Mr. Little Jeans :: "The Suburbs"

Mr. Little Jeans :: "The Suburbs"

Arcade Fire's title track "The Suburbs" get all dubbed out by Mr. Little Jeans here. Such a sensual voice graces the percolating synths, lending an eerie attractiveness to the already pain ridden track. Scenes of fire, girls cutting hair, dancing. Near Lynch level strangeness here. Both wonderful and welcome. Directed by the the High5collective. More Mr. Little Jeans here.

Boxer/Briefs #6

Boxer/Briefs #6

-Black Book interviews Allison Krauss of Sleigh Bells about her musical past and M.I.A.

-Flavorwire lists the sexiest indie-rockers over 40.

-NY Times looks at Arcade Fire

-Independent interviews Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, who is opening for Joanna Newson.

-Newsom had help on her second album from Van Dyke Parks, interviewed here.

-The New Yorker profiles Big Boi

Cuddle Up With: Secret Cities

Cuddle Up With: Secret Cities

When I first heard Secret Cities' single "Boyfriends" I immediately thought of Brandon. Maybe it was the cute whistles or the loveable lo-fi jangle but for whatever reason I knew Brandon would love it. I'm not sure if he does because he is half way across the world right now and I have yet to discuss the matter with him (so, do you?). The fact that he hasn't beaten me to posting about Secret Cities is, in retrospect, quite astounding.

Hailing from Fargo, a not-so-secret city that post-1996 has only been remembered for one thing, Secret Cities crafts a well balanced blend of funeral strings, harmonies, fuzzed percussion and simple lyrics. The songs on their debut Pink Graffiti (no relation) flow seamlessly, each track leaning slightly towards the next with a heavy rhythmic grace.

Its the type of music I would write if I could. Each vocal melody drops exactly where you want it to-- the first listen is like rereading a picture book from childhood; somehow you know what is coming next.
Childhood does seem to be the main stylistic inspiration for Pink Graffiti. Bells and whistles conjure up the playfulness of Sufjan but are juxtaposed with sad drawn out melodies. Like Arcade Fire, Secret Cities settles within a melodic chasm between happiness and melancholy that can really only be described as child-like. Their label sums it up quite nicely: "Pink Graffiti is (mostly) about Brian Wilson and young people".

[mp3] Secret Cities :: Boyfriends
[mp3] Secret Cities :: Pink City

Pink Grafitti is out now on Western Vinyl 

Stream Arcade Fire's Suburbs Clips

Stream Arcade Fire's Suburbs Clips

I'll be honest my expectations for the new Arcade Fire album are pretty low. From what I've heard it seems like a fairly lackluster effort. Try out some of the new sounds for yourself, although I can't promise this link will stay active for long.

Boxer/Briefs #4

Boxer/Briefs #4

Phoenix News has a pretty good list of songs to listen to from this year.

Wind or Star talks about Arcade Fire.

Drowned in Sound interviews Toro y Moi

Pitchfork interviews one of my favorites from this year, Sleigh Bells.

The Buzz Box #8

The Buzz Box #8

This week on the buzz box we hear from up and coming pop group Magic Kids, a new (and best so far) Arcade Fire single, and a random assortment of weird lo-fi shit that has been making waves, including a fantastic new Washed Out track. We end with a slow+beautiful track from not-so-aptly-named Yuck.

Magic Kids :: Summer
Arcade Fire :: We Used to Wait (Song removed by request)
Twin Shadow :: I Can't Wait
Washed Out :: You and I 
Tennis :: Marathon
Yuck :: Automatic

P.S. If you like that last song as much as I do, try out some more Yuck at their website.

New ARCADE FIRE Songs (Live)

New ARCADE FIRE Songs (Live)

Arcade fire debuted a few new songs at a recent show in Quebec. Someone took videos of a lot of them including this anthemic acoustic rendition of wake up. See the videos and hear the songs here.

Arcade Fire The Month of May - The Suburbs (Single)

The Buzz Box #5

The Buzz Box #5

This week we have a fairly short Buzz Box, due more to the lack of new (good) music this week than my own laziness. The five songs here more than make up for the brevity of the list.

Arcade Fire :: The Suburbs
Toro Y Moi :: Leave Everywhere
Archie Bronson Outfit :: Shark's Tooth
Travels :: Swimming



Shoutout to Kendall for leading me to that video.

Arcade Fire + Where the Wild Things Are

Arcade Fire + Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are Trailer

Ok I know this was news like two weeks ago but better late than never right? p.s. two weeks is a great Grizzly bear song.

If you haven't heard about this already and were once a child, chances are you will love this. The unbelievably exciting combination of Spike Jonze's music-friendly directorial prowess with Maurice Sendak's classic and personal favorite Where the Wild Things Are keeps getting better. For example, I just found out that Dave Eggers helped write the screen play. Karen O is responsible for much of the film's music with some purported help from Bradford Cox. And now there is this trailer featuring an alternate version of Arcade Fire's brilliant track "Wake Up."



To quote videogum "McDonald's should change their motto to "I'm Where The Wild Things Are-in' It" because of how much I'm lovin' this."

Where the Wild Things Are is now set for release October 16.
Watch here in HD.

Arcade Fire - "Wake Up" - Trailer Version

Arcade Fire's Miroir Noir on P4K

Arcade Fire's Miroir Noir on P4K

Miroir Noir streaming at P4kTV.

Arcade Fire's video composition, Mirroir Noir is certainly and adventure. It is riddled throughout with concert footage, shots of the recording process, goofing around, rehearsals, and strange voicemail confessionals from fans (or haters). Although it is subtitled "The Neon Bible Archives," the material is not just restricted to Neon Bible tracks, as there is a lively rendition of Funeral's "Haiti" in part four that I definitely recommend. The video's gracious host, the ubiquitous Pitchfork, has this to say:

Not just another concert movie, this experimental documentary mixes live footage with intimate in-studio bits and bizarre infomercial-esque scenes to create an intriguingly unnerving atmosphere. The 70-minute film is featured in its entirety.

By far my favorite parts are when they play acoustic versions of their songs in elevators. So cute. Also don't miss the recording of the orchestral parts from "Intervention" and the various shots of vocal recording, which I find strangely hilarious. Be quick though, the video is part of P4k tv's "one week only" series so you only have until the 10th to check it out for free. Unless you partake of that horrid illegal download jargon.

Watch Miroir Noir

Arcade Fire "Intervention" - Neon Bible [Merge; 2007]

Arcade Fire "Haiti" - Funeral [Merge; 2004]