LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

The music video for LCD Soundsystem's new song Drunk Girls has been unleashed upon the internet, and it's one of the sickest music videos I have ever seen. Co-directed by Spike Jonze and James Murphy himself, it features some disturbing and extremely abusive panda bear like characters and lots of ... sick mayhem. You have to watch this one to understand.



mp3: LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening is out on May 18 in the US and the day before in Europe. You can listen to the whole album for free here. I've given it a few listens and it seems great!

Amazing old and young people (Sonic Youth and Beach House covers)

Here are some unusual cover versions of two songs I love. These two videos are both really impressive and touching - Young@Heart and PS22 are such awesome choirs!

Young@Heart - Schizophrenia
cover version of Sonic Youth - Schizophrenia



Amazing old people.

PS22 Chorus - Zebra
cover version of Beach House - Zebra



Amazing young people.

Rare EPs, part 7

• mp3: Eels - I Write the B-Sides
  
• mp3: Eels - Hidden Track
  
• mp3: Eels - Jehova's Witness
  
• mp3: Eels - Rotten World Blues

Keeping it simple - here's Eels' Rotten World Blues EP (2002). Eels hardly need any introduction, but if you'd still like one, here's my introduction that I wrote for Esoteric Mumblings earlier.

The four songs on this EP are from the Souljacker sessions, which was the most hard-rocking period in Eels' career so far. While Eels frontman Mr. E these days most often writes out of moods such as loneliness, nostalgia and grief, accompanied by the piano and acoustic guitars (though sometimes in combination with electric), the tracks on this EP are written more out of annoyance, anger or a desire to just 'rock out' with electric guitars, like E probably would put it himself.

Jehova's witness, leave me alone!!
Jehova's witness, I'm not at home!

Girly songs stuck in my head

So cheap and juicy!

Regina Spektor plays "That Time" at Bonnarroo, and the thousands of people in the crowd are pretty quiet- making her minimalist guitar sound that much better. Her voice is like chocolate. You take a bite at first, and it starts to melt on your tongue, and you feel hints of bitterness but an absolute rush of sweetness overlaying it all.

Download the song!



Rilo Kiley- The Frug

Pretty similar to Regina's song. She's just being cute and describing how impossible she is.

Download the song!



The Cardigans- Rise & Shine

Perfect music for the weather we've been having. Simple as that.

Three songs

For everyone who enjoyed non serviam's newest entry, here's an mp3 download of the song:
mp3: Hathbanger - Party and Bullshit In the U.S.A. (Miley vs. B.I.G.)

Oh, and here's one more hiphop mashup - I've really been into this one lately:
mp3: Emancipator - Shook (Sigur Rós vs. Mobb Deep)

Also, people have requested us to re-post the song Bridge by the New Wine. No problem, dear readers!
mp3: The New Wine - Bridge

I hope you're all enjoying your Easter holidays - or whatever else you're currently doing.


----
EDIT:

Download your hearts out. Hopefully those work?
-girl scout

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EDIT 2:

I re-uploaded once more and changed the original links!

Lou Reed

• Gorillaz - Some Kind of Nature (feat. Lou Reed)
  
• The Velvet Underground - I'm Waiting for the Man
  
• The Velvet Underground - Heroin
  
• The Velvet Underground - Here She Comes Now
  
• Lou Reed - Vicious
  
• Lou Reed - Street Hassle
  

Like practically every other person on the planet, I like Gorillaz' new album Plastic Beach. There are a lot of great tracks, but the one that stands out the most to me definitely is Some Kind of Nature featuring Lou Reed. I'm a huge Velvet Underground and Lou Reed fan, and had high expectations to the track ever since I first saw it on early Plastic Beach tracklists. Hearing one of my musical heroes rap for what must be the first time in his long career was simply awesome, and the track is overall really catchy and sweet.

My addiction to Some Kind of Nature has brought me back into one of my Velvet Underground / Lou Reed periods, and I'm constantly listening to them again. Here are some of my favorite Reed tracks of all time:

From The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
The Velvet Underground - I'm Waiting for the Man
The Velvet Underground - Heroin

In my two favorite tracks on the album, Reed does exactly what made the whole album famous - he very frankly, explicitly and nonchalantly explores themes that until them had been almost non-existant in 'pop' music, such as drug abuse.

From White Light / White Heat (1968)
The Velvet Underground - Here She Comes Now

Here She Comes now, from the Velvet Undergound's second album, is one of my favorite slower and 'nicer' tracks by the band. The beautiful little tune is drastically different from the heavier Waiting for the Man and Heroin, but showcases the same amazing songwriting talent.

From Transformer (1972)
Lou Reed - Vicious

After the Velvet Underground disbanded in the early seventies, Reed made the solo album Transformer, where he explored more accessible pop and glam sides of himself. The album is the most famous for the major hit "Perfect Day", but my personal favorite is the powerful and feisty "Vicious". So full of attitude, and apparently inspired by Andy Warhol, who once told Lou Reed that he 'should make a song about someone vicious'.

From Street Hassle (1978)
Lou Reed - Street Hassle

The title track of Reed's 1978 solo album Street Hassle is a wonderful example of his lyrical talents - essentially an epic 11-minute long poem reading of rough New York underworld social realism poetry set to guitars. The long song is split into three parts - "Waltzing Matilda," "Street Hassle," and "Slipaway", and features Bruce Springsteen on vocals for a short while on the final third part. Amazing and powerful track.

How To Make a Better Miley Cyrus Song.

This is what I've been listening to all week. Thanks to Thom.

Download it from youtube, because I'm too lazy to make a new filesharing account right now.

Rare EPs, part 6

Keeping it simple:

Broken Social Scene’s 7/4 (Shoreline) Single


This was a very cool EP I picked up a few years ago, and has some great tracks on it. The first track is of course the title track, and the single itself- 7/4 (Shoreline). This was actually the first song I heard from the to-be-released self titled album, and I instantly fell in love with the song- from simple guitar chord to driving drum beat and harmonious vocals.

This is an important single because it answers important questions. Ever what would happen if Stars and Sons and Lover’s Spit had a baby? Wonder no more! I can’t do any justice by trying to explain the combination of these two seemingly opposites- one, a strong, driving song, and another a lingering, enigmatic ghost called Stars and Spit.

Death Cock is also a very interesting track (stemming from the name I suppose). A simple snare and piano overlay, and Kevin Drew being as indecipherable as he was on Shampoo Suicide. The trouble lays in the fact that his most poetic and beautiful lyrics are often turned into esoteric mumblings (see what I did there?):

Trouble, my trouble, mourir
Left my lungs with the fear
Test patterns on the air
I killed you, I did it, my dear

Download these rarities and enjoy what happened in between You Forgot It In People and Broken Social Scene (s/t).

7/4 (Shoreline) Mirror
Stars and Spit Mirror
Death Cock Mirror

Phoenix live and remixed

Phoenix's Wolfang Amadeus Phoenix was in my opinion one of the best releases of 2009, and I'm still coming back to some of its most unforgettable tracks (my favorites being the two opening tracks, the two "Sunset" tracks and "Armistice") almost on a weekly basis, almost a year after I first started listening to it.

Phoenix have now been generous enough to offer a free live EP for download on their website, with live performances of no less than eight Wolfang Amadeus Phoenix songs recorded in Sidney, Australia. The album is packed with great tracks, and it's great to get to hear some different takes of them. If you're looking for more alternate versions of WAP songs, here are my favorite remixes of tracks from the album:

• Phoenix - Rome (Neighbours with Devendra Banhart)
  
• Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx Version)
  
• Phoenix - Armistice (Yacht remix)
  
• Phoenix - Love Like A Sunset (Animal Collective Remix - Deakin's Jam)
  

The Rome remix is my favorite of the bunch – it's a truly unique remix that really adds something special to the song. If the original and its lyrics didn't touch and move you, the remix most definitely will. How many remixes can you say the same thing about? A close second favorite is Classixx' take on Lisztomania, though - the remix geniuses once again manage to take an extremely danceable song and make it even more danceable. The Yacht and Animal Collective remixes are great too - with so much personal touch that these Phoenix songs end up actually sounding like Yacht and Animal Collective tracks with Thomas Mars vocals.

Rare EPs, part 5

Keeping it simple. This is Feist's Red Sessions.

1. Intuition
2. Leisure Suit
3. Mushaboom
4. The Eastern Shore

After her 1999 debut album, Monarch, Canadian indie singer/songwriter Feist recorded the four-track The Red Demos (2003), which in my opinion are four of the very best songs of her whole career. Each of these four songs changed shape numerous times and evolved gradually through the years, finally becoming hit songs on her future LPs. "Leisure Suit" and "Mushaboom" became some of the best songs on her sophomore LP Let It Die (2004), while "The Eastern Shore" changed name to "The Water" and appeared alongside "Intuition" on her third album The Reminder (2007).

The Red Demos is definitely worth checking out for any Feist fan, even if just to see how these popular songs started out, or to hear some of her newer songs in what basically sounds like a Monach-style arrangement. Personally, I much prefer this early version of "Intuition" to the version she realesed on The Reminder four years later – the latter honestly just sounds like it has been worked on for too long, losing the straightforward beauty and simplicity of the tune. In fact, the original "Intuition" is possibly my favorite Feist track of all time – check it out for yourself and see what you think!

Some of my favorite new tracks at the moment (part 2/2)

mp3: Jónsi - Tornado

Jónsi, the modest, shy and low-talking frontman of Icelandic postrockers Sigur Rós, is releasing his first solo album Go on April 5th. In this track from the much-anticipated album, he once again showcases his charismatic, confident and very strong voice. The musical arrangement is now slightly different from Sigur Rós, but Jónsi's songwriting talent and amazing vocal performance are as strong and mesmerizing as ever – the only difference being that it's now all in English, and not his native language Icelandic or his self-invented language "hopelandic". Although I'm sad that Sigur Rós most likely has come to an end as a band, I can't wait to get my hands on Go – its release is for me just as big of an even as any Sigur Rós main release. The last time the eccentric, charismatic and hyper-creative vocalist of a truly world-famous Icelandic band went solo, Bjørk of The Sugarcubes, it was not the end of anything, but rather the start of an even more amazing career. I don't think anything can stop the very talented Jónsi from going down the same path from now!

mp3: Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work

Northern Irish indie pop band Two Door Cinema Club plays happy, uplifting and catchy guitar pop that's perfect for the sunny spring weather I (and hopefully all you readers) am enjoying at the moment. Two Door Cinema Club's debut album Tourist History was released on one of my favorite labels, the French indie/electro label Kitsuné Records, on March 1st. It has often been compared to Foals and Bloc Party's debut albums, and I can see the similarity – like these fellow UK indie rock debut albums, Tourist History also incorporates elements of post-punk sound with dance-oriented melodies for a fresh and young sounding LP.

video: Two Door Cinema Club - I Can Talk

Some of my favorite new tracks at the moment (part 1/2)

Time to introduce lots of new releases here on Esoteric Mumblings again! Here are some newly released songs that I'm currently enjoying a lot.


mp3: Broken Social Scene - All to All (mp3 download removed)

First off, another new track from Canadian indie collective Broken Social Scene's upcoming fourth studio album, Forgiveness Rock Record. All to All came out as a digital single yesterday, and I like it a lot. With its lush, atmospheric and ambient sound, combined with very sweet female vocals, it reminds me of the classic Broken Social Scene track "Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl" from their 2002 album You Forgot it in People. If the three tracks (from the album's thirteen) released so far are anything to go by, the new album will be another eclectic mix of genres and moods – BSS at their best, in other words!


mp3: MGMT - Flash Delirium (mp3 download removed)

In my opinion MGMT sounded a lot like the Flaming Lips on their debut album Oracular Spectacular (2007), with their euphoric psychedelic rock, and also thanks to the production work by long-time Flaming Lips producer David Fridman. While the Flaming Lips moved in a quite different direction with last year's Embryonic, MGMT's new track "Flash Delirium", from their upcoming sophomore album Congratulations, due out April 13th, in my opinion sounds more like the Yoshimi / Mystics era (former half of the 00s) Flaming Lips now than ever. I can also sense a stronger influence from trippy 60s psychedelic rock, and less disco beat and 90s britrock nudges, this time around. This track left me very excited for MGMT's return!


mp3: Foals - Spanish Sahara (mp3 download removed)

Post-punk/indie rock band Foals from Oxford, England, released their very funky and danceable debut album Antidotes in 2008, which was one of my favorite albums that year. The album was full of vigor and punch, and when I saw them live in the spring of 2008, their almost endless-seeming energy impressed me. Their sophomore album Total Life Forever is due out in May, and judging by the album title alone one would expect it to be even more energetic than before. But this time, Foals have slowed down a bit, and switched danceable indie anthems for slower and more modest, atmospheric and reflective tunes. According to the band, they had been planning another "funky" album, but then plans changed. The first track from the album, Spanish Sahara, indicates that this new style suits them just as well, and although the soundscape is rather different now, it still unmistakably sounds like Foals.

Rare EPs, Part 4

Heads Up! EP





















One of my favorite bands: Death From Above 1979. This is their 2002 EP Heads Up!. This is a great little EP for a number of reasons. It shows the beginnings of the band, this being their first release- 2 years before any other major release, including their own full studio album You're A Woman, I'm A Machine (what great titles for everything).

1 Dead Womb
2 Too Much Love
3 Do It!
4 My Love is Shared
5 Losing Friends
6 If We Don’t Make It We’ll Fake It


You may recognize the first song, Dead Womb, being sampled heavily in Crystal Castles' Untrust Us- yes, it's sampled from this EP. You can definitely see some of the influences Crystal Castles has by listening to this album. The sampled quotation begins...

la cocaina no es buena para su salud

All in all, a great EP. Definitely download it.

An Album Leave

A Chorus of Storytellers


I am usually a huge fan of Jimmy LaValle. However, his most recent release under The Album Leaf has been disappointing and under par for his talents. This album features a full live band, keyboard, drums, guitar, trumpet- a nice twist for LaValle, known for his heavy electronic instrumentation.

I'll start with the album cover- it looks like an Impressionistic baby from Renoir and Kroyer, but it is nothing new.

Compare this to In A Safe Place:


even One Day I'll Be on Time or Into the Blue Again:










Impressionism? Already did it. White font style for the band name and album title? Did it. Simple doesn't have to be bad- as seen in that cute pink album cover above. It's monochromatic, shades of pink with simple lower-case black text and a line drawing. Ultimately, the album cover is really indicative of the product inside- something recast, already thought of and executed, and in the end- something that doesn't stand out or live up to its reputation.

There are a few good songs on the album. My favorite is Falling from the Sun. It begins with a simple electronic beat and keyboard, followed by the echoing voice of LaValle. It's simple and brings back memories of other amazing songs from the Album Leaf. In this song he successfully blends his electronic and organic instruments. The guitar and drums work beautifully with his hollowed voice and electronic noises underlying the song. This is where LaValle gets it right.

Until the Last is another song he does well. The song is in 5/4, and this is a great example of LaValle creating an interesting soundscape using the contrast between the organic and inorganic sounds. Great stringed instruments and cymbal work (I'm a cymbal fiend). All in all a good song on the album.

Where he gets it wrong is on songs such as Blank Pages and Stand Still. The songs show themselves to be bland and unable to stand out. We hear the same quick drum beat and cymbal washing, but it doesn't stand out like it can in Until the Last. There are too many Sub Par songs on this album to make it anything praiseworthy. I am happy that Album Leaf might be branching off into other instrumental uses and contrasts, but I am not pleased with how poor this album was on its own, and compared to the former body of work.

Blank Pages Mirror 1
Falling from the Sun Mirror 1
Stand Still Mirror 1
Until the Last Mirror 1

Rare EPs, part 3

Keeping it simple. This is Sigur Rós' Ný Batterí EP.

1. Rafmagnið Búið
2. Ný Batterí
3. Bíum Bíum Bambaló
4. Dánarfregnir Og Jarðarfarir

While I'm a big fan of everything Sigur Rós and their frontman Jónsi have ever released (including all Sigur Rós LPs and Jónsi's two recent side project albums), their sophomore album Ágætis Byrjun will always stand out as something special to me. This masterpiece is one of my definite favorite albums of all time – an intense 1-hour long deep dive into Sigur Rós unique and mesmerizing world. The track Ný batterí is in my opinion one of the most hypnotizing out-of-this-world experiences on the whole album, and I'd almost call it one of the album's highlights, if it wasn't for the fact that I think there are nothing but highlights on the entire album.

Ný Batterí's perfect progression, its beautiful build-up, is what really does it for me, and I used to think it was perfect – until I discovered this EP a couple of years back. On this EP, Sigur Rós extend Ný Batterí's initial horn section by almost five minutes, and dub this introductory part Rafmagnið Búið. Since this track continues directly into Ný Batterí, the result is essentially a twelve-and-a-half minute long extended version of one of my favorite songs. Track 3 and 4 on this EP are cover versions of two well-known Icelandic songs. Sigur Rós originally recorded these amazing cover tracks for the soundtrack to the Icelandic movie 'Angels of the Universe'.

For anyone out there who loves Ágætis Byrjun as much (or even half as much) as I do, these four tracks are bound to be happy revisit to this excellent period in Sigur Rós' career.

Rare EPs, part 2

Keeping it simple. This is Her Space Holiday's Something Blue EP.

The theme to the extended is a traditional wedding custom- having something old, new, borrowed and blue.

1 Something Old (Floating)
2 Something New (Happy As A Ghost)
3 Something Borrowed (Fan Club)
4 Something Blue (Our First Date)

Something Old is an instrumental track, and Something New is a highly lyrical track with organic drums and ethereal vocals with a simple accompanying chord with highly memorable lyrics:

I don't know where I hide my emotions
Wanted to show you my undying devotion

Something New is easily my favorite track on the EP, because of its density, emphasis on vocal tonality, and simple, organic instrumentation. The lyrics and mood are revealed slowly, and make it one of my favorite Her Space Holiday songs.

Enjoy!

Mock the pretentious

As a musician, you're bound to meet a lot of 'interesting' and 'alternative' people. While most 'interesting' people are great and fun to be with, we all know that some of them are just plain annoying. And incredibly pretentious. Imagine then, that you're not only a musician, but even a 'alternative' or 'indie' musician - you surely must be regularly dealing with masses of annoying 'alternative'/'interesting' people – both amongst your social network/scene and amongst your own fans. And it really seems like this is frustrating certain musicians a lot, at least judging by the lyrics of the six songs I'm presenting you today.

What kind of 'alternative' people really get on the nerves of the songwriters of Beck, CSS, Eels, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, of Montreal and Wilco? Let's find out, and let's indulge in some of the most sarcastic and satiric song lyrics out there, filled with genuine contempt and strong suppressed pent-up annoyance which must have been built up over a considerable period of time.

Beck seems to have (had) a major frustration with a vegetarian, wannabe poet 'alternative'/hippy lady in his life:

mp3: Beck - Nitemare Hippy Girl

yo, she's bustin' out onto the scene
with nightmare bogus poetry
(...)
she's cooking salad for breakfast
she's got tofu the size of Texas
she's a witness to her own glory
she's a never-ending story

CSS's Luísa Hanae Matsushita (aka Lovefoxxx) has a background as an illustrator and fashion designer, before she moved on to music and became world famous as the lead singer of indie rock / synthpop band CSS. Apparently she left the fashion world because she was completely sick of the people in that particular industry. In the following lyrics however, she leaves the fashion world's many annoying people alone, and instead kicks the same direction as Beck - towards people with no real talent who're full of themselves.

mp3: CSS - Art Bitch

I poo on a plate and get it published on visionaire
(...)
I have no port-fo-lee-o
Cuz i only show
Where there's free al-co-hol

For a biting, sarcastic and spiteful critique of the fashion industry's superficiality, though, you have to look no further than Eels' "Fashion Awards". One of frontman Mr. E's beautiful 3-minute acoustic guitar and string based beauties, the track sounds quite harmless and harmonious until you start paying attention to the hilarious lyrics:

mp3: Eels - Fashion Awards

let's go down to the fashion show
with all the pretty people that you don't know
we'll sit down in the velvet chairs
we'll hand awards out for best hair
and if we don't win one well then
we'll blow off our heads in despair
we'll blow off our heads in despair

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in my opinion does one of her greatest vocal performances of all time in the track "Art Star" off one of their early EPs. She switches naturally between loud and intense screaming, innocent and cutesy humming and ridiculing monologues mimicking young and hip artists:

mp3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Art Star

I got a dealer in Tokyo
I got a rep in Paris
I got an agent in Cologne
Shit, I got a gallery in New York
It's a madhouse, this modern life

Kevin Barnes of of Montreal has apparently had it with elitist snobs who pride themselves so highly on knowing all 'high culture' authors/composers/directors 'worth knowing' and look with contempt at anyone who can't namedrop and/or enjoy them. While the highly cultivated Barnes himself makes countless references to painters, directors, authors and more in his band's song lyrics, he makes it very clear in the sarcastic "Art Snob Solutions" that he doesn't want to be perceived as one of those jerks who think they're superior because of their 'cultural capital'.

mp3: of Montreal - Art Snob Solutions

Come on artists, the day is here!
And your mission is very clear
Put an end to the bourgeoisie
And death to everyone who's never heard of me

Similarly, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy also seems annoyed at people who feel superior for knowing/namedropping the right artists. In "The Late Greats", however, he targets his mockery specifically at indie music fans. Enjoying music that's not considered part of the 'mainstream' is all well and good, but making it a major point to avoid music that is in any way known to the general public, or even deliberately and consistently picking music that's "so indie that they'll never play it on the radio", is pretty pretentious.

While Wilco made music throughout the 90s, their real breakthrough didn't come before 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. "The Late Greats" is a track from the first album they made after having 'become famous', 2004s A Ghost Is Born and I'm sure it must have been meant as a tongue-in-cheek mockery of some of their 'former fans' who chose to distance themselves from the 90s 'unknown' alternative band once it started having some real success and publicity. Judging by Tweedy's mockery, he can't have been very sad to see these people go.

mp3: Wilco - The Late Greats

The best band will never get signed
K-Settes starring Butcher's Blind
Are so good, you won't ever know
They never even played a show
You can't hear 'em on the radio
(...)
The best song will never get sung
The best laugh never leaves your lungs
So good, you won't ever know
I never hear it on the radio
Can't hear it on the radio

Rare EPs, part 1

Let's keep it simple. I will upload any "rare" EPs that I have found/collected over the years.

This is Her Space Holiday's Keystroke EP. It's neither on wikipedia or for sale on their website, and it's definitely worth the attention.

1 Keystroke (awayTEAM mix)
2 Microfilmed
3 Hassle Free Harmony (Bench remix)

I'll let you all discover the buried treasure for yourself.





If anyone has any suggestions for free file uploading services whose download links end in ".mp3" or ".m4a", etc. please contact us or contact me directly.

It's simple- vote for them

http://www.battleofthebands.com/cwmrock
One of our beloved writers is actually in this band, the wonderful non serviam aka Mr. Guitar aka the voted one.

1. Make an account. It takes 30 seconds.
2. Vote once a day until it is over.
3. They will play Warped Tour, and you will all have helped a deserving, undiscovered act eventually reach success.

Kevin Barnes (of Montreal) congratulates Casiokids on becoming their new labelmate at Polyvinyl

• mp3:Casiokids - Postcards from Congo
  
• mp3:of Montreal - Gallery piece (Jon Brion Remix)
  
• video: Casiokids - Fot I Hose
  

About a week ago, Norwegian oddball electropop band Casiokids signed with American Polyvinyl. With their highly energetic shows and eccentric, euphoric and highly danceable music, they've been a live favorite in Norway for years, and it's great to hear that they'll reach US audiences too now. Another person besides me who seems happy about these news is Kevin Barnes off of Montreal, who wrote the following Tweet today on the band's official Twitter account:

so happy!1 of r fave bands just signed 2 PV! http://www.myspace.com/casiokids if u get the chance to see them live,do it!they're amazing!

Barnes shares Casiokid's passion for weird and wonderful untraditional "dance" songs with funky synths and obscure samples – and theatrical live shows with crazy animal costumes – so I can see why the of Montreal frontman is a fan. Casiokids have done warm-up shows for of Montreal in a past tour of theirs, but the quartet from Bergen is now crossing the atlantic to play three shows on their own in Texas. Having recently witnessed their intense show at By:Larm, I'll join Barnes and wholeheartedly recommend the Casiokids live experience. Catch them if you happen to live near Austin, their live performances are priceless!

Live at By:Larm - Serena-Maneesh

• mp3: Serena-Maneesh - Reprobate
  
• video: Serena-Maneesh - Reprobate (live on Norwegian television)
  

Serena-Maneesh frontman/vocalist/songwriter Emil Nikolaisen has several times personally declared to be one of Norway's biggest My Bloody Valentine fans. He shares Kevin Shield's big love for beautiful, haunting melodies hidden in layer upon layer of intense noise, and the Norwegian band's acclaimed 2005 self-titled debut album was clearly influenced by MBV's 1991 masterpiece Loveless.

Far from being just another one of the endless amount of MBV clones out there, however, Serena-Maneesh stands on its own, with Nikolaisen's impressive songwriting and guitar play impressing everyone from Pitchfork to Oasis, the Dandy Warhols and Nine Inch Nails. Not a small feat for a band from Oslo, Norway! Serena-Maneesh acted as openers for the three aforementioned three bands in 2005-2007 tours of theirs, following their debut album's huge success. It's been somewhat quiet around the band since then, but they are now set to finally release their sophomore album next month.

The band's By:Larm show was an opportunity for the band to showcase to anticipating journalists, fans and music industry representatives exactly what they have been working on for the past five years. Despite this however, and the relatively short time allocated to their show (with an 1.15 AM start ...), Nikolaisen walked on stage exclaiming "I know this is a party for the music industry, but looks like we've got some music fans here too! Good." and proceeded to play several old fan favorites to please the crowd. And judging by this night's performance, Nikolaisen and his bandmates are shoegazers only by genre - the charismatic and energetic frontman never once stared down at his chucks, but instead played with intense passion and rocked the audience like a true rockstar.



The new material that eventually was played sounded promising. Less experimental, less introverted and less Loveless, and more accessible, straightforward pop songs. Coated with just the appropriate amount of noise and guitar solos, these new tracks worked well. You can listen to one of them, called Reprobate, right here – or watch a video of the band performing it live on a Norwegian TV show.

SM2 – Abyss in B Minor is out on March 23 in the U.S., and the day before in Europe. In less than two weeks, the band leaves the cold winter snow of Oslo, Norway for a one-month tour all across North America - check out the tour dates and catch Nikolaisen and friends just as they bless the world with their first record in five years!

(photos courtesy of Eskil V)

Live at By:Larm - Jóhann Jóhannsson

• mp3: Jóhann Jóhannsson - Part 2/IBM1403 Printer
  
• mp3: Jóhann Jóhannsson - Efripídes Og Neðripídel

Next up in my coverage of By:Larm is experimental artist Jóhann Jóhannsson from Iceland. Jóhannsson is classically trained and works as a composer of movie and play soundtracks, producer, and experimental electronic/ambient music artist.

His live show at By:Larm was one of the most unique concert experiences I've had in a long time. His hypnotizing electronic ambient music, played in near-darkness, was supported by a live string quartet, and the result was an overwhelming and moving experience, and a truly beautiful show.

Having the string quartet with him on stage allowed Jóhannsson to include some of the lush string-based tracks from his 2006 album IBM 1401, A User's Manual, which are rarely performed live. Check out the track Part 2/IBM1403 Printer to get an impression of how this album manages to combine long stretches of cold, low-volume machine bleeps and bloops and obscure snippets of an audio manual to an old IBM computer with sections of warm and intense strings, and turn it into something truly beautiful. It all fades into each other in a unique way that just works. It took me a while after this concert to realize that I was indeed back on planet earth, and no longer floating around space, or perhaps (as during the more intense sections) trapped in the spaceship of 2001: A Space Oddissey.

For something more easily accessible, try Efripídes Og Neðripídel from Jóhannssons more upbeat album Dís (2004). On this track, the electronic soundscape is supported by live drums and guitars for a more energetic and cheerful instrumental track.

(photo courtesy of Eskil V)

The Clapping playlist

ClapClapClap Playlist Download me!
This playlist is comprised of 10 songs (and one remix) that feature clapping as a pivotal and showcased instrument. I chose these songs from a list of about 50 that featured clapping as an instrument, and chose these 10 as the best modern examples. If you don't want to download all the songs you can download each song individually by clicking the linked song titles.



Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Shuffle Your Feet
On Howl
This is the intro track from BRMC’s third album, Howl, and gives an immediate impression of the album. The gospel, blues, and country influences within the modern rockers is quite apparent as they use a chorus of hands as the percussion during the song. Start clapping.


Architecture In Helsinki’s Do The Whirlwind
On In Case We Die
This song is similarly marked by atypical instrumentation. You probably remember the wooden agogo from elementary school, and you will hear a myriad of other instruments in the song, all driven by the steady, soft clap.


Feist’s Mushaboom / Mushaboom (Mocky Mix)
On Let It Die and Open Season
Included is the original Mushaboom, released on Let It Die, and the remix by Mocky on the album Open Season. What do we hear on these tracks? Something cute, soft, subtle- the clapping. And Leslie, of course. There is a reason there are at least 5 different album released mixes of this song, and it is because it is so soft and soothing, with a definite groove.



Le Tigre's Deceptacon
On Le Tigre
The clapping in this song is a little different, which serves as a nice break. Punctuating the simple lo-fi guitar and simple synth percussion are rapid four part claps. They’ve been called dance punk, and that description seems to work well for this song. It will be hard to not clap in unison with the three punk ladies.




The Mountain Goats' This Year
On The Sunset Tree
A metronome, followed by piano and bass. In comes clapping and guitar and the memorable voice of John Darnielle. It's a very rhythmic song full of determined and optimistic lyrics with lively instruments. There will be feasting, and dancing, in Jerusalem next year!


Arcade Fire's Woodlands National Anthem
On Arcade Fire EP
Although not entirely making sense, the lyrics in this song are delivered in wailing, haunting voices. The occasional clap, which receives more attention as the song develops, is accompanied by a tambourine. This is one of the few songs that have been able to maintain an upbeat and yet dark mood, largely due to the use of clapping and tambourine to interrupt the somber tone of the vocalists and stringed instruments.


Shout Out Louds' Hurry Up Let’s Go
On Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
You can’t miss the claps in this song. They’re the first things you hear, and are the dominant instrument of the song. Finally, right? Hailing from Stockholm, the Shout Out Louds deliver a fast-paced dash of lyrics and guitar driven by the constant, loud hand clapping.


Pinback's Penelope
On Blue Screen Life
You can’t listen to this song and miss the consistent percussion hand clapping. The rhythm is constant, and works well with the bass tones to give a firm base for the airy voice and lyrics.



The Most Serene Republic's Proposition 61
On Underwater Cinematographer
This is probably the most artful use of clapping on the playlist. MSR alternates beats and pitch of the claps and through other quirky instruments like the accordion and the voice of Adrian Jewett.


Broken Social Scene's Stars And Sons
On You Forgot It In People
It’s hard to visit this blog and not feel the influences and love of this band, and this playlist will pay its dues. This might actually be the best song from the list. The vocalist for this song is actually Brendan Canning, not the typical Kevin Drew, and structurally, this song bears quite a bit of resemblance to “Hurry Up Let’s Go”. You hear a driving, fast and loud clap through much of the song, usually during times without vocals, and midway through the song is the same slowing down and re-introduction of clapping. The song is filled with rich instrumentation, brilliant and simple guitar and drum work, with heavy machine and synth overlays and subtle, memorable lyrics.




Enjoy!

Live at By:Larm - The New Wine

(click mp3 links to listen. Right-click to save)

• mp3: The New Wine - Bridge
  video: The New Wine feat. Erlend Øye - Golden Cage ("Fred Falke remix" version)
  
• mp3: The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke remix)
  
• mp3: Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better
  

This week, I attended the By:Larm festival in Oslo, Norway, which ran from Thursday through Saturday. By:Larm is mainly an event for music industry insiders, being a conference at daytime and a festival with mini-concerts by night. The latter is however open to the general public, and gives music fans like me a unique chance to experience a ton of shows by interesting artists that are on the verge of success, either in their homelands or internationally (to quote By:Larm's website). In the next few days, I'll try to write about some of the great Nordic bands (Norwegian and Icelandic) that I saw!

In my opinion, one of the definite highlights of the festival was Thursday night's performance by the Bergen synthpop quartet The New Wine. I wrote about these guys (more or less) exactly a year ago, and was excited to finally see this promising new band live. In the course of 30 minutes (that's all the time they were allocated), they managed to make the whole crowd dance in unison to their addictive and funky synth- and guitar based dance music. Bridge, from their EP with the same name, was especially memorable.

The band is said to be inspired by Nintendo composer Koji Kondo and fellow Bergen musician Erlend Øye's band The Whitest Boy Alive, and the result is a very catchy and playful blend of lush guitars and geeky retro/chipcore-esque bleeps and bloops. Their music also reminds me a lot of the early days of French indie stars Phoenix, more specifically their very funk and dance influenced debut United. Listen to Phoenix' classic If I Ever Feel Better and see if you agree.

Similarly to The Whitest Boy Alive, the main quest of The New Wine at any concert is to make the crowd have fun and dance, and covering very digital house tunes with analogue instruments is one way of reaching that goal. At their 08-09 tour, The New Wine did an awesome cover version of one my favorite house tracks from recent years, Fred Falke's amazing remix of The Whitest Boy Alive's Golden Cage. Check out this very cool Youtube video, where Mr. Øye (vocalist of the Whitest Boy Alive) himself joined the boys on stage and did the vocals for the cover version of the remix of his own song (I know, confusing).

I expect these young and talented musicians to very soon fill dancefloors around the world in the same way their (ten year older) idols in Phoenix and Whitest Boy Alive are doing now, and I for one will continue to follow The New Wine closely - gentlemen, please release a debut album NOW!

New Broken Social Scene song – "World Sick"

Download: Broken Social Scene - World Sick




Broken Social Scene's first new record in five years (not counting the "BSS Presents" spinoff series) is set to be released on May 4. The band is finally reuniting properly, as all regular members are making contributions again, even the ones who have been immensely busy with their side (main?) projects for the past few years

I'm especially excited about all the three girls being back aboard the Broken Social Scene ship again - the three of them are all incredibly talented, and although they've had great success outside BSS recently – Emily with Metric, Amy with Stars and Feist with her solo career – they've now been kind enough to come back to enhance the BSS core guys' new album Forgiveness Rock Record with their creative talents.

The album name, cover artwork (see above) and the album's first new song (download above) were all presented to the world just a few minutes ago. It's all very promising (what an epic and very BSS-esque cover illustration!) and I'm quite excited for May now. Let the hype begin – and I hope the indie legends' new effort will live up to it.