Arctic Monkeys stopped by BBC Radio 1′s Live Lounge and performed a cover of Katy B’s “Katy On A Mission”. For some reason they love covering female singers/pop stars. It works though, and that’s a testament to the bands unique talent.
Grab a download below.
[mp3]: Arctic Monkeys – Katy On A Mission (Katy B Cover)
Arctic Monkeys have released a music video for new b-side “You & I”, which features Richard Hawley. The clip finally features all of the Monkeys, including Nick & Jamie. You get some fun in studio footage of the band recording the song with Hawley, along with some bad-ass hanging outside of the studio.
Catch the clip below. As Arctic Monkeys US properly puts it, it’s like a grown up version of the Teddy Picker video.
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Arctic Monkeys new b-side is called “You & I” and features Richard Hawley. It’s accompanying the “Black Treacle” single release, which is due out via Domino on February 21.
The single features the Arctic’s rocking out with Richard Hawley taking over lead vocals. It definitely captures that Suck It And See sunny desert feel. Big guitar solos and all.
Stream it below.
Last week I shared Alex Turner’s cover of Patsy Cline’s “Strange” that he did for Triple J’s Like A Version. Now we have a video of the performance. It’s a delight to watch first hand. Check it out below.
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We’ve done readers polls in the past, but the amount of you that came out and voted this year blew my mind. Thanks to google docs, I was able to make the voting simple and breezy for all of you, and you guys came out in crazy numbers. 659 of you voted for your favorite album/song of the year, and I’m still in shock that so many of you took the time to vote, so thank you.
The album results aren’t too surprising (a good thing!), while the song stays pretty true to my own top list, with a few surprises thrown in. But is was basically the year of Bon Iver/M83, as we all know.
This finally wraps up my end of the year coverage for 2011. The results are posting below.
Thanks again for a great year!
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(photo via here)
I was fortunate enough to see a great deal of shows in 2011, and it wouldn’t feel right not looking back and tracking down which shows were the best of the best. Whether it was catching bands like LCD Soundsystem & The Strokes at the always massive MSG, seeing Crystal Castles at a firehouse, or the many bands at Bonnaroo, there was plenty of great 2011 shows that I will always remember.
Lists are always fun, and I’m in a groove, below is my top 25 shows of 2011. You know it was a good year when The Strokes don’t even make your top 10, and you saw them twice.
25. Friendly Fires, The Naked & Famous, and Cults @ Central Park Summerstage (August 7, 2011)
24. The Drums @ Bowery Ballroom (November 2, 2011)
23. Real Estate @ Bowery Ballroom (November 23, 2011)
22. Passion Pit @ Cornell University (November 5, 2011)
21. The Horrors @ The Studio At Webster Hall (August 9, 2011)
20. Beach Fossils @ 285 Kent (July 2, 2011)
19. The Antlers @ Bowery Ballroom (May 20, 2011)
18. Wild Beasts @ Le Poisson Rouge (July 14, 2011)
17. The Vaccines @ Bowery Ballroom (January 20, 2011)
16. Death From Above 1979 // The Drums @ The Williamsburg Waterfront (July 22, 2011)
15. Animal Collective @ Prospect Park (July 12, 2011)
14. Caveman @ Glasslands Gallery (October 21, 2011)
13. Death Cab For Cutie @ Bowery Ballroom (June 1, 2011)
12. Cut Copy // Foster The People @ Prospect Park (August 11, 2011)
11. The Strokes @ Madison Square Garden (April 1, 2011)
10. Bon Iver @ Prospect Park (August 10, 2011)
- All the magic of their two albums came to life beautifully during a perfect mid-summer night. It was after all the hype of the new album, but right before all his recent fame. It was perfect.
9. Sufjan Stevens @ Prospect Park (August 2, 2011)
-Sufjan Stevens is just a natural performer. He put on an incredible show with lots of theatrics, costumes, and even cool lights. The real magic was when he played songs from Illinois. Hearing those songs took me back to highschool and brought back all those old memories. Now that’s live music for you.
8. The National @ The Beacon Theatre (December 15, 2011)
-The most recent of all these shows, so the review may be fresh in your minds. It’s likely to be the last time I see them for a while, and I’m ok with that because they were electric.
7. The Walkmen @ Bonnaroo (June 9, 2011)
- I love The Walkmen, but didn’t expect them to sound as stunning as they were during night 1 of Bonnaroo. I sacrificed finally seeing Sleigh Bells to see them play, and I don’t regret it for a second. They finally played “The Rat” for me as well. Just saying.
6. Radiohead @ Roseland Ballroom (September 29, 2011)
- I saw Radiohead play the Roseland Ballroom the night before my 21st birthday. I think you get the idea.
5. Fleet Foxes At United Palace Theater (May 18, 2011)
- Boy, did Fleet Foxes sound magical this night. United Palace Theater was the perfect place to sit down and take in all the beauty that surrounded you. Fleet Foxes are stars, and this concert proved it.
4. Crystal Castles @ Spin/Ray-Ban’s CMJ Flip Out Party (October 22, 2011)
- Everything you heard about Crystal Castles live (the good), is 110% correct. Alice Glass used me to propel herself into the crowd. It was just a big giant dance party/rave. A genuine great time. Everyone needs to experience this band at least once.
3. Arcade Fire @ Bonnaroo (June 10, 2011)
- It was a humid night, I was dripping wet, dehydrated, tired, slugging back warm beers, with no room to breath in a restless crowd. Then Arcade Fire came on, and all was forgotten. I was soon reminded of how great of a band that these guys are. They are saving rock music.
2. Arctic Monkeys @ The Music Hall Of Williamsburg (October 19, 2011)
- Arctic Monkeys are playing one of the smallest shows that they will ever play in Brooklyn? I thought I was dreaming. Being able to sing along and watch the Arctics work their magic from a mere few feet away was beyond a dream come true. It’s probably never going to happen again, and I realize how fortunate I was to experience it.
1. LCD Soundsystem’s Final Show At Madison Square Garden (April 2nd, 2011)
- An easy #1 choice for me. I dropped an insane amount of money (yes, I do pay for my tickets most of the time, shocker?) to sit at the nosebleeds, and it was absolutely worth it. If that show was truly LCD’s last show ever, then I was blessed with one of the finest musical memories of our generation. James Murphy and friends jammed out for nearly 4 hours. They took intermissions, brought out guests such as Arcade Fire, and put on one of the greatest performances that I have ever seen. I’m sad that they are gone, but I’m happy I have such a happy last memory of them.
RIP, LCD.
Thanks to Cam for the artwork.
Here’s the list you all have been waiting for (top albums of the year can be found here). It’s 100 of my favorite songs of the year. The term “best” doesn’t leave much room for objectivity, and favorite sounds a lot more personal. I didn’t have the heart to limit these great songs to a list of just 25-50 because there’s simply too much good stuff out there. You can stream all the tracks individually,and listen to the spotify playlist.
I present to you, my favorite songs of the year 2011:
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Cheers To Camilo for the album art.
These are my favorite albums of the year. It wasn’t the year I thought it would be, but it had plenty going for it. A lot of good young artist came out and surprised me a great deal. I went with 31 albums because 20 + 11 = 31. It made more sense at first. I am ready to move on to 2012, but first, check out what records I was spinning in 2011.
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Arctic Monkeys were joined by Miles Kane for a performance of the b-side that the band recorded with Miles for the “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala” single. The performance took place in Melbourne, and it’s just as awesome as one would hope.
Watch the performance below.
Over the summer Arctic Monkeys played a huge homecoming show at Sheffield’s Don Valley Bowl. Their friends at Focus Creeps, who have been making the Suck It And See music videos, recorded a few songs from the performance, and the result is a cool clip called their “Sheffield Homecoming”.
This is a must watch for all fans of the band, which is hopefully most of you reading this. Catch the clip below.
