and still no release of the roots new cd how i got over. anyone heard anything about why it’s not out yet? well to satisfy any roots cravings you may have here is the video for their new single also titled “how i got over”.
rock on folks,
margaret kaye
yeasayer annouced the title of their next album a few weeks ago. their second album, called odd blood, will be released february 9, 2010 according to pitchfork. to hold us over until then, secretly canadian (the record label yeasayer is with) has a free mp3 you can download from their site, and pictured above is its album artwork. the song available for download is the first single off the upcoming album. it’s called “ambling alp” and definitely worth a listen. click here to get the download.
rock on folks,
margaret kaye
Slow Life — Grizzly Bear ft. Victoria Legrand
Hearing Damage — Thom Yorke
Roslyn — Bon Iver & St. Vincent
Those were pretty awesome, right? Some cool new tracks from your favorite artists. Excellent songs for a cold, fall evening. Now what if I told you these were from the soundtrack to a new movie? You’d want to go see that movie, right? What if I told you the movie was this?
Oh shit.
But lets think like rational people. Sure, Twilight is shit. But that shouldn’t diminish anything from these songs. They’re nothing less than stellar. These songs, at the core, have as much to do with vampires as, say, “Wrath Pinned To The Mist” has to do with steak. They are works of art that stand on their own — Twilight has nothing to do with that. And, really, the tie-in with Twilight is more beneficial than anything else. Let’s face it, Twilight fans and indie fans don’t overlap. And most Twilight fans will buy anything with those people’s faces on it — the soundtrack is for sure a best seller. So think of all the people that’ll be exposed to Bon Iver of Lykke Li. There’ll be many more indie fans because of this soundtrack. And, well, that’s a lot better than another Jonas Brothers song.
I’ll be honest. I’m perfectly fine with this Twilight business. It’s purely the context of the music, not the subject of, and the context wears off after a while. And, if I can accept Justice or Phoenix selling me Cadillacs or the Apples in Stereo selling me Pepsi, then I can certainly accept this. The incorporation of indie music with corporate products (and don’t lie, Twilight is a corporate product) is unavoidable now. Music speaks to people, it’s a common language we all share. Since music is so universal, it’d be foolish not to put good music in commercials and movies. So, instead of being angry over the increasing commercialization of music, we should reflect on how cool it is that good music is being exposed to the public. And, lets face it, how many of you have gotten into the music you listen to because you heard an awesome song in a commercial or movie? Exactly.
If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a cookie.
Dylan Hill
This past week, Animal Collective announced their new EP, Fall Be Kind, will be released on December 8th. Like their past EPs, People and Water Curses, Fall Be Kind is songs that were not finished in time or did not fit in with their latest album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Track listing and artwork:
I know, this doesn't look like anything, does it?
1. Graze
2. What Would I Want Sky?
3. Bleed
4. On A Highway
5. I Think I Can
The first four songs have been preformed live, but I Think I can has not. These songs sound much more sparse and darker than Merriweather Post Pavilion, and is more comparable to how the Water Curses EP sounded than any of their full lengths. Except for Bleed, which never goes anywhere, the songs do not disappoint — each is what you’d expect from the internet’s favorite band.
Graze, live at Prospect Park
What Would I Want Sky, from BBC Session
Bleed, live at Festival Jarocin in Poland
On A Highway, from BBC Session
Enjoy!
Dylan Hill
I didn’t really know what to expect.
Each night when I go to my 2nd job running sound at Pete’s Candy Store I usually know that I’m going to here fairly average, local music (not that it’s a bad thing) but Englishman, the unassuming trio from Lexington, KY, took me and the 20-odd folks crammed into the tiny back room by surprise last night.
From the onset, Englishman got the most out of the humble Pete’s soundsystem and filled every nook and cranny with smooth and subtle instrumentation (reminiscent of Other Lives) helped along by Matthew Duncan’s piano playing. Justin Craig’s slightly chiming, mostly shimmering guitar complemented lead man Andrew English’s acoustic strums. Everything was working for them and the music provided a brilliant backdrop for English’s haunting voice, which sounds similar to John Darnielle without the rough edges and borders on Colin Meloy without the pretense.
I couldn’t picture English singing any other way or saying anything else. That is one of the truly refreshing aspects of Englishman- the honest and endearing lyrics. I could go through the songs and pull countless phrases that the listener can latch onto. It’s true originiality, sentimentality and maturity. This band is nothing but good.
Although I didn’t know what to expect, I’m going to hedge a bet and say that the listening public should expect to hear more from Englishman in the near future. On the horizon are a Daytrotter Session, opening duties for Deer Tick and Dawes in Lexington plus more dates across the southern US in early fall.
-Patrick
