Teenage Elephant

Interview w/ Lord Huron

2011-03-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey --

I've been out of town this week and haven't had much time to post - as always I apologize. In the mean time, here is a very brief interview with Lord Huron, whom I posted about right here (and will most likely be seeing at the Troubadour in a few weeks). In retrospect, I could have asked much better questions, but oh well!

I will hopefully have an interview with the Cloud Nothings coming up (who are excellent, and whom I saw with Toro y Moi and Braids a week or two ago - I actually had a long conversation with Tyler, the Creator from OFWGKTA - more about that later). Without further ado, Ben Schneider.

Me: You are still fairly new to the LA music scene - What do you think listeners should know about your music?

Benji Schneider: Hopefully everything folks need to know is there in the music.

Me: How did you first start making music/how long have you been together with the rest of your band?

BS (Maybe I should switch to LH for Lord Huron...): I've been making music for some time. I grew up playing bass in the orchestra and started my first band with Mark (drummer in Lord Huron) when we were 12 or 13. We played together for years and then went our separate ways for college. I was in some other bands and so was Mark, but I always knew I wanted to play with him again. We both went off into the world and learned a few things and now this project has brought us back together. We were lucky to find a great gang to join us.

Me: How would you describe your music?

LH: I don't believe I've figured that out. For better or worse, I leave that to others.

Me: What's your writing and recording process like, and do you think it directly influences the sound of your music?

LH: I often conceptualize a song visually and set out to evoke that image sonically. I hope that comes across here and there.

Me: Do you think you have a theme that you like to make music about/consistently find yourself writing songs about?

LH: I'm interested in telling stories or portions of stories and letting the listener fill in the details. I find that to be a very worthwhile challenge. Nature and girls always seem to make their way in there. I have to resist the urge to write songs about cheeseburgers.

Me: Again, thank you so much for your time, and keep up the awesome work!

Be Seein' You!
--me.

Lord Huron (Updated with Interview)

2011-03-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

Lord Huron :: Mighty EP

All the solo recordings of Lord Huron consist of just Ben Schneider, however he now has a full band composed of all Angelenos (by way of Michigan I believe). He is a perfect example of how somebody can take a sound that as listeners we may have become very accustomed to and turn it upside down. He could easily be grouped with Bon Iver or Fleet Foxes, however I think that would just be wrong. Just as Local Natives transcend their associations with Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear through establishing their own energetic feel with genuine, adroitly crafted lyrics, Lord Huron carves his own niche through his mixing of extremely unique percussions with beautiful vocals and guitars.

Yes, he is also certainly rooted in American folk rock and features some awesome harmonies, but he completely distinguishes himself from the "soft indie rock" tag that some people might throw on him through his use of extremely inventive African drums and rhythms. They bring a whole new life to songs, making them feel alive and jumping with color, like on "Mighty's" grand, almost jungle-evoking drums, or "Son of a Gun's" subtle maracas and rhythms. He expertly blends this with his acoustic guitarwork to create vivid images of people almost overwhelmed by the huge, usually, but not always beautiful world around them through his simple stories of love, falling from innocence, and nature. His lyrics really are great, and they fully contribute to building these fantastic contained worlds.

My favorite song is easily "The Stranger" - all I'll say about it is how much I love the lines
"I've decided if it kills me I'll find out what you're about. / I can't trust anyone or anything these days but I know what you want and why ./ Of all the strangers you're the strangest that I've seen. / I'm not afraid to die."

Listen to this, and really, just go buy the EP (that's right, now free mp3s for you today!), its only 4 dollars.

You can really get the idea of the sort of simplicity and natural imagery that he is going for through the way he responds to my questions. They are not exactly incredibly great questions (sorry, I wasn't in a creative mood!), but enjoy!

Me: You are still fairly new to the LA music scene - What do you think listeners should know about your music?

Benji Schneider: Hopefully everything folks need to know is there in the music.

Me: How did you first start making music/how long have you been together with the rest of your band?

BS (Maybe I should switch to LH for Lord Huron...): I've been making music for some time. I grew up playing bass in the orchestra and started my first band with Mark (drummer in Lord Huron) when we were 12 or 13. We played together for years and then went our separate ways for college. I was in some other bands and so was Mark, but I always knew I wanted to play with him again. We both went off into the world and learned a few things and now this project has brought us back together. We were lucky to find a great gang to join us.

Me: How would you describe your music?

LH: I don't believe I've figured that out. For better or worse, I leave that to others.

Me: What's your writing and recording process like, and do you think it directly influences the sound of your music?

LH: I often conceptualize a song visually and set out to evoke that image sonically. I hope that comes across here and there.

Me: Do you think you have a theme that you like to make music about/consistently find yourself writing songs about?

LH: I'm interested in telling stories or portions of stories and letting the listener fill in the details. I find that to be a very worthwhile challenge. Nature and girls always seem to make their way in there. I have to resist the urge to write songs about cheeseburgers.

Me: Again, thank you so much for your time, and keep up the awesome work!

Best,
Sam.

The Dodos

2011-03-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

The Dodos

I've been listening to these guys for a few months and now the album is out, I finally have had a chance to really listen to it, and I have time to post! I really like these guys from San Francisco - for me its the percussions that really make them sound unique and what gives their songs energy and passion. They never seem to take over the song though - the guitar work and vocals give the songs emotion while the drums give you that energy to get up and move. The lead single "Black Night" is what I had been listening to for a while and loving, and the rest of the album really lives up. You can grab Black Night below; my other favorites from the album are "Don't Stop", "Going Under", and "Sleep." If you are fans of Local Natives, you will definitely really like these guys!

mp3: Black Night
mp3: Sleep
mp3: Don't Stop

--Sam.

Neighbors :: Attention (Updated w/ Interview)

2011-03-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

Neighbors
These two teenagers are from LA ('cause really, where else is there besides LA?) - they are barely out of high school, but they have already made some top notch music. This song, "Attention," features some great harmonies and a simply but very multi-layered tune to keep it flowing smoothly; the use of banjos, autoharps and acoustic guitars really build a great summer feel. It is (even if it's just one song) far better than Tennis, who I enjoy thoroughly, simply due to all the variety you get within the one song - when it breaks down from 3:20 on to the end and really, Augusta's vocals throughout are just simply beautiful.

Not to mention the fact that the video is done extremely well - the simple act of repeating them in one frame seems to add to the depth of the song - not to mention the fact that is just really cool. The whole aura that both the room and they give off just makes everything about this song seemingly perfect in its own little world, even if they haven't done much else besides this song. Check the video out below, and their Facebook page here. Interview below as well.

Me: You guys are clearly just getting started on the LA music scene - what would you like listners to know about your band and your music?

Neighbors: We have a very personal relationship with our music and we're happy to know that people enjoy listening.

Me: How did Neighbors come together?

Neighbors: We became friends on a school trip to China. We were 12 years old and bonded over mutual interests. Since then we've been buds and started playing music together during free periods in high school.

Me: How would you describe your music? What are the writing and recording processes like for it?

Neighbors: Our music is an organic fusion of what we listen to. We both love early American folk music, and a lot of doo-wop. An average practice for us would be Dakota fiddling on the guitar and Augusta singin' different melodies until both lined up nicely. Lyrics are usually drawn from personal experiences or fictional stories we wanna tell. Some, like John Muir, are about people we love/ are inspired by. Most of our friends play music which provides a great community to workshop our songs. Now Dakota lives in Chicago our writing process has become more dependent on the internet connection.

Me: Are there any bands that influence your music directly? Or any that influence you to write something polar opposite?

Neighbors: There are so many bands that influence us. Some of our shared influences are the Everly Brothers, Harry Nilsson, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Beach Boys, everything that Sublime Frequencies releases, Ry Cooder...the list never ends.

Me: Thanks so much for your time, and keep up the great work!

Here's some more stuff by them.
Latest tracks by NEIGHBORS
-- ______Me____

Jeff Beam's Venus Flying Trapeze

2011-03-09T21:03:00.000-08:00

Hey all --

So today I am going to try to begin a new schedule - Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Knowing me, I most likely will not succeed. I apologize in advance.

Jeff Beam
More good music from the New York/Boston axis (and some New Jersey-ers in there as well I believe)! (Yes I just made up that so-called "axis"). It sounds like there are some great classic rock influences here, as well as some very Elliot Smith-esque songs. It sort of reminds me of an upbeat cross between Grizzly Bear and Elliot Smith, if either of them were ever happy. I guess all I can do today is make poor comparisons to other musicians - yes for the power of terrible writing!

My favorites are Mister Sister, Wake Jolk (there's a play on words in there, but you most likely will not get it. You just don't know very cool people I guess.), People Places, and Mere Mirror. And Can You Feel the Curve of the Earth?. And the rest of the album.

You can download some of them for free, but really, the album is only three bucks so I COMMAND YOU TO BUY IT. Alright now listen.

Alright I know this was bad writing today, just respect the music

--Wam Solk

Glow Marrow

2011-03-06T01:52:00.000-08:00

These guys hail from LA (woot!) and they are really darn good. Their name might have "Glow" in it, but don't let that bias you into thinking they are just some more lo-fi/fuzzy Washed Out wannnabes. They really do have a unique, fun, interesting sound. They key is that they blend their deep electronic layerings with excellent vocals in a way so that you never feel like the vocals were just an after thought, mumbled to complete a track; they actually perfectly come in and take center stage when they should, and then fade into the background to let the synths do the work, and on some songs the guitars as well ("Build the Floor" is a great example of the vocal balance). "Lights and Other Types" is the standout in my opinion, building up from some echo-y reverbed vocals and beat into an almost anthemic chorus.

The EP is long for four songs, clocking in at 25 minutes, but it moves at a brisk pace and the dense songs leave you always finding something new to pick out. There is a certain laid-back exuberance to it all if that makes any sense - poppy enough to feel really happy but not cheesy or ever in your face about it. They sound like guys you'd want to hang out with, if you can tell that from a song. It sounds real, which is what ends up separating them from the pack, if you will. They don't keep it all one sound though, mixing in some great acoustic guitar in "The Last Century." I really did enjoy all four of these songs - check 'em out below or head over to their site to download them in various qualities.

I look forward to hearing more from them!

mp3: Build the Floor

mp3: The Last Century

mp3: Lights and Other Types

mp3: Broadheart

Let's all hope they can make it - so share them with your friends, like 'em on facebook, etc.

-- I

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. + Bear Hands

2011-03-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

Hey, so maybe I will actually try to post now. Maybe not.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
I've been meaning to post about these guys since November, but just haven't. They are from Detroit, and I refuse to mention the name because literally everybody has They have a really unique blend of synth/electropop sound with 60s Beach Boys/Beatles (particluarly the first side of the White Album...) sound. You can really hear it in "Simple Girls" subtle opening synth chords that lead into a very simple acoustic and electric guitar laying. It sounds a bit like "Blackbird" with a slightly happier twist. In listening to the EP, you can really hear how they evolve their own sound which is pretty cool as it moves from a very nice (if not all that original) cover of "God Only Knows" to the Beatles-esque "Simple Girl" to "Vocal Chords" (which is just plain summery/good) and then the most electronic song "Nothing But Our Love," which actually has a very well done video (that was actually in reverse order, but whatever...o.O). Check them all out below.

Also, they have their debut full-length, It's A Corporate World, coming out at the end of April; they are playing in LA next week, so you should go check them out.

mp3: Vocal Chords (probably my favorite song on the EP)
mp3: Simple Girl
mp3: God Only Knows

You can find the mp3 for this yourself.

And also, since Bear Hands played some shows with them, and I also really like Bear Hands, check out these songs by them.

mp3: Crime Pays
mp3: What A Drag

--Me.

Stardeath & White Dwarfs + Some new albums (No Age, Deerhunter, Warpaint, Belle and Sebastian)

2010-11-11T20:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being the worst blogger ever.

Having said that....

This is what I've been listening to recently.

+10000000 Goodness Points to Stardeath & White Dwarfs' The Birth.

The Birth, 2009

This is a little older, but I just really got into it a few weeks ago. It's from the guys who did the Dark Side of the Moon album cover with the Flaming Lips (+1000000 Goodness points as well; also, Stardeath + White Dwarfs' frontman is related to Wayne Coyne, the Flaming Lips frontman), and you can definitely see how much influence they had on that after listening to their own album. It's got that psychedelic/electronic feel, and it certainly goes well/is a more electronic version of Tame Impala, with whom they are actually touring. These are some of my favorites from the album/also the ones I could find on hypem...
mp3: New Heat

And just 'cause it's awesome.

mp3: Smokin' Pot Makes Me Not Want to Kill Myself

Some other albums I've been loving: Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest (which has one of the creepiest album covers of the year), Warpaint's The Fool (which is tearing up the blogosphere), Belle and Sebastian Write About Love (which has them in slightly older school B&S form), No Age's Everything In Between (which is just plain good). Here are some mp3s from those.
mp3: No Age :: Fever Dreaming, Glitter
mp3: Warpaint :: Undertow
mp3: Deerhunter :: Helicopter, Coronado, He Would Have Laughed (3 of the last 4 songs on the album - it has a fantastic finish)
mp3: Belle & Sebastian :: I Didn't See It Coming, The Ghost of Rockschool

More posts coming soon.

-- A Teenage Smellephant.

Real Estate + Deerhunter + Small Black + Ducktails

2010-08-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Real Estate :: Out of Tune

Nothing like some good beach poppy stuff right? Well, the image says it all. More from some of my favorite lo-fiers of last year (well, really the end of last year, so whatever... in case you were not aware, the big song from the debut album was Beach Comber... hehehe real creative right?). In other news, they will be touring with Deerhunter (unfortunately the two will not be together in LA, but if you get a chance DEFINITELY go see that.

Out Of Tune by truepanther

Deeerhunter :: Halcyon Digest

And Since I mentioned Deerhunter... I never really got around to posting about the new Deerhunter, but they will be releasing a new album (which I'm very excited for) called Halcyon Digest on September 27th. So the new song is pretty much great... I'm not quite sure what to say about it, just listen to it... Hopefully the new album is worthy of how excited for it I am.

mp3: Revival

Small Black :: Photojournalist

I posted about these guys a ways back and they are now finishing up their debut LP New Chain, due out in October, after an excellent tour with the likes of Washed Out and Yacht (unfortunately I missed that show, but it was supposed to be fantastic). Here's the first single off the album, and it rides the chillwave about as hard as you can... 80's synths and faded out vocals abound.

mp3: Photojournalist

Ducktails :: Hamilton Road

I first heard about Ducktails earlier this summer, but he (Ducktails=Matthew Mondanile) has been around for a while. He has got the characteristic Woodsist Records Sound: very lo-fi/poppy/synthy and ambient at times etc. This song was buzzing quite a bit recently, and with good cause. Although it does have some guitar pedals on it, it is for the most part just some simple guitars, drums and vocals, but it is the type of song that builds itself on that and is made by that. It really captures a feeling of slight melancholy, end of summer/a good thing emotion, and I find it appropriate for this time... (Who are also touring with Deerhunter and Real Estate)

mp3: Hamilton Road

-- A Teenage Elephant

Sufjan Stevens + FlyLo + Here We Go Magic + A Video

2010-08-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

Sufjan Stevens :: All Delighted People EP

First off, this is some pretty exciting news... Without any warning, after five years of doing pretty much nothing (yeah he did 4 albums worth of Christmas Carols, but... not exactly what anybody really listens to Sufjan for), Mr. Stevens has just released an EP entitled All Delighted People, but in standard form for him, the EP is a sprawling hour! He also recently announced some new tour dates, so does this mean there is an album on the way? Let's hope so. The press release for this album is about as puzzling to say the least. Apparently, the album (woops, EP) is "a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s ‘Sounds of Silence." It also contains a "17-minute guitar jam-for-single-mothers ‘Djohariah.'" As is evident from these descriptions, the EP is indeed epic in nature, featuring choirs and more; it features choirs, massive buildups with powerful trumpets in the end (think the his great 'You Are the Blood' from Dark Was the Night), and at times sounds almost Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon-ish to me, with lyrics like "What difference does it make?" Its also got your great Sufjan acoustic rock, and well, a guitar-jam-solo that is... considerable... in its length to say the least. Is this as good as some of his previous stuff... probably not, but is certainly pretty wonderful to have some new Sufjan. You can stream the entire thing below.

<a href="http://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/album/all-delighted-people-ep">All Delighted People (Original Version) by Sufjan Stevens</a>

Here We Go Magic :: Terminally Chill

Having just released an album, (Pigeons, Secretly Canadian) which I think I posted a track or two from a ways back, the Brooklyn band went on and put out a cover of Neon Indian's 2009 song demonstrative of all the chillwave qualities, "Terminally Chill." Despite some similar parts, like the backgrund synth, they really put the HWGM touch on it with the backup vocals echoing the lead and repeating and overlapping, as well as the quick repetitive drums. Enjoy.

mp3: Terminally Chill (Here We Go Magic Cover)

Flying Lotus :: Camera Day

Was releasing one of 2010's best albums (Cosmogramma) enough for LA (woot!) hip-hop/electronic/general bro Flying Lotus enough? Absolutely not. He must come back with more! More the people want! Well more the people shall have (what else would you expect from the nephew of John and Alice Coltrane, after all he does have to carry the family torch).... he will be releasing Pattern+Grid World, an EP (hopefully of the Sufjan length...) soon enough, and here is the first track from it, "Camera Day."

Flying Lotus - Camera Day (taken from Pattern+Grid World) by Warp Records

Yeasayer :: Madder Red
Finally, although I'm sure you've seen it already, here is the new Yeasayer video for "Madder Red." It is a perfectly normal video. There is nothing strange or off putting about it. Oh wait, this is a Yeasayer video. Of course it's the weirdest video since you've seen the last Yeasayer video. Of course it makes you feel sort of like, what just happened, and of course it makes you quite sad on the inside... Well here it is, starring Kristen Bell.

-- A Teenage Elephant

Tennis + Grass Widow + Jai Paul

2010-07-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

Marathon :: Tennis

I've been sitting on this track for bit, and I finally have a chance to write a little bit today. Tennis are a husband and wife duo, and they begun to pick up some steam in the blogosphere with the track "Marathon." It's the perfect song for the summer. It is poppy and infectious, and the vocals (at least to me) evoke the sort of 50s/60s girls vocals; they maintain the upbeat and carefree feeling that make it so summery. It is destined for being on every summer party playlist. At the same time though, I can't quite imagine listening to a whole album like this song though. It is the type of song that so captures a perfect feeling, it seems having more songs surrounding it would ruin that if they were different or just be boring if they were the same. Anywho, it is still a great song and definitely worth the download.

mp3: Marathon

Grass Widow

Grass Widow at AS220 in Providence, RI
Photo by the Teenage Elephant

I recently attended a Grass Widow show at Brown, and though there were only 50 or so people there, they absolutely blew me away. Their songs are already catchy and danceable, but with the spirit they put into it, it turned the small gallery space into a party for those who were there for Grass Widow (unfortunately a lot of people were there for Grass Widow, a punk band from the 70s who went on after Grass Widow and who I missed). Their harmonizing was spot on, and Raven Mahon's guitar propelled the songs into dance jams. If you don't know Grass Widow, they're a San Francisco girl trio (as emphasized by the "Girls Rock!" spray-painted on the wall of the stage) who released a self-titled LP on Make a Mess last year and will be releasing a new one called Past Time later in August on Killrockstars. They describe themselves as being 'Psychedelic/Visual/Surf,' but I think a better description is that they just are a band that weaves simple guitar, bass, drums, and harmonizing vocals together tightly and extremely well into a package that seems very refined and thought out, and most of all, incredibly satisfying and good to listen to. Although they do at times sound like one of the many lo-fi/pop bands due to the clearly lo-fi style of recording, they rise far above the standards of the genre, and I believe they will be making quite a splash in the coming year. Here are my three favorite tracks by them. Listen and understand why I like them so much.

mp3: To Where
mp3: Celebrate the Mundane
mp3: Shadow (Off of the new LP)

Jai Paul

Last but definitely not least is Jai Paul, an electronic guy. The opening of this song reminds me immediately of Bon Iver's "Woods," (which I do enjoy, just not as much as his normal stuff), or perhaps it is something else that I can't quite place (maybe Sufjan Stevens' "You Are the Blood" off of Dark Was the Night?), and then the drums kick in (which are reminiscent of "Blood, Pt. 2" on Dark Was the Night) and you really think wow this song is going to be sick. Which it is. The beat is simple, but this simply (nice pun right?) contributes to the overall structure of the song by making the synth and laser-blasty things that much more impactful when they come in. The vocals, which are layered of coos in the background, also sparse, and this really captures the longing that seems to be built into the way the different pieces of the song interact with each other. Don't forget to go to his MySpace (as you are directed to at the end of the song.)

mp3: BTSTU

-- A Teenage Elephant

PS Still collecting my thoughts on the Arcade Fire album (and it hasn't even been released yet!). There aspects of it that I love (the music itself), and aspects I don't/waver between enjoying and not enjoying (the lyrics of some songs/the overall theme). I will most likely post on it shortly.

PPS I'm getting really excited for the new Panda Bear album, how about you guys? Also, Avey Tare just announced he will be releasing a solo album.

of Montreal + Best Coast + Wavves + Some Remixes/Covers

2010-07-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hey so sorry it's been a while (and jeez why do all my posts start like that now? I guess I'm just a bad blogger... Frown face). After an action packed May (in terms of album releases), June has been a little slow, but.... there have been some new tracks coming out from forthcoming albums, so here you go.

First Up: of Montreal :: Coquet Coquette

Normal guitars? Normal drums? How can this be of Montreal? Well, it is certainly different, that is for sure. Coquet Coquette is a step in a whole new direction, featuring a much more straight up approach. Kevin Barnes still maintains the slightly psychedelic sound though, and it ends up resulting in a sound that is very similar to the most recent MGMT album. It will certainly be interesting to see how False Priest, their 10th (!!!) studio album comes out.
mp3: Coquet Coquette

Since I mentioned MGMT, I'll also throw in the AIR remix of "It's Working" by MGMT, courtesy of PMA.
mp3: It's Working (AIR Remix)

And since we are on Remixes... check out the Golden Filter's remix of Yeasayer's "Madder Red" below. (sorry couldn't find the mp3 anywhere...).

Madder Red (The Golden Filter Remix) by theQuietus

And since we are doinig covers/remixes...

Antlers :: Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd Cover)
The AV Club have an interesting thing were they have one band come in and choose a song off of a list of 25 songs to cover and then cross that song off, so the next band will have one fewer songs to choose from. Most of the covers are really great, and this was one of my personal favorites. Sorry about the Budweiser mumbo jumbo. Also check out the late Mark Linkous (AKA Sparklehorse)'s cover featuring Thom Yorke.

The Antlers cover Pink Floyd

mp3: Wish You Were Here (Sparklehorse Cover)

Best Coast :: Boyfriend

Just as you'd expect, this track has been tearing up the web, and deservedly so I might add. We are all looking forward to her debut album... (yes that's the album art)
mp3: Boyfriend

And since we are talking about cat's on the covers of albums, and Best Coast (Beth Cosentino), let's talk about Wavves, whose lead singer Nathan Williams is in a relationship with Beth Cosentino, and who both have cats on their album covers! Go read the hilarious HipsterRunoff post about their relationship.

Wavves :: King of the Beach
I just grabbed this album and it is one of the first albums released in the past month or so that I have really enjoyed, the others being The Drums' the Drums, Ariel Pink and the Haunted Graffiti's Before Today and Here We Go Magic's Pigeons. Definitely listen to this if you would like to keep the summer state of mind up. This album has a little bit of a cleaner sound, but it's still lo-fi if you were worrying.

mp3: Mickey Mouse
mp3: Super Soaker
and the most fun one off the album
mp3: King of the Beach

Best,
A Teenage Elephant

PS Is anybody at all excited for the new Klaxons album, which also features a cat on the cover?

Some Videos and Album News for Yall...

2010-06-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

As I've said the past few posts, I've been really busy (but don't worry, Tuesday=freedom...), but just thought I'd drop some album news and a few videos. (Sorry if there's not really a lot of content, but oh well).

Dave Sitek :: Maximum Balloon

Dave Sitek is one of the masterminds of everybody's favorites TV On the Radio. Well, he's just announced he'll be releasing a solo album... rejoice! Due out in August. He's also been working on a rap mixtape with Aziz Ansari of Parks & Recreations... don't know what to expect there.

Phil Selway :: Familial

Phil Selway (one of the three guys in Radiohead who is not Thom Yorke or Jonny Greenwood...hehehe) has been playing some solo shows recently with the likes of the Wilco drummer. He'll be releasing an album to support this called Familial, also due out in August. On a side note, he will be third member of Radiohead to release a solo album (Thom Yorke: the Eraser, Jonny Greenwood: There Will Be Blood Original Score); do you guys think it can live up to the two fantastic predecessors/can his live show be anywhere near as good as Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace (fact: when they release an album, I will go crazy...)? Digging the album art...

Neon Indian :: Sleep Paralysist

Chillwave's been in a little bit of a slump hasn't it? Well, here's a pretty sweet video for Neon Indian's post summer 2009 single (is that possible... chillwave released after summer 2009? Jokes of course...).

Here We Go Magic :: Collector

Adidas, Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, and Star Wars... Yep.

The headline says it all... a remake of the Cantina scene, featuring Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, David Beckham, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Jay Baruchel, and more... just watch it.

And since I'm going video crazy...

Totally unrelated but epic, the new trailer for Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.

I don't think a good movie has been released in months, but I can't wait for this and Inception.

-- A Teenage Elephant

More album tidbits...

The Thermals :: Personal Life

Due out in August

Interpol :: S/T

After some time off/band trouble, they'll be releasing their self-titled, fourth album in September.

Bonus!!!

First Half of '10 Album List

2010-06-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hey yalls.... I just realized I've been super light on album reviews this year, so I figured I would do a little update seeing as we are nearly halfway done with this year. I'm not going to write a review for each album, but I will write a sentence or two and let you know that you should pretty much OWN all 20 of these. Sorry if there is not a lot of detail to these posts, it's just there was a lot to cover and I'm in the middle of Finals (excuses, excuses, I know).

LCD Soundsystem :: This Is Happening
Extremely varied album that (at least to me) seems encyclopedic in its influences. It's got all styles, and everything in every song is functional (i.e. contributes to the sound).
Local Natives :: Gorilla Manor
Beautiful Beach Boy inspired harmonies; perfectly captures the LA indie sound with its clean guitars and double percussion.
Tame Impala :: Innerspeaker
Pyschedelia to the max... and awesome. Wah-wah pedals, reverbed vocals... close your eyes and enjoy.
Beach House :: Teen Dream
Moaning, brooding vocals, echo-y, epic anthems, effects laden organs, and more.
The New Pornographers :: Together
The power pop pros do it again; they might have perfected their sound with this one.
Caribou :: Swim
Every song seems to be painstakingly crafted, with synths swooping in and at as vocals get effects laid on them; standout song is house style "Sun"
MGMT :: Congratulations
Most divisive album of the year; I really liked MGMT's new direction. You either love it or hate it and I'm not going to write anything else.
Broken Social Scene :: Forgiveness Rock Record
More great stuff from the Canadian supergroup. Less power-poppy than I expected, but still great. "Texico Bitches" is my favorite.
Avi Buffalo :: Avi Buffalo
This album is fantastic, and it was made by a couple of a kids who are only just out of high school. They have the simple sound of LA indie with their simple, clean electric guitar and young male vocals (if that makes any sense...)
Surfer Blood :: Astro Coast
The best (in my opinion) of the many lo-fi/pop releases this year. They manage to create their own sound and identity, which is something of a problem for a lot of the lo-fi bands (whenever I'm listening to lo-fi, I have a friend who always makes the joke "didn't we just hear this song?"). This album will definitely get you ready for the summer...
The Morning Benders :: Big Echo
Flying Lotus :: Cosmogramma
Sleigh Bells :: Treats
Beach Fossils :: Beach Fossils
Broken Bells :: Broken Bells
Jonsi :: Go
Delorean :: Subiza
Titus Andronicus :: the Monitor
Gemini :: Wild Nothing
Yeasayer :: Odd Blood

Notable Mention:

Spoon, Hot Chip, the Delta Mirror, the Gorillaz

I haven't really gotten a chance to listen to the Black Keys' Brothers, the Besnard Lakes' Are The Roaring Night, Best Coast's Best Coast, Fang Island's Fang Island, Janelle Monae's the ArchAndroid, Harlem's Hippies, jj's n3, or the National's High Violet, but what I have heard from them I really like (I've done my best to stay up, but you can't be perfect....)

-- A Teenage Elephant

(Now go get some music!)

PS Trying something new... all of those images (except for the Tame Impala ones) are links to amazon...

Tame Impala :: Innerspeaker

2010-06-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm sorry, blah blah blah you know the deal. I've been busy with the end of school, and Finals start tomorrow, but I figured I'd get one post in because it's been way too long and there are three things I MUST SHARE.

Before I start, I realized I never really did a full post about LCD Soundsystem's This is Happening; for now, all that you need to know is that it is probably James Murphy's most complete album, it's probably his best one, and has just about every type of style of song you could want from him, and it is epic (9 songs, 68 minutes epic). Listen to it now.

Thing Numero Uno: Tame Impala :: Innerspeaker

If you haven't heard this album yet, I, with the power invested in me by the interwebs, command you to go buy/get from a friend/download this album immediately. It's is awesome. Awesome enough to invoke expletives when talking about it. It's got more wah than you can handle, it's got an ample amount of psychedelia infused into it, and it just plain blows your mind in my humble, and not really influential but whatever, opinion. It seems to have influences from all over the music timeline, like the Doors, Beck, Cream, and most of all in my opinion, the Beatles (but then again who isn't influenced by them). It really seems to me to be a modern take on the Beatles trippy stuff, and a lot of it really is in the sound of "Within You Without You" (interestingly, that song is very Indian sounding and a lot of this album was recording on the Indian Ocean...). Bottom line: PICK THIS ALBUM UP IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I even gave it to my dad to listen to if there are any old fogeys out there reading this... not that my dad is an old fogey or anything... oh boy I hope he doesn't read this...). My favorite tracks are three in a row in the middle, "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind", "Solitude is Bliss," and "Jeremy's Storm." My favorite track on the album though is the last one, "I Don't Really Mind."

mp3: Solitude is Bliss
mp3: I Don't Really Mind (sorry I got a takedown notification from the DMCA for both of those... scary)
yalls can find 'em somewhere else... (i.e. Hypem)

#2: Arcade Fire Singles

I'm pretty positive you have heard these by now, and I posted the clips from them a few weeks ago, but for those of you who have been living in a cave in the past, oh 15 days, here are the new Arcade Fire songs. Oh, by the way, that was the sound of my drool in anticipation of the new album hitting the ground.

mp3: The Suburbs
mp3: The Month of May (Sorry more take down notifications)

#3: Broken Bells :: Ghost Inside (Video feat. Christina Hendricks)

Check out the video for the Ghost Inside by Broken Bells. It's starring Christina Hendricks of Mad Men, but more importantly, of Firefly, which is only one of my favorite shows evah (she plays Mal's "wife" for tose of you that watch the show. She's back in her sci-fi element with this one... The video is pretty sweet, and it turns a decent song into a really good video.

--A Teenage Camel (woops wrong animal...)

NEW ARCADE FIRE! (Yes, this deserves full caps)

2010-05-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posts recently, I've just been really busy (and will be for the next few weekends). Huge news though, and when I heard this I just had to post it... New Arcade Fire! After posting that a single would be released soon in a letter to the interwebs, the indie giants have just released clips from the single. Check out the two tantalizing snippets (and the accompanying indie shot) below... I'm drooling with anticipation.

A. The Suburbs
AA. Month of May

-- An Apologetic Teenage Elephant
(Apologetic for the lack of posts of course)

The Black Keys + Local Natives

2010-05-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

The Black Keys :: Tighten Up

I haven't talked about the Black Keys on here before, but there's a first for everything. At this point they've been around for quite a while (their first release was way back in 2001). Their blues-rock sound is definitely unique, and surprisingly has not really gotten old. Here's a cut from their newest album, Brothers. The album is being produced by Danger Mouse, and, as the wikipedia article about it states, "is amazing." Also, check out the first two videos from the album featuring Frank the Funkasaurus Rex. Gotta love it...

mp3: Tighten Up

Tighten Up

Next Girl

Local Natives :: World News

As I'm sure yall know by now, Local Natives are probably my favorite breakout act of '10. "World News" is one of my favorite tracks from the debut album, and here is the just released video for it!

Oh, I never got to post the video for "Airplanes," and I definitely suggest you check it out.

-- A Teenage Elephant

Las Robertas and Red Tide (via Bandcamp)

2010-05-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you guys know of this website, but it's pretty cool. It's called Bandcamp, and it's for bands who want to share there music with others. First up...

Red Tide :: Red Tide EP

This is some very good electronic/ambient/lo-fi stuff. The EP (which can be listened to and downloaded below) starts off with a very mellow intro track, and then moves into more three more guitar based and catchy lo-fi style tunes. "Parcel" starts out with a very Animal Collective-esque vocal sample and then has a very simple yet well done synthesizer come in, and finally having the vocals and drums come in at once. The next two songs are slower, more effect/synth laden and leave you with the feeling that the album is more of the electronic/ambient style than the middle three songs give. "It's Mine" slowly builds up, featuring what sounds like some hand drums until it cuts to some weird sound effects at the end. The last song, "Love Email" has got marracas moaned vocals over a cool repeating guitar and bass riff, until the slightly (blues-y/jazz-y?) drums come in. This song has also got some cool harmonies and sweet guitar solo/jam, and is probably my favorite.

<a href="http://redtide.bandcamp.com/album/red-tide-ep">If By Land by Red Tide</a>

Las Robertas :: Cry Out Loud

Another lo-fi garage girl band in the style of Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, and Pearl Harbor. These girls though are latina (out of Costa Rica I believe). There sound is a little too fuzzy and the vocals sound a bit too washed out to me; for me this makes it seem sort of messy and disorganized, which sometimes can work but for this I feel it doesn't. Some people (big people... think HipsterRunoff and GorillaVsBear) think they are poised to be the next thing, and the EP is on Bandcamp, so here it is...

<a href="http://lasrobertas.bandcamp.com/album/cry-out-loud">History is Done by Las Robertas</a>

--A Teenage Elephant

4 Albums that Should Be On Your Radar (And May Not Be)

2010-05-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

Here are four albums that are potentially under your radar but should be on it!

Swim by Caribou

This one may not be under you radar as Dan Smaith (Caribou) has been around for a while, but his latest release is great. It's a bit of a fusion of many different styles, but it does not at all feel disorganized; instead it feels like every song was meticulously crafted. Effects that wash out the music last just as long as they should, the drum beats are smooth and relaxed, and overall the album has a warm summery (slightly, dare I say, chillwave?) feel. Also, the way refrains repeat but get changed up by effects gives some of the songs a slightly house feel. My favorites: "Leave House" and "Sun"

Avi Buffalo by Avi Buffalo

Chances are this one is under the radar for you (if not for the post I put up about him/them the other day), but they are certainly reaching buzzband status in LA. These guys/guy (Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg AKA Avi Buffalo plus his band) are super young, fresh out of Millikan High in Los Angeles (Go LA bands!), and they certainly sound young, although not in a negative way. It's not their musical composition, but the tone of their songs. They have a happy feel, although it does not feel poppy and silly (think Matt and Kim). They sing on the song "Jessica" - I still want to leave my mark / show you that I fit the part / Remember when we talked on that / and it made you laugh. The lyrics don't sound like they were just hashed out in minutes, they feel like they were thought about and the music is slow yet with joy, again making it seem thoughtful not immature. It feels much more structured and cleaner, making it musically sound mature (if that makes any sense). My favorites: "Jessica" and "One Last"

Clinging to a Scheme by Radio Dept.

These guys are Swedish and have been around for 13 years (!), yet this is just their third (!) album. I'd never heard of them before, but when I came across this album I felt I had to share it. It's really short, clocking in at 35 minutes despite being 10 songs. Each song feels compact and like everything in it has a purpose, which is impressive seeing it could be easy to go overboard and make a very long album when working on it for 4 years. They have a sort of dreamy pop sound. Don't know what else to say but it's great! Favorties: "This Time Around" and "The Video Dept."

Machines that Listen by the Delta Mirror

More LA for yall! I talked about these guys a while ago, and this album is a little over a month old, but it would be easy to miss. It's in some ways an "experimental album" in that each song takes place in a different room of a hospital. In some ways it reminds me of the album Hospice by Antlers because of this, although the sound is very different. To be honest, it is easy not to notice the hospital part. The album has a very glitch/electronic sound. Check it out! (Plus it's got some sweet album art). Favorites: "A Song About the End" and "We Got It All"

-- A Teenage Elephant

Tell me what you think of these! (Please?)

Avi Buffalo, Beach Fossils, and the Talking Heads!

2010-05-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

First up...
Avi Buffalo :: What's It In For

I never really got to talk about Avi Buffalo on here for one reason or another, but here's a big one! With their freshmen (and they're actually about to be freshmen in college... that's how young they are) try just out on Sub Pop, they are starting to make the splash they deserve. They just put this color saturated video out for their song "What's It in For." You've got some cool cgi flowers sprouting to match the happy, playing music in the field vibe that comes with their laid back but still joyous guitars/vocals. It's also slightly anthemic. Visual treat if I may say so.
mp3: What's It In For

Beach Fossils :: Daydream, Youth
The parallels to Beach House are just too numerous... BEACH House/BEACH Fossils, DayDREAM/Teen DREAM, YOUTH/TEEN Dream, you get the idea. Good thing their music doesn't really sound alike... we'd have a case of copycats on our hands... Beach Fossil really nail down the lo-fi sound in my opinion; if Titus Andronicus are at the energetic (maybe more punk/garage rock) end of the lo-fi scale, then these guys are at the mellow, laid back, dream-pop end of the scale. They've got the reverbed vocals (sounds a lot like Small Black vocals actually), but their music sounds a lot more organized and thought out than a lot of garage rockers (think Wavves). Good stuff.
mp3: Youth
mp3: Daydream

TALKING HEADS BLOWOUT!!!!!!!!!
You may ask yourself, well why are the Talking Heads on this blog? You may ask yourself, well how did I get here to this blog? Well it's the same as it ever was... there's damn good music. And you may ask yourself, well why is a new music blogger writing about old music? Because I'm burning down the rules of music blogging (and because I was listen to the Talking Heads a lot this weekend)! So, Qu'est-ce que c'est? Since I don't want to bore all of you too much with old (even if it's incredible) music, I'll just post covers to make it seem newer, one song that is about somebody involved with the Talking Heads, and the David Byrne-Dirty Projectors collaboration from Dark Was the Night!

Here's your music, pack up your iPod/laptop, time to listen to some really good music!

mp3: Psycho Killer (Cage the Elephant - Talking Heads Cover) (This one is not very good but whatever)
mp3: Warning Sign (Local Natives - Talking Heads Cover)
mp3: Pulling Up the Roots (The Morning Benders - Talking Heads Cover)
mp3: Naive Melody (Arcade Fire - Talking Heads Cover)
mp3: This Must Be the Place (MGMT - Talking Heads Cover)
mp3: Knotty Pine (David Byrne/Dirty Projectors)
mp3: Brian Eno (MGMT) Link Coming/ I'm too lazy just check it out it's one of the album highlights

For those of you who didn't figure it out, everything in that section was a variant of a Talking Heads lyric except the second to last sentence.

And Just Because It's hilarious/great...

--A (Psycho Killer) Teenage Elephant

PS This post is... Once In a Lifetime... too many puns to handle.

Fol Chen

2010-04-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (super briefly), I mentioned the Fol Chen EP, and in the past couple days it has really blown up... BUZZBAND ALERT!!!!!!!!!!

Now, I'd like to really push it to you guys because it's great. It's five songs, three of which are remixes of the first, the other being a cover of the first. Right off the bat, the Fol Chen version has this deep, strange voice and heavy drum beat/bass. Then the vocals and other instruments come on, and it turns into a catchy pop song, and finally you have a nice part where all the instruments cut out and you have a little piano riff. Really varied song, really good... then you have the remixes and cover, which give you four completely different and new takes. Bonus: Fol Chen is an LA band.

The first Baths remix is a house, trance take on the song, with heavily reverbed vocals and synth pads. Then the other Baths remix is also very different. It's got vocals that shutter in and out giving the entire song an incredibly staccato feel. The Keepaway remix starts out with the original drumbeat, but then goes and plays with changing up the drum beat and using synths for the instrumental parts. It may be more of a traditional remix, but it is still very different from the original and other two remixes on the album. Finally, there is the Karin Tatoyan cover, which is the most drastically different. It starts out with a long, drone drum intro, and then a sort of 80's/8bit synth comes in. Next in, the vocals, which have a very, very different take on the vocals. They are the main emphasis of the song, with the other instruments pretty much relegated (poor word choice...) to the background. They are not sung with a poppy feel, but with a feeling of longing and melancholy that is most evident as she almost begs "All I want is to see your face" and observes "everything is in ruins."

I really recommend you guys go over to folchen.com and download the whole EP for free (and the weird video that comes with it... it's also below). I'll give you a track or two here.

mp3: In Ruins
mp3: In Ruins (Kerin Tatoyan Cover)

Check out the Holy Ghost! remix of LCD Soundsystem's "Drunk Girls." The two will be touring together this summer, and they are both on LCD Soundsystem front man's label DFA Records. Oh, I've been listening to the new LCD Soundsystem album a ton, and it's great! With the exception of Drunk Girls, every track is fantastic. More on it when it actually comes out in May.
mp3: Drunk Girls (Holy Ghost! Remix)

-- A Teenage Elephant

The Books + Sleigh Bells + Some Dub

2010-04-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hot Stuff! Hot Tracks, Hot Remixes... This post is hot... Almost too hot to handle. Then I again I like to think my readers can handle it all.

The Books :: Beautiful People

The Books! More unique stuff from them. There's the trademark sample vocals (which here are pretty weird at times - they run backwards at times, and are also seem to be about the sciences). There's brass sections, some sweeping synth pads, and a steady (strangely so... you'd almost expect some strange time signature) drum beat. Plus some acoustic guitar... it's got it all, and it's sure to get bloggers (well it already has) and critics buzzing alike.

mp3: Beautiful People

Sleigh Bells :: Tell 'Em

I talked about Sleigh Bells a couple of months ago, and since then they have really picked up some steam (both in sound and as in a following). This is the first single from the anticipated album that will be on MIA's label (and boy do a lot of the songs sound like MIA).

Blasting the super distorted guitar and heavy bass on full volume is the way you have to listen to this (as it was with last one), and it even picks up an even dirtier quality when you play it on speakers that aren't really nice (think laptop). Also, as a bonus, I'll put in one of the tracks from the demo that's we've been all enjoying in the wait for the album. It's a little mellower and I actually like it a little more, but it's cool to hear the much more produced sound that comes with the new track and the use of the MIA recording studio. You can also dl "Tell 'Em" at the Sleigh Bells website here.

mp3: Tell 'Em

mp3: Ring Ring

Rusko :: Hold On (Feat. Amber Coffman) (Sub Focus Remix)

In the words of my friend (jokingly of course...) "Life is Short. Dub. Nao." Well, here's a mellowed (almost... chilled out, if you catch my drift) version of the just released Rusko song Hold On (which features the Dirty Projectors' Amber Coffman). The remix definitely I think emphasizes Coffman's vocals a little more, and has a slightly more pop sound. The part of this that has the dubstep sound gets pretty repetitive and doesn't sound all that original, but whatever. It's still fun. I like the original a little more, but this is the one that's heating up the interwebs so here it is.

mp3: Hold On (Feat. Amber Coffman) (Sub Focus Remix)

-- A Teenage Elephant

Also: I command you to go download the Fol Chen EP now!!!! Get it at folchen.com.

Foals, Here We Go Magic, Royal Bangs (Plus FlyLo)

2010-04-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Foals :: Spanish Sahara

"Spanish Sahara" is off of Oxford-quintuplet Foals' sophomore album Total Life Forever, which is due out May 5th. I love how although it for the most part is a very simple song, the vocals really connect and the turn of of the rhyme (I think that is what is called) is impeccable in the British accent: Sahara, Wanna, Horror. The lyrics really feel like they have some impact. Can't wait for the album!
mp3: Spanish Sahara
mp3: Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimble Remix)

Here We Go Magic :: Old World United
Check out the new track from some of my favorite lo-fi/folky-ish bands from last year. Just like the other track I posted from this album (Pigeons, Due out in June on Secretly Canadian) a while ago, and which will also be below again, it's a lot more upbeat and synthy than their previous album.
mp3: Old World United
mp3: Collector

Royal Bangs :: War Bells
This songs got Sleigh Bells' style of guitar/drums and TV on the Radio vocals. That's pretty much how I would sum it up. I like this song, but I think it is the type of song I will completely forget about in two weeks. Thought I'd share it anyways... The second track is a little different and better. This stuff isn't exactly new, but I just came across it so I'd figure I'd share it.
mp3: War Bells
mp3: My Car Is Haunted

As has recently been the trend, the full Flying Lotus album is now available to stream after its leak. Check it out at his MySpace. Other album leaks with streams: LCD Soundsystem, the National, the New Pornographers.

-- A Teenage Elephant

New Andrew Bird and CONTROVERSIAL (Ooooooh) Video (Plus some Porn! The New Pornographers that is!)

2010-04-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

First up - Poetry Time! Well not really but whatever.

Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird has a new song that is on a forthcoming tribute album to.... Shel Silverstein! It turns Shel Silverstein was actually not just one of the greatest children's poets ever, but also a Grammy winning songwriter! The tribute album features songs from other great artists like My Morning Jacket. This song is really classic Andrew Bird in times of style, and Shel Silverstein's poem couldn't go better with Andrew Bird's wry way of singing rhymes. It's also great to just hear some new Andrew Bird!
Listen to it over at PMA.

New Pornographers :: Together
New New Pornographers (oh the woes of putting a "new" in your band's name...) up for stream! The album is orgasmic (sticking with the theme...). It's that good. Listen to it here at NPR.

Video Time!

M.I.A. :: Born Free
Now, this video is not for the faint of heart... i.e. not really safe for school/work. It's got some graphic stuff in it, and I don't really know what to think of it. If it is supposed to be about the video, than it does a good job, but if it is supposed to be for the song, it does an awful job... upon rewatching it I still barely noticed the song. Sort of seems like a chance to get "mad blog hits" and "dirt chip publicity" with the potential for a New York Times/New York Mag write up... The video seems like it is trying to look like it has a "message" but I don't think it really does. Well directed I guess.... The end reminds me of the scene in the movie Scanners. Yall know what I am talking about if you have seen it. AGAIN THIS IS GRAPHIC/very long and not really worth the time...

PLEASE COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THE VIDEO IF YOU TOOK THE TIME TO WATCH.

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

--A Teenage Elephant

Coachella Day 3

2010-04-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

The Thrilling Conclusion to a Three Part Saga!!!!

Sunday was easily my favorite day. Although I really only saw five complete acts, they were easily the best acts of the weekend, and having them back to back made them that much better.

Local Natives

(Not So Great) Photo by Me

I started off the day with Local Natives, one of my favorite up and coming bands. They hail from LA, and on stage they admitted that they had dreamed of playing Coachella as teens, and that this was a fantastic experience. The same could certainly be said for the crowd. They absolutely packed the place, not to mention the fact that it was 2 in the afternoon and they were competing against Owen Pallett, King Khan and the Shrines, and (sort of) Rusko. They played their set with lots of fire, which was certainly fueled by their excellent double percussionist set up. All the songs were packed with energy. Some of the slower songs were still sung with lots of passion, and the (on some songs) four (!) vocalists' harmonies played off each other perfectly, making them certainly reminiscent of an LA-Indie Grizzly Bear or Fleet Foxes. My two favorites on the album ("World News" "Camera Talk") were sped up a little bit, giving them lots of pep and getting the crowd moving. Songs like "Airplanes" had the crowd "Ooohhoohhhhing" with the band. "Sun Hands" though, which is a very good song on the album though not the best (IMHO), was by far the largest stand out and concluded the show with a bang. They played an extended six minute version of the song, and when they broke it down, the vocals turned into a yell which the entire crowd picked up on. As soon as the break was over and the guitar riff comes in, the crowd went crazy. It was a perfect finish to a nearly flawless show. They really showed how much potential they have with this show, packing a tent with not just LA people but people from all over.

Rusko

Although I really like dub (dubstep), I realize I have never really talked about it on the blog, and I sort of think I never really will. I'm not quite sure why; partly because I don't really know how to describe it and partly because as much as I love it it sort of all sounds the same to me. This show though I will write about, just because it was the first time I have seen dub live and secondly because it was plain fun. The setting: the Sahara tent, completely packed, 3:00, hotter in the tent than out. The music: lots of dub with some more samples/electro in between that made it go so much harder when the dub dropped. Tons of people their to have fun. Lots of the typical dub funky dance. Truckloads of mindless fun. I actually worked my way all the way up to the front, which was quite a feat considering I started all the way in the back. It was a fight, but it was worth making it to the point where the music rumbled your clothing. A comedic thing from the show: watching people trying to figure out how to dance to a new beat after a shift in the music.

After Rusko I saw a little bit of Deerhunter (whom I love) from afar. I also saw a little bit of Yo La Tengo. Unfortunately, I found them to be very disappointing. It seemed to my like they didn't really care to be there, and I think when you perform there is a certain pride you should take in your music, and it just didn't seem to show, but that's just me. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I just didn't enjoy what I saw (the first three songs... I was too disappointed to stay).

This is where the day got incredible; from here on out I was at the Outdoor Stage (not the main stage) for the next three bands, probably the best streak of bands in the whole festival (In My Opinion).

Jonsi

Jonsi and his backing band (Photo by None other than...me!)

More Jonsi (and a guy's ear) Photo by Me

Jonsi was fortunately unaffected by the volcano eruption that occurred in none other than his homeland, Iceland. For those of you who don't know, Jonsi is the lead singer of Sigur Ros, and this show was in support of his solo album Go, which is an excellent one just released recently. He of course had a backing band though. The show was eccentric and passionate, which I think are two words that completely capture the style of the album. He of course used his invented "Hopelandic" (its not really lyrics that are givverish... it's more just to turn the vocals completely into an instrument in his words) on some songs, wore a strange tasseled (I think that's how you would describe it... take a look at the picture). All the songs really had the slightly mystical feel that is achieved by the foreign "lyrics" (some were also in icelandic), strangely pitchshifted samples, and Jonsi's falsetto, as well as the excellent use of non traditional instruments (I think there was a theremin in there but my friend says there wasn't...). Anyways, I think the crowd, who seemed as if they were there early for Thom Yorke/Atoms for Peace and Phoenix was really surprised by a great show.

Phoenix
Photo by Me
This show brought the crowd down if you will. Of all the shows I saw (with maybe the exception of some of the shows in Sahara, the Rave tent), the crowd was probably the most into this one. This was probably the most "sought after" show in terms of bands/celebrities... Jay-Z, Beyonce and Solange were all sitting right in front of me (I was front row for all three shows), as well as the singer from Passion Pit, Russell Simmons (although he came late and seemed to be there more for Thom), Muse (!) (They also came late though and seemed to be there for Thom) and more. When Phoenix came on everybody went crazy. They played through every song on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix as well as a few older hits ("Consolation Prizes" and I think they also played "Run Run Run" sorry I didn't write down the setlist) that were some of their more rock oriented roots. I've seen Phoenix before, and they played a great show then, but that show paled in comparison.

This was one of the best shows I have ever seen - that's how good it was. Part of it was because the crowd was so into it and knew virtually ever lyric to every song, part of it because they really played to what the crowd wanted I think/their strength by playing all of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their poppiest/synthiest album. The thing that's so great about that album is that every song on that album (except for maybe the three slower songs which are all in a row) could have opened the concert, so when they were all played, it was like a new wave of energy/joy was going through the crowd. They of course opened with "Lisztomania" and closed with "1901." Besides being a joyous/happy/poppy show, it was also in some ways a very humble show. Their light/set guy was stuck on the other side of the pond because of the volcano, but instead of getting a new set design guy to do a new setup for the stage, they decided to just stick with a sparse stage and lighting; there were just a few white lights that occasionally moved over the band and once over the audience when they said "We want to see these people!" As lead singer Thomas Mars said, "Tonight, it's just about the music."
This was probably my favorite shot from all of Coachella. Photo by me

Photo by Me
There were two very beautiful images in this show... the sun setting behind Phoenix and once when Thomas Mars asked the tech guy who was there to dim the lights, and when they came back up Thomas Mars was standing right over the crowd on the barricade singing to them. Besides those two moments and all the massive sing-a-longs (so pretty much the whole concert...), my other favorite moment was probably "Love Like A Sunset, Pts. 1 & 2" which was also one of my favorites when I saw them before. It was a long ten minute synth soundscape, that, now that I think about it, was coupled with a just finished sunset. Pretty incredible sight.

Thom Yorke/Atoms for Peace
Photo by Me
As incredible as all the shows on Sunday were, this was hands down the best show of the weekend. After waiting for an hour and the installment of some cool light fixtures, Thom Yorke, Flea, Nigel Godrich (Radiohead Producer), Mauro Rafosco, and Joey Waronker walked on stage to one of the largest crowds of the whole weekend despite inexplicably not being on the main stage (which resulted in me missing Spoon and Pavement, but there were absolutely zero regrets there, seeing as I got to see two incredible shows before hand and I was front row). They started out (yes, this was just the beginning) by playing all of the Eraser straight through. It was a completely different take though, and didn't really even feel like they were playing an album because of the style they used. It was completely focused on the rhythm section, and with the two percussionist coupled with Flea's incredible slap bass skills, it took on a very funky/groovy (as in lots of rhythm grooves not as in "groovy baby") feel.

Thom Yorke and Flea grooving to the rhythm based show (Photo by Me)
When they were playing through the Eraser, every song would start out as a just that, the song, but then would turn into long 5 to 10 minute jams. Although Thom Yorke is incredible, in the Eraser part of the show it was Flea and the Rhythm section that really shined the most. It was more of Thom Yorke's stage presence and almost his "MCing" that made him great in that part of the show. Thom Yorke is normally very dour on stage, moaning the Radiohead lyrics, but here he was, to use a British word to describe a Brit, jolly, telling jokes and having fun on stage. He pranced and writhed around the stage, grooving to the music just as much as the crowd was. Flea also did his signature freak-out weird funky dance thing... very enjoyable to watch. Oh his hair was also blue... Nigel Godrich's synths, although not showy at all and staying mostly in the background, were played with the precision and thoughtfulness (i.e. they sounded like they were designed to perfectly complement the rest of the band's style) that could only be achieved by Radiohead's producer.
This photo illustrates how I (and most of the crowd) experienced Atoms for Peace/Thom Yorke: either grooving along to the music with my eyes closed, or having the intricate light fixtures meld with the music and the performers.
(Photo by Me)

This photNot one song in particular in the first half of the show really stood out because they were really just awesome jams. It wasn't in stark contrast to the Phoenix concert right before; instead of tightly choreographed pop songs with 30,000 people singing, it was people closing their eyes and just entering their own world with the loose, spontaneous feeling grooves. After playing straight through the Eraser, they took a brief leave. Thom Yorke came back to open the encore, the rest of Atoms for Peace joining him later on.

Thom Yorke harmonizing with himself
Photo by Me
He started off with a brand new Atoms for Peace song, although this one was really just a brand new Thom Yorke song. This song, if you didn't like the funk/rhythm style of the Eraser portion of the show, would certainly make you love the show even if you didn't like anything else in it. It was Thom Yorke, an acoustic guitar, and a layering pedal. It was an incredibly beautiful song, and it really showed why Thom Yorke is such an incredible and talented musician. He harmonized with himself many times over in real time by using the layering pedals, all while crooning over a slow acoustic guitar piece. It was truly beautiful. Oh and it's called "Giving Up the Ghost," and let me tell you, it is a bit better than the similarly titled "Giving Up the Gun" (that was sarcastic because the Thom Yorke song is about a thousand times better than the Vampire Weekend one).

I will embed the video below, but I did not actually take it (I was actually a lot closer). My only hesitation in embedding the video is that because it is from youtube, you won't get to experience it in its full glory/sound quality, but oh well it is worth it, and the AV quality is really good anyways.

T
he person who took this video actually has great videos of every song in the show, which if you are like me and are a diehard Radiohead/Thom Yorke fan and want to experience all over again/for the first time, they are worth watching.

He than went on top lay some Radiohead tunes, namely the ballad "Airbag" (which they actually didn't play when I saw Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl), and one of the great/"shocking" (when it first came out) opening songs for an album of all time, Kid A's "Everything In Its Right Place." Then the band came back out for a rendition of Radiohead's "Paperbag Writer," returning to some of the more bass oriented roots of the first half of the show. They finished up with "Judge Jury and Executioner" (it wasn't the Radiohead song though Myxamatosis, which has that in the name), and then the two songs from Thom Yorke's Twilight single, "The Hollow Earth" and "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses" (which are both excellent songs despite being associated with Twilight). They went out with a bang (more like a sonic boom...) with those two songs, getting really down and funky. The whole show was really one of the best shows I've seen, but it was sort of hard to write about because of the fact that it was composed of long, funky grooves/jams.

Afterwards, we walked over to see the Gorillaz, but we were just so blown away (as one of the people befriended at the show said "I can now die happily.") by Atoms that we knew Gorillaz would sort of feel like a letdown, which as much as I love them they did. They just seemed a little boring from what we saw (a few songs). We then went over to see Sly Stone (after his 5 hour delay), but it was just awful. He just seemed so messed up. Not that I ever would anyways, but it makes me not want to ever do cocaine...

And so we went home without seeing all of the Gorillaz, but we had an incredible weekend and had just seen an incredible show. Plus I had school the next day...

To sum up my Coachella experience (I was thinking of doing a "People of the Coach" picture gallery, but I think it would be a little cheesy...): 75,000 people without a care in the world, just there to have fun and experience good music. Lots of diverse people... if you can imagine or conjure up any strange style, I guarantee there was somebody like that there. I was thinking of writing something like "I've never seen more... multicolored rayband wayfarers, bros without a shirt on, rave finger light gloves, fat men with ponytails, skinny men with ponytails, folk beards, etc." but I realized I could put absolutely anything in that spot because there were so many different types of people.

In Six Words:

The Best Weekend of My Life

-- A Teenage Elephant

Coachella Day 2

2010-04-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

So, Day 2!
I started off Day 2 with two of my friend's choices, but both were enjoyable. The first was RX Bandits, a sort of metal band with ska/reggae influences from Long Beach California. Not really something I would ever listen to on its own, but at a concert it was pretty fun. They drew a very large crowd for a noon show, as did the next band, Porcupine Tree, a pretty famous prog/psych rock band from the ?80s?. This one I just sort of laid down on the field not to far from the stage and just took in Coachella as a whole plus some sort of trippy music from the band. Nothing too special I thought, but I do think everybody should check them out because I do think they have a very interesting style.

Camera Obscura

Photo by Me

Camera Obscura played of course a lively show, but they were definitely dwarfed by Girls, who were playing the next tent over. I opted to see Camera Obscura as I have seen Girls already (review here), and I got a front row spot for Camera Obscura which set me up for front row for Beach House. The band meshed well together, playing to the crowd's pep on an early Saturday afternoon with songs like "French Navy," their ultra poppy/happy tune that got everybody singing.

Beach House

Photo by Me

Beach House finally realized their potential with Teen Dream, and it really showed in their performance. The place was jam packed, with hundreds of people spilling out of the tent and into the sun. Victoria Legrand's deep vocals echoed out across the tent over the crowd, putting everybody into what I like to call "the Grizzly Bear Trance"... everybody sort of closes their eyes and just sways to the music. They were one of the few day bands that had set design, which consisted of these strange different sized pinata looking things dangling from the ceiling behind them. Not quite sure what I thought of them, but whatever. The music itself sounded straight off the record; lots of reverb and soaring vocals. The most interesting part of the show I thought was how the music was actually played. The guitarist had something that he was playing with his feet, which I am embarrassed to say i didn't what it was, although it looked/sounded like a "foot organ" if you will. It created a very interesting performance aesthetic; Victoria Legrand with her wild tousled hair moaning out to the crowd, the relaxed, smiling with the eyes closed drummer, and the focused, sitting guitarist/samplist/foot organist. Songs like "10 Mile Stereo" and "Gila" really seemed to move the crowd. They even did one "new" song, a cover of Gucci. Unfortunately I missed Temper Trap at Beach House, but it was definitely worth it.

Photo by Me

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Before we go any further, there is a funny (and embarrassing) story to be told, involving me and a faux pas (committed by none other than yours truly). So as I have said before (I think), I was front row for Camera Obscura and Beach House. As you can see from my photos, there is an area in between front row and the stage where photographers/band members can enjoy shows. In between Camera Obscura and Beach House, a pretty girl who was clearly from a band by her look/a person taking a photo with her sat down right in front of me in the area for bands/photographers. I knew she was in a band and she looked a lot like one of the girls from Camera Obscura, but I wasn't sure. My friend said "Yeah that's her," so I say to her "You guys were great!" She gives me this incredibly strange look as if I am tripping or something and says after a long pause "I like your glasses." It was a pretty strange response and I didn't know what to say so I just sort of said "Um, thank you" and she kept on looking at me and laughed. A few minutes later I heard someone say to her "You guys are on next right?" and she responded "Yeah, but I am so excited for Beach House and I just have to see a few songs." And wham! it dawns on me... she was looking at me funny because she hadn't played yet! Now, fast-forward an hour or two and switch locations to the Outdoor Stage (not the mainstage though). You may be asking "What does this have to do with Ed Sharpe?" Well here's the kicker. I am a big Ed Sharpe fan, but had never seen a picture of them. My friend and I get to the Ed Sharpe stage just as they are starting and look who is on stage... none other than the girl from my faux pas! It was Jane of Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, who just about every Ed Sharpe fan/male Ed Sharpe fan worships! I thought it was fairly funny, so I figured I'd include, but looking back on it I realize just how awful a story teller I am...

Photo by Me (I can put another shot up with Jane if you like)

So, back to the concert itself. This concert was about as close to a Summer of Love concert as I think you are going to get from any contemporary band. Lots of long hair, songs about love, lots and lots of people on stage, kids on stage, a singing, joyful crowd, etc. It was a very hippie crowd, but also a very dedicated crowd. Every song the entire crowd seemed to know the lyrics, and when Alexander (the lead male for those of you who think the lead is Edward Sharpe) and other members (including Jane) ventured out into the crowd, it seemed as if everybody swayed in to embrace them. "Home" of course brought the house down. Comedically, the crowd replaced the classic whistling with humming... I don't think the crowd was quite skilled/sober enough to whistle.

The xx

As much as I love The xx and as much as the crowd seemed to love them (it was mobbed), it wasn't really a thrilling show. The music is enjoyable live just because it is good music, but slightly static and pretty much different in no way whatsoever from the album. This wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that it is not really interesting music to play live in my opinion. There was one very interesting thing in an otherwise boring show (In My Opinion...) they didn't wear all black for what must be the first time! Instead... they wore white!

Photo by Me

Well I left the show after just a few songs, partly because it wasn't wonderful and partly because my friend (and I) had some plans for the rest of the day... unfortunately they did not involve that stage, which had an incredible lineup that day: The Temper Trap, Edward Sharpe, The xx, Hot Chip, MGMT. This meant that I would miss Hot Chip and MGMT, as well as the Dirty Projectors who were on another stage.

So what are these plans we had that made me miss three bands that were all supposed to have had amazing shows? To understand, we must first... TAKE ANOTHER TRIP TO STORYLAND.... (and this one will definitely get my friend mad... he hates this one).

Rewind three years. 2007. I am twelve years old, have never been to a concert. My friend and I are both obsessed with Muse. We have tickets to go see Muse at the Forum in Inglewood. His brother is taking us, along with one of his friends. Make a long story short, we get there and as we are going in, we realize there are only three tickets, and four of us. My friend gets the boot. For the past three years, my friend has been dying to see Muse. Muse at Coachella is a chance to fulfill his dream. So how would we make up for not getting to see the concert three years ago (almost to the day)? Getting front row for Muse at Coachella.

Muse

Now, I would like to say one thing real quickly. I'm not as obsessed with Muse anymore, especially there new album which for the most part is awful (with the exception of the symphony), but they are still a fantastic band, in particular their early material and their live show. They aren't really this blog's type of band though, but I still had to see this show.

So how did we get front row? We got there straight after leaving the xx and stocking up on water... we were two and half+ hours early. This meant we had to sit through Coheed and Cambria, who were awful in my opinion, and Faith No More, who I knew nothing about and put on one of the stranger shows I have seen (which was still pretty bad, and included Danny DeVito running half naked across the stage... writing that sentence was very enjoyable, seeing it was not). What it also meant though was that we were front row for Muse. And Muse is the type of band were front row is synonymous with epic.

Matt Bellamy rocking out on his Kaoss Pad-embedded guitar.
Photo by Me

Matt Bellamy on a Beautiful Piano. Clear Cover, Light Up Keys
Photo by Me

Muse, as usual, put on an extremely rockin' show that managed to pull off things like green rave lasers, a keytar, light up shuttershades (!?), and weird robot animations (which they actually had the first time I saw them) without making it seemed over produced or cheesy. Well maybe the robots/some of the other images on that were a little cheesy but whatever. They really are a stadium/arena rock band. The show featured some ballads (the always beautiful piano/megaphone piece "Feeling Good" - possibly my favorite song of the night), some rockers ("Uprising", which as bad as it is on the album is pretty fun live, and "Knights of Cydonia") and some tortured love love songs ("Time Is Running Out" "Hysteria"). Every synth sounded perfect, every riff sounded tight, every solo sounded creative and epic... all in all it was a Muse show. One more thing that demonstrates just how cool Matt Belamy is... he is cool enough to pull off a change from neon pink pants to neon blue pants mid show.... The song "New Born" really demonstrated their range; it started off with the frantic keyboards, and then it changes to the dirty guitar sound midway through the song seamlessly. There was some great jamming in between songs thanks to Matt Bellamy's Kaoss-Pad-Guitar, but not as much as at one of their own shows. The only real disappointment was that they didn't get to play as much stuff as I would have liked because it was not their own show (which generally would last about 3 hours and two encores), although they did enjoy an encore.

Matt Bellamy. Plus some lasers. And a keytar.
Photo by Me

Unfortunately, also had to miss Major Lazer and Flying Lotus (whose new album is coming out... it's fantastic.). We did stay for Tiesto, which featured some awesome bass drops and great trance/house music, but not much else. Oh and bass that could be felt for miles.

All in All, Day 2 was a day were I got to see some great bands in the morning, and despite missing some great bands in the evening, still had a great concert experience.

-- A Teenage Elephant.

Coachella Day 1

2010-04-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

Hey Yall--
First of all you can check out all my photos from this and the coming posts here (I took over 300 but most of them weren't that great).
Yeasayer
So I arrived at the Empire Polo Club (the grounds that Coachella is on) at around 3:30, and after cutting about two and a half hours of line and avoiding the logistics nightmare, I made it to the Mojave tent just before Yeasayer started playing (they started at 4:20), so I was towards the back. They packed the tent commanded the stage well and definitely got the crowd in a trance by starting with the slow, distorted opener from Odd Blood, "The Children." At times, the synths didn't quite come through and the vocals sounded a little overwhelmed by the drums, but overall they played a crowd pleasing psych show, my personal favorites being their tried and true songs "2080" and "Ambling Alp." Unfortunately, it was during the day and at Coachella, so the crowd wasn't treated to their signature light show, but it was still a very enjoyable first concert, even if it wasn't a perfect show.

Photo by Yours Truly

Afterwards, I wandered into the Sahara Tent (the electro/rave/dub tent) for a few minutes of Aeroplane, which was essential just some good DJ-ing, but the tent wasn't packed as it would be for the rest of the weekend and the crowd wasn't as into it, so it just sort of felt like any other set by an electro/DJ artist. When they did their remix of Friendly Fire's "Paris" they did get the energy levels up.

I saw one song by Ra Ra Riot, so I don't really have too much to say, except they looked like they were 16!

Then I saw the Specials, a really big ska band from the 80's (I did not know that, my friend told me that... I don't know if you guys knew or not so I included it...). They had lots of energy and they were very danceable (I mean they are a ska band come on), but it didn't stand out to me in particular to write about on this blog, just because I don't love to listen to ska when it's not live.

Unfortunately, after that I had to miss two bands I would have loved to write about on here, Passion Pit and Grizzly Bear. Over the course of the weekend I saw lots of bands that my friend didn't want to see, so I saw some bands he wanted to see. We each tried some new stuff. In this case it was Them Crooked Vultures. It wasn't my style of music (harder rock), but it was certainly fun to see just because the crowd was really into it, plus John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin for my less musically educated readers) can rip it up on any instrument whatsoever, and Dave Grohl (of Nirvana) is such a rocker that it was still pretty fun, despite the loss.

LCD Soundsystem

Photo by Sam Wolk (the Teenage Elephant)

This was a show I was dying to see for pretty much ever, as LCD Soundsystem was one of the first bands that I liked when I started liking the music I like now when I got the album Sound of Silver when it first came out. The show featured some of James Murphy's goofy antics, an all white getup and some excellent music. The songs really emphasized the band's style of using repetitive drum beats for minutes on end and vocals that are usually essentially just spoken and then repeated in a shout. If you dig LCD's style than the show was awesome; the music grooved like no other and everybody was dancing under a massive disco ball that hung over an otherwise sparsely lit stage. At the back of the stage, Jay-Z's equipment loomed in the background, and when James Murphy was told he only had time for one more song when he still had three left, he went into a nearly 15 minute long rendition of "Yeah" that to me seemed essentially like a big "Fuck You Jay-Z" as people in the crowd either starting throwing up the Jay-Z diamond or dancing like there was no tomorrow. After that he played yet another song, "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" before yielding the stage to Jay-Z's roadies. The best songs were definitely "Yeah" and the always moving "All My Friends." Other favorites were the new song "I Can Change" and the long, comedic "Losing My Edge." Unfortunately he didn't play "Someone Great," the first song I ever heard by him and one of my all time favorite songs.

After that, unfortunately I didn't get to see Vampire Weekend (my friend really dislikes them, so we didn't see them), but hearing them from afar they did sound like they put on a good live show.

Sahara Tent
After we went to LCD we went to Sahara. This is when the tent starting heating up, both literally and figuratively (even though it was 11 at night). The tent was absolutely packed when we got there with Benny Benassi mid way through his set; there must have been about 20,000 people there. Lemme tell you (it's hard to say that without sounding pretty stupid...) this tent is all about partying and nailing the bass drops. It was very fun, though nothing in particular to write about, besides the fact that you get REALLY tired. We left at around 11:30, which was before Deadmau5 went on, which we would have liked to have seen but we were just too tired and we knew we would have a big day on Saturday. We then saw a couple of Jay-Z songs and left.

So despite missing a few bands and not seeing too many shows, Friday was an enjoyable day and served as great warmup for the front row madness that would be Saturday and Sunday.

--A Teenage Elephant

PS Yall should check out the Antlers cover of The xx... very interesting.

Quick Coachella Report

2010-04-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody...

Photo by Sam Wolk... The Teenage Elephant

Photo By Me

So I got back from Coachella this morning, and needless to say it was incredible/one of the best weekends of my life. Also needless to say, I am really REALLY REALLY tired right now, so I'm going to give a quick report now and then put a long post up (hopefully) later tonight, which should include pictures and, if they came out ok, videos. Also, I am sorry I didn't get to post at all while there, I just didn't have any internet access and using my friend's BlackBerry would be waaaaaaay too much of a hassle. Also, any of the people who I met while at Coachella, if you want you can send me an email (wolk.sam@gmail.com or teenageelephant@gmail.com)/comment below and leave your email address etc. if you like.

I didn't get to see all the bands I wanted, partly due to times and partly because I was with my friend and there were some bands I sacrificed for his bands and vice versa, but I did try some new styles (i.e. some harder rock and electro/rave/dub... my friend is more of the fist pumper type) and still got to see some amazing (and one or two not so amazing) shows.

Highlights of Everything... Briefly.
The best day for shows was easily Sunday - I saw Local Natives, Rusko, Jonsi, Phoenix, and Thom Yorke. All five of them played incredible shows, and I was front row for each. Unfortunately I missed Spoon and Pavement to get front row for those last three shows, which were all in a row on the same stage, but sacrifices must be made. I'll write loads about it all in the full post. The Phoenix and Thom Yorke/Atoms for Peace concerts were two of the best concerts I have ever seen. Period.

Biggest let down: Yo La Tengo. I love them (although I realize I have never written about them on here), but the show (at least the first 3 songs... I walked out) was horrendous. More later.

Other highlights: Beach House, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes (and my faux pas with Jane), LCD Soundsystem, Muse (unfortunately I missed Hot Chip, Dirty Projectors, and MGMT on account of Muse and my friend, but we did end up front row for Muse which is pretty unreal.), (Missed Grizzly Bear).

Much more in the coming post (might take a day or two to put together though...)

--A Teenage Elephant

Quick shout out.

2010-04-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

I'd just like to give a quick shout out to my friends who helped design the sick new banner/logo. I hope you all like the new look (and the catchphrase... yes, no, maybe so? tell me what you think). Also, IF YOU LIKE MY BLOG START SPREADING THE WORD!!!!!!!! TELL YOUR FRIENDS. THAT'S THE BEST THING. BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK NOW HERE. FOLLOW ME ON GOOGLE IF YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNT. Also start commenting! I love that. Coachella coverage coming up...

--A Teenage Elephant

This Is Happening Right Now (Get it?)

2010-04-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hey yall --

SUPER quick post.

Not too much going on, except LCD Soundsystem's third album is now available to listen to! Head over to his site HERE. I suggest you click over right away! I'm really digging Dance Yrself Clean, I Can Change, and You Wanted a Hit right now. Also the new MGMT album is AWESOME. More on it later.

Also, I will be attending Coachella this weekend... yeah. More on that soon!!!!!

Mates of State

2010-04-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry if it has been a little longer between posts, but nothing has really been of that much interest to me. The only things that I can think of are that a little while the first cut from the upcoming Band of Horses album was released interestingly as a free music video; unfortunately it didn't make a great impression on me even though I am big fan, so I'm not going to put it here, but it is worth checking out if you like them. Also, the MGMT album comes out in a couple of days, and one more thing below. Also, their is an off chance that I have no posts this week, but there is some big news... I'M GOING TO COACHELLA THIS COMING WEEKEND!!! I'll be blogging from my first festival, so I hope yall enjoy that...

Mates of State
Married couple and indie rock duo Mates of State will be releasing a cover album over the sum featuring some very eclectic choices, ranging from Girls to Tom Waits to the Mars Volta. They just released the first track on the album, their new take on Girls' "Laura." It's more electronic, and perhaps a bit more upbeat and happy in its tone. I enjoyed it thoroughly and am looking forward to the album, so here you go!

The Notorious B.I.G. vs. The xx.... One of the the most creative mash-ups I've ever seen and definitely one of my favorites

2010-04-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

I know rap isn't really this blog's style, but this is so goddamn epic I have to post it. I personally loved last year's debut album from the xx, xx, and I am a huge xx fan now. I'm not really a rap guy, with the exception of Del the Funkee Homosapien, who actually used to rap in the Gorillaz - check out the album Deltron 3030 by Deltron (Del and Dan the Automator), but I guess Biggie is pretty classic, and you gotta like him right, even if you don't listen to him. They are clearly two very different artists; The xx are the type of artist that you often listen to on your own, when you enter your own solitary shell. It seems to me that a classic image of somebody listening to the xx is the person using some sort of public transit and surrounded by other people, yet completely in their own world that consists of only them and the music. On the other hand, you have Biggie, which instantly evokes a party with everybody dancing; it's a communal experience.

The idea of bringing the two artists together certainly may not come to mind when you think of the two, but Wait What marries (Well, if you read the press release for it you'll find out that it's not really a marriage between the two artists but instead "a solid connection between two people trying to feel something" - you should read the press release if you get a chance it's pretty funny/interesting) the sublime and utterly laid back music of The xx with, as my friends would say, the fresh rhymes of B.I.G in a way that makes them sound like they were made for eachother. The xx's music brings about a whole new side to Biggie's vocals, making them seem perhaps more heartfelt and sincere. I can't quite place why it seems that way to me, but it does and it's awesome. Whenever the intros for each song finish and the verse parts start and Biggie's vocals come in, it seems like the xx's music has more of a direction than it normally does, which certainly helps it. When the xx's vocals come in, it seems like the perfect chorus to round out the songs to make them very balanced. But enough about what I'm saying! I got to ask Wait What a few questions, and here's what he had to say. Also, you can listen to the whole thing below UPDATE: You can only download each song individually now because inevitably the record labels asked him to take it down, but you can download each song from the embedded player below by clicking download. If you like his stuff go become a fan of him on facebook! This is definitely the best LP length mash up since Jadiohead (Jay-Z + Radiohead) and Danger Mouse's Grey Album (Jay-Z's The Black Album + the Beatles The White Album). I hope you enjoy!

1) I know "Juicy-r" was the inspiration for the rest of the album, but when did you first think of mixing Biggie and the xx in the first place/what inspired you to do that?

I was kind of late to the xx party -- I started listening to them a lot in December, and was pretty intrigued when I saw that they listed artists like Aaliyah as their main influence. I started trying to listen for the R&B influence, and as a hip-hop fan, tried to think what it'd be like to hear a rapper on their instrumentals. From there, I thought of the Juicy/VCR mashup, and really liked how Biggie sounded on a minimalist beat.

2) From reading the post and the main page of your website, it seems like everything happened really quickly once you realized the potential for the full album, and it came together really all over the world. Could you maybe describe what the process was like doing it in so many places, etc., and if maybe the different locations influenced the songs at all (i.e. the songs from one place have more of one sound, and the songs from another have a different)?

Yeah, absolutely. So creating the album all over the world was mostly a result of circumstance rather than an intentional decision made in making the record. I happened to be traveling a lot at the beginning of the year -- I work for a tech company that sent me to Switzerland for a little bit, and then was going on trips four or five weekends in a row: Williamstown, Mass, Aspen, New Orleans, Switzerland, London -- I got see some really cool places. It's hard to say, as a mashup album, how much location was an influence, but I do feel the most creative when I'm around friends or out of my standard day-to-day life, so being able to work on it in different locales definitely made the creation of it a lot more fun for me.

3) You mention in the press release how the xx are often listened to in your earbuds when you enter your solitary shell, even if it is on a commute when you're surrounded by people, you are still alone in some way, whereas when you listen to Biggie it's usually a "communal"experience; what is your take on how this album "should" be listened to/it's impact on people (i.e. how it makes them feel)?

Great question! So I actually am really into this concept of music matching a specific situation, and I thought a lot about where I liked listening to this record. I included this note at the end of the liner notes, suggesting three places it's worked well for me:

1) rainy days in your apartment after you've overslept but aren't going to let the asymmetry of your day disrupt your mood

2) driving during that time between when the bars close and the newspaper routes haven't started when no one's out and the city looks abandoned

3) walking alone and thinking about everyone you know and imagining what they might be doing right then.

4) Does the album/the making of the album have any special significance to you?

Yeah, the album has absolutely held special significance to me -- despite it being a mashup, it does feel personal to construct something in headphones and away from where you live, and it makes it feel like it only exists in your head. I was more anxious than I thought I'd be before it came out, and was just hoping a couple friends would listen to it and be digging it. The response has been pretty overwhelming, but I do feel like I'm listening to something different than everyone else -- I think of airports and late nights and playing demos for my best friend to see what he thought about it.

5) Was there any sort of message, whether it was a feeling, idea, etc that you were trying to convey?

I'm not sure about a specific feeling, but generally I want people to hear about it and think 'that'll never work,' and then check it out and enjoy it. A lot of mashups I find to be a little obvious -- I've certainly been guilty of this -- and I think challenging listeners a little bit is really the most fun part of the genre. Also, my favorite emails are from people who say 'I usually hate rap, but really liked hearing Biggie on your record' or 'I had no idea who The xx were, but they're awesome -- where do I get their CD?' The album's free, I'm not trying to exploit any other artists, and I'm most happy when I can play a small part in spreading good music to people who otherwise maybe wouldn't have checked it out.

6) What's your favorite track from the album, or do you think it is best listened to as a whole?

I would say I hope the record is best listened to as a whole, but my favorite track is probably 'one more chance for a heart to skip a beat' or 'the curious incident of big poppa in the nighttime.' The first one because, thematically, I think it's the strongest, and I really liked how the chorus turned out. Big Poppa/Nighttime has a pretty eerie beat, and I thought was a cool transformation of the Biggie track.

7) Do you have any other mixes/anything else in the works? (Just an idea maybe it's stupid but... Animal Collective's "Guy's Eyes" vs. the Dirty Projector's "Remade Horizon")

Yes, absolutely! I'm exploring a couple possibilities now, and am a couple demos into one project that I'm excited about. My hope is to have some individual tracks coming out in the next couple weeks, and hopefully a new album this summer. Also, I've been getting some inquiries about a string of college shows, and would love to go on a short tour -- I think that'd be a lot of fun. If anyone's booking at colleges, get at me! Also, I've got a facebook page where you can follow all the action: www.facebook.com/pages/wait-what/90344887283

Hope y'all enjoyed my first real interview (the Animal Collective one doesn't really count because it was more of just a conversation that I remembered the salient points from...) and this awesome mixtape.

-- A Teenage Elephant (Be Seeing You...)

Paul McCartney Live at the Hollywood Bowl... That's Right, A Beatle... Live

2010-04-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

I just saw a face I can't forget the time or place... the face was Paul McCartney's and it was at the Hollywood Bowl on March 31st, 2010. I haven't really done any concert reviews recently, and even if this isn't the type of music I normally talk about, it's an absolute must for me to talk about it. Last night, at the Hollywood Bowl, I saw a Beatle. Being able to say that really means a lot to me; the Beatles are the most influential people in the history of popular music (i.e. music that isn't classical) no question, and to be able to see one of the most iconic figures in all of music performing live, let alone at a venue as incredible and prolific as the Hollywood Bowl, is a treat unimaginable, especially for someone like me, whose first CD (and yes I recognize the, if not irony, comedy that I'm talking about the Beatles and CDs not records... I guess that just goes to show how much of a lasting impact they have had) was a Beatles CD (Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band). It it was one of, if not the, greatest concert I have ever seen. Why was it so great? There were almost too many reasons, and I'll get into them now.

First of all, the sheer length of the concert! Paul and his excellent backing band (which includes Abe Laboriel, Jr., whom my friend whom I went with informed me is one of his favorite drummers...) played for nearly three hours! There were two encores, but the breaks between each were barely more than 60 seconds, so Paul was pretty much rocking around the stage for almost 180 minutes! I'd like to see a band that I go see on any other day play that long... Also, Don't forget that PMc is 67 years old!

Next Up: Paul's Stage Presence. His experience (nearly 50 years worth...) certainly shows. He is instantly charming and lovable, showing why Beatlemania struck. He was at the same time very funny, quipping about the cold weather or the crowd, reminiscent, telling great stories from his days in the Beatles, and sentimental, telling emotional, but not cheesy in anyway, anecdotes about George, John and Jimi (Hendrix of course... no love for Ringo though... hmmm) and then going straight into beautiful tributes to them (the best song of the night was probably one of those tributes, but more on that later).

The next reason: Paul didn't just play Beatles (which I would have absolutely loved), but he also played some of his solo stuff and some of his stuff from the Wings. As much as I love the Beatles (I know pretty much every song by heart...), I never really got into/listened to a lot of solo Paul; of course I knew Band on the Run, Jet, and the great Live and Let Die (I'm also a James Bond fan...), but to be exposed to this other stuff by PMc that I really probably wouldn't be exposed to was pretty cool. Even though the Beatles material was wayyy better than most (but not all) of the PMc stuff, the PMc stuff was still great, and I enjoyed listening to some new songs. My favorite of the ones I didn't already know was definitely Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five, which retained the pep and energy of the Beatles, but also had a slightly updated sound.

Those are the reasons that are sort of more about the performance, and now, the stuff about the music.

Not a single song lacked anything in any way. They all struck the perfect balance between the different aspects of each song, whether it was how the keyboards played off the guitar, or how all the instruments sunk into silence as the piano took over. Paul's voice never wavered, and as he would change voice registers he would almost shout, bringing a spark to the song. All the songs had a certain energy to them, which was brought about by the fact that pretty much everybody in the Bowl knew pretty much every lyric to pretty much every song, and of course, sang those lyrics. It produced the feeling that everybody really wanted to be there, and was sharing in the celebration of music; it created the perfect environment. For me, the Beatle's songs were the best, but not a single song felt like a dud to me.

The first song that to me seemed just incredible was "I've Just Seen a Face." The second he started playing it, it felt like Paul was thrusting you into the almost trance-like state that he is trying to express with the almost frantic vocals and the acoustics guitar, later being joined in by the rest of the band for harmonies that were just as good as the actual Beatles; that was another thing that I forgot to mention - all night long the harmonies were absolutely beautiful.

The next song that really stood out was "Blackbird." Blackbird is of course one of the Beatles' most poetic songs, so of course when he played it solo and preluded it by talking about how they wrote it when they were looking at America and how horrible the South was at the time, and then saying, "We've come a long way baby," (although I wish he would have said "not long enough" - Prop 8 passed after all...), it was of course very moving and profound; the solo acoustic guitarist singing a song as poetic as "Blackbird" is classic image that never fails to stir emotions.

Right after that, Paul did something he usually doesn't do, making it that much more meaningful. He talked about his regrets of his relationship with John ending prematurely, and then payed tribute to him with an acoustic "Here Today." Rather than seeming a sad lament about "What could have been" it instead seemed to show a maturity, the idea of moving on, and what sort of seemed like acceptance and looking at what Paul could do in the future to be better. It was a song I had never heard before, so it made an even deeper impression because I had no prior ideas about the song/it wasn't connected to anything in my head already.

A few songs later was "Eleanor Rigby". There's not much to say about it; it's one of the greatest songs of all time (IMO), and there's nothing to compare seeing it live to for me.

After "Eleanor Rigby" was what I think was probably the best song of the night, "Something." Before playing "Something," he told a story about how George loved the ukulele, and how they would sit around all day and play it together. One day, Paul said to George "I learned how to play one of your songs." Paul (Hollywood Bowl Paul, not story Paul) then promptly started "Something." The black stage with the sole figure illuminated contributed to the extremely emotional atmosphere, and the uke sounded incredible. Mid-song, the rest of the band came in, and Paul exchanged his uke for a guitar. Images of George, Paul and George, and the whole band began to roll behind them, and Paul went into an epic guitar solo that in no way was about him, but was instead the ultimate tribute to George.

And now, for some things that aren't as much about the music, but more funny things; I figured I would do them here since this is where they occurred in the set list (If you haven't noticed I've been going in order of the set list, which is below). In the song "Sing the Changes," Obama was on the screen behind them, his image composed of stars that would explode and then coalesce again. Later, "Back In The USSR" would be played with lots of energy and fire, just as it should. After he told a funny story of how after a concert in the USSR, some Russian bigshot came up to him and said "We learn to speak English by your songs," which was funny enough because of Paul's storytelling and Russian accent, but it was made even funnier by the fact that there was a Russian guy behind me who was translating what Paul said in between songs for his mother, and when Paul said this he laughed and said "Da, Da," which means Yes, Yes, in Russian. Also, along the translating lines, during the show I saw somebody a few rows in front of the stage who was facing the crowd, had the spotlight on, and from where I stood, seemed to be dancing. I later realized that the person was doing sign language for the lyrics and the chatter in between songs! It just goes to show how much people love the Beatles... Directly after "Back In the USSR" was "I've Got a Feeling," which wasn't a standout or anything, but I did have a funny comment about it that I think I will share... After the song I turned to my friend and said "That's based off of the Black Eyed Peas song right?" I found it comedic... I was kidding of course. Another good BEP joke from the night: we were thinking about if there was anybody from our generation (i.e. 1990s/2000s)/anybody since the Beatles who are/will be as prolific as the Beatles and I said, "well, the Beatles are sort of the Black Eyed Peas of their generation... Both of those were probably funnier to me than anyone else...

Later on... "Paperback Writer" had probably hands down the bets harmonies of the night.

After "Paperback Writer," they played "A Day In the Life," possibly the best Beatle/rock song of all time. It was of course epic in all ways; it was one of the songs where the screen in the background actually had stuff that contributed to the performance. It started out with what looked to be some sort of garden, but it was very sad and somber, partly because it looked almost like a graveyard and (this is a bit more obvious) because it was in black and white. As they got to the end of the part where the music is starting to get chaotic and build up to the happier/second segment of the song, and the chaos starts to hit a zenith, two lone monarch (or at least whatever the orange butterflies are) butterflies started to flutter around the screen; they were the only color on the screen, and when they hit the chord that starts the second part, the garden seemed to stretch out behind them and fill with color, uplifting the spirits. It really stood out to me because it managed to make you notice it and contribute to the atmosphere without seeming cheesy at all.

Midway through the song though they did something very unexpected, which I guess some people may not have liked at all, but I thought it worked perfectly; they did a seamless transition into "Give Peace a Chance." This song is of course the type of song that everybody sings along to, so in the middle song the band stopped playing and the entire crowd belted out "So give peace a chance, All we are saying, is give peace a chaaance."

At this point, the set was beginning to hit its climax. The last three songs were pretty epic; he started with "Let It Be," probably the most "iconic" Beatles-song. PMc on the piano again was about as classic as it gets. Then he took up the guitar again for probably the highest energy song of the night, "Live and Let Die." The song had the power guitar that its famous for, and it even featured pyrotechnics, including fireworks; even though it is sort of showy and uncharacteristic, it just made the song more colossal in how hard it hit every chord. Then, of course, they closed with "Hey, Jude" on the piano, with about a 5-minute section of the crowd singing Na, Nah, Na Na Na, etc. It was the culmination of a celebration of the Beatles right?

WRONG! They came right back out after barely more than a minute and played a very peppy, upbeat three song encore. They started with possibly my favorite song of the night, "Day Tripper." It had lots of pop to it, and it made you feel like they still had the energy and and feel that it put the energy back in you to be there for another three hours. DAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Tripper!

Then the always fun Lady Madonna, and then another exciting song; it was "Get Back" it felt very similar to "Back In the USSR."

They then went back off for barely a minute, and Paul came out for one final encore, again made up of three songs. It started with a very beautiful "Yesterday" on acoustic guitar, and then the rest of the band came out for a guitar-solo laden "Helter-Skelter." Finally, the night came to a conclusion with a perfectly suited "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" medley, which then flowed into "In the End." Couldn't have ended better.

One of the things that was very interesting was that despite being Paul McCartney, Paul never came off as cocky in any way; instead he came off as a humble guy, who despite selling out every single show he plays, still is amazed by how much people love him, and still manages to make a completely filled 17,000 seat amphitheater fell intimate.

-- A Teenage Elephant

Set List

1.Venus And Mars / Rock Show
2.Jet
3.All My Loving
4.Letting Go
5.Drive My Car
6.Highway
7.Let Me Roll It / Foxey Lady
8.The Long And Winding Road
9.Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five
10.Let ‘Em In
11.My Love
12.I’ve Just Seen A Face
13.And I Love Her
14.Blackbird
15.Here Today
16.Dance Tonight
17.Mrs Vandebilt
18.Eleanor Rigby
19.Something
20.Sing The Changes
21.Band On The Run
22.Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
23.Back In The USSR
24.I’ve Got A Feeling
25.Paperback Writer
26.A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
27.Let It Be
28.Live And Let Die
29.Hey Jude

Encore
30.Day Tripper
31.Lady Madonna
32.Get Back

Encore 2
33.Yesterday
34.Helter Skelter
35.Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

Some New Videos Plus Some Album News

2010-03-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

Super Quick Post... First up...
MGMT :: Flash Delirium Video
Here's the video for first single off the duo's next LP, due out on the 13th. It is nothing less than what you would expect from MGMT (Read: Weird Nonsensical Stuff that is fun to watch and will ultimately freak you out a little bit), and is right up there with the video for "O.N.E." by Yeasayer as weirdest video of 2010.

Titus Andronicus :: A More Perfect Union

A More Perfect Union

Titus Andronicus | MySpace Music Videos
Perhaps not as creative as the previous video (and the lead singer has definitely got to do something about that beard... it's definitely pushing the envelope..), but the song is great and makes up for the, dare I say, mediocre? video. Best line in the song... "Baby we were born to die." If you can't tell by that line, the fact that they talk about New Jersey in the song, and that there is a song by them called "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ," then I'll just tell you straight up... they're from New Jersey! Why, you ask, do I mention this? I actually don't know but I thought I would throw it out there... I do have a cousin form NJ who loves them, so I guess they are kind of his patron band... unrelated though...

LCD Soundsystem :: This is Happening

The LCD Soundsystem album I was talking about in my previous post has just received a title, release date, and album art. It's called This is Happening, which, as James Murphy always does, walks the line between making fun of being pretentious and actually being pretentious. Same is true of the album art. It'll be out on the 18th of May.

And Now For Something Totally Different
Geeks, watch and drool!

LCD Soundsystem Blowout (Not Really...)

2010-03-28T01:56:00.000-07:00

Another post involving movies coming at you... that's three in a row! This is starting to turn into a multi-media blog!

LCD Soundsystem :: Drunk Girls, Pow Pow, Greenberg

First up, we got the first single from the new LCD Soundsystem album, which is yet to be titled. The song is called "Drunk Girls," and is pretty vintage LCD Soundsystem when it comes to the lyrics, although the style of the song is slightly different than what he (James Murphy... he's all of LCD). He keeps the sort of dry, witty lyrics commenting on hipsterculture (hence forth to be known as hipsterture), in the same vein as "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" or the classic "Losing My Edge," but he changes up the music style a good deal IMO. He uses more vocal tracks and on the primary vocal tracks, he actually sings a bit more, whereas in most of his "funnier" songs, he is essentially just talking into the mic. The music itself is pretty upbeat and has a simple drum beat. It's guitar based, mostly going off just a repeated riff, and it definitely lends itself to a very different sound for LCD that is enjoyable but not wonderful. I have a feeling the rest of the album, although it may be different from his previous stuff, won't really be like this. No really HQ mp3s have popped up yet, so I figure instead of making you suffer lowQ I'd just give you the official version, even if it is just a stream. You can find the .mp3s yourself.

The next song, even though it is only a sample from a song from the album, is certainly back in his old style, really more in the style of the first album. It has him essentially yelling the chorus of the name of the song over the more complex sounding electronica style drum beat, with a bass line that repeats, and then he goes into just speaking the lyrics in a rhythmic way, and then at the end of the verse repeating the last line in a yell. I also have a feeling the album won't be like this... my guess is it will be upbeat and poppy. Here's a minute and a half of this song (it's all that's out).
mp3: Pow Pow

Finally, I just saw Greenberg. If you don't know, it's a Noah Baumbach (Directed of The Squid and the Whale and Wes Anderson bud) film, it's about some Angelenos (as in LA) who feel they are failures and don't really know how it ever happened, and it was scored by James Murphy, AKA LCD Soundsystem. To briefly talk about the movie, it is much more of a character study than anything else, centering around Ben Stiller's Roger Greenberg, a nervous, socially troubled, 40 year old failure who is house-sitting for his brother in LA while he is off opening a hotel in Vietnam, or doing something else to indicate that he is successful and has kids, etc. The story centers around the relationship he develops with his brother's young assistant/babysitter for his kids, played excellently by Greta Gerwig, and how he reconnects with his old bandmate Ivan. I'm not going to really talk about the movie at all, but I will say that despite getting off to a little bit of a slow start and the feeling that some of Ben Stiller's nervous breakdowns felt a little forced, the movie still did a very good job of showing us a glimpse into the life of a, if not physically then mentally, vulnerable man.

The music did for the most part evoke the feelings desired by each scene, whether it was a day party for adults or Greenberg panicking about making a split decision; it essentially was what you would expect out of a movie soundtrack, not an LCD Soundsystem album, except for perhaps two or three cases, and even then they didn't really sound like traditional LCD. I think that that was good because it directed the attention to what was going on and did not distract you, and when they were pieces that were essentially songs, they were more in the montage style scenes, so it complimented the scenes perfectly. Two songs that stood out were piano based, and were in the style of Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up or New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down, but my favorite was "Photographs," an acoustic guitar based ballad. They all had the melancholy feel to them which contributed to the mood very nicely. I think as a whole, the score showed a certain maturity from James Murphy in that he knew where to hold back with the score (as in the part where it was essentially just background music) so that you barely even noticed it and it was just another part of the scene, where to make you notice the score so that you felt you were being indicated that you were supposed to feel something, and finally in that he showed he knew how to create songs that were not what he normal makes and also did not overwhelm a scene.
mp3: Photographs

-- A Teenage Elephant... Be Seeing You (Anybody know what I'm referencing?)

PS
Fellow Canadians Broken Social Scene and The New Pornographers each just released singles from each of their highly anticipated upcoming albums. They're worth a look.

ODDSAC + Congratulations

2010-03-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

Hey yall...

So I just got back from a wonderful experience... and yes, that is definitely the write(terrible pun... I don't even know if it makes sense...) word for it; it was an experience. I saw ODDSAC, the movie/"visual album" made by Animal Collective and Danny Perez. It was about an hour long, and after wards there was a half hour Q&A. After that, I talked to Avey Tare for about 5 minutes as I was walking out (that's right... exclusive stuff on this tiny blog)... well, I should clarify. My mom and I talked to him for about five minutes afterwards... Hey, I'm not old enough to drive on my own yet and it was on a school night so I couldn't go with friends, and I figure if I have a mom cool enough to take me there, then why not... So, let's begin!

First of all, the event was SUPER indie-ster, but what would you expect? Animal Collective + "Visual Album" + ArcLight = Hipster/Indie, but I was surprised nonetheless... the hipsterism was greater than the sum of its parts...

The visual album, and that is what I am going to call it from now on, was excellent. It is part trippy visuals, part strange costumes, part Animal Collective-joyful-playtime-paint fight, all set to (for the most part) sonic joy... I won't describe the movie itself too much because its style just makes it the type of thing that you sort of have to see/listen to to appreciate and I don't want to ruin it for you by describing parts of it poorly. There is pretty much no plot, but if you expected there to be plot, then you probably expected there to be plot in Avatar (Zing.... I kid I kid there was plot, albeit recycled, in Avatar); you don't go to a film titled "ODDSAC" to see Citizen Kane, although there did seem to be an antagonist that was featured more in the latter half of the movie. I thought perhaps he was the namesake for the film due to his skin, but as I later find out the origin of the title is Gummi Bears, so it's all good... The style of the film is, as you would expect, very psychedelic, and there were sort of two main themes in it. The first was live action that would have weird visuals cut into it super rapidly that would progress into cuts that are going so fast you feel if you blink you could miss hours worth of material. The perfect word to describe the aesthetic would be kinetic. If you've seen Fight Club, which I get a feeling that most of my readers have, you'll be reminded of Tyler splicing in single frames of certain things.. you know what I mean... The other part is more artsy/effects type visuals that sort of slowly (or not so slowly) morph into new shapes. Finally, there was the music aspect of it. The way that part essentially worked was there would be sort of songs that would be perfectly in time with every cut, spliced image, what was going on on the screen etc. and then they would slowly break down into more white noise, ambient sounding stuff while some of the trippier visuals played out, and then build back up again.

So... my "analysis" of the film...
I thought it shined most when the more song like parts were playing. There was one particular moment, about halfway through the film after a long abstract visuals section, when an acoustic song started and you see a boat rowing down an extremely dark river at night that was absolutely extraordinary. Oh, and of course the movie ended with a joyous fight in which everybody was throwing paint/food around... And there was a scene in the beginning when there were large amounts of paint like ooze (my favorite credit... "Ooze Girl #1)... I'm telling you AnCo have a thing for acrylics... At those parts, I felt you were really getting the full experience, what with the bombardment of audio and visuals being juxtaposed perfectly. As the guys said afterward, the film was almost supposed to be like a final instrument, something that is not separate from the music, just another layer. Something that interested me when they said that was whether or not they thought the song parts of it should be/could be separated from the movie and listened to as their own experience, and vice versa. All their responses were different, but not drastically. Some of them (Geologist, Deakin) were more along the lines of that it was one whole experience that they think makes the best impact when you just sit down and watch and listen to the whole thing. Avey Tare on the other hand was saying more that part of the idea of it was that when you listened to them separately they created their own unique experiences, while the director, Danny Perez, was describing almost a combination of the two in his always comedic fashion, where music would all music would become a two faceted thing; you would go around doing your daily stuff and be listening to the music, and glance up and see the vampire melting and attacking the people eating marshmallows (from the movie... who knew eating marshmallows could be so creepy...), then you'd go on just listening to the audiovisual feed from NPR... It was an interesting discussion I thought that has made me think about where music is going/how it could potentially develop into something new, and also how they have sort of "transcended" (to be pretentious) the genre, what with them doing the movie and the recent art exhibition at the Guggenheim. More on that stuff in a coming post...

One more thing I was very interested in was what, if anything at all did, came first, the audio or the visuals. They were obviously made in conjunction, but I was more wondering if the music was made for the movie, or the movie was made for the music. Of course, the answer was a little bit of both. They talked about how parts of it were stuff that hadn't worked on albums but they really liked, and parts of it were them just jamming and creating the stuff that then visuals were crated for, and part of it was them scoring the visuals individually. There was more stuff talked about, but I kind of want to wrap this up. One final thing that I thought was interesting was that even though there was no plot, the movie started out with a person in this field panicking, and then it ended with everyone in that field joyous, so it was as if the characters had come full circle but changed along the way, as if there had been the three acts of a drama to change them, although of course there wasn't. Oh, and another thing (they just keep popping into my head...): the very very very first scene was this girl panicking (before she went into the field) because there was this whole in the wall that torrential amounts of ooze started coming out of, and eventually, after being unable to stop the ooze and then writing in the ooze for a while, she seems to go through the hole to where it sort of seems to me like the rest of the movie takes place... the reason I found that interesting was because, even though I don't think it was intentional and it was just me sort of making a mental connection, it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland.

Oh, when my mom talked to Avey Tare (David Portner) she of course instantly came under the impression that he is the coolest guy ever. She talked to him about synesthesia (hearing sounds triggering seeing colors), then Nabakov, then Philip Glass' Koyaanisqatsi, which I just checked out and is pretty cool and worth checking out. They were all really great guys by the way; they all seemed down to earth and just like normal guys, except for Danny Perez, who was just a hilarious, sort of out of it, completely comedic goofball guy. They were in no way describing their thing as some abstract art, it was just something that they did that was fun and they put a lot of work into, gaining a lot of inspiration from campy horror movies sugary cereals (you have to have been there to hear Danny Perez's explanation for that one...)

Be Seeing You
-- A Teenage Elephant

Also...
The Deadly Syndrome just released their sophomore album - definitely worth a listen.

After MGMT's sophomore album leaked, they put up the whole album for free to stream so we don't all have to suffer low quality. Check it here.

Vote For Jake C. here... just do it.

Some New Tunes + The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2010-03-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

First up...

Here We Go Magic :: Collector

HWGM is a definitely a breakout band from last year; they hail from Brooklyn. This new track from their upcoming June release (on the always great Secretly Canadian) sees them (that's actually a change... the last album was recorded on a four-track by just one guy; now he has a whole band, which I actually saw him play with when they opened for Grizzly Bear last June) with a little bit of a more upbeat kinetic sound. I really enjoyed it... I always like to see bands doing something different than what they have already done. Oh, and it has some nice art to go with it, which is always a plus for me.
mp3: Collector [Link to Secretly Canadian's site... sorry they took the direct mp3 down... now you can get it for the price of an email]

Fitz and the Tantrums
Just heard about these guys from none other than a commenter on this blog!! See, it is productive! These guys are from the LA area, so that's another bonus... They have a very 60s soul sound, which is certianly what they are going for... I mean their name, and the cover art below... it's excellent. Check it out.

DOWNLOAD THE SONGS FOR AN EMAIL BELOW (they are from a live session the band did at KCRW... also check out the song Breaking the Chains of Love)

Ariel Pink and the Haunted Graffiti :: Round and Round
This one has really been heating up on the interwebs the past week or two, and for good reason. I had never really listened to a lot of Ariel Pink up until now, but this track has certainly turned me on. For those uninitiated, it's a super 60s, maybe even 70s sound that is really generated by the bass used and the echoed vocals. It's got a nice melowness to it, which maybe even gives it a little bit of a dance feel some how... Horrorshow good stuff if you ask me..
mp3: Round and Round

And Now, For Something Completely Different (Props if you know what I am referencing)... A movie/book suggestion/review (sort of... more of a suggestion)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
By now, you have probably read this book or seen somebody reading this book... mostly likely they bumped into you because they were walking around completely engrossed in it... or at least heard something about it. To sum it up, it is a complex, multi-layered (I find I use those two words in a row a lot when describing stuff on this blog... I should probably practice my writing skills...) mystery novel that will DEFINITELY keep your eyes glued to the book. I hesitate to call it a thriller, because of a) the fact that much of it is really the story of the main character slowly trying to gather each piece of a massive, multi-generational puzzle, and b) it is not the type of book that I like to call a Roman de'Gare (which means train novel... and is also the name of a French movie that is also the opposite of a train story), i.e. a John Grisham style book, although you will zoom through its 600 pages because it is so good. Even though it hasn't excellent complexities and twists in it, what I find most appealing about, and what I believe most people who read it find to be most appealing, is of course, the girl with the dragon tattoo. She is one of the most interesting characters in a book that I have read recently, rivaled only by perhaps (IMO) Alex from A Clockwork Orange (whom I decided to of course throw in a reference to above... did ya catch it?). She is on one hand the epitome of the cyberpunk (although this book in no way deals with any of those themes); on the other hand, and this is what makes her interesting, she is an introverted, enigmatic character who won't open up to anyone. I'm not going to really talk about the plot because I think you should just read it for yourself. I don't want to talk too much about the book at all really though because this is supposed to be about the movie, and I have already started rambling!

The book was originally written in Swedish and was hugely popular in Europe, so of course it was made into a Swedish movie a few years ago, which has just seen a limited release in the US. Tonight (Friday) was the opening night, so of course my dad (that's right, I hang out with him...) and I had to go. The movie lived up to the book in almost every sense. It managed to pack all the twists and turns of the book into 2 hours and 40 minutes excellently, never feeling like it was moving too fast. It capturedd the solving of the intricate mystery, while at the same time not feeling like anything was left out (of course lots of stuff was cut out, but it is done extremely well). Even having read it, it still manages to pull you in and be enthralled by the mystery, EVEN IF YOU KNOW THE ENDGAME. That I think is what makes the movie so excellent. Well, I know I really haven't said that much about it even though I've written a lot, but I don't really want to give a lot away. JUST SEE IT JUST SEE IT JUST READ IT ETC.

-- A Teenage Elephant.

2010-03-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

So, sorry I haven't had any posts this week... I was incapacitated all week if it is any consolation... I'm not sure why that would stop me from posting but.....

A lot went dooooown this week (including several excellent album releases: Titus Andronicus, Broken Bells, the Morning Benders and more), so here goes it.

MGMT :: Flash Delirium
Definitely the biggest thing of the week, this is the first single from their upcoming album, Congratulations, and I love it. I think they sort of pulled what Spoon did with Transference in that they tried to go out for a slightly more experimental sound that they almost knew more people wouldn't like it, as if they wanted to reject some of the mainstream success they had. I would compare its sound most to "The Handshake" from the previous album. Not sure if I agree with Pitchfork's comparison to the Beatles buttt....
PS Album Artwork Win (I just can't wait to see what is underneath it... more on that in another post).

mp3: Flash Delirium (Yayyy mp3s... they are actually all hotlinked from Pitchfork, thus making it OK with Googlé?)

Light Pollution :: Good Feelings
Some more goodness from the always great Carpark Records. Anthemic, up-beat, trad indie-guitars... Woohoo!

mp3: Good Feelings

Born Ruffians :: Sole Brother
An enjoyable new release from what I think of as Vampire Weekend replacements... not as great as some of the stuff from their first album but I still enjoyed it. Slightly slower, a little groovier...

mp3: Sole Brother

Neon Indian :: Sleep Paralyst
Ehhhhh... The track did grow on me though. Oh and the Wall Street Journal has an article about Chillwave...

mp3: Sleep Paralyst

Yeasayer :: O.N.E.
The new video from Yeasayer is soooo different from all their other videos... it's trippy (*Sarcasm... tone of voice just doesn't come through the interwebs...)! But yes, it is certainly one of the trippier ones, although it does have a "plot" (but of course the "plot" ends up making no sense). In a nutshell... creepy guy walks into party, but it looks cool. Not my favorite song from a very good album (more coming in another post...), but still worth watching. There is some Tron Chess in it... more on Tron Below

Yeasayer "ONE" By: Radical Friend from ODDBLOOD on Vimeo.

-- A Teenage Elephant

In Other News...
-Stars anounced a new album due out in June
-New Daft Punk can be heard in the epic trailer for Tron Legacy below...
-Also since I put one trailer in, I felt like I would put another in. If Inception is anywhere near as good as its trailer, it will be unreal.

(Woo, Woo, that's the sound of the Idea Police)

DJ-ing on a Gameboy! Wait, What?

2010-03-08T00:41:00.000-08:00

The title says it all, but if you are still wondering, I shall get there shortly.

Last night (Saturday), I went to the Windward Battle of the Bands at the El Rey (for those of you who don't know Windward is a fairly small private high school in LA). Getting the El Rey for the night was definitely a big plus for the event, so even though there was only around a hundred people there, having the awesome El Rey marquis outside reading "Windward Battle of the Bands" and the crystal glow of the immense chandeliers illuminating the inside definitely made for a pretty cool environment/must have been a really fun experience for high schoolers playing a concert. Oh, and also, the people playing were from all different schools, although many of the kids were from Windward.

The first band, the Modern Drone, were just meh. They just sort of sounded like a bunch of teenagers playing music, nothing special. (Don't get me wrong, they are better musicians than me and I give them major props for playing, I just didn't think they were as good as some of the other bands.)

The next band, Range Life, were the band most likely to be seen on my blog on any given day, in terms of their style. They definitely fit into the LA sound if you ask me. Clean electric guitar, upbeat, tight drums etc. (so they definitely in with the Local Natives/Deadly Syndrome etc. scene/sound), but they had their own little spin on it too, with really good trumpet (riffs?) giving the song a slightly more complex feel. Martin Isenberg's vocals remind me a lot of Conor Oberst; slightly raspy, a little bit of a shout, and lots of passion that add up to the feeling that he really cares about his music. These guys were my favorites for the night, but I do think that band that won (not these guys) deserved it. If you like these two songs become fans of them on Facebook, I'm sure they would appreciate it. I also really like their lyrics...
mp3: Piece by Piece (It's only a download)
mp3: Things You'll Never Forget

The Yellows followed Range Life, and were super enjoyable/fun to listen to, but after talking to some of the guys in the band they said they just really came together for this show, so I'm not going to write too much about them (plus they don't have any mp3's for me so there's really no point). They were a sort of jazzy/swinger/swanky fun mix style that I don't really no how to explain, but whatever (if you are reading this Micah great job).

The next band was not very good in my opinion, nor were they my (or I think anybody who reads this blog's) style, so I will pretty much just skip over them. I think all I need to do to describe them is describe what the guitarist was wearing - he had super long curly hair, he was wearing a fur coat, which he later took, showing that he had no shirt on underneath, and tight, black leather pants. Oh, and later he started walking around with a Motley Crue t-shirt. 'Nuff Said.

Now, for the highlight of the night (IMHO)... DJ Jack Taylor. So what Jack did was reprogram an ancient gameboy to essentially turn it into a sampler, and then took that idea, and ran. What ensues from this crazy concept is a techno-y, electronic, 8-bit playground of sound. It's filled with your fuzzy synth sounds, clear beeps and boops, and more. Soon I'll get recordings of some of his stuff, I just haven't had time to get it from him. He is making all the music live and in real-time... it's definitely one of the most creative/fun/interesting things I have ever seen. Another cool aspect of it was just how the performance worked out; he started out on the stage standing there with just the gameboy and bopping his head up and down with everyone just sort of looking up at him, but then he hopped off the stage and just stood in the audience... it was a very unique performance, that's for sure. The closest thing to his sound that I can think of is Anamanaguchi (who are really good, if you haven't checked them out). UPDATE: Upon just doing some Wikipedia freshening up, this style of using a game chip to create songs is called "Chiptune," and it turns out Anamanaguchi are also chiptune artists, explaining the similarity. This picture below is just a little spread that I made of a single shot that I thought would sort of be cool... Tell me if you like it/think it's lame and cheeezzy.

Ya like?

But wait, there's more????

Vas Defrans were up next (and yes there band name is part of the testicle... what that says about them I am unsure of...). They were probably the most skilled musicians, and probably the best performers. They weren't really my style, but their talent, stage skills, and energy made me like them. They were super aggressive; everything felt like it was pumped full of energy. It seemed like they were always on the attack with intense guitar. The lead singer was absolutely wrapped up in the music; he brought tons of energy... really the whole band did. I know I keep saying that I just don't really know what else to say. They had a sort of Mars Volta sound, and upon talking to one of the guys after, it turned out he was actually friends with one of the Mars Voltians (term coined). They closed with a a cover, Sunburn by Muse. They turned an awesome song into their own, which is the best thing that can be said of any cover. I still haven't gotten a hold of any mp3s.

So... they ended up winning. Time to go home right? WRONG, there was still the much anticipated DJ set of the duo Treefrog. It started with the lights completely out (the first time that happened all night) and the curtains drawn on the stage, and then...

The music from the iconic opening scene of A Clockwork Orange came on (that is one of if not my favorite movie and book). The curtains were opened and on stage were four people, all dressed in all white with white suspenders and black hats, just like Alex and the Droogies at the Milkbar. Then the other two guys went into the audience and pretty much just danced and the two main guys DJed. Not much else to say about a DJ set (I don't really know how to review one anyways...). It ended with most of the people who were still left on stage.

All in all a good night...

And one more thing...

OK Go :: This Too Shall Pass

Well do these guys have a knack for making viral videos... After already making an excellent video for the single from their new album, they then went on to make this video, which is essentially a giant Rube Goldberg machine set to music... what could be better...

-- A (Tired) Teenage Elephant

Lots of Album News/Streams!! (And A New Segment)

2010-03-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

Hey,

First, some sad news: tragically, a girl at my school was killed in a car accident last week, and of course the school has been absolutely torn apart. I just wanted to dedicate this post to Julia Siegler. On that note, and in her honor, I would like to introduce a new "segment." Once a month, I will pick an old song that I am getting into, or just came across, etc. I think this first one is really perfect for the occasion, and really captures what everybody is feeling. It's an incredible song in my opinion, and, especially right now, makes me really emotional.

Bill Withers :: Ain't No Sunshine

The song is "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers, 1971. It's been covered countless times, but I think this version is just captivating. My grandfather actually just passed away also, and he lived back east. On the flight back home from New York to LA, I listened to this song for literally two-thirds of the flight; I listened to this song over and over for four hours - that's how much I like it.

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withe...

And now, for some news from the sonic world...

This week is a big week for album releases, so let's get right to it.

Morning Benders :: Big Echo

I've been blogging a lot about the Morning Benders, so sorry if I am boring you, but... the album, which I have been highly anticipating (if you couldn't tell), is due out on March 9th. In this week leading up to the album release, the full album is available for streaming from their website, and since they are such nice guys, in the embed above... They are playing at the Troubadour (the Troooooob) on the 24th or 25th, which I am dying to go to but am unsure of if I will make it seeing as it is a school night (it's a hard knock life...).

Broken Bells :: Broken Bells
Another band I have been blogging a lot about... they will be playing a show in LA on March 14 at the Troubadour (the Trooooob), which I am dying to go to as well. This will be just their second live show, so you can see why it would be awesome to go to, but... I will have just had surgery a couple of days before, and also it is a school night (it's a hard knock life). Luckily for me though, they put up the entire album (due out March 9th) on NPR First Listen, so enjoy!

Titus Andronicus :: The Monitor
New Jersey-ites!!!!!!!!! All that needs to be said... not really. Their sophomore album is due out on the 9th (what a surprise!), and they put up the whole thing on their MySpace. Super lo-fi garage rock... I love it. Check it out.

The Besnard Lakes :: Are the Roaring Night
These guys are pure anthem music if you ask me. Every song has the feeling of epic scale, and I can see every song at some point in a movie; some songs it's the moment when we first see the main character, silent as they travel through whatever environment they're in, or when the character has the profound realization. The album has two sets of two part songs... like I said, grand proportions. Listen to the whole album here.

Band of Horses :: Infinite Arms
Band of Horses are a band that IMHO epitomize the "indie" sound. When you hear songs like "Funeral," "Is There a Ghost," "No One's Gonna Love You," and "The General Specific," you can't help but being drawn in. Hopefully their third album, which they have said will be released on May 18th, will continue to capture that (again, IMO) iconic sound. The big question is though... which label will it be on? It is unclear whether it will be released on Sub-Pop, who released their first two albums, or another label. It will be interesting to see if being on a different label makes a dramatic difference in their sound, etc.

-- A Teenage Elephant

Rest In Peace Julia Siegler

Just some stuff, Briefly

2010-02-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

So I'm sorry, but this is going to have to be a short post, and I want to get it out now because I won't be able to over the weekend. I'm not going to write too much about anything, I'm just going to put the links up.

Photo by Colin Greenwood

Atoms for Peace

Most importantly, Thom Yorke has announced tour dates and a name for his band that isn't Radiohead... you know the one, it's got a couple people nobody has really heard of, like FLEA, NIGEL GOODRICH, the drummer for Beck/REM, and some other guy who I actually haven't heard of. The band name is Atoms for Peace, which is the name of a song from Thom Yorke's solo album the Eraser, as well as the name of an Eisenhower project from the '50s that's goal was to spread the use of atomic energy to spread peace... oh, Thom and your political references... check out tour dates over at Pitchfork (most importantly... Coachella if you didn't already know).

The New Pornographers

I don't know if I have said this, but the New Pornographers have their next album, Together, coming out in May. They just put up the first single from it over at their website. Listen to it here.

mp3: Your Hands (Together)

Broken Bells :: Vaporize
One of the supergroups that have not failed to be super, Broken Bells, have released their newest song. Also, they announced some LA tour dates at the Troubadour (easily my favorite venue - also coming up at the Trooob: Morning Benders).

Gorillaz :: SuperFast JellyFish
Gorillaz just debuted a new track. They immediately put it up on Youtube as a nonembeddable, so check it out over there.

Also, next weekend I'm going to be "reporting" from the Windward (LA high school) Battle of the Bands, which is actually at the El Rey, so you know it's legit. I'll be posting some of the tracks from the bands in the coming week, so stay tuned!

Last, but maybe least... (I kid I kid), Joanna Newsom released her new album.

-- A Teenage Elephant

The Delta Mirror! (And New Morning Benders/Broken Social Scene and More)

2010-02-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

Hey Readers---

I have an excellent post full of a ton of great music so PLEASE PLEASE listen to it ALL. I think this post is my best in terms of all the music in it. PLEASE COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

Delta Mirror

Just heard these guys for the first time this past week and I love them. They are another great band hailing from my stomping (or maybe tip-toeing... I don't do a lot of stomping, I'm more mellow...) grounds, LA... And yes I am joking when I use the term stomping grounds. These guys sound say they are akin to Fuck Buttons and the Big Pink, but to me they are a bit less crowded and certainly more downtempo, making their music seem more pensive more emotional. Upon further listening, I have realized that each song actually takes place in a different room of a hospital (this will be true of the whole album), which further adds to that strong emotional impact. This immediately brings to mind Antlers' Hospice, and I think that this is just as moving; another song that I feel is incredibly moving and possibly my favorite song ever, and I'm not one to choose favorites, is LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great." If you haven't heard it GO LISTEN TO IT IMMEDIATELY. Although most of their songs are that slower, affecting feeling that is sometimes only expressed through simpler instruments, they also throw in some glitch, giving them an Interpol/Postal Service cross feeling. The stuff is really excellent and I really recommend you head over to their MySpace and check out all of their stuff. Their first album, Machines Will Listen comes out on 3/26 on Lefse Records, and for any of my readers in LA, the will be doing a three week residency at the Echo starting this Tuesday, and you should try to check them out if you can. Please please please go to their MySpace and listen to all of their stuff, it's excellent!

mp3: he was worse than the needle he gave you
mp3: it was dark and I welcome the calm
a song about the end

Morning Benders :: Excuses

A bunch of buzz has been going around about the Morning Benders this week, which is making me really happy! I think these guys are really talented and are going to be a really great band in the coming years. They are still really young, and I always think it's cool to see people really make an impact of some sort in the music community (did you catch the wishful thinking?). You can pop over to their site by clicking "more info" in the player above and download the new song for the price of the email. These guys will be kicking off a tour in New York in a couple of days, and I will definitely looking forward to hopefully seeing them for a second time when they come to LA in March.

Caribou :: Odessa
Caribou just released the video to Odessa, one of my favorite of their tracks. The video is very interested, not sure of my thoughts on it. Tell me what you think! Download the song for an email over at their site.

Broken Social Scene :: World Sick
All You Need to Know
New Broken Social Scene = Epic.
5 Year Wait = Worth It
Give Email = Get Song
May 4 = Forgiveness Rock Record Release
May 3 = Broken Social Scene @ the Fonda

Last but not least
Phoenix :: Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
Phoenix covered Bob Dylan with just Thomas Mars vocal and strumming guitar... 'nuff said. Some might find it cheesy though... I absolutely love it.

Download the HQ version over at PMA.

-- A Teenage Elephant (reflecting on this post full of excellent music)

PS Please Please Comment and tell me what you think of everything

(Insert Creative Post Title Involving Valentine's Day Here)

2010-02-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

The Deadly Syndrome just announced their sophomore album, Nolens Volens (don't ask me what it means). It's a follow up to one of my favorite albums, The Ortolan, which in my opinion exemplifies the LA sound and what makes indie music great. The album is due out March 23rd, but here is the first release for it. You can download it below, or download it for free at the band's website. According to the band, there will be fewer wolves and ghosts...

mp3: Wingwalker

I Hope I Become A Ghost - The ...

Also, one of my favorite up and coming bands just announced that they will be touring with Phoenix... that is one concert I would not want to miss. The band is Northern Irish electropop/indie rock trio Two Door Cinema Club. In the coming months, I think they will definitely be making a splash with their energetic and danceable sound.

-- A Teenage Elephant (who is debating whether or not to take down the Deadly Syndrome mp3 link... that whole Google think is still scaring me...)

Back from the Br-..... Being Lazy

2010-02-10T23:00:00.000-08:00

So, as I am sure you have noticed, I haven't posted in about two weeks. I would say no excuses, except I do have a few and I think that you should be informed.

1) There just hasn't been that much out that has really interested me, although since some new tracks that did generate some buzz, I do feel obliged to post 'em so I will below. From here on out though, I won't be as posting as often as when I first started the blog. I was posting 3-4 times a week and writing a lot each time, and it got to be a lot to handle (I am in high school after all); also, I will only be posting on stuff that I feel is important/what I feel I enjoy. I feel I was just posting whatever was coming out/stuff I didn't really care about, so from now on it'll just be stuff I think should let y'all know about. Having said that, I will still posting tracks that EVERYONE is buzzing about, that way you're in the loop!

2) This is the bigger reason, and what will be the bigger change to the blog. I don't know if you guys know this, but the blog service I use, Blogspot, has begun deleting music blogs that have repeatedly been found to be posting illegal tracks, even though the bands are DEFINITELY happy about it... but I won't get into that whole spiel right now... I've already gotten two emails looking like this:

from	support@blogger.com
to		wolk.sam@gmail.com
cc		blogger-dmca-notification@google.com
date		Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 2:20 PM
subject		Blogger DMCA takedown notification
mailed-by		blogger.bounces.google.com
signed-by		google.com,blogger.com

hide details Feb 4 (6 days ago)

Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog is alleged to infringe upon the copyrights of others. As a result, we have reset the post(s) to "draft" status. (If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.) This means your post - and any images, links or other content - is not gone. You may edit the post to remove the offending content and republish, at which point the post in question will be visible to your readers again.
asking me to remove posts. There were more to the emails, but that is the essence. Seeing as I REALLY don't want my blog taken down after just three months, for now I will hold off on posting mp3 links for downloads, but I will instead put in embedded Lala boxes and the like. I am dreading receiving a final email that says this:

Subject: Blogger Blog takedown notification

We’d like to inform you that we’ve received another complaint regarding your blog (http://irockcleveland.blogspot.com/). Upon review of your account, we’ve noted that your blog has repeatedly violated Blogger’s Terms of Service (http://www.blogger.com/terms.g). Given that we’ve provided you with several warnings of these violations and advised you of our policy towards repeat infringers, we’ve been forced to remove your blog.

Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

I don't think I would understand... but thank you guys for understanding my changes!

So, now that that is out of the way, back to my music blog, which will now be slightly less legitimate and slightly more depressing for me that I can't post links, but oh well... I'm sure you can all find links VERY easily on Hypem... Wink Wink Nudge Nudge... And finally, on to the music!!!!

-- A (Slightly Sadder) Teenage Elephant

What HAS Interested Me

ALBUMS

Yeasayer :: Odd Blood

This was an album that I have been talking up a lot on this blog, and from what I have listened to of it so far, I think it hasn't quite lived up to it, but it is enjoyable for the most part. I feel I haven't quite listened to it thoroughly enough to review it, but I will definitely be posting one later. For now you can stream the whole album at their MySpace.

Local Natives :: Gorilla Manor

Now this is an album that I talked up a lot that I do think is living up its/my hype. I am really loving this album and feeling that it really captures the LA indie sound. Again, I will post a review later, and you can stream the whole album at NPR, which I HIGHLY recommend you do.

SONGS

The Morning Benders

First Up: Here is a fantastic video from the Morning Benders. They are performing the first track, "Excuses," from their LP Big Echo, which I am highly anticipating and is due out in March. In this video they sing with a bunch of other San Francisco natives, including Christopher Owens, the singer for Girls, whom I saw the Morning Benders open for.

Yours Truly Presents: The Morning Benders "Excuses" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros :: Home

These guys and this track has been around for a while, but it has started to pick up some radio time and I really love this track/the band so I figured I would post it.

Home - Edward Sharpe & The Mag...

Broken Bells :: Vaporize

Broken Bells, AKA James Mercer and Danger Mouse, just put up their newest track, "Vaporize" on their MySpace. IMHO, it's not quite as good as "the High Road," but still very enjoyable (sorry no embed).

Harlem :: Someday Soon

Another opener track, "Someday Soon" is an enjoyable jam form lo-fi-ers Harlem. Listen to it here it PMA (sorry no embed).

Hot Off The Press: Memory Tapes Remixes Phoenix

2010-01-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

Hot Off the Press :: 1901(Memory Tapes Remix)

Earlier today, Memory Tapes released on his blog this remix of one of the most popular/best/catchy songs of last year and certainly one of the biggest "crossover" songs (it was in a Cadillac car commercial...). This remix is a beat dreamier if you will, featuring many more synth sounds. All that it really retains from the original is the vocals; otherwise, it feels like a completely re-worked and separate song, which I like because it feels like it has its own identity. It definitely feels slower, in part due to the fact that for much of the song it is just the vocals with the synths in the background, with the only one being featured prominently a sort of arpeggiated sound and a slow tambourine for the drums. My favorite part though is around 1:40 when it speeds up. Probably my favorite of the many remixes that Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has spawned (I like to call them "Wolfgang Amadeus Remixes... I'm just too good I know).

mp3: 1901 (Memory Tapes Remix)

In Other News:

Beach House' much anticipated (is it just me or does it seem like everything has been really anticipated this year?) Teen Dream was just released. I have yet to listen to it enough times to review it, but I will say it is very enjoyable. Here's the first song that was released from it.

mp3: Norway

-- A Teenage Elephant (SW)

Back from the Break!

2010-01-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for having no posts in the last two weeks I've just been busy with finals but now I am done. Here's some stuff that's been going on! The biggest thing these past few weeks has been the release of two of the most generally anticipated albums of the new year, Transference and Contra, so I will start out with those.

Spoon :: Transference

On Tuesday Spoon released their 7th studio album, Transference, which is a follow up to their first big commercial success, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. In this album, they still maintain the distinct Spoon sound, but they are more adventurous with it as well, perhaps banking on the notion that they are now big enough and have enough of a "completist" fan base that they will sell plenty of records regardless of whether people like the different sound. I thouroughly enjoyed listening to this album, although in my opinion, it is not quite as good as say Kill the Moonlight or Girls Can Tell, which are both excellent in my opinion.

mp3: Got Nuffin' (in other news this song was featured heavily in Josh Schwartz' tv show Chuck's most recent episode. Spoon actually gained some of their initial recognition from "That's the Way We Get By" being played in another one of Schwartz' show, The OC. If you haven't seen Chuck, I recommend it.)
(Update: Sorry I got requested to remove my link...)

Vampire Weekend :: Contra
This came out on the 9th, but I didn't get a chance to write about, so now that I have listened to it fairly thoroughly I can give you my opinion on it. While there are songs that are good on the album, such as "White Sky," "Taxi Cab," "Run," and "I Think Ur a Contra," on the whole the album feels like it doesn't quite know what sort of sound it is going for, which in this case takes away from it. "White Sky" and "Taxi Cab" both sound very similar to Discovery, Ros Botmanglij's electronic summer side project with Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles. "Taxi Cab" and "I Think Ur a Contra" are both slower, more ballad-like tunes, which certainly outshine some of the other frantic, all over the place songs on the album. I think that this capacity for songs that seem slower, more deliberate and planned out do show some growth in the band, but songs like the completely uncoordinated "California English," which I won't even get into how much I dislike, and the inane "Holiday" turn an album that could have been a fairly good one with a couple of filler songs into an album that leaves a feeling of missed opportunities and definitely not wanting more.

Even the naming of the song "I Think Ur a Contra" takes away from the album for me; the song is good, but the obnoxious use of "Ur," even if Vampire Weekend are trying to be annoying on purpose (which they probably are), is just pretentious and unfortunately takes away from a good song. It's part of the whole "We try and alienate people on purpose because we have our own style" deal, but I'm just not buying into it. I will say though that I do like the naming of "Diplomat's Son," which has almost got to be a reference to the great Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son" (it has a lyric "I ain't no senator's son / no). Normally naming of songs doesn't make a difference to an album, but for this album it seemed to have a strange impact.

Bottom line: an album with a couple of good songs that are certainly in a new direction, but overall it does not live up to the previous album.

mp3: White Sky
(Update: Sorry I got requested to move my link...)

-- A Teenage Elephant

In Other News
The Coachella lineup was officially announced, and it's excellent this year. Tickets went on sale yesterday.

Benefits
All of Radiohead are playing a special benefit show for Haiti at the Music Box here in LA on Saturday. They have also said that they are currently in the studio in the middle of recording new material...
Bon Iver, Britt Daniel of Spoon, and St. Vincent will all be playing a special benefit show in Brooklyn on Saturday.

Album News
Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy) released his new album Heartland.
mp3: Lewis Takes Action

OK GO released their new album Of the Blue Color of the Sky.
mp3: This Too Shall Pass

RJD2 released his new album Colossus.
mp3: Games You Can Win

Surfer Blood released their new album Astro Coast.
mp3: Swim

The New Pornographers announced May 4th as the official release date for their fifth studio album Together.

She & Him (i.e. singer-actress Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) will release their second album, Volume Two, on March 23rd.
mp3: In the Sun

Photo by Taea Thale

What's Big on the Interwebs

2010-01-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't post anything in a few days, I've been pretty busy. This will be last post for a little over a week (until the 22nd); I have finals coming up (yes, I'm a student... I know you would never guess...) so I will be holed up in my room, listening to some good music of course (I'm thinking the Flaming Lips' cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, which if you haven't checked out you really should, and Titus Andronicus' The Airing of Grievances) and studying like crazy (no, I'm not a slacker...). I will leave you with a bunch of new tracks that are making a little bit of a splash on the intertubes right now or that I'm just digging.

Besnard Lakes :: Albatross
This is a new song from Besnard Lakes' follow up to their 2007 album Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, entitled Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night. It is probably the song out of all of these that is receiving the most attention, and I think that is because it strikes just the right mix between slow, deliberate rhythm and driving, powerful melody/guitar to make it really anthemic. This is the type of song that turns bands into Arcade Fires.
mp3: Albatross

The Drums :: I Felt Stupid
I recently posted the video for this song, so now here is the actual song. It is very poppy, and although it may sound happy, when you listen to the lyrics it really is more of a ballad. It is clear from their sound that they really love 80's pop and New Wave,and it definitely seems like they have taken a lot of inspiration from the Cure.
mp3: I Felt Stupid

Harlem :: Friendly Ghost
This song has been circulating for a little bit, but until now I hadn't gotten a chance to post it. Austin trio Harlem are definitely under the lo-fi category, so Smith Westerns and Wavves fans rejoice1
mp3: Friendly Ghost

Sleigh Bells :: Crown On the Ground
This song is a song that to enjoy you have to play really loud to enjoy; it's got one of those beats and tunes and that when you crank it up the encompassing feeling and the distortion from the sound of the song and from the strain it is putting on the speakers make it that much better. You might not instantly like it, but if that is the cast I suggest you listen to it a couple times - it'll grow on you. I think it actually sounds a little like MIA, what with the female vocals and pump-up sound.
mp3: Crown on the Ground

Love Is All :: Kungen
This is the new song from 5-piece Swedish indie rockers Love Is All. It instantly evokes the Mamas and the Papas with its "baaaah, bah bah bah bah's," but after that it pretty much diverges from the Mamas and the Papas. The song is divided into a couple of different sections, each with a different sound, which takes away a little bit from the song; it is almost as if it can't decide which one they should have made the song out of. There's the "bah" section, a section with very Bjork-esque vocals over bass and drums, and a faster section that is more guitar focused. This gives the song a mashed up, slightly incomplete feeling, but I still like the song, even if the sum of the parts isn't as good as the parts themselves.
mp3: Kungen

The Morning Benders :: Promises

This song was just released off their upcoming album Big Echo, due out in March, as a free download. It's a song that you can "groove" to; at least that's what the lead singer sang when about it when I saw them back in December. Here's a picture from the concert that my friend took and put a caption on on his iPhone - when we showed it to the guys from the band after the show they loved it. From what I heard of the new album at the concert, the album seems like it will be really good, and it is certainly one of my most anticipated albums of the new year. They will be touring in support of it starting in March. Photo by LSF
mp3: Promises

Lissy Trullie :: Ready for the Floor
This is a Hot Chip cover, and it was featured on the soundtrack of "Jennifer's Body" (didn't see the movie, so I couldn't tell you how it fits in). The track has been around for awhile, but I just heard it and really like it, so here you go. It is a really interesting take on turning a very electronic song into a instrumental song; it reminds me a bit of Taken By Trees' "My Boys" cover of Animal Collective. Lissy Trullie sounds to me like if you took the vocals of the girl from the xx and put it over a Velvet Underground song... superb stuff.
mp3: Ready for the Floor (Cover)

Also listening to:
Miracles Club :: A New Love
mp3: A New Love

Thom Yorke :: All for the Best
mp3: All for the Best

--The (Switched from A) Teenage Elephant

Toro y Moi :: Causers of This Review

2010-01-09T22:17:00.000-08:00

Toro y Moi :: Causers of This

It certainly came as a surprise to me when I saw that this album was out; it was not supposed to be released until mid February, and it was one of the albums that I was really looking forward to, so you can really imagine how excited I was to listen to it when I found it that it had been released. It did not let down! It was perhaps a little bit different than I expected. Here we go with my first full album review!

The album starts with the familiar poppy track "Blessa." I think this was a wise choice because it allows the listener to start with something they already know, and perhaps give them some motivation to listen to the album from the start and go through the whole album, as opposed to skipping around (NB: Although each song could stand alone very well, the first time you listen to it I think you should listen to the whole thing through without stopping). "Blessa" is certainly the most upbeat song on the album, and I think starting the album with a song as infectious as Blessa is another good choice; it is another way to hook the listener.

From there you move on to "Minors," a slower song that stays fairly mellow and lyrical, as oppose to more music focused of the rest of the album. The music itself is fairly simple (definitely one of the simpler songs on a musically fairly complex album in my opinion), and the lyrics evoke a sense of longing for something different ("I know it is not the truth / Is this how it is?"). The music and lyrics of the verses make the song sound like it is out of a film from the 80's (I'm thinking brat pack type movies), in the scene where the main character doesn't know what to do or is sad.

Starting with "Minors" and moving on for a few songs, the songs don't pop out at you as much, but not in a bad way. They feel a little bit like you are seeing T y M perform or DJ; the songs start flowing into each other and are bit more laid back and peaceful, the type of thing you just listen to and relax. It is as if they are part of a short set that you just groove to.

The next song is "Imprint After," a funkier jam. This funky/disco-y (although it is way too slow for disco, you understand what I mean... I hope) song perhaps does not pop out, to me that is, in any particular way, but is still an excellent track because of its catchy tune and the fact that it gets you moving a little.

The next track, "Lissoms" (don't ask me what that means), is an instrumental track that is essentially just a nice synth beat that starts to pick up the pace of the album again after the two slower previous songs. It is the perfect example of the track that feels as if it is part of a set. It flows into the fifth track, "Fax Shadow." This track has a certain cut up feeling to it, with choppy samples, weird delays put on the different pieces of the song, and the varying styles in the song. I think that this cut-up feeling certainly makes the title appropriate for the song. The vocals in a couple parts are very Dirty Projectors-esque; with oohs and ahhs and vocals that start high and descend with each syllable, it certainly is reminiscent of Dave Longstreth and Angel Deradoorian of the DPs.

"Fax Shadow" turns into "Thanks Vision," a song that is much more similar to the chillwave genre that T y M has been lumped into. The beginning in particular is a lot like Chaz Bundick (T y M)'s fellow South Carolinian "chillwaver" (term coined: n., one who listens to and rides the chillwave and/or generates the chillwave; thinks that the coolest thing to do is just close your eyes and listen to music; listeners slightly pretentious) Ernest Greene (AKA Washed Out)'s "Belong" and "Feel It All Around"; it has those ubiquitous synths and sound effects characteristic of chillwave.

The next song is "Freak Love," which is a bit of a build up song. At this point you know that "Talamak" hasn't played yet and there are only a few songs left, so the anticipation is certainly very high. It is analogous to when you are at a concert and there is one song that you really want to here that hasn't been played yet, and you just know and feel that it is coming and will be the next song. Although this may seem like "Talamak" is overshadowing "Freak Love," I do not believe that that is so; I think that what "Freak Love" was created for was that build-up track sensation. It has a sort of amorphous sound that is multi-layered and varied, giving it a sound that you can't really pin down, contributing to the feeling that something is coming. I think that the thing that the sound is closest to is actually Animal Collective.

As I said, the anticipation for Talamak has reached its peak, so when "Freak Love" starts to fade out and those distinctive rolling notes start to fade in from the background and then the two chords the play through the whole song first hit (which is where the actual songs starts on the album, whereas the single starts with the rolling notes), there is a moment of complete gratification. "Talamak" is truly a gem, and even if the rest of the album wasn't good (which is certainly not the case), "Talamak" would make up for it. I won't talk too much about "Talamak" because I have talked about extensively in other posts, I'm sure most of you have heard it already, and this review is getting a little long, but I will include the mp3.

"Talamak" goes quickly though; it is 2 minutes and 30 seconds of bliss and then it turns into the slower "You Hid," and from here the album just sails on through. "You Hid" is a relaxed song that is again characteristic of the feeling of a continuous mix. The next two songs start to pick up again and deviate from that continuous mix feeling; they are a little more upbeat and have more potential than many of the other songs to be stand alone singles. "Low Shoulder" is one of the other songs on the album that is more typical chillwave, and certainly has the potential to be a stand alone song that becomes popular. The album then ends with the titular track "Causers of This," a slightly poppy track. While I do not love the last two songs quite as much as the continuous part of the album (tracks 2-9), they are still quite good and "Causers of This" ends the album well. At about the halfway mark of the song, everything in it starts getting repeated, cut up, sampled and distorted, leading to a build up of energy, ultimately ending the album with high returns and a feeling of completion.

I think there are two things that really make this album stand out: the fact that it is not very similar (with the exception of just a few songs) to chillwave, which can sometimes all seem the same, and the quasi-DJ set/mix aspect of it. While gapless albums are certainly not rare, I think the feeling of having one long mix is certainly a boon for his music. It sets an environment that really is definitive of his music and allows it to shine. When I saw him perform (the first time I actually heard of him), he just had his laptop and a synth, and played straight through everything; it all flowed together into one great set. The Troubadour is a pretty small venue and he went on pretty early (he was the first opening act of 2). There were only around 10-15 people there, so when he walked up to the front of the crammed stage and went to set up his laptop/synth I at first thought he was a roadie/techie, but then he started playing and I was mesmerized. This album certainly captures the feeling of an intimate, dancey, enjoyable mix experience, and I am looking forward to his other LP due out toward the end of '10.

Here's the link for Talamak; you can also download some more of his tracks in these posts. I suggest you buy the album.

mp3: Talamak

-- A Teenage Elephant

New Videos (Animal CollectiveThom Yorke, the Drums, Island)

2010-01-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

Animal Collective :: Brothersport

Here's the new video for Animal Collective's Brothersport, off MPP. It features lots of acrylic paint, grotesque animated creatures, two kids, eggs, and more paint. You can watch a slightly higher def version here.

Thom Yorke :: All for the Best

This song is off of a compilation album that came out over the summer last year, and I feel the album and the song did not get much coverage or recognition. The album is made up of a bunch of Mark Mulcahy songs, and this is one of them. This song is truly beautiful in my opinion. The harmonies in it are perfect; in fact, they were sung by Thom Yorke's brother, Andy Yorke. The lyrics and content of the song remind a lot of LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great" - they both are about losing someone close to you. The album itself was made because of the sudden death of Mark Mulcahay's wife, leaving him to raise his two children alone. The video was released a little while ago, but I just came across it and really enjoyed it, so here it is. Also, the scene underground where they are running through tunnels of bones was almost certainly shot in the Catacombs of Paris, a truly creepy place.

Islands :: No You Don't

Here's the music video for Islands' "No You Don't," off of their newest album, Vapours. The song and the video are about buying drugs from someone you shouldn't buy them from, and then tripping. The protagonist if you will is played by Michael Cera (if you don't know who he is you have probably been living under a rock...).

The Drums :: I Felt Stupid

Here's the new video for the Drums' "I Felt Stupid." The song is very 80's new wave, and certainly sounds like it draws some inspiration from the Cure.

-- A Teenage Elephant

Toro y Moi Album Released!

2010-01-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago the new Toro y Moi album was released. It was supposed to come out in February but it was released a couple of days ago instead. I'll post a review in a little bit but I just wanted to let yall know 'cause I feel bad that I said it would come out in Feb.

Also, the Vampire Weekend album is available for streaming on their myspace and is out to buy in a couple of days. I've listened to both and will post a review shortly.

--A Teenage Elephant

New Stuff From the Knife! (If You Wish to Make an Apple Pie From Scratch, You Must First Invent the Universe)

2010-01-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, the Swedish siblings that make up the Knife released a new song called "the Colouring of Pigeons," and it has already become quite a sensation. It is 11 minutes long, and many people are referring to it as an opus already. The song stems from an opera project that the Knife are doing and planning on releasing at the beginning of March. The opera is based off of Darwin's the Origin of Species and everything is supposed to reflect the grand impact and scale of Darwin's work. The Knife apparently went to the Amazon and used the sounds they heard as inspiration for a lot of the stuff... if you are not getting the picture it is this: the album (by the way it is entitled Tomorrow, In a Year) is supposed to represent the diversity of the world.

The music itself does feel very worldly to me. The drum beat throughout the song sounds like it is on some sort of tribal drum and time. The thing that I find really interesting about the song is that even though it is supposed to be very inspired by nature, it does feature electronic noises, in particular a drone-like sound. I think that it works well because it is something that you are not really expecting in the song, making it grab your attention and set it apart from say the soundtrack to Avatar.

mp3: The Colouring of Pigeons

And now, since we are on the topic of something related for science, I feel obliged to show this video, seeing as I'm a bit of a science-lover. It came out last year towards the end of the summer and kind of made a big deal, so I'm sure most of you have seen it already, but even if you have it is worth watching again because it is so good.

It features Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking (I am actually currently reading one of his books; if you are at all interested in science, in particular cosmology, I really suggest that you read it - it is called A Brief History of Time), two of the greatest cosmologists/physicists of the past few centuries. Carl Sagan is certainly one of the most inspiring men in the world; his television show "Cosmos" made many people fall in love who otherwise would not have, just because of his charisma. This song is genius; the music certainly captures the wonder of space, and the lyrics certainly express why that wonder is present. The "woop, woop" (I don't really know how to write it) that runs throughout the song certainly captures the weirdness of the universe. As just a song without any meaning, it would be great but the content of the song, IMHO, makes it one of the best things of 2009. Plus what could be better/funnier than Stephen Hawking rapping/soloing? I don't know if anybody else is as into it as me, so tell me what you think.

mp3: A Glorious Dawn

-- A Teenage Elephant

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." -- Carl Sagan