Todd Burns of Emusic points out the over rot use of the melancholy robot theme in indie music, and I couldn’t agree with him more. The tin man in need of a heart notion has definitely had it’s day in the sun, and is now just a dry and withered metaphor. Luckily the so called “concept” doesn’t seep very far into Stars latest musical output.
Since this is an EP there isn’t too much musical ground to cover, but there is a gem in this small collection called “A Thread Cut With A Carving Knife.” A sweeping epic narrative told in two vocal parts and a colossal synth build. As a catalogue, Stars is hit or miss for me, often falling into an emotive (straight Webster’s definition - not meant to be shortened and applied to black haired youth) blackhole of over ponderous lyrics and deliver. That being said I pick and choose my playlist and “Thread” just made it to the top of that list.
It was a strange and interesting scene at The Silent Movie Theatre last night where a man named Beaches premiered a film revolving around the life of Pop Levi called “You Don’t Gotta Run.” It was a half hour experimental piece shot mostly on cellphone cameras and other lo-fi gear, and then edited into oblivion. The piece roughly charted a recent tour that Pop Levi had been on, as well as some frolicking naked women for good measure. After the film (trailer below), Pop Levi got up and played a half dozen songs or so acoustic.
The character of the man behind Pop Levi is an integral part of the music itself. He reminds me of someone who stepped right off a Fellini set - lots of colorful costumes, a permanent smile and a stiff legged walk. Throughout the film he talks about how much he loves Marvin Gaye, and for a white Englishman, you can see that sort of soul come out in his performance.
The art of the mixtape has different meaning to different communities. In the hip hop world it basically means LP “lite” - drop the production value, give some smaller artists a shot at the mic and sell them off the back of a truck or now on mediafire and rapid share. DJ Drama brought the mixtape to the public when his studio was raided by the FBI and a massive amount of bootleg CDs confiscated. The US Government isn’t too fond of businesses missing their tax ID.
If anyone needed more evidence that Lil Wayne is the most prolific artist in hip hop, Dedication 3 puts the last nail in the coffin. Not much else to say except enjoy.
With the exception of the Dark Knight, there isn’t a film this year that I have been anticipating more than David Fincher’s take on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Warner Brothers has just made Alexander Desplat’s complete score available for preview on their For Your Consideration website. Watch the trailer below and grab the mp3 of “Aquarium” from Camille Saint-Saens musical suite Carnival of Animals which is used in the film’s first trailer.
This new-wavey, dance pop trend has got me by the throat. That probably sounds like a violent relationship but its really more playfully masochistic when Ladyhawke has her hooks wrapped around my head piece. I don’t want to use words like infectious or nostalgic but its impossible for me not to give my blessing to this debut release when its already flowing through my blood stream and inducing flashbacks of Kim Carnes‘ “Bette Davis Eyes” blasting from the FM during my childhood carpools (thanks for the reminder eMusic). When Ladyhawke spits out in her girly hiccup about how feeling younger is better than feeling wiser it makes me wish I was the guy she was singing about in the album’s opening track “Magic”. But if our relationship never blossoms into anything more than headphone infatuation then I hope she’ll always know that she’ll have a spot next to my Cut Copy.
“One day we’re going to live in Paris, I promise I’m on it…”
I was supposed to have been born in Paris. And my brother was supposed to be Bill Hicks. Unfortunately, something went horribly wrong, God got angry and sent me down a birth canal headed towards Santa Monica. However fleeting the comfort level might be, its still nice to know that there are others out there planning their Meccan journey to the French capital, especially when such announcements come atop the disco beat flares of Friendly Fires. Throw this track on at any get-together and watch the party shimmy and sweat it out as if your foreign escape could become reality. Throw the remix on if you really want the human parts to move.
Here’s a nice holiday treat for you all - Two great bands, one great club, and nothing to do but sign up. Shock Hound is putting on a series of free shows (which are all selling out so act quick!), and on Dec 2nd No Age and Titus Andronicus will be packing in The Troubadour. Both these bands are great live, so don’t miss out on this opportunity. Follow the link below and sign up to get your name on the guest list. This will sell out so move fast.
I guess it’s worth noting that this album is a side project of Tom Fec, the man behind Black Moth Super Rainbow. This might mean a lot or nil to you. For someone who has been recommended BMSR but never pursued it - it holds a little weight. More than anything it makes me want to go and explore Fec’s central project.
Fucked Up Friend feels like a side project in the sense that it’s a collection of short form experiments. It’s on the far spectrum away from an epic concept record; however, that doesn’t take away from how enjoyable it is. Each song is built on a foundation of spacey electro soundscapes - a two dollar phrase for glitchy beats. Outside of a few guest vocal spots (most notably by Aesop Rock), the album is void of vocals, and most structure for that matter. This could be elevator music for alien spaceship cities, but only if they were some hip aliens.
So it turns out that Kanye didn’t quite love his mastering of “Love Lockdown” and “Heartless.” This being 2008, Kanye goes back into the studio, reworks the songs and then gives them away for free on his (frequently updates and quite awesome) blog. He then posted another song with Jeezy called “Amazing” - again free to download. Finally two more songs surfaced on the same hosting service he uses, so I’m assuming they are from him. Links to all below.
For one week only Youtube is hosting an interesting and beautifully shot “Making Of” doc for Cold War Kids new album Loyalty To Loyalty. Pulled from studio sessions, live shows, travels and discussions, this half hour film gives great insight to how life exists inside a mid level band. The film is packaged with the deluxe edition of the LP, which you can purchase here.
for $19.98.
