Austra-awestruck

In reading the Adele issue of OUT I came across an snippet of an article all about Austra. It's a group that centers around a vocalist who besides being gorgeous also happens to be a lesbian, Dyke Power!! RAWR! I started listening to their stuff and got into it quickly! Busy at work so that's it for this post. Austra plays The Great American Music Hall
July 25th. Check it.


NSFWish

Wounded Grimes

I saw Lykke Li perform last night and was blown out of the water! Her light show and stage theatrics were outstanding. I would have to say it was the best show I've seen in years. It was 100% 'on' the entire show! If you haven't seen her live I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Opening for Lykke was Grimes. I had never heard of Grimes but was shocked at how strong her performance was. It was basically her performing sans band but with a keyboard, a mic, some electronic equipment and a old burlap sack she shucked off mid-performance. The sounds coming from the stage were incredible. Here's some tracks from Grimes. It's mostly atmospheric in nature but a great listen nonetheless. Check it!

Viva La Weekend!

House of Salad covers Roisin Murphy: Dear Miami homage to DP.
Robyn: Call your Girlfriend
Austra: Beat and the Pulse (MORE ON AUSTRA NEXT WEEK)
Peaches: Downtown
Lady Gaga: Fashion of his Love (yes Gaga give it a chance)
Nikka Costa: Ching Ching Ching Free Music (coming to The Independent soon)
Lykke Li: Get Some (playing The Regency Monday)
Blackbird Blackbird: Float On

Diamond Rings! A girls best friend.

Can't talk, too busy...want to die. Diamond Rings playing The Independent June 13th. I wanna dance like this! Check it.

everybody's working for the weekend.

Swamped @ work. Boo! Here's a playlist to get you through the day. I'm hoping to have time to do post with sustenance later. Check it.

ADELE: Rolling in the Deep Jamie XX
KAREN ELSON (yes that one): Truth is in the Dirt
NEON HITCH: Get Over U
CULTS: Abducted
CRYSTAL CASTLES: Not in Love
PANDA BEAR: Comfy in Nautica

I'm so busy I could Scream!

I know, I know I promised to check into Little Scream as she's opening for The Antlers next week. Unfortunately my real job is trying to devour my face so I've just been able to listen to vids on youtube while slowly pulling my hair out. As far as I can tell Little Scream makes a great compliment to The Antlers sound. Enjoy the vids and see you Tues. @ Great American.

Bursting Apart at the seams

Profound is the best way to describe The Antlers' Burst Apart. If you listen to only one album this week make it this one. They're playing Great American Music Hall next Tuesday. They'll be joined by Little Scream; discovering them today. So don't get too wasted this weekend! You'll regret missing this show. Trust.

Black Sabbath

Tomorrow will mark a monumental event @ Rickshaw Stop. Two amazing acts will be co-headlining a night of epic proportions. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little BUT it really will knock your socks off. On the list to perform are The Black Ryder & Blackbird Blackbird with opening acts White Arrows (read about them here) & Wolf Feet. There are vids to check so get busy. Tickets to the show are only 12 bones and the show begins @ 8.

Blackbird Blackbird
Wolf Feet
The Black Ryder
White Arrows

Message in a Bottle

There are a gazillion ways of saying I'm sorry and pretty much every musician/band has a song expressing some form of apology or another. Here are a few classic examples to say "I'm Sorry" in case you ever have to.

Human League: Human

Brenda Lee: I'm Sorry

Brandy: Human

Feist: So Sorry

Chicago: Hard to Say I'm Sorry

Spooner full of sugar.

Casey Spooner is an act all his own, like the Tom Ford of music. His work as part of FischerSpooner was incomparable; groundbreaking. Big hits like Emerge, Sweetness, and The Best Revenge are awesomne electro classics! FS videos on their own were breathtaking regardless of soundtrack! I wish I had had the chance to see them perform live. Nonetheless I'm still a huge fan of Casey Spooner and his insane talent. Here are two new tracks that you'll for sure enjoy and a cover that I can never get enough of. Check it






My favorite day of the month.

Being Pure at Heart is a fulltime job

Sometimes you wanna just jam out to some damn good sing-a-long rock music, right? Think: The Cure, Joy Division, The Smiths...we on the same page? Ok. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (despite their long-ass name) are a little bit of all three. My Terrible Friend and Heart In Your Heartbreak are awesomes songs that would be good additions to your The Cure playlist. Anne with an E is a Morrissey yearn if I ever heard one. Check out the album it's fantastic!! They haven't confirmed an S.F. show yet but I'll let you know when they do!

Viva La Weekend!

Another weekend is upon us and if you're not one of the lucky one's to get Raptured tomorrow you're gonna need some music to fill it up with. Kylie Minogue is coming to the Bill Graham Auditorium manana and I can't make up my mind if I'd rather be Raptured or do my thang with Kylie. Decisions...jesus take the wheel but not until after the show. Mkay, thanks. Listen closely boys and girls.

FAVORITE KYLIE SONG!

havin' a pow WOW

So I was @ Blue Bottle this morning and what were they playing? Mind, Drips that uber-trippy song from Neon Indian. Was this irony at play here? Don't this so! Guess who's opening for Sleigh Bells next weekend?? NEON INDIAN! I mentioned in my last post the shows are sold out but you CAN find some tickets on Craigslist. Seriously, go look! You can download Neon Indian's latest CD with remixes @ amazon. My favorite mix has got to be Terminally Chill mixed by Yacht. You might remember Yacht from a previous post. Check it and maybe I'll see you at the show!

Tell 'Em I said hello

Sleigh Bells are playin' The IndependentMay 30 and 31 and unless you got some connection to the mafia you ain't gettin' a ticket; SOLD OUT, both nights! Sleigh Bells have a psychotic sound, the vocals are not always so set apart from the music, but instead integrated into it as an augmentor or another instrument. Alexis Krauss' gentle, easily molded voice (not to mention she's a knockout!) is intriguing and almost reaches out to grab you deeper into each song. Then again, tracks like Kids and Riot Rhythm don't fuck around. They're hardcore jams a-la M.I.A. Check out the entire album, Treats, it definitely is one. If you're dying for tix, scope out Craigslist and StubHub you may get lucky, sucker!

Confessional

Ok so I have to confess something...I like Britney's new song. I mean, um it's catchy and has a great beat mkay?! Trust, Britney has pretty much never had a home on any of my music playing devices but I'm gonna fess up to downloading Till the World Ends (even the Femme Fatale remix)! GASP...I know, I know; have a listen and try and not get into it. Don't get me wrong this kid will not be running to Sadlands to get his ga-roove on but I will shake my rump in private! Check it. Love it. Do it to it!



If you have the stomach for it, watch her 'perform' it LIVE! So Painful!

Hearts Beat

Quickie post: I Break Horses' fantastic single Hearts. Beautiful, sad, and breathtaking in one tight little package. Check it.




P.S. Haven't forgot about the contest I hope. Waiting on confirmation to announce it! Tick Tock.

The Velocity of Time...

Cibo Matto was quirky, funky, oddball Japanese style music that you either LOVED or HATED! As a foodlover I could appreciate songs like Know your Chicken, Beef Jerkey and who can forget Sugar Water on their first album Viva! La Woman. Their second album Stereotype A was notably more mellow but also amazing. Incorporating punk, bossanova and rap they teamed with Sean Lennon to take their sound to another level, a psychedelic level. Moonchild, Clouds, SciFi Wasabi and Clouds are standout tracks on that album. An EP released in 2008 included their cover of Agua De Marcos a bossanova classic. Cibo Matto returns to the stage June 25 @ Bimbo's 365! It's a once in a lifetime event so make sure to get tix NOW!

It's coming...

Still workin' on contest logistics so STAY TUNED!!! Make sure to keep your Sunday May 22nd night open!!! You can find a hint somewhere in this post...

Violently Happy...

I'm pretty sure Bjork was listening to a song just like Karl x Johan's Flames when she wrote Violently Happy. It's one of those songs that transports you to your school days (not all of it was bad)! OR You know when you watch a high school movie like 'Can't Buy Me Love' or 'Pretty in Pink' and everything is falling into the lap of the protagonist? You know that feelin'?? It's that kind of song. Check out Flames and Fantasies to get you started and reminisce about the good ol' days. You can get a free REMIX
by clicking the link. Check it.

New Jack Swing

So L.A. Noire is being released today and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy! When I get to heaven (crossing fingers) there better be a PS3 waiting for me or someone's getting hurt! Ok back to music. I am a big fan of 30's big band swing music and one of my favorite artists is Django Reinhardt. Odds are you probably heard a Reinhardt tune either in a movie, commercial or even a video game (Bioshock 1 & 2 come to mind). I like to broaden my musical horizons so hopefully you'll appreciate the suggestion. Enjoy and BTW I will be doing a special CONTEST post today so keep your eyes open for that!

Civilian casualties

I love stumbling upon new music, esp. new music that's truly good. Wye Oak's new album, Civilian, is amazing in it's grandeur and depth. Sometimes rock-a-billy [Civilian] other times punk rock [Holy, Holy] with some quiet moments [Plains] that really spotlight Jenn Wasner's husky voice. The entire album is just about a million genres in one, check it. Wye Oak is part of a phenomenal Outside Lands line-up this year. Some tickets are still around so better get them while you can.

Osito Panda

Panda Bear's latest CD, Tomboy, is mesmerizing. The vocals may sound familiar if you've heard any Animal Collective. People have compared Noah Lennox to Brian Wilson but honestly I hear more Paul Simon and Mamas & Papas than I do Brian Wilson; either way the sounds are lush and hypnotic. Check out the title track which mimics the stuff on AC's last CD; makes you wonder how much influence Lennox has over the Animal Collective sound (tons). Standout tracks include: Alsation Darn, Slow Motion, Sufer's Hymn, and Friendship Bracelet. The entire album is crazy good. Check it & enjoy.

to the WEEKEND.

I've decided to start something new with every late Friday post: my weekend playlist. Just a few tracks that will get your weekend off to a great start and keep it there 'til we're back at it Monday morn. Enjoy and felicidades!

Jewel of the Nite

So all systems go with blogspot!!

A few years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Little Dragon for the first time. Opening up for them was an awesome group, Nite Jewel. The very first song I heard was a cover of Roxy Music's, Lover. It was magical. Dreamy vocals cascading over synthy electro streams set the mood for lovin' and that's just one track. They've released a number of EP's and a full length album, Good Evening, that hits the spot. They kind of sound like super classy 80's porn music which honestly who can resist?! Nite Jewel will be DJ'in' @ Public Works May 22nd so go check 'em out!

A Lesson in Tennis

So everyone's in love with Best Coast and for damn good reason. But let's try and widen our Cali-beach music horizons and look at Tennis, shall we? I originally discovered Tennis via Zune (yes Microsoft Zune); their single Marathon hooked me in with echoey vocals and great riffs. I took the album for a whirl and was amazed at how cohesive their sound was/is! Amazon has the album for 5 bones! Check it!! This SF weekend is supposed to be dreary so why not get to know Tennis and daydream of hot Dolores park weekends and the truffle guy! Your serve!


Anyone who knows me well knows why I LOVE LOVE LOVE this video. ENJOY!

Love we have...

One of them days, lemme tell you what! I'm gonna kick it with my homegirl on our Wednesday walk and need some sessy jams to get the evening started just right. Remember when I said I'm not tryin' to be groundbreakin', well I meant it. I just wanna expose you to some music you're gonna love. Check AlexKid and get yo funk on!

Alice leaves Wonderland.

When iamamiwhoami released their first video the web was abuzz with speculation as to who it could be...Lady Gaga, Christina, Goldfrapp? The list went on and on. Who it ended up being was a surprise to pretty much everyone although by the time their second full-length track and accompanying video was released there was strong indications it was actually Swedish chanteuse Jonna Lee. It's been awhile since I've heard or seen anything new from iamamiwhoami but the In Concert MP3 deserved a post. It's a freakin' steal @ $0.99 and is definitely a good listen. It's has it's avant-garde moments but the tracks are killer. Make sure to check out their youtube channel for more gorgeous vids and tracks. I'm hoping we haven't heard the last of them. Check it, dig it.

Exorcise the Demons

Swamped @ work. New music now: Nightsatan-Midnight laser warrior. Imagine the Legend soundtrack redone for 2011; great atmosphere music. Here are two to enjoy.

Work Through the Pain

Ok so this post is definitely more humorous than a serious recommendation for your iPod. If you've never heard of Leslie Hall then pay attention I'ma school you. You may or may not know this but I crochet, like for reals crochet. A few years ago I was searching for a pattern and came across the video for Craft Talk. I was immediately hooked (no pun intended). Leslie Hall looks like 80% of the women who went to my Born-Again Christian church back in New Mexico; scurry...yet, intriguing. Fast forward to today; her new track Hydrate Jirate is of the hook (more crochet humor). The funny thing is the more stuff she does the more legit the songs sound. If this came up on Pandora I'd probably assume it's Peaches before Leslie. Take note of Leslie's straight up American Apparel Prosti-wear, this is how you do it ladies. Check it!

The Noise Made by People

Quick post: No Joy-Ghost Blonde is complex. Complex and scary good. Check out, Hawaii (the video is awesome, Indigo Child (Stereolab Remix is bananas) and lastly Maggie Says I Love You. You can DL the Stereolab mix of Indigo Child @ RCRD LBL. Check it. Whew...back to work!

Pretty fly for a white guy...

The term "pretty fly for a white guy" truly fits no one better than Erlend Øye. The guy has done vocals for a number of projects, most notably Röyksopp and Kings of Convenience, but his solo projects really get the full-funk attention. Although released in 2003 his album, Unrest, is a testament his musical prowess; 8 years old and still fresh. I created a playlist of his best stuff, let me know if I forgot your favorite. If you don't have a favorite here are a couple I think you'll have on repeat for awhile: Prego Amore and I Don't Know What I Can Save You From . Check it, play it.

I sleep with a Night Light

Little Dragon's new CD, Ritual Union is set to be released in July and I'm shivering with anticpation to hear it all. The first single from the album, Night Light was released in early April and man does it sound gooood. You can tell from the track that they are continuing their journey into a more experimental sound. Whereas thier first album had a strong vocal R&B-Funk sound, Machine Dreams and Ritual Union are electronic beat and killer vocals driven. Yakimi Nagano's vocals are really what make Little Dragon. Her voice is so unique you'd recognize it no matter what kinda music accompanies it. (check out today's first post for proof). Little Dragon will be performing at UCLA Jazz/Reggae Festival later this month and in August will be joining an insane line-up @ Outside Lands in San Francisco. I got two new songs below so check it.

Nagano let you down.

If you're a Little Dragon fan you probably can't get enough of uber-talented Yukimi Nagano's distinctive sound. She's done vocals for Koop, Gorillaz and most recently SBTRKT. Twitter is abuzz with tweets raving about the track, Wildfire. It's SBTRKT at it's best, just pureblood smooth shiz. They also did a great remix of Never, Never off of Little Dragon's last CD Machine Dreams [correction]. Stay tuned for a Night Light update! Check it, love it.

Busy. Busy. Busy Bee!

Today has been a shitcan day of work, work, work!!! I'm leaving a bit early to get my tattoo finished: awesome! So I apologize for the quick and phoned in post. Here are two things that are occupying my mind right now: Parker Posey and Robyn. First vid is of an amazing movie House of Yes which I think has been totally overlooked. Parker Posey is a spectacular actress and believe it or not Tori Spelling is pretty awesome in the movie too. Secondly is Best in Show, which I am sure everyone's seen! Check the video and you'll see why this movie is genius! Lastly, a song that's been on my playlist and on insane repeat for over a month now. The lyrics are pretty topical so enjoy!

EBTG forever.

Who doesn't know at least one Everything But the Girl song?? If that one person is you, then pay attention to this post! I was jammin' out on my iPod when it shuffled to EBTG's Lullaby of Clubland. The song, from their album Temperamental is, in my opinion, one of their best tracks. It has a new millenium urban nightlife sound that, if you close your eyes, will take you back to a hot apres-club metropolitan night; promise. Check out Temperamental and if you're a Tracey Thorn fan you can get a free download of her song You Are a Lover (Scott Dann Remix) HERE. Also check out my favorite Tracey Thorn song, Raise the Roof.

God Made Robots.

So in the spirit of Luke Skywalker Day (C3PO, R2D2) I decided to do a special post about my besties band, God Made Robots. They've been making music for sometime now but it was this latest song that blew my mind! The bestie S. Jane Mills is on vocals and I couldn't be more proud!! Self-described as a "nerdy-rock-pop-unit somewhere between Flaming Lips and the Pixies" I would also throw in some Stone Roses and My Bloody Valentine. Check them out and if you're in the Indianapolis area June 17 you can see them live! Love ya S. Jane!!

Find My Way Home by God Made Robots

Cover the cover.

I get this daily email from RCRD LBL and today's was pretty interesting. It featured Anni Rossi and her cover of Aaliyah's Are You That Somebody. Check it! It's pretty catchy right? So I did a little research and discovered she's got some talent, even when not covering the late great! Her latest album, Heavy Meadow, was released last year and it's damn good. Check out Crushing Limbs, Sandstorm and especially Cha Cha Cha.

Viva, Esquivel!

So Cinco de Mayo is a few days from now and it got me thinking...who says Cinco de Mayo has to include chips-n-salsa and mariachis?! How 'bout Sangria, paletas and some Esquivel!? Juan Garcia Esquivel was a Mexican born musical genius. He, some may argue, invented the jazz lounge sound of the 50's. I remember getting my first Esquivel! CD from BMG music. You remember them? You order 5 CD's free, pay for one, then get 2 more free?! The disc was titled: The Genius of Esquivel!; boy was that an accurate title. Check out the tracks below and if you haven't planned your Cinco de Mayo yet, why not try something different?! Viva Mexico, Viva Esquivel!

Dog days are OVER!

Good Morning all! So work is non-stop today so only a quick post. My father was just declared a cancer survivor and I coudln't be more ecstatic! So although the lyrics aren't too cheery this Florence + the Machine jam fits my mood to a T. Just a bit of awareness: if you or anyone you know has frequent heartburn gettin' an endoscopy could save your life. It saved my dad's. Cheers and good health!

My belle, Aubele.

Federico Aubele is a trendsetter; with his constant shifting of sound and vocals it's nearly impossible to categorize his music. His latest album, Berlin 13, ventures into familiar territory but never sounds outdated or un-original. If you're a fan of Pink Martini or Gotan Project you'll enjoy Aubele's dub/flamenco/trancey sound. He's playing @ The Independent May 11. Check out his latest, Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue.

Keep it goin'...

This was a weekend to remember; sun, parties, cocktails-amazing. Everything just felt fresh and new. To keep that feelin' alive I've been listening to some Nick Drake. I'm sure you've all heard of Nick; for awhile there his music was used for commercials ad nauseum. Take him for a spin though and I think you'll agree; he captures the essence of a warm summer day. Check the link for a youtube mix of mostly Drake songs. Cheers!