We All Want Someone To Shout For

The beauty in music is that you can find something so different from your usual taste and get swept up in it. It may be a complete stranger to you at the start of the day, and come nightfall it is the soundtrack of your summer. This is what Sufjan Steven’s masterpiece “Illinois” did for me back in 2005. I never had ventured into any type of folk at all, at the time British rock was the only thing that mattered to me. However once I heard the beauty of “Chicago” I fell in love with it and wanted to find more.

This is what I have discovered upon listening to The Great Northwest’s debut album “The Widespread Reign Of The Great Northwest.” This is the creation of Brian Coates who used to bestudio engineer and producer for the Dandy Warhols. He devloped the band with no set lineup, having various players join. One of which is the Dandy Warhols very own. (Peter Holmstrom)

Listening to the album you really aren’t surprised it came out of Oregon. There is no better way to describe the album than their label did for them. “Lush soundscapes and ambient modulations. ” These songs sound so nice and comforting that you just want to take a walk outdoors during the summer, and sit by the fire till morning. This album isn’t one that you judge from one listen. Coastes crafted many beautiful sounds upon sounds that make the album worthy of multiple listens.The vocals are very low but fit the mood perfectly. What else could you possible have guiding you through these haunting melodies? The songs stay in your head over time, and you won’t want them to leave.

All you Dandy Warhol fans could enjoy this, but I for one don’t listen to them that much and enjoyed this a lot. This is a wonderful record that deserves a chance from everyone. There is a lot that you can get out of it. The Great Northwest have made one of the better albums of 2008, and it should claim a spot somewhere in best of 2008 list. (MP3 of Chief John below)

Tracks I Recommend:
1. Split
2. Be Coming
3.Chief John
4. Know What I Mean
5. The Key

The Great Northwest – Chief John (MP3)

The Widespread Reign Of The Great Northwest was released on The Kora Records on 7/29. Purchase it here or on itunes.

Will Sheff and the rest of Okkervil River are quickly back with a new single called “Lost Coastlines” from their new album “The Stand Ins”. You can stream the song below thanks to pitchforkmedia. The song has duo vocals from Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg who recently left the band to focus on Shearwater (who I will be posting about shortly.) The song has some great lyrics, and sort of has a sad/dark tone to it. Good preview of the new album. Sounds great to me! The Stand In’s comes out September 9th.

[Stream courtesy of pitchforkmedia.com]

Pre-Order The Stand Ins here

Who does not know Take Me Out? Well, the bigger question is who would have known that Franz Ferdinand’s 2nd album would be up to par with their debut, if not BETTER? (in some peoples opinion.) If that was not an indication that Franz Ferdinand were the real deal than what would be? How about another album that promises to be more “synth-led”? Whatever this band does, I trust them. So when I saw that they had a new song called Lucid Dreams on their site, I was quite excited to hear it. They didn’t call it a single so it is just a little preview of the new album.

The song is quite good, has a very nice beat and a catchy chorus. It is vintage Franz. I mean this may not be the synth-led departure we were promised, but who cares? Franz Ferdinand is a band that could release the same style of music each time, and it would still be some of the best music out of any year. Can’t wait for their new one. Lucid Dreams is a keeper!

Franz Ferdinand – Lucid Dreams (stream from their website)

After wrapping my mind around the amazing first day of all points west, I was ready for an even better day. On Saturday I was ready to see bands that I was more familiar with. I knew my way around the festival now, and was ready to dive into another day’s worth of music!

First we caught some of Chromeo’s set. Heard a few songs from them and thought it was fun. Very danceable and easy to get into. A pretty nice way to start the day.

We walked around and ate lunch while listening to a little bit of Metric and The Felice Brothers sets. Sounded pretty cool but it was only background music for us at the time. Would have liked to give more attention to them. Hopefully sometime in the future.

Finally it was time to see The Virgins. They have been a band I have been following ever since I heard the gem “Rich Girls.” Their album is a bit over-produced but the songs are still very enjoyable nonetheless. It is a pretty good album. They came out and kicked off with tons of energy right away. They have a great stage presence, and lead singer Donald Cumming interacted with the crowd quite well. They played the songs very well live with a more dirty/garage rock feel. Most importantly they had fun playing these songs for the hometown crowd, and you felt this positive energy. They played Rich Girls as the finale, and I was able to record it. Video below.

I caught a bit of Animal Collective’s set and enjoyed it for the most part. The thing about the performance was, I only enjoyed the select songs I recognized. Everything else sorta sounded like noise to me. I feel that unless you knew the songs very well, you didn’t get a good grip of what was going on. The crowd seemed very polarized by them. The people that I talked to after them said that they either loved them or hated it calling it “dumb noise.” I will have to see them again after I listen to some more of their stuff.

Kings Of Leon were next for me, and I was quite excited. Their album “Because Of The Times” was one of my favorites of last year, and I feel they are quite underrated here in the U.S. They came on with a ton of confidence and played a great set with new songs and old. They premiered three tracks off their new album (Crawl, Manhattan, Sex On Fire) which including the first live performance ever of “Sex On Fire”. They are some pretty solid songs. Good sign for the new album. Caleb’s singing really does these new songs justice. They were a highlight of APW for me, and made me a even bigger fan than I already was. Video’s of the new songs below.

Then of course was round 2 of the magnificent Radiohead. They changed things up right from the start by opening with Reckoner rather than the usual 15 Steps. Then they charged into a mixed set from all of their albums including the rarities such as Kid A, Bangers & Mash, Exit Music and Faust Arp, the only track they didn’t play from In Rainbows the previous night. They played with even more passion the previous night because the crowd was just plain better. They had more energy, they sang to every word of every song, you felt you were at a Radiohead concert, not a music festival WITH Radiohead. The encore was special to with more songs we didn’t get on Friday like Planet Telex and Fake Plastic Trees. Man was the latter beautiful. It also included the great live track There There. My god does that song come to life live. They ended it with the danceable Idioteque and left us quite satisfied. Man when are they coming back!!

Radiohead – APW Night Two Setist (8/9/08):
01. Reckoner
02. 15 Step
03. The National Anthem
04. Kid A
05. All I Need
06. Nude
07. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
08. Where I End And You Begin
09. The Gloaming
10. Faust Arp
11. No Surprises
12. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
13. The Bends
14. Bangers and Mash
15. Everything In Its Right Place
16. Exit Music (For A Film)
17. Bodysnatchers

Encore 1
18. Pyramid Song
19. Videotape
20. Airbag
21. Fake Plastic Trees
22. There There

Encore 2
23. House of Cards
24. Planet Telex
25. Idioteque

After months of anticipation and waiting, All Points West finally arrived! This seemed like basically a huge Radiohead show with amazing supporting acts. I mean everyone I seemed to talk to only came for Radiohead, but then again that isn’t very surprising.

My day starting off a little late, so I got there just in time to catch Mates Of State. I never heard any songs by them, but I did enjoy the set. . It started to rain during their set, but it wasn’t close to the monsoon I experienced during Vampire Weekend back in June. The duo played sweet accessible pop tunes that were very fun to watch. They didn’t blow me away, but were good enough for me to warrant a look into their catalogue.

I then waited for the magnificent Grizzly Bear. The played a very good set filled with beautiful harmonies and melodies that flowed perfectly through the NYC backdrop. Knife was very cool to see live, but the definite highlights were their two new gems “Two Weeks” and “While You Wait For The Others.” These songs were magnificent live. The crowd was really into it, as they should have been. They can really put on a nice show. However it was a bit short, around 8 songs. I guess I will have to see them when they headline to truly get the experience. Video of Two Weeks that I recorded is at the bottom of the post.

We only saw 3 songs from CSS and they were fun I guess but it didn’t help me get all the hype around them. The first song they played was nice, but the next 2 sounded just the same. I guess I just don’t get them?

Next we checked out Underworld who I had never heard of until the show. They drew a pretty massive crowd and for good reason. The British electronic duo played an electrifying set of tunes that you couldn’t help but dance along to. The visuals were very cool, and played a big part in my enjoyment of the set. The songs were very powerful and they had the entire crowd in their control. Another band I will have to check out!

Last but certainly not least, Radiohead came on with the backing beat of 15 Steps. Oh man what an entrance that was. You felt the presence of a great band as the 5 men from Oxford shire walked onto the stage. They didn’t waste anytime and continued with a powerful rendition of there there. The thing is I was very familiar with Radiohead’s hits and I have all of their albums but still haven’t fully connected with some of the songs. However this performance (my first time seeing them) changed that. There There now sounds so much stronger when I listen to it. They played all of In Rainbows except “Faust Arp.” Thom Yorke had plenty of energy to showcase throughout the night, dancing frantically to his more danceable tune “Idioteque.” He even found time to make funny faces on camera during some of the most intimate moments, like on “You and Whose Army.”

That is the beauty of Radiohead, they take their music seriously, but they do have a lot of fun with it. We were treated to “Paranoid Android” and “Just“, which made any die hard Radiohead fan 10x happier than they already were. They pushed their set past the 10:30 deadline given by APW with a second encore. Thom played a newer song “Cymbal Rush” solo on piano, and the finished off the night with a rowdy rendition of the Kid A standout “Everything In Its Right Place.” The night had ended and everything was quite alright. Until they played again in 24 hours.

Setlist:

1. 15 Step
2. There There
3. Morning Bell
4. All I Need
5. Lucky
6. Nude
7. Arpeggi
8. The Gloaming
9. Optimistic
10. Videotape
11. Reckoner
12. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
13. You And Whose Army
14. Idioteque
15. Climbing Up The Walls
16. Bodysnatchers
17. How to Disappear Completely

Encore 1
18. House of Cards
19. Pyramid Song
20. Paranoid Android
21. Dollars & Cents
22. Street Spirit

Tomorrow is the day I finally am able to see the amazing Radiohead live. Not only once, but I get to see them again on Saturday. I have been waiting for this festival since the “East Coast Coachella” rumors surfaced. It’s pretty wild to think it is right around the corner. So I decided maybe to discuss what bands I plan to see for my Friday & Saturday sets.

• The Duke Spirit: Found some videos on youtube and they seem pretty good. Almost sound like Sonic Youth at times. Seems like it could be a pleasant surprise.
• Michael Franiti & The Spearhead/Mates Of State: I heard that Michael Franiti has been getting crowds wild at other music festivals so I checked him out on youtube and sorta reminds me of Bob Marley. Mates Of State are another band I have only read from blogs, and they seem like indie darlings to me. Soft rock but they got a nice sound. I’ll see what we are in the mood for.
• Duffy: I do enjoy her single “Mercy” but don’t have anything else. She does remind me of Whinehouse a bit. I will probably take advantage of this and check her out.

• The Go! Team: I only have the song “Junior Kickstart” and think its good fun. Hoping to see what they are all about. People always mention that they are cool.
• Grizzly Bear/The New Pornographers: I am becoming a big fan of these guys, even though I only have 6 songs by them. The 2 new songs “Two Weeks” and “While You Wait For The Others” are so damn good, that I may have to miss the New Pornographers for them. It was an easier decision knowing that Neko & Bejar haven’t really been with them lately live. I hope their live reputation is as good as on TV. I think they can really put on an amazing show with the atmosphere.
• CSS: Not really a big fan of them or anything, but I do like a few songs. Fun pop-rock, can’t go wrong I suppose. They are in a vacant time spot after Grizzly Bear so why not?
• Girl Talk or Andrew Bird: Might have to make a last minute decision on which artist to see here. They basically are at the same time and while I want to see Girl Talk, my girlfriend wants to see Andrew Bird. So we will have to see how this goes. Girl Talk seems very fun live so the edge may go to him!! Bird is good, but for some reason I don’t know how good he would be live. Guess we will find out.
• Radiohead: Don’t have to really explain this one. This is basically every one’s reasoning for shelling out the $100 bucks. They are one of the biggest/best bands in the world, and we get to see them headline a festival for 2 nights in a row. Boy, is this going to be epic. I can’t wait to finally get to see why these guys are called one of the best live bands. I wonder if Thom will surprise the world with a little Creep. Hey, I can dream!

I will make another post tomorrow with pics & vids. Then another one with a review & preview of day 2. If you are going tomorrow, comment on what bands you decided to see, or if you think I am making a mistake skipping/seeing an artist! Some songs by the bands mentioned below.

Get to know SO3 right away. They are a band that you will hear a lot about from me in the upcoming months. If everyone else is hearing what I am, then they will be talking about these guys in no time. SO3 consists mainly of Mike Artamonov (Guitar & Vocals) and Serge Belongie (Bass & Vocals) who formed with 2 other friends at UC San Diego. They have dealt with a constantly changing lineup of drummers that started with member Hugh Aitchison, who left after the band decided to move to L.A. They now have various drummers play for them on recordings & live shows. They played their first show in March, 2007 and began touring. They got some buzz going with great shows with a trademark of Mike playing his guitar behind his back. That is just a sign that the guitar work presented by Mike is top notch.

They finally were able to enter the studio, and recorded their first major single “MIA.” If there was any way to showcase themselves as the real deal, it was through this power-house of a song. Right from the first guitar riff from Mike, you can tell they are all business. Both Serge & Mike take turns signing vocals and putting everything they have into each word. I really enjoyed the way the song went into the big chorus that includes great lyrics such as “i sweat in the night, and the sky opens up just like a cut, tell you what, its a sign I’m addicted and caught in a lie.” This is quality stuff.

I don’t know how its possible, but MIA finds a way to get better every time you listen to it. There is something that just clicks with you every time you give it a listen. You can really tell these guys have known each other for quite sometime and that they are bringing you along with them for their journey. You cannot help but sing along with them.

This is a hit in the making, this single deserves attention! SO3 have a great deal of potential and this is just the beginning for them. They sound like everything in modern rock combined, done right. I hope to catch them they next time they come to NYC, and you should do the same!

MP3, myspace, and video below:

SO3 – MIA (MP3)

http://www.myspace.com/so3music

Keane joins what seems every other band lately in releasing their first single “Spiralling” on their website for free download, available until August 11th. (Link is below). The song is off their third album “Perfect Symmetry” which is due on October 13th.

The band took their craving for big stadium anthem rock, gave it a dance boost and ran with it.his song rocks. Right away you notice this isn’t the same sound as “Somewhere Only We Know.” From the first yell of “WHOA” I knew something was different. I almost thought I opened the wrong MP3 until I heard Tom Chaplin’s familiar comforting vocals. They take their turn on 80′s dance rock, and they really made a fun track, It is pretty damn good. Sounds like it could almost fit onto Hot Fuss.

They were smart and realized they couldn’t just keep doing the same thing over and over. don’t understand people’s reasoning on hating Keane. The usual they sound like “Coldplay/Radiohead/U2 just isn’t fair to them. They do what they do well, and now they are reinventing their sound. Props to Keane. Whatever they are doing, they are doing quite well.

BTW singer Tom Chaplin seems to have lost some weight. I almost didn’t recognize him at first glance of their new photo’s below.

Last night among other great acts such as Rage Against The Machine, Wilco came out and did their thing at Lollapalooza 2008. Wilco has been one of the more consistantly solid bands around today.
Their set included a new song that stereogum.com reports as “One Wing.” This song started out nice and slow but then turned into a prog-rock jam that for some reason reminded me of some older Built To Spill. It sounds like they are going into a good direction for their eventual new record. The video and mp3 (courtesy of stereogum.com) is below!!

Wilco – One Wing (Live at Lollapalooza 2008) (MP3) (courtesy of stereogum.com)

I know that the Tom Petty cover came from their Central Park show in June, however I didn’t find any mp3′s of the song floating around on elbo.ws or hypem. I figured since I was the one who recorded the clip that a good portion of people saw on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su9dscd6lqs) and now that I set this blog up, that I would turn it into a MP3/bootleg for you guys. Anyway enjoy this rare track, it’s a good one. The video is below as well.

Vampire Weekend – Don’t Come Around Here No More (Tom Petty Cover) (MP3)