Ben Gibbard has admitted The Postal Service may not make another album.

With Gibbard's main band Death Cab For Cutie releasing a new album next week, he told PS he and Jimmy Tamborello are unlikely to record a follow-up to Give Up "before the end of the decade."

Gibbard said: "Give Up was far bigger than either of us intended. We may well do something one day, but the longer we leave it, the more people expect."

so sad... i find the polarized response to the last Postal Service release to be interesting, and i was looking forward to seeing what direction the duo would grow in.

an interesting bit from the Postal Service wikipedia page:

In 2004, the United States Postal Service sent the band a cease and desist letter, citing its trademark on the phrase "postal service". After negotiations, the USPS relented, allowing the band use of the trademark in exchange for promotional efforts on behalf of the USPS and a performance at its annual National Executive Conference. Additionally, the USPS website sells the band's CDs.

Ratatat releases taste of things to come

2008-05-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ratatat has released a 7" in advance of their third full-length titled, LP3. The a-side is this track, Shiller, which Gorilla vs. Bear so kindly lifted from the groove. The 7" sleeve says that b-side, "Mahalo" will be on the band's LP4. Interesting. Maybe they have enough songs to be planning for their next two full-length releases at once.

Anyhow, check out Shiller. It's definitely Ratatat, but the tones have expanded a bit.

Here's the cover art for LP3 which is due out July 8th.

Coldplay's new single "Violet Hill"

2008-04-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

On the subject of Coldplay, after spending time touring in south america, they had said that their new album would definitely sound more latin.

Well, here's the single that was released yesterday. Not too sure how i feel about the "more latin" forecast, and equally not sure about whether or not i can hear it here. Maybe i was fearing a coldplay/mariachi hybrid.

An interesting note, the single was released free for a week. "... (for just one week, because major labels can't have a good idea without saddling it with a bad one)"- stereogum

Anyhow, here's the single "Violet Hill" from the forthcoming album "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends" complete with Lady Liberty herself storming the Bastille as cover art.

Sigur Rós + 日本人 = Coldplay

2008-04-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this quote today, from an interview of Jónsi of Sigur Rós.

fókus interviews jónsi
"...in september we're going to japan, america and maybe australia. the japanese are great. the first time we wrote autographs was in japan last year. actually i think they all thought we were coldplay."

wanderlust

2008-04-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

I tend to grit my teeth when I hear people use the word wanderlust. I feel it's been horribly miss/over-used and thus robbed of its depth and mystery.

Perhaps I'm just being overly subjective and just upset that other people's wanderlust doesn't seem to align to my notion of the word.

Here's Björk's take on it. I was deeply skeptical, but especially in the context of her latest full-length Volta, I'm confident in her feel of the word; her musical and visual interpretation resonate with the quiet longing within me.

The amount of work that went into this piece really shows, and I'm pretty excited about it. Please spend the time loading up this high-quality version. If you like what you see, check out this short making-of clip they've posted.

If you really really like it, try to catch the 3D version somehow, I bet it would be amazing. bjork.com has this great page for the video with even more info and credit to the teams who put it together.

For more fun, Ratatat got their hands on "Wanderlust" and gave us back this track. I heart Ratatat.

Jose Gonzalez and his covers

2008-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

I need to get around to a full review of José González and both of his LPs, but while we're on the topic of covers, it was recently brought to my attention that one of my favorites of his is actually a cover. The song by which i was introduced (thanks to Kimmie) and fell in love with him, “Heartbeats”, is originally done by fellow Swedes, The Knife. Mr. González’s version may sound familiar to you, it was featured in a Sony Bravia ad (below).

A quick look into the matter revealed that many of Mr. González’s songs are indeed covers. While the original styles range from pop (Kylie Minogue) to straight rock (Bruce Springsteen) to electro (The Knife), he treats them each with delicate acoustic guitar, velvety vocals and the occasional hand-claps, all of which is mixed warm with a touch of fuzz.

Here we've got three tracks from El Chico Pico favorites: The Knife, Low, Massive Attack, as well as Mr. González’s versions.

“Heartbeats” - The Knife
“Heartbeats” - José González

“Last Snowstorm of the Year” - Low
“Last Snowstorm of the Year” - José González (live)

“Teardrop” - Massive Attack
“Teardrop” - José González

For more fun, here are the music videos from both groups for “Heartbeats” and “Teardrop”, as well as the Sony Bravia ad that features “Heartbeats”. If you like the ad, I highly suggest watching this making-of clip (which features “Everything Is Alright” by Four Tet, another El Chico Pico favorite.

“Heartbeats” - The Knife

“Heartbeats” - José González

“Teardrop” - Massive Attack

“Teardrop” - José González

Sony Bravia ad featuring “Heartbeats”

The Lonely Forest gets some KEXP love.

2008-02-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

I'm about a month late on this one, but University of Washington's KEXP gave The Lonely Forest the honor of being their “Song of the Day” on their so-named podcast. “Stars and Moons”, from their latest full-length Nuclear Winter was featured on the 11th of January. Sorry to be so late, and congratulations guys. Keep up the good work! Visit The Lonely Forest at their website or buy their work from them or iTunes.

For your enjoyment, here’s the

track as well as one from each of the previous albums.

“Stars and Moons” - Nuclear Winter, 2007

“Tooth for tooth” - Regicide, 2006

“The Upside-Down Tree” - John Van Deusen & The Lonely Forest, 2005

“Yossarian” - Yossarian (pre-Lonely Forest John Van Deusen solo work), 2004

For more fun, here’s a little video of frontman John Van Deusen keeping it real in the car.

Adem set to cover his influences

2008-02-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

The folks over at Angry Ape report that Adem is done recording his third long player, Takes, which "sees Adem giving his own interpretations of tracks that were released between the ten-year period of 1991 - 2001, while he was growing up." While we love Adem for his original material, anything he touches seems to come out awesome, so i'm pretty excited about the up-coming release.

Another item of note is that this will be Adem's first full-length recorded in a studio proper, and he still plays everything himself.

Those getting remixed include the Smashing Pumpkins, Björk, Low, Pinback and PJ Harvey. Check the Angry Ape article for the full track listing details.

Need proof of Adem's reworking mastery?

Listen to this amazing track by Explosions in the Sky off their latest record,

then check out Adem's take (especially the turn after the banjo notes at 4:33).

For even more fun, here's his live rendition of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows".

Now, a complete aside, here's a video of Adem performing his "Launch Yourself" live.

Just for fun, here's the official music video.

Look at all his friends! Reminds me of 513.

Issue 0017 - "Quelqu’un M’a Dit" and “No Promises”

2008-02-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

Quelqu’un M’a Dit

04/2002 - Naïve

No Promises

07/2007 - Naïve

Carla Bruni

folk, pop

“Love lasts a long time, but burning desire - two to three weeks.”
– Carla Bruni

Carla Bruni, the French-Italian tire-fortune heiress turned super-model turned first lady, le chanteuse who has broken as many hearts as she has captured, is expected to release a new album this fall, having already produced two full of beautiful little pop songs led by her delicate smokey vocals and intimate folk guitar. The first, “Quelqu’un M’a Dit”, (Someone Told Me), is a collection of quiet songs, sung in French with touches of Italian, tinged with a gentle sadness. A personal, confessional body of work, the album charted into the top ten in Italy, France, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland.

The second, “No Promises”, is adapted entirely from the poetry of Yeats, Auden, Dickinson, Rossetti, de la Mare and Dorothy Parker. The album is again led by Bruni’s unique vocals, this time in English, but as the title seems to imply, makes no promise to stay true to the intent of the poet from whom she has taken her material. While those familiar to the original work will likely cry heresy at these adaptations, attentive listeners will find once more a confessional body of work, albeit a much more produced one. Bruni seems to toy with these great works of poetry in the way le chat will play with a mouse, indeed in the same manner she has enjoyed her life.

Listen to: “Quelqu’un M’a Dit” and “Chanson Triste” and “Those Dancing Days Are Gone” (adapted from W. B. Yeats) and “Afternoon” (adapted from Dorothy Parker)

Watch her describe her “process” in

this charming bit, and watch “Quelqu’un M’a Dit”

Stream both albums from her official website.

Official Website

iTunes

Allmusic

Magical Mystical Cat

2008-01-29T11:51:00.001-08:00

from nash. this is TOTALLY music related.

11:45pm and i JUST found out it's national kazoo day!

2008-01-28T23:26:00.000-08:00

Ear Farm brings us news that today is indeed National Kazoo Day, and a fine collection of songs that feature the humble kazoo taking care of business in a big big way.

IMF

2008-01-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

the mind-blowing geniuses who brought us Adventure Time!, have put their heads together and created this intro for the International Music Feed. not only am i completely in love with the animation... but there's something in the music... from it's quirky scatting intro, to the deep, almost sinister bass hum that comes in about 1/3 the way through, to the sensitive close... i feel like if they wanted to, they could create an incredible album that would easily rival my current favorites. these few seconds of music make me want to write/compose without stopping for food, water or sleep.

i'm not saying everyone will have that reaction, but maybe somebody else will.

Click here to see what i'm talking about.

at least watch it, then watch Adventure Time!, if you haven't yet.

Thom Yorke laughs funny

2008-01-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

Also, Lily Allen puts out her two cents...
(the PC from the UK Apple commercials happens to be on the winning team here)

Sufjan Brings Holiday Cheer to Taiwan

2007-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Further feeding my love affair with Taiwan, and in continuation of Sufjan + things I like, the kind folks at Stereogum brought this little treat to my attention. A group of Taiwanese children lip-singing to Sufjan's "Put The Lights On The Tree". Click here to download the track from his Songs For Christmas, Vol. II: Hark! (2002). And just because it is amazing, click here to download "That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!" from Songs For Christmas, Vol. III: Ding! Dong! (2003).

Issue 0016 - "The Broken String"

2007-12-15T01:13:00.000-08:00

The Broken String
Bishop Allen

07/2007 - Dead Oceans
indie rock

“Bishop Allen have issued a challenge on “The Broken String”.
Hate these songs. Go ahead and try it, but I have to warn you, unless you’re mean-spirited, cynical, contrarian, [or] a metalhead, ... it’s a damn near impossible task.

– I Rock Cleveland

Bishop Allen, fronted by Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, with the help of Darbie Nowatka, (and a few others rotating for shows), get their name from Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they formed. Seemingly the swiss army knife of modern independent music, they are quite adept at what they’ve set out to do. Led by guitar and ukulele, from sparse to grand, with touches of trumpet, flute, banjo and woodwinds, Bishop Allen traverse continents of music with sensitivity and cleverness. I want to be this band’s best friend, what with songs about the ironclads and comparing the Rockefeller Christmas tree to the spread of city lights below a landing airplane.

Careful to not ride the blogbuzz to a quick second long-player, Bishop Allen locked themselves in the studio for a year-length musical boot camp. During 2006, they self-released one new EP every month of the year, in the end recording nearly 60 songs (9 were re-imagined and re-recorded for “The Broken String”), and while there are undoubtedly a number of clunkers in any set of 60 songs, they emerged from this exercise as a sharp, intelligent, and more talented band. 1

Listen to “The Chinatown Bus” and “Flight 180”

Watch Bishop Allen play “Click, Click, Click, Click”

on a sidewalk in New York City

Official Website

iTunes

Allmusic

Sufjan covers The Innocence Mission

2007-12-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

The folks over at La Blogothèque bestow upon us this little treasure, Sufjan Stevens playing The Innocence Mission's "Lakes of Canada". Two El Chico Pico favorites in one, what a treat. Click here to download the song, or click here to download the original by the Innocence Mission.

Watch the video below.

#50.2 - Sufjan Stevens (MusicNow) - The lakes of Canada
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Good news for Portishead fans

2007-12-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

Angry Ape brings us news of a Portishead album in the works, set to release early/mid 2008, as well as two videos of new material. It will be interesting to find out what they've been up to since their last release, 1997's self-titled long player.

edit: the videos have been pulled from youtube. portishead's official myspace page shows a video of a stripped down performance of "Wandering Star", from February 2007, shown below.

Song Title I Need to Write a Song to.

2007-12-06T01:12:00.000-08:00

"Post Rock will Carry You Through the Night, but It Won't Do Your Homework For You."

“In Rainbows” comparisons

2007-11-13T11:08:00.002-08:00

Motel de Moka has posted an interesting compare and contrast article about Radiohead’s most recent release.

Issue 0015 - Far Away Trains Passing By

2007-11-07T22:52:00.000-08:00

Far Away Trains Passing By
-Ulrich Schnauss
11/2001 - City Centre Offices
indie, electronic, ambient

“It’s not only the sheer strength of the majority of these tracks that make the record so enjoyable; the closing and ending numbers neatly bundle everything together, giving it the feel of a concept record without any of the pretensions.” – Artistdirect.com

Although his two more recent albums have received far greater critical acclaim, Ulrich Schnauss’ 2001 debut, “Far Away Trains Passing By,” maintains an unpretentious lyric-less simplicity, that manages to engage as it soothes. These songs seem crafted “to inspire daydreams”, and they do: down-tempo ambient tunes that apply the beats gently, just enough to lift you up and out the window. Though ostensibly simple tunes, they avoid being “elementary” through near-perfect timing and careful composition. Start with “Knuddlemass,” “Passing By”, and the Boards of Canada-esque “Molfsee” - or check out some of his more recent tunes on his myspace page. - Justin Rigamonti

Listen to “Knuddlemass” and “Passing By” and “Molfsee”

Official Website

iTunes

Allmusic