We will still love you for countless days ahead

In the wake of Cat Power doing whatever she is doing currently, which I am guessing is being brilliant and writing some painful and broodingly beautiful new record in Miami I found solace with Lykee Li. Her voice is so soothing, so sincere and fragile, yet strong and magical. It soars and it falls, it makes you dance and it makes you cry. She is so talented, so young and so going to be one of the great singers you tell your little pups about one day. Or now. This song almost brought tears to my eyes while I sat at my desk. Just beautiful.
*Thank you to Battery In Your Leg which is how i found this video.
*Lyyke Li Tags

Vampires are so hot right now

The weekend that was filled with Vampires...how I have battled with you. I came across the band early on and instantly loved. Then I saw a live show on the East River at the bandshell and i loathed. They were really boring and stood completely still. There was no self-effacing stage banter or even an acknowledgement that there were fans there at all. I disliked the American Apparel clad crowd and the uber hip gang that danced like members of the Peanuts gathered in front of the stage. Then there was the list of people who liked them from my past---that snobby boy in high school who was cooler than cool---the girl who happens to live in NYC and work in my industry (and who was always terrific at being mean to everyone and everything) as well that I run into at shows who loves John Mayer...these people loved my Vampire Weekend as well.

As the months passed I still found myself, despite all of my energies still toe-tapping and dancing to their little songs. Then, I did what a lot of music fans do at some point in their lives, or many times in their lives---if they know what is good for them, i got over myself. I ignored everything that the band itself cannot control, all of these societal factors that was making me being a snot and I went back to enjoying them. Because I do. I love all of their songs. They don't have a bad one. Not for my ears at least. Yes, they are lacking a bit of luster in the live performance department but what they need time to learn they make up for with the strength and solidarity of their movement. They are a downright intelligent and tight bunch. Their songs are wrapped up with clever lyrics and snarky little loops and spins and tributes to Paul Simon loving sounds and explode with precision and affection. This video is for their new song "Cousins" off of their upcoming SOPHOMORE release Contra due out on the 12th of January via XL Records.


Vampire Weekend will play a few select US cities before heading over to Europe for a tour throughout the winter.

*Dec 10---KNRK “A December to Remember” Concert Series-Crystal Ballroom w/ White Rabbits---Portland, Oregon
*Dec 11---Live 105 "Not So Silent Night"-Oracle Arena w/ Metric, 30 Seconds to Mars, AFI & Muse---Oakland, CA
*Dec 12---FM949 “Holiday Hootenanny”-RIMAC Arena w/ White Rabbits, Manchester Orchestra, Phoenix, & Spoon---La Jolla, CA
*Dec 13---KROQ "Almost Acoustic Christmas"-Gibson Amphitheater (SOLD OUT)---Los Angeles, CA
*Dec 15---The End “Deck The Hall Ball ‘09”-WaMu Theatre w/ Metric, Phoenix, 30 Seconds To Mars & Muse---Seattle, Washington
*Jan 12---Special Intimate Album Release Show @ Henry Fonda Theater (SOLD OUT)---Los Angeles, CA
*Jan 17---United Palace Theater (SOLD OUT)---NYC
*Jan 18---Webster Hall (SOLD OUT)---NYC
*Jan 19---Bowery Ballroom (SOLD OUT)---NYC
Vampire Weekend Tags

ONE

Because I think it is a good cause and it also has some of my favorite people...yes I like Twilight and there is nothing wrong with that!

Gainsbourgh & Beck, Heaven Can Wait

This video kinda reminds me of the movie Magnolia. I love Charlotte and I love Beck, so for me it works well. Very excited to hear the rest of the album. The track is the first single off of Charlotte's upcoming album IRM which will be released in the new year. Keith Schofield is credited with directing this video. You can download "Heaven Can Wait" on Charlotte's Myspace page now. Enjoy!

YEASAYER Tickets Go Onsale TODAY!

Yeasayer have announced two dates in February, one at Bowery Ballroom on Monday, February 8th and one at Williamsburg Music Hall on Tuesday, February 9th. General sale starts at NOON today. Good luck! I promise you do not want to miss them, their next shows will be at Terminal Hall for certain!
***To put you in the mood here is some live footage of the band performing their new single "Ambling Alp" at the Fun Fun Fun Fest. Kinda amazing...

*Yeasayer Tags

Welcome Yeasayer....we've been waiting

This is my feeble attempt to listen to the new Yeasayer album and describe everything I am hearing, from the first note to the last. From the first track even the most studied of ears to their sound and Chris' voice would not recognize that this is them. It sounds more like a new song by the Swedish brother/sister duo the KNIFE. It is creepy, dynamic, intricate, daunting and dark. As dark as you could get on the deepest of winter nights. The voices singing sound like they are from the netherworld. Calling out to you from beyond the void and just when you think you might be beginning to understand...the song is over.

Track two=Ambling Amp trickles out onto the sound scape skipping and jumping along with all of the energy of that the band has been hiding from us while we have been eagerly awaiting this next album. I first heard this song when I was at the Pitchfork Music Festival. It was mixed into their set and immediately was at home. Traditional Yeasayer elements are bursting forth from every beat of the wooden sticks that you hear laughing at you in the background. Chris' voice sounds much more optimistic and confident than we have ever heard before.

As the third track begins, like I usually feel with all of my favorite bands---i hope this one is longer than the songs that have come before. I instantly recognize that they played this song at the Pfork Festival as well. This time it is not Chris we hear singing, but Anand Wilder ...calling out to us with longing and loss with the lyrics "if my vices are a burden, please don't let me know*...cast me from your home." One of the hidden weapons within this band's bulky arsenal of talent is the interchanging vocals of both Chris and Anand. They harmonize magically into one piercing and delicate voice, individually they are inviting and textured like silvery velvet. Easily said, they are going places.

Much will be said about this next song comparing it to Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective. I am calling it now. I want people to remember that when Panda Bear came out with his album and had bursts and fits of vocal calls, chants, screams and clips, Chris was doing this as well. Because bloggers and music writers love to discuss cause and reaction...there will be comparisons made for sure. This is another reason why we will see Yeasayer become one of the biggest bands in 2010. Right now is just the calm before the storm. Much like Girls from Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, this track rises into the sky like a lullaby. Easy on the ears and powerful enough to not slide into the grey zone of being overdone or tacky.

"You're stuck in my mind all the time" Hey-every album needs a ballad, right?

Track five has to be big based on positioning alone...you have hit the half-point on the album---and it is. Jovial from the first beat it is full of rhythms and I am happy to welcome it's sound back into my ears. THIS IS THE SONG. The song that I have been reporting back about for months now. The song that could have busted up and broken down their set. They played it just as it began to completely downpour onto an audience of Chicago music lovers and it could have gone either way...people could have been pissy and run for shelter---or they could have given into joy and danced. This is what happened and it was amazing. It was one of those moments when I completely forget all of the shitty bosses I have had, all of the tears of frustration I have felt at moments over the past years trying to work with what I love and still be successful---for this is quite the feat in the music industry. I LOVE this song and you will too. If you do not instantly feel like getting up and jumping around and singing and spreading your arms to this song then stop---just stop listening, stop reading my blog, any blog for that matter...because you should be jumping around. You 100% absolutely should be.

**"Having time having fun, it's much easier said than it's done. Hoping you could fall, hold me like you used to, control me like you used to. No, you don't me move me anymore. And I am glad that you know, cause I can't have it anymore. I thought you should know, you don't move me anymore. And I am glad that you know. Cause I can't take it anymore."

Building from the momentum collected from track five, track six kicks over like an animated car video with spaceship technology and 70's costumes. That is to say it sounds like a futuristic Daft Punk synth dream fast-forwarded with sounds from the 70s and 80s that we welcome as known knowledge. Chris kind of sounds like Justin Timberlake combined with Alexis Taylor at first. Alright...don't hate...but he kind of does. This is also not a bad thing. When Chris reaches for that vocal point, straining on his lungs' tippie-toes it is a good thing. It lends a whole other sound and element of emotion to the band's already deep and dynamic box of tricks. It is obvious the band had fun listening to Chromeo's signature voice modifier tube (not sure of the technical term), they toss it in here and there and it works well.

The seventh song sounds like Hall & Oats on speed. The harmonies and the backbeat remind of this band...it is completely fun and works well to push the album forward. Whereas it is not a standout track, it is still a good one and is sure to be a crowd mover during their live shows. The lyrics tell about the world being there's...it's just a matter of time. Much like MGMT's famed song Kids foretelling of their fame, this song is just sharing with us what is sure to happen to this Brooklyn ensemble.

Track eight I have to re-play, clocking in at 2:35 it is over before I can even wrap my critical ears around it. I also have to lower the volume on my laptop which has been punishing all of my neighbors to see if this helps me understand it at a different decibel. It is a ghost of a song, swaying in with invisible, prowling moves and cooing layered melodies. It is a good transitional song and very beautiful.

Tracks number nine and ten end the album with a complete bang. Track nine teases and flirts as Chris repeats how much he loves making love with his baby "until the early light." Totally dance-floor worthy and will easily be remixed by hungry dj's who will in turn post their tracks all over Hype Machine. Track number ten...well, i have shared enough. You will just have to wait and hear for yourself ;)

Overall, new Yeasayer= LOVE. 10.0! ***** Two thumbs up...and all that jazz. Cannot wait.

*(or go, not sure...)
**(not sure of exactly lyrics either...)
*Yeasayer video from Blogotheque...my favorite.

#87.2 - YEASAYER - 2080
by lablogotheque

*Yeasayer will release this, their sophomore album via Secretly Canadian in 2010
*Yeasayer Facebook
*Yeasayer Twitter

I am yours now...

"You used to have all the answers
And you still have the too.
And we, we live half in the daytime.
And we, we live half at night."

Tonight the streets of Williamsburg were dark by 4:5o PM as winter creeps closer and closer. It is almost December. The month where everyone will roll out their best of lists for 2009. Since I barely wrote at all this year I am at least trying to get a head start on putting some concrete thoughts down about artists, records and songs that I loved. Similar in formation to the title of their hit single "Crystalized" The XX infiltrated their way into the ears of listeners across the globe and proceeded to conquer with their slow, suffocating, humid, liquid melodies that enclose you in a cave of overwhelming emotion and sound. If it is your sort of thing. I caught their first show of CMJ (except for their KEXP in studio session at The Cutting Room Studios in NYC) at the Mercury Lounge to a sold out crowd.

When I arrived at the venue there was a line around the corner. One of my favorite local bands, Javelin opened with their own sincere style of electronic beats, lashes and whips. They are stellar in every way and I highly recommend seeing them. They are crisp, bright and energetic---full of talent and fire-so keep an eye on them.

The XX slid onto the stage, silently moving through the crowd and assembling themselves with a nervous energy in the air. Cracking the empty breath of the waiting audience with "Intro" they entered their set with the same stealth and cunning perfection as their record. Granted it might not be for everyone. Their music has a quiet strength to it and their live show did not have much going on besides watching them play their songs. For me...all of this works beautifully. Almost to a fault. Their record is so good---each song is loaded with such naked lyrics that it tends to either effect you immediately---or you are at a loss for the understanding of what it is that they do so well. My clever and beyond talented friend Louis captured them on video for their song "Crystalized" below. My favorite thing about this clip is it captures how young and innocent they are. I sincerely hope to keep the honestly and innocence of their songs that they stay this way. They are perfection.

*For more videos from CMJ visit Electric Tweed
*The XX are currently touring check dates here. They will be back in nYc at Webster Hall on December 5th with The Friendly Fires

~~'*Ambling Alp*'~~~

For those of you who haven't seen it plastered all over the interwebs...WAKE UP! Just kidding...here is a new Yeasayer song available for download straight from the band. Their upcoming album is due out in 2010 via Secretly Canadian. I CANNOT WAIT! Their performance was the highlight of the Pitchfork Music Festival and I love them. Very much.
Yeasayer Tags

Because I Am Putting Up With Your Constant Way

When I saw that my favorite tastemaker started his own video blog session as well I was so happy it was like a little "indie rock christmas." Laundromatinee sessions are beautifully recorded and shot and are holding the empty place in my heart until I can finally start something like this on my own...that is CONSTANT in NYC. For now helping KEXP will have to do and my friend Louis does an amazing job, so please check out all of his work here.

Moving along I have been obsessed with the Scottish band the Twilight Sad for a few years now. I have seen them every time they come through the city, most recently opening for Mogwai at Williamsburg Music Hall. At home on Fat Cat Records along with We Were Promised Jetpacks (also love) and Frightened Rabbit they have received more blog coverage with their new album than ever before and for good measure. Their live shows are some of the most passionate and piercing performances that I have witnessed to date. Not much movement is happening but the delivery is hauntingly other-wordly. Lead singer, James Graham is a presence unto himself. I recommend checking them out as often as possible. Their talent it something people will be talking about more frequently as they grow with each song they record. For now, check out their Laundromatinee session from this summer's Monolith Festival at Red Rocks.

*The Twilight Sad's 2009 release, Forget The Night Ahead is out now and can be purchased here.
*Twilight Sad Tags.

Back to what we do, i've heard stranger things

Switching from wanting to work towards preserving the environment into the evil music industry world was a tough thing for my parents to digest. My mother was a bit easier to convince. She likes to call me her little dreamer or her wild child, tossing around examples of how i am creative, moved to New York and always liked to dance and sing. She overlooked my unpaid internships, even longer unpaid volunteer positions, job hopping and financial instability and concentrates on my stubborn devotion of spirit and will. My father, always on the opposite side of the fighting line just sticks out his chin and goes silent. From time to time he will pipe up and tell me how he read about McCartney going on tour or the 200 trucks it takes to transport the latest U2 stage from city to city. Thank goodness being stubborn in our family gets you a long way and love carries me through the rest of it. All my happy memories of music tie themselves in one way or another to my parents or my sister. Maybe it is because there are only four of us that I feel loyal to my little nest. Most of it is because when my parents shared their music it was like a peep behind the magical wizard curtain. My dad would share stories from his Cornell days, my mom would share stories of her first time seeing Elvis on TV. It was like talking to them like I would my friends after a show. When I find bands I really love, my favorite sort of sound it always reminds me of my dad. Mostly because of their cover of one of my absolute favorite S&G songs, Cecilia The Local Natives caught my attention and made me immediately want to email their video to my dad. Hailing from Silver Lake, California their music is drenched with desert depth and saturated with golden sunshine. This area is a hotbed of melodic folk rock as of late spawning some of my favorites like Robert Francis and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zones. Many of these artists have been overlooked by the blogging community (ROBERT FRANCIS--SERIOUSLY PEOPLE YOU WILL LOVE) but i have a feeling like their neighbors to the north (PORTLAND) this will not last long.

For those of you planning out your CMJ calendars they will be in town next week at the following showcases:

*******Local Natives at CMJ**********:
Oct 22 - 3PM - Fontana’s (Aquarium Drunkard / Intelligent Noise Showcase) - NYC
Oct 23 - 12AM - CMJ Showcase @ Mercury Lounge w/ Patrick Watson, Alec Ounsworth, Sean Bones and more (21+) - NYC
Oct 23 - 8PM - Santo’s Party House (Neon Gold / Chess Club Showcase) - NYC
Oct 24 - 2PM - TBD (Brooklyn Vegan Party) - NYC
Oct 24 - 5PM - The Delancey (Deli Magazine Showcase) - NYC

From there they will be touring with TWO of my FAVORITE new artists, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Fool’s Gold. Fool's Gold are on my list to check out next week. From what I have heard they are going to be a band I can easily find myself loving to bits and pieces. Check out the rest of Local Natives' tour dates here:

Nov 1-The Clubhouse w/ White Rabbits-Phoenix, Arizona
Nov 2-El Rey w/ White Rabbits-Los Angeles, California
Nov 4-Slim’s w/ White Rabbits-San Francisco, California
Nov 5-Wonder Ballroom w/ White Rabbits-Portland, Oregon
Nov 6-Biltmore Cabaret w/ White Rabbits-Vancouver, British Columbia
*Nov 10-3rd & Lindsley-Nashville, Tennessee
*Nov 11-40 Watt Club-Athens, Georgia
*Nov 15-First Unitarian Church-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Nov 16-Black Cat-Washington DC, Washington DC
*Nov 17-Bowery Ballroom-New York, New York
Nov 20-The Starving Artist-Keene, New Hampshire
*Nov 21-Pearl Street Downstairs-Northampton, Massachusetts
*Nov 22-Club Metronome-Burlington, Vermont
*Nov 23-Petit Campus-Montreal, Quebec
*Nov 24-El Mocambo -Toronto, Ontario
*Nov 27-Lincoln Hall-Chicago, Illinois
*Nov 28-High Noon Saloon-Madison, Wisconsin
*Nov 29-Varsity Theater-Minneapolis, Minnesota
*Dec 1-Boulder Theater-Boulder, Colorado
*Dec 2-Velour-Provo, Utah
*Dec 3-The Neurolux-Boise, Idaho
*Dec 5-Neumo’s-Seattle, Washington
*Dec 8-Biltmore Cabaret-Vancouver, British Columbia
*Dec 9-Doug Fir Lounge-Portland, Oregon
*Dec 10-W.O.W. Hall-Eugene, Oregon
*Dates with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros AND Fool’s Gold

In the meantime check out their cover of Simon and Garfunkel's Cecilia....LOVELOVELOVE, if this does not make you happy then I don't know what will.

The next coming...

It is officially October. I never thought I was going to survive September, but I made it. Now it is a new month. My most favorite of all months of the year, all shiny and fresh. Forget December. October is the new December. Speaking of things being new Justin Vernon's latest project has finally hit the masses and is receiving (are we really surprised) so much lovins you would think it was a new Radiohead record. Which led me to make a statement so daring and bold, or so simple and obvious that I had to write about it. It is early in his career to make such comparisons but I think Justin Vernon could possibly have the potential of being such an brilliant and bold musician, songwriter, visionary, force field that he could be the next *Thom Yorke.* Maybe I have been listening to both of their new projects back to back too much. Or maybe I have watched the video for "Island, IS" one too many times. Either way, Unmap is something to let slowly dissolve into each distinct and divine level of resolution until it has completely molded into an overall form of succinct and disturbingly exquisite record. For that is exactly what it is.

*The video can be watched here and was directed by Michinori Saigo. Buy Unmap here.

*Radiohead Clips

The Middle East

'Blood' The Middle East

This video is hands down my favorite video to come out this year. While we watch the disappearance of record stores, magazines, record labels, radio stations, and actual physical cds, records and tapes there are things that come up and make you remember the first time you saw a music video and have hope that all is still ALIVE, CREATIVE and WELL within the music community. Thank you Middle East for this latest inspiration. Hailing all the way from Townsville, Queensland, Australia this band was a bit difficult to dig up information to report back. I did uncover that this stop-animated video for 'Blood' was directed by the Sydney Art Collective Greedy Hen. I will admit...this made me cry. Just a little bit. For reasons I don't even know or can explain. Simply, it is beautiful, the song is beautiful and it is always an amazing thing when something touches you on such a strong emotional level. I cannot wait to hear more from this band.
*Middle East Myspace
*They are currently touring Australia...you lucky Auzzzzies!