Mountain Man's Mouthwings
I don't really have much to say about this video, but it explains everything about Mountain Man.Mountain Man :: Mouthwings
Pomegranates
Pomegranates is a collection of Iranian psychedelic pop from the 1960's and 1970's before the revolution in 1979 that ushered in a conservative theocratic regime that most likely didn't take too kindly to the neighbor kid's dilated pupils and "devil music".
The songs collected here reveal a thriving music scene that was able to tap into the trends coming from the West without sacrificing the traditional sounds of Persian music.
I picture a sudo-seedy underground club hazy with the plumes of hookah and cigarette smoke. Young, stubborn students writing poetry in the dark corners; a stage basked in red light barely visible across the room. Maybe some dancing, but mostly just the subtle nodding of heads. A generation full of hope for the future--a future that would shortly be stolen right out from under their tapping feet.
Purchase the compilation here.
Video "Bright Lit Blue Skies" - Ariel Pink
If you haven't checked out Ariel Pink's new album Before Today I definitely recommend doing so. Perhaps many people, like myself, formerly found the man's music too lo-fi, too saturated in tape fuzz. Or found his songwriting too...well...strange. If this was the case then don't worry! Before Today, while certainly still an Ariel Pink album, is infinitely more approachable than a lot of his previous offerings.
"Bright Lit Blue Skies" is the second track from the album and is a flurry of upbeat hooks and luscious harmonies. The song is a cover of cover the Rockin Ramrods' 1966 jam of the same name and makes perfect sense as the gateway to an album brimming with sunshiny 60's affectation. The video follows its frantic passion opening with images of a couple going-at-it in a field and waves crashing down. The unsteady manual camerawork adds to the chaos following dudes breaking in to an all girls school (by way of a cardboard trojan horse). They of course then have a fully clothed orgy, which is broken up by the troublesome campus police who is eventually out witted.
The album as a whole explores these adult themes in a consistently childish, which is not to say entirely giddy, way. Be it exuberance or melancholy, Before Today draws from such unbelievably disparate musical influences and takes such dramatic structural turns that these states of mind are invoked in a way somehow both familiar and yet unpredictable. Highly Recommended.
Ariel Pink - Bright Lit Blue Skies - Here Before
Ariel Pink - Round and Round - Here Before
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)
New Max Richter
Max Richter will be releasing an album of new material this summer called Infra. From his website:
Max's new record on FatCat will be released on July 22nd. Based on his collaboration with Wayne Macgregor and Julian Opie for The Royal Ballet last year, the record expands on and develops the original material, reconfiguring it as an immersive listening experience in it's own right.I don't really know what that means, but I do now that Mr. Richter is a fantastic and accomplished composer who never fails to produce compelling, beautiful, and endlessly accessible (though not watered down) classical pieces.
His magnum opus, Blue Notebooks, delicately blended dark elongated melodic lines with electronics and spoken word poetry. In 2008 he released an album of ringtones, which is so...snobby, but he pulled it off despite. You may also have heard his work in the fantastic animated documentary Waltz With Bashir, which I blogged about last year.
With Infra, Richter is in his comfortable form. The songs are contemplative and intimate; piano lines roll over in dark repetitive scales. The electronics are subtle as usual and lend a soft rhythm to the songs that propel them forward. It's not driving music per se, but certainly bus-riding music. And if you're anything like me, you may experience hallucinations of post-war eastern Europe. But thats okay, because thats what you want from Richter, and he delivers.
Max Richter :: Infra 3
Pre-order Infra HERE
The Buzz Box #6
The Buzz Box #6 features the new single from Kanye West, plus some new (fantastic) music from rising acts Bodies of Water, Suckers, and recently P4K approved Wild Nothing. Also included is a Paul Simon cover from The Tallest Man On Earth, who at least impressed my (musically picky) roommates at this past weekend's Sasquatch Music Festival. Enjoy:
The Tallest Man On Earth :: Graceland (Paul Simon Cover)
Kanye West :: Power
Bodies of Water :: Rise Up, Careful
Suckers :: A Mind I Knew
Wild Nothing :: Chinatown
Kathryn Calder :: Slip Away
Sean Carey :: In The Dirt
Destroyer Reissues
Its clear in these three albums that Bejar had a huge influence on the folk resurgence of the 00's. Destroyer was formed in 1995, but his ever evolving work has continued to remain relevant to this day. His nonchalant, bowie-esque approach has been seen in the work of Spencer Krug, TV on the Radio, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Danielson, etc. Not to mention the importance of his collaborative work over the years with The New Pornographers and Swan Lake.
The best of these early records is Streethawk: A Seduction. Bejar first starts to really explore the bowie folk-glam-rock sound with the album, and with his weird-as-hell voice he pulls it off quite well:
Destroyer :: The Sublimation Hour
Destroyer :: Virgin With a Memory
Destroyer :: The Very Modern Dance
You can listen to more of this album and order it from Merge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
