Akron/Family

I just got their new album and absolutely fell in love with this song:

Here is some of their older stuff that got me into them:

Panda Bear

Panda Bear is set to release some new tunes on us April 12th. He did a series of singles late last year with some early mixes of some new tunes. Here are a couple that I'm looking forward to:

Toro Y Moi

Nate first blogged about this guy way back in September and here is a video for his new song. Considering we just got bombarded with a blizzard this video is only fitting.

Fang Island

One of my good college buddies turned me on to these guys. I don't really know how to describe them because they're all over the place. Yamo would probably think the first song to be very Ozma-ish. Two of my favorites:

Davy Crockett (I don't know why its set to NBA Dunk footage, but it only adds to its awesomeness):

Daisy:

Glasser

Sorry for the long delay TSAD. It seriously won't happen again.

My new winter musical obsession has been Glasser. She's so underground she doesn't even have a wikipedia page and as a result I know next to nothing about her other than her music rocks (and her mom was in a band called Human Sexual Response, which might need its own post after discovering them).

The best way to describe her would be a mix of Bat for Lashes and Bjork. Enjoy one of my favorite tracks and let me know what you think:

Mondaze

Sorry for the lack of posts. Finals are over now so I can get back to sharing quality music from the top shelf.

Diego Stocco - Music From A Tree from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

Pogo

Short post today. A while back this guy (or girl), Pogo, made a video remixing portions of Disney's Alice in Wonderland into a song (first video below). Well he just came out with his second video with Disney's Snow White. Very cool stuff.

Lucky 1

Avey Tare (of Animal Collective) is set to release his first solo record, Down There, on October 26th. Earlier this week he released the first song off it called "Lucky 1." It's somewhat reminiscent of Merriweather Post Pavilion due to the heavy low end and the reliance on sampling. It also reminds me of "Lion In A Coma" due to the jigsaw harp/didgeridoo sample in it (I can never tell those two instruments apart based on sound). He also released a video (done by his sister) yesterday so check it out:

Weezer

EDIT: on a random note a friend just turned my attention to this hilarious story (thanks Kunal).

I haven't been a Weezer fan since 2001. After their five year hiatus, Matt Sharp leaving the band (not to mention his lawsuits against the band) and the bust that was the Green Album I gave up on them. My decision was justified by the further releases of Maladroit (I actually kind of liked this one), Make Believe, the Red Album, Ratitude, and now Hurley (not to mention their "highly anticipated" new album Death to False Metal). That being said the band is still capable of pulling off some really cool things (I'm not talking about their awful covers of MGMT and Lady Gaga):

I know this pertains to only a few of you (Chicagoans), but Weezer just announced the Chicago dates for their Memories Tour. Those of you, like me, who absolutely love the Blue Album and Pinkerton will get a chance to hear both performed in their entirety. It's going down January 7th and 8th at the Aragon for about $50 per show. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 am (CDT)***. I will hopefully be there for both. Here's a little reminder of how good this band can be:

***I am in no way affiliated with the band Weezer nor am I being paid to plug this concert. If it were any other event by the band I would actively persuade you, the reader, NOT to partake.

Sleigh Bells

They're a duet that has gotten much hype without putting out an official cd yet. They have one coming out on M.I.A.'s label next week and if its anything like the first song they released it will be awesome:

Jónsi Live @ The Vic

I was at this show Wednesday night (he also played a sold out show Tuesday night) and he never fails to amaze me. Enjoy.

Explosions in the Sky

Edit: apparently this blog can't handle how epic this is and cuts the right half of the video.

So I've had many discussions with various people who all agree: listening to Explosions in the Sky while doing anything makes what you're doing infinitely better. So now I bring you this:

If this were the real trailer I would want to see this movie (I still haven't).

Furthermore, I don't think an entry has been done on these guys yet. Great post-rock group out of Austin, TX. May have heard their music in Friday Night Lights (both the movie and the tv show). I highly recommend them.

Music History Lesson

I don't know how better to describe this video so I'm taking the youtube explanation of it:

This fascinating, brilliant 20-minute video narrates the history of the "Amen Break," a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969. This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music -- a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip.

Fall Be Kind

This doesn't drop until Monday (digitally) and December 15th on CD, but it leaked yesterday and I have to share it with you guys. Animal Collective are like a fine wine and seem to be getting better with age.

This is composed of five songs that didn't make the cut on Merriweather Post Pavilion. That's not to imply the quality of them is worse, which can be disproven upon one listen. In my opinion these songs are just as good and even better. Take a listen:

EDIT: I forgot there are some Dead Heads on here. Track 2 ("What Would I Want? Sky") has the first licensed Dead sample from "Unchained Melody." The band collaborated with Phil Lesh and he dug what they were doing so gave it the go ahead:

Bat For Lashes

No doubt you guys will be hearing more and more about Bat for Lashes. It is the work of one Natasha Khan who was born in Pakistan, but raised in Brighton, England. She just put out her second album Two Suns, which has been pretty well received. I think the best way to describe her music is a combination of Feist, Fiona Apple and Bjork. She'll be playing Lollapalooza this year Sunday from 1:30-2:30 so be sure to check her out if you're going. However, Portugal. The Man will also be playing at that time so in a later post I might tell you to go see them instead.

Below are two tracks off of Two Suns. If you like the music at least go support them by seeing them live. I don't necessarily condone buying their albums because artists, for the most part, barely make any money off of them (which might be a subject of another later post).

http://www.mediafire.com/?nd41mlzz5zm

http://www.mediafire.com/?dmfdmif4ziw

Here's Bat for Lashes on Letterman:

Animal Collective

by Guest Poster Cole Hardy


Photo by J Caldwell http://www.flickr.com/-drj

The Baltimore-based collective that is composed of Dave Portner (Avey Tare), Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), Brian Weitz (Geologist) and Josh Dibb (Deakin) are extremely prolific. They formed in 2000 with the release of Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished and have since put out eight other L.P.s (seven if you do not count the live album Hollinndagain), three E.P.s and have tirelessly toured internationally.

Their music is often hard to describe, depending on when in their career you listen to them, as they often change genres or combine many to create their own. The first half of their catalogue can best be explained as the coming together of the Collective. Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished was written entirely by Avey Tare, while Panda Bear was asked to come on to do the drums. For their next album, Danse Manatee, Avey and Panda added Geologist. Both of these albums were a lot of the band trying to find out what sort of sound they wanted to achieve. Danse involved a lot of high/low frequencies that can best be described as ambient noise. It was not until their fourth album, Campfire Songs, that Deakin became a member of the group.

It was with their fifth release, Sung Tongs, that Animal Collective began to hone in on its sound. The album was received well by critics and made the New York Times Top Ten List of 2004. The Times described it as, “trippy, loaded with vocals, tightly composed, it didn't sound much like a rock album, didn't have conventional drum sounds and hinted at folk and ritual music.” The following year they released Feels, a concept album about, well, feelings. With this album they transitioned from the more folk-inspired sound heard prominently on Sung Tongs to a more rock based song structure. They go back and forth between tight, straightforward rock songs (“Grass” and “The Purple Bottle”) and lengthier, softer, layered songs (“Banshee Beat” and “Bees”).

Again the band decided to transcend genres adding more electronic samples on their seventh full-length album Strawberry Jam. On this album they continued their trend of writing rock songs, but added more elements of pop that made this their most accessible album at the time. For their most recent release, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Deakin decided to take a break from the band. Responding to Deakin’s absence they furthered their experimentation with electronic samples and nearly abandoned all live instrumentation. The album has been very well received and debuted at #13 on the Billboard Top 200.

As mentioned above, the band has toured relentlessly over the years. Their live experience is unlike any other current band. They will first debut songs live anywhere from one to two years in advance of them appearing on an album in order to perfect them. Upon releasing studio recorded versions of the songs they will rarely play them again live. If they do play previously released songs they will most likely be remixed or reworked versions (see the difference between the studio version of “Who Could Win a Rabbit” and the live version). This provides fans or casual listeners with something special at the show: a chance to join Animal Collective in the song writing process.

Editor’s note: I hated the band the first time I saw/heard them. It took me and several of my friends many months to come around and see the light. I suggest you start with their most recent music, as it is their most accessible, and work your way back. The reward is worth the patience.

“My Girls” from Merriweather Post Pavilion


“Fireworks” from Strawberry Jam


“Grass” from Feels


“Leaf House” from Sung Tongs