Listen / MP3 / Music — 10 comments 19
Nov 09 
You sure have changed Sia. 
Sorry, that was lame. Let’s start all over.
Sia, who happens to be one of my favorite artists ever, decided to give her fans a taste of what she’s been working on to follow up 2007’s Some People Have Real Problems. So yesterday, she Tweeted a download link of “You’ve Changed”, which will appear on her forthcoming album, We Are Born.
The first thing you will notice about “You’ve Changed” is that it is danceable (!!), something Sia hasn’t bothered to work with on Colour the Small One or Some People Have Real Problems. To be honest, she was probably too busy working on timeless modern classics like “Breathe Me” and “Soon We’ll Be Found” to worry about making you move your hips.
This change makes sense though, right? I mean, people don’t have real problems anymore, right? Let’s just dance. Continue reading →
Listen / MP3 / Music — No comments 19
Nov 09 
I personally find it rather frustrating when a band member decides to launch a solo career but simply ends up sounding like the original band he/she was originally a part of. It makes me wonder: what’s the point? But of course, that’s the fan talking in me and we all know fans have no regard for musicians lives or feelings and only want our music tastes to be satisfied. Nevertheless, I can say I am satisfied with “Give Blood,” Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio)’s single off his solo debut. This is probably because I am a fan of TV on the Radio and, you guessed it, it pretty much sounds like them.
The music video features Kyp in what appears to be a non-seedy hotel room playing his guitar. But then he starts pulling bodies out from under the bed and things get only slightly weird from there with some clay creatures and (gasp!) hand claps. Download “Give Blood” below: Continue reading →
Listen / MP3 / Music — 4 comments 19
Nov 09 
Photo by Sarah Murphy Jurado
Holy crap is “ River of Love” cheesy. I mean, it’s called River of Love, seriously, by the group United State of Electronica – a band that self identifies as “disco pop.” Completely, unabashedly, poppy and over the top – the little snare hit, the snappy guitar riffs, and of course the alternately auto-tune-crooning and soaring-coed-chorus vocals.
From the first twenty seconds of this song you know exactly what the next three and a half minutes are going to sound like, the lyrics are the same old same old talk about love and girls and boys and yadda yadda… So why can’t I stop listening to it?!
This song is like a bag of mothafuckin’ Skittles — bright, sweet, unsophisticated, you were supposed to outgrow that sweet tooth years ago — but damn if you don’t want just one more taste. Keep this one on stand-by for 3 am makeouts in the summertime.
MP3: U.S.E – River of Love
U.S.E’s Loveworld is out now via Rebel Group. Buy the album at Insound or at Amazon.
Music / Music Videos — 7 comments 19
Nov 09 
Funnest music video of the year? Probably.
We are giving away the Cousins 7″ single. Entries will be accepted until the December 15th release date. Enter here.
Contra is out 1/11 via XL. Pre-order it at InSound or at Amazon.
Edit: Web Sheriff sucks.
Interview — No comments 19
Nov 09 
Photo by meik meik
So a few weeks ago, CMJ was happening, and we were all running around like dance crazed party girls. Now that the dust has more than officially settled, we can tell you that some pretty cool shit went down. We talked to some folks. We caught some shows.
One of the people we talked to was Lucas Guerin of electro funk rock band Casxio. Emerging on the scene quite effectively with their EP Seventeen (released on The Hours Entertainment records) the video for the single views like an ode to 80s minimalist serenades to love ala Crying Game. Complete with fog machine, laser lights and the lone female professing her unrequited desire for a certain androgynous individual, it’s brilliant, really.
Casxio played a bunch of CMJ dates and barely had time to breathe, but we managed to get a few questions in. Continue reading →
Listen / MP3 / Music — 5 comments 18
Nov 09 
Photo courtesy of Little Dragon’s Myspace Page.
Is there something in the water in Gothenburg, Sweden? The Knife, The Tough Alliance, Jose Gonzalez, Jens Lekman, and now Little Dragon – those damn Swedes just keep pumping out irresistible pop melodies in a variety of weird incarnations.
Little Dragon’s track “Runabout” is certainly a slice of quirky pop, but it is uniquely, wonderfully sun-soaked; the soundtrack to a leisurely bike ride on the nicest day of summer, when you’re headed to your best friend’s house or the beach or a BBQ. A whistling flute echoes the nouveau-nu-wave synth line echoes singer Yukimi Nagano’s light-as-a-feather voice, while groovy almost-Caribbean percussion keeps it all moving along. I’ve heard it snows in Sweden, but listening to “Runabout” makes you question the very existence of something called winter.
Elegant percussive flourishes abound, the bass-line hits that unobtrusive-yet-omnipresent spot all good bass-lines strive for, and Nagano repeating “Runabout…runabout the streets…” sounds like a prescription for fun.
All in all, a tightly crafted piece of danceable pop that should be firmly entrenched in your “recently played” to prevent depression until spring comes. I would say more, but I have to go dance with my new girlfriend Yukimi. Continue reading →
Feature / Music — 15 comments 18
Nov 09 Don’t forget to rate the album at the end of the post.
Welcome back to Blinded By The Hype, the PMA feature in which we revisit albums once the hype has died down. In today’s world, music is released at a machine gun pace. It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type scene, and “lately” usually means this week. Rarely do we stop to smell the roses. Even good albums get overlooked as time passes. And we almost never – aside from year end lists – take a look backward. Hindsight is 20-20, and we’d like to apply that retrovision to set the record straight. Hence, Blinded By The Hype. A quick refresher for those of you who might have missed out on the rules the first few times. Continue reading →
Listen / Music — 4 comments 18
Nov 09 
Photo by Kirstie Shanley
“Fright Lined Dining Room” is one of the three unreleased tracks to back the Arctics’ second single “Cornerstone” off Humbug, which we were crazy about .
Alex Turner told Uncut Magazine that he wrote the song “one morning, quite quickly” adding that, “there’s something to be said for writing in the morning. At other points in the day you’re a bit more defensive. I saw it as a challenge to write something in a major key, but that wasn’t cheesy.” Truly profound mister Turner. You all will be glad to discover that “Fright” is not cheesy in the slightest. In fact, I think fans who purchase the single are going to be quite pleased to hear this little bonus. Continue reading →
Listen / MP3 / Music — 11 comments 18
Nov 09 
Karen Dancing In The Rain (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Osheaga 2009 Montreal) by Anirudh Koul
Rarely am I at a loss of words. Rarely is “wow” the only thing I am able to express audibly. “Hysteric,” when played live, is one of the few songs that make the words fall out of my head and out of my reach. Continue reading →
Aside — 5 comments 17
Nov 09 Other pretty much amazing happenings in the music blogophere that I probably won’t be writing about:
Watch Lil Wayne’s The Carter Documentary in its entirety at First Up!
Listen to and download Amerie’s “Tell Me You Love Me” at Fluxblog. It’s really f’n great.
Gorilla vs Bear has the music video of the Golden Filter’s “Thunderbird” available for your viewing pleasure — oh and an mp3 too if you want to grab that.
Download the latest compilation by the electro label Kitsune over at Hot Biscuits.
The Sound of Arrows remixed Penguin Prison over at Neon Gold.
Vinyl and Vodka have Beyonce and Lady GaGa’s music video for “Video Phone” (not to be confused with “Telephone”) available for you to watch.
