The National debuted “Terrible Love,” the lead track off their highly anticipated Boxer follow-up, High Violet last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The audio doesn’t sound too great on regular computer speakers, so I suggest you pop in the headphones.
High Violet is out May 11th on 4AD. Are you ready?
PMA favorites, Freelance Whales, set up in Grand Street Recording in Brooklyn for a homey Stereogum session. According to the Whales, this is the first time the band has ever recorded in a real studio, so it’s especially great that this experience has been documented.
What’s also great is how Freelance Whales switch up the arrangement for their debut single “Generator ^ Second Floor” (which you can download here, for free). What they were recording for is still a mystery to me. Maybe they where they retouching tracks on their self-released debut album for its re-release on Frenchkiss later this Spring. Or maybe they will be releasing an EP from these sessions. Or maybe they were just having fun, I don’t know.
Another bit of news: the release date for Freelance Whales’ Weathervanes has been moved back a month to April 13th (to give them time to retouch the tracks?). You can now pre-order the album now on CD or LP, and get a limited edition poster hand-signed by the band and an mp3 download immediately after check out, meaning you won’t have to wait until April to listen to the album on your iPod. Get to it.
Feist performed new song, “He Was Free” during her set for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Luckily someone was there to catch the performance, even though the video tilts halfway through. “He Was Free” sounds like it picks off right where 2007’s The Reminder left off — harmonious and effortlessly catchy and memorable. You can watch, and at some point just listen to Feist perform “He Was Free” in the embedded video below: Continue reading →
The Morning Benders are giving away “Excuses,” the first track off their new album, Big Echo (which was co-produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear), for free on their website. Before you download this wonderful mp3-freebie, I suggest you watch The Morning Benders’ exquisite live rendition of “Excuses”, featuring what they call the “Big Echo Orchestra”, which includes other SF bigwigs like Christopher Owens of Girls, among others. This clip was gorgeously shot by the folks at Yours Truly.
Big Echo is out on March 9th on Rough Trade Records.
File this one under “Jam Sessions To Witness In Person Before I Die”.
http://www.vimeo.com/9262188
Amiright or am I right?
[via Prefix]
Hello PMA readers! Stay with us through the night as we watch the Grammys with you, providing minute-by-minute commentary on the highs and the lows of tonight’s telecast. And all the while, make sure to keep the conversation going in the comments below, as the more responses and reactions there are, the more fun and cool this whole thing becomes. Continue reading →
Last year, DFA’s Free Energy caught our ears and hearts with a handful of tracks and a promise to bring it like a laid back Strokes on their debut LP. The Philly boys played Brooklyn Bowl not too long ago and Pitchfork was there to document the performance for one of their Tunnelvision productions. Above, you can watch Free Energy perform, “Hope Child”, a new track that will be found on their forthcoming album, Stuck On Nothing, which is expected later this Winter (I haven’t seen an official release date yet).
I’m not sure who Juan is, but Pitchfork hooked us up with these great clips of Vampire Weekend jamming out to three of our favorite Contra tracks.
While I’m not crazy about the difference in levels of quality between Vampire Weekend and Contra, I can always attest to the guys’ ability to play with 100% heart and soul on stage.
Watch Vampire Weekend play “Horchata,” “White Sky,” and “Cousins” and download a few MP-Freebies below: Continue reading →
VV Brown transforms Beyonce’s Pitchfork-adored “Crazy In Love” into a pumped-up, folksy flurry of energy. It’s the latest track in her series of live covers. Past covers include Kid Cudi’s “Day N Nite” and Drake’s “Best I’ve Ever Had.” Her frantic rendition of “Crazy In Love” is easily the best of the bunch and has a killer chance of becoming my favorite cover of the year.
Make sure to check out VV Brown’s latest release, The Attic EP on iTunes. You can now download VV Brown’s “Crazy In Love” cover on MP3! Continue reading →
Weezer performed “Kids” and “Poker Face (zomg!) at T-Mobile’s new Sidekick premiere (lame) last week. Just watch the video — Weezer always kills quirky randomness. That’s why we love them, right?
It’s a great feeling knowing that our dorkiest rock star enjoys delicious servings of fine pop music… just like the rest of us! Catch the mp3 after the jump Continue reading →
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