This guy totally looks like Ben Folds, and plays the piano quite well. I remember Ben Folds was good at creating songs on the spot at concerts..hmmmm
This guy uses chatroulette for its true potential, improving songs depending on the random user. Totally genius & hilarious :
It seems like buzz is created for albums by the fans alone. A band can just announce a title, give some art, and play a few live shows, and the people will take it from there. Look at what’s been happening with The National’s new album High Violet. They slowly starting give us info, beginning with the album title, and it’s special website. Next, they debuted Terrible Love on Fallon, causing all of The National’s fans to drool from their mouths in anticipation for the rest of the songs. The National continued this buzz by playing two very exclusive (21 and over no less!) shows at Brooklyn’s Bell House. This was smart because not just everyone could go, and tons and tons of people were dying to find out what they played, and to see footage. Let’s just say the rest of the world and I are dying to hear this album!
Music Taster’s Choice was one of the lucky few who was in attendance for the 2nd Bell House show, and recorded 5 new songs that they played! The songs included Sorrow, Anyone’s Ghost, Little Faith (Chrome Horse), Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks, and Terrible Love. The version of Terrible Love is a lot more powerful than the one heard on Fallon, so be sure to check that out.
Here is the official tracklsiting for High Violet, out on May 11th!
1. Terrible Love
2. Sorrow
3. Anyone’s Ghost
4. Little Faith
5. Afraid of Everyone
6. Bloodbuzz Ohio
7. Lemonworld
8. Runaway
9. Conversation 16
10. England
11. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
Watch the videos for the 5 aforementioned new songs after the jump! via Music Taster’s Choice
Well folks it looks like the mystery of Iamamiwhoami is solved. The live journal ohnotheydidn’t did some pretty heavy detective work and I think they have figured out who the person is! They have matched up photos, videos, all resembling the Sweedish singer Jonna Lee.
Here is a comparison photo that they did of two images that pretty much seals the deal, unless the photo is playing tricks on us.
They compare photos to her teeth, her piano, and show a photo she posted on twitter that resembles the one in the videos. She just happens to be playing at SXSW. It looks like we may have the mystery solved!!!
What do you think?
Be sure to read all of the evidence that ohnotheydidn’t have posted right here!!
This video makes no sense, but features plenty of music’s superstars (Andrew VanWyngarden, GZA, Fab Moretti) and trippy animation. The song is the only Devendra Banhart song I have on itunes, so it’s fitting that I post this vid. Anyone have any recommendations for other songs to listen to?
Watch below via Spinner:
She & Him’s new album Volume 2 is streaming right now at NPR, so you can grab a listen. Spring time is almost upon us, there probably won’t be a better album for those bright sunny days.
Listen to the stream of Volume 2 right here!
If you like it, grab it at insound on Vinyl or CD!
You gotta love the fact that an instrumental band is called Holy Fuck. That is beyond cool. They are back with their 3rd album, Latin, and you can listen to their brand new single “Latin America” right now! It is a really vibrant, lively, instrumental piece that sounds like it’s taking place right in your room. Matt from You Ain’t No Picasso hit the nail on the head when he said “there’s a real flow to the song and it captures a lot of the power from their live show.” Latin America really gets the blood pumping. This would be a good song to use for a TV Show’s opening theme song. It’s amazing how much emotion they are able to convey through instrumental music. Pretty amazing right?
The band announced the details of Latin via chatroulette, so kudos for them on trying something completely bizarre. Download the song below or via Holy Fuck’s official website. Latin is out May 11th on Young Turks/XL.
[mp3] : Holy Fuck – Latin America
The Morning Benders have been one of my favorite bands ever since I saw them open for The Kooks in spring 2008. They moved even further up my list after releasing the wonderful Big Echo, and capturing my heart and adoration. Chris Chu and the band have been really busy touring and promotion the record, but he still made time for a short little interview with me. The guy is top class, and really friendly.
Check it out:
Will: My introduction to The Morning Benders was when you guys opened for The Kooks at Terminal 5 back in 2008. What do you remember about that show?
Chris: That show was a lot of fun. I remember the sound being kind of weird, but the crowd being great.
Will: Can you tell my readers how the Morning Benders came together?
Chris: Match.com
Will: What was the song writing process like when you were writing Big Echo?
Chris: I wrote all the songs in one spurt, mostly in about a month or two. I generally write songs in families like that, so we know they belong together as an album. From the beginning we were calling them “Big Echo” songs. I wasn’t really clear why I thought they should be called that at the beginning, but as we started fleshing the songs out a bit it made more and more sense.
Will: How did the Yours Truly video come together? How rewarding was it for you hearing all the acclaim for it?
Chris: It was just us wanting to get together with all our friends and play a song. You see a lot of videos of bands performing songs in studio sessions or whatever these days, and I find a lot of them to be pretty boring. This was our attempt at making something special. I am so happy to see that people have been moved by the video, and have been affected enough to want to show their friends and such. It’s amazing!
Will: When did your brother become an official member of the band?
Chris: He’s been with us for almost a year now, since last spring. He went to Europe/UK with us, and did the Grizzly Bear and Girls shows.
Will: How has the moved from NYC changed your lives as musicians? I see you discovered the soup dumpling at Joe’s Shanghai from another interview. Isn’t it the greatest?
Chris: It’s been great so far. Honestly, the main reason I wanted to move to NY was the food. Joe’s Shanghai, for example, is incredible, and so unique in the states. Ippudo is really amazing as well. Diner in Brooklyn. Aburiya in midtown. They got it all.
Will: How does a song come together for the morning benders?
Chris: We start with the lyrics and melody, and then we infuse true love and deep thoughts/feelings.
Will: Favorite tour memory?
Chris: This crackhead sneaking in the back door at the Local 506 in North Carolina and pushing Julian out of the way and taking over his drum set. Right when we were supposed to start our set…
Will: With that said, Whats your “Almost Famous” moment? If you’ve never seen the movie (watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qn3tel9FWU ). Whats the “defining” moment as the morning benders so far?
Chris: We had a literal “Almost Famous” moment in the van in Arizona, last tour. We stuffed 18 people in the van, and we were all singing “Tiny Dancer.” It was beautiful! I love that movie!
Will: What artists inspired the sounds on Big Echo?
Chris: Too many to list, but here are a few albums I was really into at the time.
The Radio Dept. – Lesser Matters
Big Star – Third/Sister Lover
Kevin Shields – Lost In Translation Soundtrack Stuff
Blur – Think Tank
Talking Heads – Speaking In Tongues
Dirty Projectors – Rise Above
Nico – Chelsea Girl
Will: Favorite beer?
Chris: I drink Gin.
Will: A band that my readers should know, that no one knows about?
Chris: The Magic Kids
Big Echo is out now, and if you haven’t bought it yet, you better do so now! It’s totally worth it! Purchase it here via Insound.
Vampire Weekend probably got tired of playing Cousins, so they freshened things up by playing Holiday live on Jimmy Fallon last night. I love how CT randomly adds a beanie on his head midway through the song.
Watch below”
I’m up at 9:17 AM and about ready not ready to go back to college. Sorry that I was totally missing in action this weekend! There was a really bad electrical storm as you may know if you live on the east coast. The winds were pretty bad, causing many power lines to collapse. This is what happened to the one across the street from me, leaving us without power on Saturday night, and practically all of Sunday.
Here is a little post making up for that with the stuff I meant to post sometime within the last week, but never got the opportunity.
[mp3] : Drake – Over
This is the first Drake song I’ve ever listened to (ok, well I’ve heard Best I’ve Ever Had at a few parties, but that doesn’t really count…does it?). He gave away “Over” as the first single of his debut album Thank Me Later. I wasn’t interested in it until now, so I will thank you later Drake.
[mp3] : Pantha Du Prince – Stick To My Side (Four Tet Version)
Four Tet takes this Pantha Du Prince gem and fills up the spaces with more instantly gratifying goodies
[mp3] : T.I. – I’m Back
T.I. is out of jail, Weezy is in. I didn’t love this song at first, but it’s growing on me a bit. Either way, T.I. is one of the few modern rappers I’m cool with. So welcome back T.I.!
Last night I drove down to Brooklyn with a few friends with one goal in mind: To rock out with Free Energy. Ever since I saw them open for Hot Chip, they have become one of my favorite new bands. Their debut album Stuck On Nothing is a ridiculously catchy album that I haven’t put down yet. Their live show at Hot Chip was so good that we decided we needed more.
We found a sweet parking spot on the street, and the best part was it was free. Certainly a lot better than taking a 16 dollar train and the subway. We were starving and tried to try our luck with the Caracas Arepa bar near the venue that my stepfather recommended, but unfortunately it had a decent wait and we were running a bit late. We decided to try a vegan fast food restaurant called Food Swings instead. I am pretty far from a vegetarian. But after all it is lent and it was Friday, so it was pretty good timing. I got some nachos, and french fries, and they were amazing. If your ever seeing a show at the Knitting Factory, check that place out.
We got to the show and caught the opening band Clovers. They came all the way from Cleveland, Ohio and absolutely rocked it. Their songs had a lot of guitar distortion and delay, and pretty slick bass lines. I had a lot of fun watching them rock out, and I can certainly say that they are a band everyone should put on their must watch list. They are going to do big things. I recorded a clip from the song “Make A Wish” which stood out with a stunning bassline. Watch it below:
Free Energy were next and I honestly think a vast majority of the crowd in attendance came to see them over the headlining Foreign Born. People were going nuts dancing and singing a-long during Free Energy’s set. Paul and company were having so much fun on-stage, you can tell that they love what they do. It certainly rubbed off onto the crowd because everyone was having the time of their life singing the songs like they were classics that we drank to for decades. It was a really great set overall, even though it feel short. However, it was filled with all of the best cuts off of Stuck On Nothing. It was some of the most fun that I’ve had at a show in a while. Love those dudes!
Foreign Born came out and played an exciting set full of well articulated songs that got the crowd moving. I gotta check out the rest of their album, Person To Person. The highlight of their set was definitely Vacationing People.
Check out some photos, after the jump:
