This seems like a pretty obvious transition for MTV (the MTV that used to be about music), but I am still pretty impressed that they pulled off what seems to be the largest high quality music video library on the internet.  The site is called MTV Music and it’s an uncluttered website with the MTV music video vault at your fingertips. Enjoy.

I wonder how The Notwist feels about the supposed remix of their song “Boneless” by labelmate and collective animal, Panda Bear.  On one hand, it’s a beautiful rendition made up of cut and copied Brazda Brother clips, which turns the otherwise downer anthem into a rather sun-shining and summery tune that is as enjoyable as anything off of Person Pitch.  On the other hand, this is neither a remix nor a cover song of the original.  It’s really a misnomer.  Besides the one-worded choral swell that acts as the song’s intro, there is hardly a word or phrase that lines up lyrically with the original.  And with chopped up samples of the Canadian folk troupe laying the ground work for Panda Bear’s improvised, vocal play its hard to see the connection between the two tracks.  The track should just be labeled as a new Panda Bear track with an “inspired by” tag attached to the song’s title.

[mp3] The Notwist - Boneless

For being a solo artist Phil Elverum (born Phil Elvrum) sure likes his pseudonyms.  I first discovered Elverum at the tail end of his run as The Microphones.  I kept noticing The Glow Part 2 on everyone’s top ten lists of 2001, and decided to give it a spin.  The album is almost uncomfortably candid.  It sounds like Elverum recorded the LP in his room, and stood way to close to the mic.  However, this blend of adolescent awkwardness with complex instrumentation is what makes it a Phil Elverum recording.

Another defining trait of The Microphones, now Mount Eerie, is the warm analog tones in each recording.  His reel to reel recording process is essential to the success of Lost Wisdom’s delivery (and a valid argument against digital recording).  For this most recent release, Elverum recruited Julie Doiron to join him on vocals and the result is a stripped down duet with each vocal snugly intertwining with the other. Like the eerily burning barn on the album art, the vocals deliver a flat, dark storytelling experience.

[mp3] Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Ra Ra Riot’s debut, The Rhumb Line.  Personally, its the first album in a long time that I have fallen this hard for in such a short period of time.  Its infectiously good, impossibly accessible, and hints at a potential and trajectory that could dethrone some of rock music’s reigning success stories of the past few years.  And there really isn’t any embarrassment in it: no cheese-based ballad that makes you cling to the walls, no half baked thought, tone, or lyric.  (They are on Barsuk for heck sake!)

On their debut, Ra Ra Riot shows that they thrive at tackling meaning and philosophy in a pop art forum.  They take the weird out of a celestially deep Kate Bush song (”Suspened In Gaffa”) and turn it into a lighthearted, stomp-stomp anthem for the questioning, young heart.  They bring out the smile in their reworking of E.E. Cummings poem “dying is fine)but Death“, leaving the listener with no question as to the tone of the author’s intent.

But is Ra Ra Riot just tricking the kids into singing along to the ponderings of life’s greater mysteries?  If it feels this good to question things than I’ll just hit replay a few more times.

[mp3] Ra Ra Riot - Dying Is Fine

When the Young Liars EP emerged in 2003, the persona of TV on the Radio were shrouded in mystery.  Left with only album art and the music, I reverted  back to a pre-internet world of imagination and minimalism.  The arrangement and delivery of the music felt like nothing else at the time - twenty minutes of barbershop vocals and fuzz.

Throughout the next two albums, TVOTR made efforts at expanding their musical palette.  While this is the goal of any band, only the great ones turn these efforts into progress instead of diversion.  They never stepped outside of their foundational sound, and still moved forward musically with each new song.

Dear Science rests right in line with the progression of Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes and Return to Cookie Mountain.  The band is at their most mature and contemplative, and have cut away the bed of static from Cookie Mountain.  “Dancing Choose” and “Golden Age” are the singles for obvious reasons, but I think “Halfway Home” and “Stork & Owl” might be my favorite tracks on the record.

TV on the Radio is committed to music, and Dear Science puts their labors and progress on record.  Their catalog should be mandatory listening for any new hype band.

[mp3] TV on the Radio - Golden Age

In Ear Park is not a tide-over record, one to keep your patience at bay, while you await the next release from Grizzly Bear.  Its hard not to connect the two projects though; this Department of Eagles album is smudged with the fingerprints of Grizzly Bear and the subtleties of sound, the ghoulish background vocals, and dedication to seventh chords that made Yellow House such a delight.  Though it hints at a California sound, as filtered through Randy Newman or Van Dyke Parks, In Ear Park is far from the sunshine popping playfulness that seems to bracket most music under the California banner.  The result is much moodier, like a fog-ridden drive down Highway One before sunrise, when the cramped California still feels far away.

I Guess I’m Floating has two new live tracks.

[mp3] Department of Eagles - No One Does Like You

The landscape of the music industry has changed tremendously over the last 10 years, and the smartest artists are learning to adapt.  Artists and labels have come to realize that consumers want constant contact and content from the artists they follow, and if they get bored they’ll look elsewhere for that fulfillment.

Kayne West understands this new system and is doing everything he can to continue his reign on top.  On the heels of a incredibly successful latest album and equally  impressive concert tour, Kayne is already completing a new record that he will be releasing practically the day it’s finished (sometime in November).  He is also an obsessive blogger and keeps a great connection to his fans that way.  To keep the experience interactive, Kanye has released the stem tracks to “Love Lockdown” for everyone to remix and rework.  When you finish post it online and link it through the comment section.  We want to hear your creation!

Download the stems here