Music browsing.

First of all, I would like to thank those listeners who called in and sent us requests this morning. It truly made our first radio broadcast that much more fun.

Okay so I was browing through some music. And here are some stuff that I found blogworthy.

School of Seven Bells.

I feel like this band has a lot of potential, and if they can artistically challange themselves just a little more, they would begin to receive a lot of positive attention. This song in the music video is the combination of pop and shoegaze which I dig, and includes some decent verses, but the chorus does not live up to the rest of the song. Still, expect bigger things from this group.



The Thermals.



The Thermals rock, hard. These guys have punk roots and are not afraid to show off their fast-paced and rebellious music influences. They're lo-fi, but also power-pop. Think Weezer's blue album if they were angry instead of emo. Theyre coming out with a new album soon and have released a new song. The song "Now We Can See" is decent. Maybe the sound is a little too polished for the genre they are comfortable with. Signing on to a bigger label, Kill Rock Stars, might explain this. Nonetheless, I still cant wait to hear their album when it is released.

Now We Can See MP3
Fleet Foxes

This is my favorite Fleet Foxes song, and it came off their Sun Giant EP that was released before their well received debut self-titled album. They made a stop-animation music video for it recently and it's really worth the watch.

a valiant effort at channeling our inner-Delilahs

2/12 playlist: Valentine's Day is this Saturday so listeners were encouraged to call in and dedicate a song to their special someone. We've highlighted those choices in pink.

1. thirteen, elliott smith
2. knife, grizzly bear
3. hummingbird, born ruffians
4. i've never been this afraid, broken spindles
5. crimewave, crystal castles
6. gasolina, daddy yankee
7. chasing cars, snow patrol
8. sex machine, james brown
9. oh no, andrew bird
10. peaches, presidents of the united states of america
11. the lost brigade, ted leo & the pharmacists
12. next time around, little joy
13. whatever you like, t.i.
14. let's stay together, al green
15. my girls, animal collective
16. skinny love, bon iver
17. alternative girlfriend, barenaked ladies
18. holland 1945, neutral milk hotel
19. sex and candy, marcy's playground
20. hypnotize, notorious b.i.g.
21. ballad of love and hate, the avett brothers
22. road outside columbus, o.a.r.
23. i'm throwing my arms around paris, morrissey
24. every breath you take, sting
25. ready for the floor, hot chip
26. remmidemmi, deichkind

Thanks to everyone who listened in and called us!

Let us know what you liked about our first show and what you'd like to hear in the future.

first show

12:30pm: I love the Avett Brothers and reallyyy want to see them live. I missed them at Bonnaroo. Check out that energy!


11:48am: Bonnaroo2009 looks SICK. Check out the line-up here.

• bands I'm excited for: MGMT, Bon Iver, Bela Fleck, Rodrigo y Gabriela, of Montreal, Animal Collective, Jenny Lewis, Santigold, Grizzly Bear, Crystal Castles
  
  
• bands Yof is excited for: TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Girl Talk, of Montreal

11:11am: "Peaches" by the Presidents of the United States of America--what. a. throwback. They're playing at the Westcott Theater on April 22. I don't know how they scored a set at an actual venue seeing how they're playing a show on what looks to be someone's backyard patio? UPDATE: I found out this is some weird cover band about mid-way through the song? That's what you get for just grabbing random videos off of youtube..



10:30am: We just played a track by Broken Spindles, which is a side-project of The Faint. Broken Spindles was interviewed by our friend Mike Murray for his sweet new music blog The Calcutta that he does with his friend. They've interview a lot of people already, including one of my favorites--Brendan Canning from Broken Social Scene. Hopefully we can get Mike's band To The Ruins in the studio sometime soon.

10:15am: We're playing "Knife" by Grizzly Bear and Yof actually had the opportunity to see them live when he went to the Radiohead show in Boston over the summer. Yof showed me this video of Girl Talk at Pitchfork Music Fest which actually had the lead singer of Grizzly Bear singing this exact song live during the remix.

Battle of the sessions

I was perusing La Blogotheque last night for new take-away-shows, where they feature artists and bands playing music in public settings (typically walking down a street, etc.), when I came across their in-a-van sessions.

The premise is similar to their take-away-shows in focusing on one band or another and having them play live in an interesting setting (this time it's in a van, go figure). Unfortunately, the intimate-show-on-wheel has already been done by Black Cab Sessions. (the van might be a good look though; the backseat of a black cab tends to be a little small)

A lot of the same musicians have performed sets for both projects. Here are a few battles comparing artists' sessions with BlackCabSessions and La Blogotheque (most from La Blogotheque's take-away-shows just because there are only about six in-van-sessions), and my opinion of which cut is better:

Lykke Li
This swedish indie-pop sweetheart danced onto the scene last year with her debut album Youth Novels. It was one of my favorite albums of 2008, full of perfect pop songs with catchy beats and lyrics.


I love her, but I found the direct eye contact with the camera can be creepy at times. You can also tell she is almost jumping out of her skin to dance, but she's forced to remain in sitting position. Her dancing is so charming! If only you could see it; it adds so much to her performances. But, she's so good, I can't help but like this performance, minus the point when the cameraman turns to the internal television that is tuned to a poker tournament(?).

vs

SPLIT SERIES LYKKE LI & EL PERRO DEL MAR- DANCE DANCE DANCE
by lablogotheque

I almost prefer Lykke Li's Black Cab Session on environment alone; the setting is kind of whack in this cut. Maybe outside some hotels or something? I am partial to this video because it's Dance Dance Dance, one of my favorite tracks, and performed with the help of a group of people (El Perro Del Mar at that!).

Winner: La Blogotheque

Bonus: bon iver w/ lykke li on dance dance dance= better than both of those videos put together
Lykke Li & Bon Iver doing 'Dance Dance Dance' in L.A from Lykke Li on Vimeo.

Fleet Foxes
There's been so much hype about Fleet Foxes, tracing back a couple of years. I finally took the time to snag their album and dedicate ample listening sessions to it, and the verdict is out: I dig it. Their harmonies and just overall relaxed and beautiful composition soothes the soul and eases daily stresses away.


This is a really nice video solely just because it's straight up one-on-one with Robin Pecknold. At the end they talk about how the driving can be bumpy sometimes and how it's hard to keep playing; I've always wondered about that, but never have seen anyone make a mistake (I haven't seen all the videos though).

vs

Fleet Foxes - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo
La Blogotheque continues to blow BlackCabSessions out of the water from a cinematographic standpoint. The shots are creative in subtle ways, from the slight tilt of the camera to the depth-of-field focuses. BlackCabSessions' motto is "one song, one take," which I guess is to be their signature and maybe excuse for lack of creative filming. I'd love to be laying in a grass field of a park and have Fleet Foxes just saunter by and set up shop. The acoustics in the place they do "Blue Ridge Mountain" are just perfect. I can't get over their talent.

Winner: La Blogotheque

Bon Iver (/bawn-e-ver/ not /bon-iver/)
I've got unintended trend going through out this entry; here's another impressive relatively-new musician. Bon Iver released his debut album For Emma, Forever Ago in late 2007, but more like 2008 (aka another artist whom made a name for himself/herself/themselves in 2008 & will continue to deliver us beautiful music). He's incredible; I love his voice. His latest EP Blood Bank dropped late January and left me wishing it was more than just a 4-track EP.

Black Cab Sessions - Bon Iver from Aaron Landry on Vimeo.
1. Marry me. 2. I love that the majority of the video is shot centered on his head with a great view of the street racing away in the background, since the cab is moving. Every time I see videos of him performing this song he gets so into it. Fantastic.

vs

#93.6 BON IVER - Skinny Love
by lablogotheque

This is one of the few LaBlogotheque projects that I don't really dig the setting. It would be insane to actually be in that small apartment in Paris for that private set, but it doesn't really translate on film; I kind of feel left out, a contrast to the almost exclusivity I encounter while watching other LaBlogotheque videos. That's just probably my jealously getting the best of me. Bon Iver playing Skinny Love by candlelight. Okay, yes, I'm extremely bitter I wasn't invited. Also, I can appreciate people getting into music, but I feel like that one guy in the corner might have been so into it he might have been almost challenging Justin Vernon in singing (just look at the brunette's expression who was sitting on the wall next to the guy).

Winner: BlackCabSessions

La Blogotheque takes the cake, 2-1. Do you know of any sweet, similar music projects floating around the world-wide-web? Share them with us! Leave comments on your thoughts of the videos, or your personal favorites from BlackCabSessions or LaBlogotheque.

Dr. Dog - Fate

Recently, I've been recommended the band Dr. Dog on multiple occasions. Even though they seem to be receiving very little attention by prominent music sites, I decided to do a little digging and find out more about the band. And I was pleasantly surprised. I think its too often when bands try to imitate the greats in music history. Dr. Dog stays true to the roots of music and presents it with a modern appeal and avoids simply rehashing what was already achieved by classic songwriters like Lennon or McCartney.

You can preview the first track of the album here.

The Breeze - Dr. Dog

Beck's remix of one of their songs. Beck's choice to remix a classic rock-driven band is interesting. But it makes sense because his style deconstructs and merges together opposing genres. Take a listen.

The Girl (Beck Remix) - Dr. Dog

If still interested, take a listen to this track as well.

Uncovering the Old - Dr. Dog

shut the f up boy

Peter, Bjorn and John's latest album, Living Thing, hasn't leaked yet, but the band has released some singles off of it. "Shut the fuck up boy" was the first track I heard and I was boosted not only for the band's direction away from their mostly-instrumental and chill Seaside Rock but its video was sick.



I was inspired. (and always looking for an excuse to have a dance party)












sample of the party's playlist
a cross the universe: live justice album
electric feel (justice remix), mgmt
bounce feat. N.O.R.E.(extended version), MSTRKRFT
air war, crystal castles
happy valentine's day, outkast
the horror, rjd2
over and over, hot chip
t rex, wallpaper
gasolina, daddy yankee
alive 2007: live daft punk album
kids, mgmt
say hey (i love you) feat. cherine anderson, michael franti & spearhead
you rock my world, michael jackson
lights & music, cutcopy
walking on a dream, empire of the sun
mysplice vol.3: team9 v stereogum
dance dreams, divide & kreate
ayo in the casbah, 50cent vs the clash
chopped & skrewed, t-pain
we are your friends, justice v simian
single ladies, beyonce
sex machine, james brown
maneater (crooker remix), nelly furtado
mrs. officer (UMYO gredos remix), lil' wayne
ignition remix, r.kelly
tears dry on their own, amy winehouse
let me think about it, ida corr
ghost under rocks (passion pit remix), ra ra riot
please please please, james brown
churches under the stairs, broken social scene feat. brendan canning
party & bullshit, notorious b.i.g. vs peter, bjorn & john

take a listen/watch/download the song w/ links
comment on your thoughts