Posts Tagged: Ra Ra Riot

Music / Podcasts — 10 Comments
28
Oct 09

pmaCAST #20: There’s Something Living In These Lines

pmaCAST #20: Theres Something Living In These Lines musicI watched Gigantic for the first time tonight. It was an odd movie, for sure, but I was delighted to see the movie’s last few seconds scored by Animal Collective’s “Did You See The Words?”

It was the perfect odd-ball song to close an odd-ball film. What was better yet was the music binge I went on right after the credits closed. These songs are what make up this twentieth episode of the pmaCAST. Hopefully you’ll find the track list fitting of this milestone episode.

pmaCAST #20: There’s Something Living In These Lines Tracklist

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Music / Remixes — 2 Comments
9
Aug 09

Ramalama (Bang Bang)

Ramalama (Bang Bang) music
I have an uncharacteristically complicated relationship with the wonderful Roisin Murphy. I absolutely throw it down when one of her tracks comes on. She is everything I look for in a female vocalist with an electronic twang. However, I have never really cared of any of her releases or bothered to go out and purchase any of her albums until I find them in some clearance bin.

I’ve had a tumultuous few weeks with Roisin’s debut album, Ruby Blue. I have been going back and forth, sometimes enjoying it thoroughly and other times pushing it aside, annoyed. Nonetheless, the album’s titular track was included in the latest pmaCAST episode, and now I’m going back to another favorite, “Ramalama.” I was listening to it earlier today… and one thing led to another… and now I have this little mix on my hands. Continue reading →

Album Reviews / MP3 / Music / Reviews — 53 Comments
9
Jul 09

Discovery – LP, Album Review & Vinyl + CD Giveaway

Discovery LP, Album Review & Vinyl + CD Giveaway album reviews reviews 2 Discovery
LP

XL
out July 7th

86/100
[Rating Scale]
Buy it at Insound!

[rating:86/100]
With the recent passing of Michael Jackson, every blog I read had some kind of eulogy to the king of pop – by the same writers who, a post earlier, had extolled the music of Dirty Projectors or Grizzly Bear or Animal Collective, or by musicians whose work seems worlds apart from Jackson’s. We might see indie music and pop music as worlds apart, but the trick is not to think of indie music as a reactionary measure, but as a division of pop music that is just less well-known. I feel like sometimes in our day and age people have a genre allegiance that thoroughly blinds them – a weird pretentious image, “too good for pop music.” “Too hip for pop music.” When you think about this, I’m sure you can realize how useless it is. Where would any of us be without pop music? There would be nothing without pop music. None of us is too good for the music we grew up with, and the music that inspired every musician we know.

In short, pop music is not a crime, and what I’ve been getting at this whole time is that Discovery’s LP is not a crime and it is perfect summer pop music. What’s wrong with that?

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Covers / Listen / MP3 / Music — 3 Comments
23
Jun 09

Discovery – So Insane/I Want You Back (Jackson 5 Cover)

Discovery So Insane/I Want You Back (Jackson 5 Cover) covers
“So Insane” is another track off Discovery’s metronomic album, LP that has a so-insane hook, “oh baby you got me going so insane and I just don’t know what’s going down” that, along with “Orange Shirt,” this song will go down as one of LP’s highlights. Discovery, one big part Vampire Weekend and an even bigger part Ra Ra Riot, stick to their formula of breaking down the walls the indie and pop communities built between them.

Throughout the song’s 3 short minutes, you can hear finger snaps from the house of T-Pain (not to mention the Auto-Tune!), Crystal Castles glitch-breaks, and synth reminiscent of Hot Chip. However, like all of the Discovery tune’s I’ve heard, “So Insane” sounds unmistakeably fresh. Listen to “So Insane” here. Continue reading →

Listen / MP3 / Music — 12 Comments
30
Apr 09

Vampire Weekend plus Ra Ra Riot equals Discovery

Vampire Weekend plus Ra Ra Riot equals Discovery listenI have three confessions: I love Vampire Weekend, and I love Ra Ra Riot, and I love Discovery.

What Discovery is, besides the spaceship and a TV channel, is Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles and Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij, and instead of churning out lovely orchestral pop as they do with their respective bands, they churn out… jams. Z100-style club-banger jams, with autotune and fuzzy synth and lyrics like “google yourself when you get home.” Jams I, a white girl, feel comfortable awkwardly gesticulating to whilst driving in my car or whilst alone in a room (sometimes, I must admit, in a room with other people). Jams of the caliber of “Single Ladies” or “Yeah!” era Usher.

Discovery have two songs as of now, so maybe I’m taking things a step too far when I laud them so passionately.

But listen to this: Continue reading →

Gig Reviews / Gigs / MP3 / Music / Remixes / Reviews — 17 Comments
9
Apr 09

Ra Ra Riot – Webster Hall, NYC, April 4 2009

Ra Ra Riot Webster Hall, NYC, April 4 2009 gig reviews
Wes Miles pulls at his clothes like he wants to say “Free me from this earthly prison!” He stares into nothing. He turns this way and that with lifts and presses of one boat-shoed foot. Wes Miles does not stand still, and the rest of his band does not stand still, and no one in this cavernous room stands still, and everything jitters electrically.

This is Ra Ra Riot’s biggest headlining show to date, and Wes nervously admits this between “Run My Mouth Off” and “Winter ’05,” halfway into the show as if he doesn’t want to jinx things. I have always believed that Ra Ra Riot deserve more attention and more love, and when year-end lists came out last December I looked nervously for The Rhumb Line (their only album) everywhere, for their name in the top-ten of best live band, for “Ghost Under Rocks” under best song, but I was disappointed to discover that not all people extend the kind of adoration to Ra Ra Riot that I do. This sold-out show appears to be a step in the right direction. Continue reading →

Listen / Live Music / Live Performances / Music / Videos — 3 Comments
20
Feb 09

Ra Ra Riot Does A Take-Away Show!

La Blogotheque’s Take-Away show series continues to be the best way to watch your favorite bands play music. Every video is fantastic, from Arcade Fire playing “Neon Bible” in a cramped elevator, to Zach Condon singing “Nantes” with Beirut on the streets of France, to Fleet Foxes harmonizing in a gymnasium, and now Ra Ra Riot jamming in a skate park. The shows always fill me with joy- you’re able to watch a raw performance with no studio layers, just your band playing their heart out. Check out Ra Ra Riot’s “Dying Is Fine” below.

http://www.vimeo.com/3265424
Interesting Reads / Live Music / Music / Music Festivals / News — 2 Comments
14
Feb 09

SXSW Schedule Announced- You MUST Go!

SXSW Schedule Announced You MUST Go! interesting reads

Wow…SXSW has yet again put an incredible lineup together for their festival this year. The talent includes, and is in no way limited to:

Peter Bjorn and John, Bishop Allen, The Tallest Man On Earth, Andrew Bird, Miniature Tigers, Grizzly Bear, Katy Perry, Ra Ra Riot, Little Boots, N.A.S.A., Miniature Tigers, Delta Spirit, The Airborne Toxic Event, Josiah Leming, Passion Pit, Department of Eagles, Princeton, The Hold Steady, The Morning Benders, White Lies, Friendly Fires, Your Vegas, Titus Andronicus, The Break And Repair Method, The Duke Spirit, The Republic Tigers, The Decemberists…

And really, who knows who and how many I missed. It truly is an endless lineup of unbelievable bands and individuals, and you should absolutely make an effort to get yourself to this festival. Let PMA know who exactly you plan on seeing, and what buzz bands playing SXSW you want the world to know about.

Check out the lineup, broken down both alphabetically and day-by-day here. Thanks to Stereogum for the tip. The festival takes place from March 18-March 22.

MP3 / Music / Remixes — 8 Comments
27
Jan 09

Ra Ra Riot – Ghost Under Rocks (Passion Pit remix)

Ra Ra Riot Ghost Under Rocks (Passion Pit remix) mp3

Even though I’ve given them some love, I don’t feel like I’ve given Ra Ra Riot the love they deserve on PMA. “Ghost Under Rocks” is made up of  everything I loved about Ra Ra Riot’s debut. The life affirming air of it all, the dirge-esque feel of the lyrics; almost like a memorial to a lost friend, or brooding ovation to the people who have always been there through thick and thin.

All this is taken to the next level on this captivating remix. When I told you guys to watch out for Passion Pit in 2009 (just in case you missed their single in late 2008), I wasn’t kidding. This is just a taste of the monsterous and magical things you can expect from them on their debut LP. And really, if you don’t like this, you need to get new ears, pronto.

Come and grab the remix, you know you want to… Continue reading →

Listen / MP3 / Music / TV Shows — 12 Comments
9
Jan 09

The Real MTV- Music on MTV

The Real MTV Music on MTV listen

Here we go again, this time with music recaps of the most recent episodes of Gossip Girl and 90210, along with the second third of Chuck’s season two.

Starting with Gossip Girl’s fourteenth episode in season two, “In The Realm Of The Basses.” This annoyingly-titled episode contains one of the show’s best song selections to date- Department of Eagles’ catchy and beautiful “No One Does It Like You.” It also featured a song from the great rising band The Little Ones. Their song “Morning Tide” was stuck in my head for a while, and the song used on GG, “Like A Spoke on a Wheel,” is great as well. Another fantastic song used was “Who’s Crying” by The Temporary Thing. I’m going to check out more of their music right now.

OK, I’m back. It’s a guy named Andrew Gleason. He’s really good.

The list:

90210 had a good music week as well, with “Hello, Goodbye, Amen,” episode 12, featuring one of my favorite songs of 2008, “Spaceman.” By none other than Brandon Flowers and The Killers. The episode also used a Joshua Radin song, “The Fear That You Won’t Fall.” His music is always good for television shows like these. Continue reading →

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