January 30, 2009
Here are a few of the week’s new tracks from our favorite artists:
It’s the album that nobody asked for: the nu-metal Auto-Tuned Lil Wayne redux of Tha Carter III. Here’s the first single, “Prom Queen”.
The Dark Was the Night album we mentioned has several tracks available for widget-making. I couldn’t decide between any three tracks – they’re like my children. Check out the website to manufacture your own.
October 9, 2008
In our second foray into the world of film, Never Learned to Swim would like to encourage its readership in New York and Los Angeles to go to their local cineplex and see Lower Learning, a film that promises to be among the year’s most enjoyable releases. We are proud to note that some of our most dedicated readers were rather intimately involved in the making of this film. We extend our heartiest congratulations to them, and urge anyone who is able to go enjoy the fruits of their labour!
Here is the trailer:
October 2, 2008
Your favourite Tina Fey impersonator
Your favourite Icelandic post-rockers
October 2, 2008
Long time readers will recall a defense we mounted of John McCain’s music credentials vis-a-vis Barack Obama’s growing support from independent musicians (Obama has tacked Vampire Weekend to his belt as well). Now the indie paper of record is delving into the blog/self-congratulatory playlists of McCain’s music biz daughter, Meghan. I won’t go into detail, but they smell a conspiracy!
While you’re waiting for the veep debate to kick off, checka:
September 19, 2008
There has been much to-do about the first James Bond theme featuring a duet; the build-up has been uncharacteristically large (it’s almost as though people care about the damn song more than they care about the movie). As almost everyone knows, Jack White and Alicia Keys have teamed up for the theme to the forthcoming Quantum of Solace, “Another Way to Die”. Well, if you can’t wait for the movie to hear the theme, then you are in luck. It’s streaming here. I wonder what Amy Winehouse thinks now.
September 17, 2008
Here is the single from Kanye West’s next record.
September 13, 2008
In addition to nearly always laudable material and off the wall, major label-smiting releases, Trent Reznor and Radiohead have Mac lust in common. Thom Yorke played sloshed piano over the Automator voice on “fitter happier” and Johnny Greenwood’s laptop (once a PowerMac, now a MacBook Pro) is a live fixture. To boot, a sarcastic Windows blue screen has been added to the visuals for Nine Inch Nails’ current tour:
This truly warms the hearts of two Mac-using bloggers.
July 29, 2008
There was a girl group at my high school with the grammatically questionable moniker of Retrospect’s Envision. I’m fairly sure they split after they graduated, though I don’t think any of them have moved out of their parents’. Anywho, I revisit them because the title of the next James Bond film, Quantum of Solace makes even less sense. Much like my fellow high schoolers, Ian Fleming doesn’t seem to know the definition of either quantum or solace.
To further confound our sensibilities, the theme for the upcoming film will be “Another Way to Die”, a duet (a first for the franchise, which has featured the U2-penned, Tina Turner-performed “GoldenEye” (ooh, the N64 memories!)) between Alicia Keys and… Jack White?! Should be interesting, to say the least.
You can catch White and the rest of the Raconteurs at Treasure Island September 21st, along with Vampire Weekend, Okkervil River, and Tokyo Police Club as they support their latest releases.
June 19, 2008
If you’ve read this blog regularly, this shouldn’t surprise you.
Penises.
May 15, 2008
Certainly one of the great tragedies of 2007 (okay, not really) was the dissolution of Seattle’s Pretty Girls Make Graves. Both formative to and formed by the early 2000s post-punk revival, PGMG paved the way for a many of the pop-inflected bands really hitting their stride now, including Tokyo Police Club and Vampire Weekend.
Another disappointing breakup from last year were the Blood Brothers, also hailing from Seattle, who brought a bit more brains to the post-hardcore scene beyond the crop of canned At the Drive-In pretenders.
The players from both groups have moved onto new projects, the most fertile of which appears to be Jaguar Love, notably because it comprises members of both disparate groups. Johnny Whitney (centre) lends his vocals to the supergroup along with bandmate Cody Votolato’s guitar (bottom and yes, he is brothers with that terrible folk singer). Adding to the mix is J Clark (top) of PGMG, who covers drumming and keyboard duties.
Judging from the demos playing on their Myspace, the trio fuses the distinctive post-hardcore vocals and angular guitar of Blood Brothers with the pop sensibilities of Pretty Girls Make Graves, making for a fairly unique sound. It’s the energy of the former with the rhythms of the latter, fit for doing dancing much more sophisticated than pogoing. They’re even somewhat reminiscent of labelmates The New Pornographers.
Since forming, they’ve signed to indie heavy Matador (former home of PGMG) to release Take Me to the Sea August 19th, with an EP dropping June 3rd. And indeed, they are headed for a sea near you! They’ll play Popscene two weeks from today, May 29th. Not enticed? Remember, Popscene featured Vampire Weekend in January just before they exploded and will have NLtS faves These New Puritans next month. It could be a big deal. It could be nothing. Check it out?
