Global Gathering

Though I am now in Korea and no longer seeing live shows every week as I was at home, I had the fortunate pleasure of attending Global Gathering (a traveling, international electronic festival) last weekend.

I saw a few hilarious K-POP grounds (G-Dragon and 2ne1), MSTRKRFT, Royksopp and Underworld. Having seen MSTRKRFT, I was so excited for their performance but I will admit, I think they fell a little short. The last time I saw them was last November in Houston and they really brought it. Maybe it was because it started at 2am, but I felt they were slacking a bit. Royksopp was incredible - the girl singer has the most mesmerizingly beautiful voice. Underworld was a non-stop dance party. Probably the best of the night

Royksopp - Tricky Tricky (Remix)
Underworld - Mechanical Breakdown Improv
MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker

UNDERWORLD

ROYKSOPP

MSTRKRFT

Andrew Bird in a Church

I've been truly terrible about updating this....but this performance of Andrew Bird's is not to be missed. I will try to continue posting as I have learned about a lot of new music in the past few weeks.

My Morning Jacket + Yim Yames

I have a soft spot for acapella music and an even softer spot for My Morning Jacket. My favorite band of my lifetime, there is nothing sweeter and more honest than Jim James' voice and lyrics. Found this lil ditty on the net...


Also in MMJ related news...Yim Yames (his yalter yeego), has begun releasing (for FREE!) tracks off his Tribute To George Harrison EP. The entire album (all 6 songs of it) is available for stream here, and will be released for sale in its entirety on August 4. Yim recorded the album a few days after Harrison died in 2001. After listening to the EP about five times, it left me wanting much much more. James did the whole thing himself, on vocals and acoustic guitar. In the liner notes, James calls Harrison "a prime example of the healing power of music."

A portion of the album's proceeds will benefit Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Get all the details here.

Tribute Tracklist:
Long Long Long
Behind That Locked Door (Get it free)
Love You To
My Sweet Lord
Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
All Things Must Pass

This album comes as a lead-up to the long-awaited self-titled album release (Sept. 22nd) from Monsters of Folk, Jim James's supergroup that also features Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis. Apparently the sessions were haunted by ghosts. The Shangri-La studios were once a bordello. Jim James told NME, "You can feel some of the scary, sad ghosts of the brothel. M [Ward] actually saw one. He was freaked out, he didn't want to be in that room for a while. You feel a lot of ghosts there but most of them feel pretty friendly."

For a free download of "Say Please" just say "p-l-e-a-s-e" (go to website and type it in)

Eels

Another album I'm cray cray about this summer is Hombre Lobo (Wolfman for those of you who no habla espanol): Twelve Songs About Desire by Eels

Not set to tour any time soon, you can stream the album in its entirity on MySpace

This is the song that did it for me....
Eels - Fresh Blood
Eels - Tremendous Dynamite

I like this video, "In My Dreams"

Here We Go Magic

this song is incredibly awesome. their band name rocks too.

Here We Go Magic - Fangela

kiddos heading to ACL this year be sure to check em out. their bio says all you need to know:

"We like the way the name sounds so we set it to music. Our own Luke made a beautiful record and we joined him to make something together. We are creating songs from melodies that can turn from gorgeous to challenging to a little scary and back again. Sounds are driven and shaped by, but hopefully never grounded by, rhythms that entrance before performing a somersault. It all seems silly on paper, but there are no dirty words: groovy, psychedelic, pretty etc... are all fair game. It is our hope that we generate something generous and surprising, crafted but instinctive, even as it coalesces. So far it is a lovely ruckus."

White Rabbits

The White Rabbits, from Brooklyn via Missouri, are one of the standout bands for me this summer. Their debut LP, Fort Nightly (2007), and new album It's Frightening (2009) have been on repeat the past few days. With a bit more pressure on their sophomore release they hired none other than Britt Daniel (Spoon) to produce. The band's early success has been fueled by a dynamic, high-energy, live show - which I haven't been fortunate enough to see, but will some day.

The Rabbits formed at the University of Missouri in 2004. Their distinctive sound is created by a combination of piano, percussion (two drummers) and bright, clever lyrics. Give them a listen.

White Rabbits - Percussion Gun
White Rabbits - The Plot (Live on MOKB)
White Rabbits - While We Go Dancing (Live on MOKB)

If you'd like to read an interview about White Rabbit's collaboration with Daniels and more, go ahead and click here.

Michael Jackson

Obviously there are not enough words to describe the impact Michael Jackson had on the music world. I remember making up dances in 4th grade to Black or White and learning the sign language to We Are The World in P.E. I was shocked and so sad yesterday to hear of his passing. I am sure you all know the story by now, so I won't write about it here. Just wanted to post a few worthy MJ remixes.

Love you MICHAEL, you freaky old bastard you.

P.Y.T. (DJ Debonair Samir)
Rock With You (Daft Punk Remix)
Smooth Criminal (LAZRtag Remix)
Billie Jean (Daft Punk Bootleg Remix


for more or more

Music Videos

So, I've seen several really bizarre music videos lately...
This first one made its debut at the Moma a few months ago. The band members were college roommates at NYU and are members of the band Grizzly Bear as well. They're called 'Department of Eagles' and the song is called 'No One Does it Like You.' Its a bit violent, but its super interesting.





The second is from Empire of the Sun. Totally wacked:



The third is Lady Gaga...maybe the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a while:

Phish

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past six months you will surely know PHISH is BACK. Hells yes. This weekend they started their summer tour in Boston, playing at Fenway Park. Wish I coulda been there but Red Rox will have to suffice in August ;)

Run Toto Run does Passion Pit

maybe its the feeling of extreme giddyness of seeing Passion Pit this Thursday or maybe its because I've been playing Manners (see a few posts below) non stop for the past 2 weeks but I've got the fever, and what I need is more Pass!on P!t. This little ditty is a video I just found and super cute.




I am also digging this remix contest they put up a few months back. You had to take snippets of "Little Secrets" and make your own song.

Wooden Birds

I'm not too familiar with the music of American Analog Set, but I must say I am becoming a fan of lead singer/guitarist Andrew Kenny's side project Wooden Birds. Maybe it won't blow you away on your first listen but upon closer inspection, Kenny's lyrics and the simple melodies are quite intriguing. "Sugar" got me hooked...


Sugar
False Alarm



and p.s. he is from TEXAS, hell yeah.
playing in Houston - July 2nd and Austin - July 3rd

Golden Silvers

Ok, ok, ok. So. London's Golden Silvers are lighting up my skies. Check em out. Super sweet watered down 70's prints with a dash of melody and fawnk. Love it. They've got a new album out, too. True Romance. Do yourself a one-up and press the "HQ" button and then move yo mouse over a smidge and press the FULL SCREEN one too, weee!

Fischerspooner

I think you can gather from the photos the time we had. It was, the most entertaining, theatrical show I've seen in a long, long time.

Listen while you look....
Never Win
A Kick In The Teeth (Good Evil Remix)
We Are Electric (Hot Chip Remix)
Supply and Demand (DIM Dub Remix)











p.s. all of these photos are MINE (so don't sell em), copyright Eby Harvey

Passion Pit

I am so excited about this. Passion Pit's long awaited full-length album dropped yesterday (May 19, 2009). Album release (on a cruise ship in NYC) coincided with 22nd birthday of super hot front man Michael Angelakos. A great summer electro-pop album. Electro beats, high (almost little boy) voices.

Passion Pit consists of 5 guys from Cambridge, Massachusetts. They formed in 2007 and have quickly rose to indie rock blogosphere fame.

They are playing in Austin @ Emo's June 3, Houston @ Warehouse Live on Thursday June 4.

Sorry NYC, both Bowery Ballroom shows are SOLD OUT.

Can't wait!!
Moth's Wings
Make Light
Little Secrets
And who doesn't love a little Calvin Harris remixxx
The Reeling

The Sounds of Arrows

I discovered this Swedish duo The Sound of Arrows. Their single, release earlier in the year called “M.A.G.I.C.,” is just a bundle of electronic joy wrapped into a three minute pop song.

At times it’s very reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys from the nasal, high-pitched vocals and the analog synths that form their exuberant sound. It’s up until the moment where a young group of children begin chanting M-A-G-I-C, that this song becomes beyond irresistible. You can’t shy away from it, instead, you just come away from it a lot more happier than you were.

M.A.G.I.C

Neon Indian

best band name, ever? of 2009 anyway...

pretty cool music too.

also cool that they are anonymous.

Should Have Taken Acid With You
6669 (I Don't Know If You Know)
Local Joke
Deadbeat Summer

check em out....

Psychic Chasms coming soon!

yay for summer music.

Stream Wilco's New Album

New album appropriately titled Wilco (The Album) is available for stream here!!

It will be out no later than June 30. Produced by Wilco & Jim Scott. Holler!

Wilco (The Album) track list
1. Wilco (the song)
2. Deeper Down
3. One Wing
4. Bull Black Nova
5. You And I
6. You Never Know
7. Country Disappeared
8. Solitaire
9. I'll Fight
10. Sonny Feeling
11. Everlasting Everything

Bon Iver

"For Emma" (Live in-studio at MOKB/WEEM) from LaundroMatinee

Easily my favorite artist of the winter 2008-2009, which is appropriate as Bon Iver is French for "good winter." You know the story...Justin Vernon moved to his father's cabin in the Wisconsin wilderness after being dumped, feeling ill at ease with his current musical project, etc and just wanted to "get away from it all" with no intentions of writing any music. For Emma, Forever Ago is breath-takingly beautiful, (Vernon wrote all the music and lyrics while in the woods). January marked the release of Blood Bank EP.

Hope you enjoy this...looks like it is performed in a high school English class.


Skinny Love

Stream more here.

Flight of the Conchords

FOTC shows across the country sold out in record time. Scalpers bought up all the tickets in the pre-sales, so we real fans missed out. I was pretty bummed the night before the show as my brothers told me they would get me a ticket for my birthday on Craigslist (where, mind you, even there the $38+fees tickets were going for $95-$300) but "didn't get around to it". I decided I would check TicketBastard one last time, and lo and behold, I found one lone ticket in the Mezzanine of Jones Hall.

As hit-or-miss this season of FOTC has been (in my opinion, it pales when compared to the first), their live performance was HILARIOUS. I didn't stop laughing. They are exactly like one would expect; I honestly don't know if they are playing characters or playing themselves. Bret had a plastic rhinoceros figurine glued to the top of his acoustic guitar. Jermaine did most of the talking/dancing/voices. Even Eugene Merman (aka: the landlord) who opened by doing his "making fun of Jews, but I am Jewish so its ok" stand-up was a total riot.

My videos are no where near as good as these so I will post real ones instead.
"Business Time"



My all-time favorite from the show, "Foux Da Fa Fa"



And this little gem....their first ever televised performance of "Bowie in Space" (Bret was 23...)


Concert Rating: A+

Bat for Lashes on Letterman

I heard on XM radio this was a great performance...

if you don't know much about Bat for Lashes, get on it.



"Use Somebody" (Kings of Leon Cover)

FrankMusik

I just discovered this guy from the UK. He's been blowing up the scene in London. Enjoyyyyy


This one is a little crazier:

YELLE

This French electro-pop singer is making some of the crazier music videos I've seen in a while. YELLE (a feminized version of the acronym YEL, "You enjoy life") gained fame after a number of hit singles in Europe, but her videos are what really got me.

I was first shown a TEPR remix of her song "A Cause Des Garcons" (aka "Because of the Boys") which has some of the more enviable dance moves I will never learn....




And another great song, that shows Yelle at her best,"Je Veux Te Voir" which translates to "I Want To See You"



Bon appetit!

A BAND OF BEES

How am I JUST now finding out about these guys??? They had a song on some mix tape a friend made me years ago and I never thought about checking out the actual album from which it came! Oi! So dumb. Anyways, needless to say, A Band Of Bees is great.

They combine a mixture of something you might hear in your Dad's record closet with a sort of funk-the-nation steal-your-woman kind of way. Great. Great. Great. Besides they aren't afraid to use that brass and everyone needs a healthy dose of brass every now and then, right? If you think you'll like a bluesy Beatle/Kinks baby then go out and buy all of their albums right now.

DISCOVERY

This is quite new to me... Wes Miles (of Ra Ra Riot) and Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend) joined together to form "Discovery." Expect an EP this summer (says Fader)...proclaimed "electronic R&B" not much is known about the side project, but we can expect more, as these two bands won't be leaving us anytime soon...

Download the track "Orange Show" from Transparent.

And listen to
Osaka Loop Line

M83 80'S reVIVAL

Owning shoegaze 80's rock forked with synthesizer anthems that stick out noticeably in this new age of garage bands and cover-thump disco acts is an accomplishment M83 can be proud of.

Harking from Antibes, France, this band has paid their dues. Congealing in 2001, M83 have release five albums to date and don't seem to be slowing down. These super seniors are picking up the speed with their most recent gem Saturdays = Youth. This more than notable tribute to the 1980's has me reeling with neon joy wishing acid wash, flattops and legwarmers were still respectable terms.

Make the effort to see them live and you will realize why they are celebrated. Past affiliations include acts like The Rapture, Sigur Rós, Goldfrapp and Bloc Party, respectively. They toured with the Kings of Leon in the UK in 2008 and in 2009 they will lock in with Depeche Mode and later in the year with the Killers in Australia. Signature blue synthesizer docks are the order for the day. Make sure you bring your oversized suits and Movados!

SOLEDAD BROTHERS

It's tough, the music business. Especially when every other rock band around sports their "unique" blues influence around their necks. It's even worse when you're an honest blues rock trio that actually has good songs. Thankfully, the Soledad Brothers have not disappeared into that fading blue landscape of rock gravestones.

Before their breakup in 2006 they managed to release four full LP's that harnessed a true delta blues and Brit-rock soul. Curiously, one of the founders Ben Smith (AKA Ben Swank) was the room mate for some time in the 1990's of the White Stripes' Jack White who might have had something to do with the continued success of the now defunct band.

White engineered their self titled debut in 2000 with occasional guest percussion by the incomparable Meg White. As a side note, the other founding member Johnny Wirick (AKA Johnny Walker) taught Jack White how to play slide guitar and is featured playing slide on two songs on the White Stripes debut album. The third member, Oliver Henry, who played sax and guitar for the band was also recruited by fellow stompers The Greenhornes just before the release of their second album.

Posthumously, Walker now plays in a band called the Cut In The Hill Gang based out of Covington, Kentucky. They released a single vinyl in Fenruary of last year through The Little Room Record Co. and have a full LP scheduled for release this summer.

YACHT: Darkness, Light, Duration

Stupendous super duo springs from Portland, Oregon and launches their stylized techno-geek mantra across the globe. After a handful of European tours and smaller appearances in the U.S. Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans have managed to create a monster nothing short of lovable. YACHT's hyper chopped music made me jump up and shout so the least I could really do was sit back and let this novel act wiggle their way onto my heavy rotation list.

For an xtra treat check out their Twitter page for almost daily uploaded photos and videos from their trek around the world and their unusual love for triangles (?).

PANDA BEAR'S PERSON PITCH

If you are at all like me then you enjoy finding bands you can just put on and sit out by a river sipping a whiskey and soda to while it's blazing hot outside and be in perfect harmony with your drunkenness. Well, friends, I have have found another such band to add to that blissful roster, or should I say person?

Animal Collective's Noah Lennox (A.K.A. Panda Bear) beat's the heat with his Brian Wilson harmonized chanting over a washed ultra edited sonic landscape of sound in his latest solo effort, Person Pitch. Released in 2007, I am just now arriving at it and I hope, if you have not yourself, then you'll join the banks.

A Musician and A Filmmaker
Take Pills

Possibly The Greatest Debut Album Ever

Every once and a while, a fan of music may run across some tunes that he or she thinks is "the greatest." It takes something special to do that to me personally - and certainly - I feel the timing must be right. I acquired Elvis Costello's debut album a few months ago; and upon first listen, I thought it was a great work. Though at the time, I didn't know it was that great.

In allmusic.com's five-star rating, S.T. Erlewine says My Aim Is True has a unique mass appeal, for it is "the most idiosyncratic of all classic punk debuts because it's not cathartic in sound, only spirit." True, at first it may seem too versatile, yet by the tenth time around Costello will trap you into his world whether you like it or not. His fast lyrical draw and wide range of melodies are contagious, and it is no wonder that so many listeners have become avid fans.

Nearly every form of music exists in the 13 tracks, but it doesn't jump around: it's a punk fusion that will spin your head and shake your limbs. There's down and dirty rock n'roll ("I'm Not Angry" "Blame It On Cain"); sounds of the 50's ("No Dancing" "Welcome To The Working Week"); vanilla reggae ("Watching The Detectives" "Less Than Zero"); classic, everyday tunes ("Alison" "Miracle Man"). This blend gives all thirteen songs fresh appeal - not to mention bleeding originality.

Heed my advice. This is an album to own and cherish. It's music you can feel in all five senses, with lyrics that are provocative to say the least ("Everything means less than zero"). The deluxe edition (1993) offers a bonus disc with Live tracks and "Honky Tonk Demos." In these songs, Costello is in rare form, playing songs that sound like tributes to some of his influences: Randy Newman, Van Morrison, and Gram Parsons (highlights include "Jump Up" & "Radio Sweetheart"). Enjoy...

Copacabana Club

Just Do It from copacabana club on Vimeo.

My new-found obsession from Brazil. Enjoy!

Dan Deacon @ the Orange Show, Houston

It's be raining in Houston for the past few days and it started Thursday, a night I'd been looking forward to for some time. Dan Deacon was coming to the Orange Show. The coolest venue in Houston, if not the contiguous United States (and I've been to a great many). The rain subsided, however, for the few hours Dan Deacon performed- as if the rain gods looked down on us and said "Alright. I don't give you too much in the way of beauty and while 95% of your city has no soul, I'll allow you few dedicated hipsters to rock your socks off for a night."

Dan Deacon is a hyper-intelligent (dare I say nerdy) electronic musician. Hailing from Baltimore, he was a classically trained in composition at SUNY Purchase. While his first album, Spiderman of the Rings (2006) is traditionally thought of as a "party" album (tribalistic electronic pop), his latest effort Bromst (March 2009) its a much larger (in scope and content), compositional project he has been working on for 3 years. The sounds are less hard-pounding, wasted-jumping and more like a small avant-garde symphony. To quote Pitchfork, "If Spiderman was for dancing on sticky floors, Bromst feels better suited to sleeping, or contemplating the sublime, or anything else that happens mostly between your ears."

A strict vegan, Deacon converted his school bus/tour bus to run on vegetable oil and he hopes to abstain from supporting the economy of hotels by finding places for his 20 person "orchestra" to crash. He even released an announcement telling fans if you brought 5 gallons of veggie oil the his show, you would be granted free entry. Unconventional to say the least.

Deacon has an uncanny ability to turn his shows into spectaculars, like blogger Michael Byrne said in his XLR8R piece, "Dan Deacon is very, very good at making people do shit." Without so much as a suggestion he got 75% of the Orange Show attendees to leave the venue (myself included). Literally everyone snake-chained out of the place and formed a tunnel only to be standing on a residential street. (In the 3rd Ward. And for those readers who are unfamiliar with Houston, that shit is the straight up GHETTO.) As Deacon himself explains it, the audience is “something that can be composed for and improvised with, manipulated in the most positive sense into doing something they wouldn’t normally do.”

And for those of you who hate on Houston (and believe me, up until a few months ago I was one of you too), even Dan Deacon seemed impressed. "Holy shit, Houston, I wasn't expecting much, but this place and you guys are AWESOME!" (I might be paraphrasing, I was a lil drunkers.)

Case in point being: Go See Dan Deacon Live. A++



this is kind of shitty quality uploaded to blogger but you'll get the idea.

Lonestar Posters

I bought a screenprint from this guy a few months ago...

His collection is top notch. Old and new.

check it out: lonestarposters.com

Andrew Bird

I feel like a total fanny for not listening to a friend 3 years ago who said "Eby you will LOVE Andrew Bird." I didn't take much of it to heart and now, yup, I LOVE Andrew Bird.

The 2009 album Noble Beast is nothing short of lovely. Bird's voice is somewhat reminiscent of Thom Yorke's. Its soft, melodic and makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. The music aspect is just as pleasant - using violins, acoustic guitars, whistling and some sweet percussion.

Andrew Bird es de Chicago. He was a classically trained violinist in the Suzuki method (a nurturing educational philosophy whose primary goal is to create "beautiful character" in its students through music education on a specific instrument), which sounds like just about the coolest thing ever. Noble Beast is his fourth solo studio effort, and was released January 20, 2009. I can't get the songs "Anonanimal" and "The Privateers" out of my head. Did I mention he is gorgeous?

Bird even said to the New York Times' Measure for Measure, "I listened to my record recently and I'm concerned about how much I like it."

-Eby Harvey