Feb 10
7
Notes
Peter Gabriel Too…
Peter Gabriel’s relevance in the indie (or should I say “ternative”) music scene has been present for some time now, especially with his style being replicated and name being dropped in quite a few Vampire Weekend songs and albums. But never has his presence been more felt than this past week, when his covers of Bon Iver’s “Flume” and Arcade Fire’s “My Body Is A Cage” were premiered on Stereogum.
“Flume” finds Gabriel scratching the acoustic guitar and falsetto of Bon Iver, and instead belting the lyrics out in his own way- a little stronger, a lot louder- with the help of some horns and a piano. The overall effect is much less hypnotic than the original song; while Gabriel still finds extreme emotion in Justin Vernon’s lyrics, it’s not in the same subtle, hushed way that is Bon Iver’s trademark, and is what ultimately makes the original song the beauty it is. Still, the cover works, and Gabriel wisely allows the piano to take center stage over the brass. Listen to it below: Continue reading →
Feb 10
6
Notes
Free Energy “Hope Child”
Pitchfork has announced that Free Energy’s hotly anticipated James Murphy-of-LCD-Soundsystem-produced debut album, Stuck On Nothing will be released on March 9th via DFA/Astralwerks. So much for that January release we were all looking forward to. You can see the ridiculously awesome album art above.
With just a bit over a month until the record hits stores, I hope you didn’t think Free Energy was going to leave us all without a treat. Free Energy not only come bearing good news, but also gifts.”Hope Child”, the track they performed live for P4K’s Tunnelvision at the Brooklyn Bowl, is being given away for free — a telltale sign that a band is awesome.
And in other news, the Strokes have returned to the studio!
Feb 10
8
Notes
David Byrne & Fatboy Slim “Dancing Together” (feat. Sharon Jones)
David Byrne has, once again, updated his colorful website with new streaming music off his latest collaborative project with Fatboy Slim, a concept album about the life of the first Lady of the Phillipines, Imelda Marcos.
On this latest track, the duo recruited vocal powerhouse Sharon Jones to portray Lady Marcos in the telling of the story when “Imelda takes her first trip abroad as first lady and has a great time. She hangs out with celebrities, socialites, and old East Coast money,” as Byrne puts it. You can listen to “Dancing Together” after the jump: Continue reading →
Feb 10
12
Notes
Elizabeth Seward: One New Song Every Monday
Singer-songwriter-Brooklynite, Elizabeth Seward contacted me this morning with this intriguing message:
I’m reaching out to you because you help promote musicians who have something to say.
I have something to say. I am releasing a new song every Monday of 2010 and releasing older songs here and there on Fridays. I’m doing this all on: www.elizabethseward.tumblr.com
Can I make it the whole year? I think so. I’m pretty determined to. Is it hard thinking of material each week? Not as hard as it should be.
If you’re anything like me, this concept of releasing a new song every week for a whole year really caught your attention. Now you’re just hoping Elizabeth Seward is any good. Fortunately, I can say that, without a doubt, she is. Very good, in fact. I suggest you keep track of Elizabeth’s Monday Music progress (linking to blog posts tagged with “Elizabeth Seward music”).
Oh and Elizabeth? Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you. I’d really appreciate if you tagged your blog posts with “Monday Song” or something. It’s not that I don’t care about the other stuff you blog about, but it would be really cool if I can add that tag to my Google Reader.
Feb 10
1
Notes
Quadron “Pressure” Music Video & “Average Fruit” MP3
Yesterday I talked about Quadron, the Danish duo specializing in dreamy, retrosexual Soul. I gathered that you guys rather liked what Quadron had to offer, so now I want to share with you the music video for one of my favorite tracks off their self-titled debut long player, which will be released on March 23rd via Plug Research; it’s available on iTunes now.
You can watch “Pressure” above. The clip was directed by Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen and focuses on a young romance, horses and colorful neckwear. And as an added bonus, Quadron’s label, Plug Research, is giving away the slick-bass’d album track, “Average Fruit”, which you can download below:
Feb 10
10
Notes
David Byrne & Fatboy Slim “Here Lies Love” (feat. Florence + The Machine)
We mentioned David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s concept album about the life of the first Lady of the Phillipines, Imelda Marcos, a couple of weeks ago. Byrne gave away “Please Don’t” featuring vocals by Santigold for free. You can now listen to the album’s ABBA-esque title track, featuring Florence + the Machine’s Florence Welsh.
One again, here is the star-studded tracklist: Continue reading →
Feb 10
2
Notes
St. Vincent “Laughing With A Mouth Full of Blood”
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=102692696
Look out for Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein in this surprisingly and delightfully funny music video.
Feb 10
17
Notes
Kid Cudi “Highs N Lows”
I’ve had a quite a topsy turvy relationship with Kid Cudi’s music over the past year or so, mostly from a stylistic and production point of view. Very seldom did I ever have a problem with his potency as a lyricist. In fact, I haven’t been this interested in what someone from the Freshman Class had to say since Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor in 2006.
Produced by Dot da Genius (of “Day N Nite” fame), “Highs N Lows” was recorded three or four years ago during a time when Cudi was fighting to get the wheels of his career in motion. For the more savvy listeners in the room, you may recognize Cudder rapping over Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”. When I listen to this track, I can’t stop thinking about how often Kid Cudi gets this real with us; how often he bares it all. I have to wonder what it feels like for Cudi to come back to this song 3 or 4 years after he so painstakingly wrote it. Or how to many of the casual listeners of his music, this is just another leak, another free track to add to the iPod. Well… you can download the track below: Continue reading →
