I Just Can't Get Behind the Flaming Lips Anymore

I'm not crazy, right? I mean. This. This is just.
Crap.

Bon Iver's "Heavenly Father" for New Braff Film

One of my favorite artists of all time, Bon Iver, released a new song that will appear on the soundtrack for Zach Braff's new movie, Wish I Was Here. WIWH is supposed to be a follow up to 2004's immensely popular Garden State. Frontman Justin Vernon's influence is obvious, but I think it's interesting that this song sounds a little more produced than the material from past albums.

You can watch the movie's trailer below.

Other artists, such as Cat Power and Coldplay, The Shins, The Weepies, and Badly Drawn Boy, have also contributed to the soundtrack. The full listing can be found here.

It's amazing how soundtracks can truly enhance or take away from a movie.

Some of my favorites are Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Virgin Suicides, American Hustle (playlist below), Almost Famous, Into the Wild and, of course Garden State.

Get Excited for the Arrival of New Releases!

Things really get popping in the music world during the summer. With the arrival of festival season comes tours and new releases aplenty. Here are a few artists that I'm most excited for!

1. FKA Twigs is set to release LP1 on August 12 in the US. Twigs already has two beautiful EPs out; if you haven't heard them, do so now! I first heard of her while reading Rookie Mag.

2. Ty Segall is releasing Manipulator on August 26. I can't believe this is his first release of 2014; I feel like he has at least one release every couple of months. I mean, how may ways and times can you release a garage fuzz album and keep it fresh? I guess we'll find out. Click the link for an album teaser.

3. Alt-J have set September 22 as the date for their sophomore album This is All Yours. As a huge lover of their first album, I'm excited and nervous for this release. Just like a movie sequel, it'll be really great or really terrible. Since it's Alt-J though, I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Even their pre-Alt-J music was fantastic. No single or sample yet, but their tour schedule is up.

4. Bjork and Death Grips...what an interesting combination. The Powers That B is a two-disc album, with the first half (niggas on the moon) already available to stream by clicking the link. Disc two, jenny death, has no official release date yet, but is expected out later this year. And yes, niggas on the moon is just as zany as you expect it to be.

5. Jenny Lewis, as I mentioned in the last post, is releasing The Voyager on July 29. The indie folk darling gets personal on her second solo album. You can listen to the Beck-produced single, "Just One of the Guys" and get pumped for the rest of the album now.

 

6. Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd as Electric Würms Surprise, surprise. Wayne Coyne has another side project. Musik, Die Shwer Zu Twerk comes out on August 19. It's going to be a six-song album. The single, now available on iTunes, is a cover of Yes' "Heart of the Sunrise."

7. J Masics' Tied to a Star is due out August 25. Track listing, tour schedule, and single available at the link.

8. The New Pornographers are releasing Brill Bruisers on August 26. Neko Case, Dan Bejar, A.C. Newman, Blaine Thurier, John Collins, Kathryn Calder, Kurt Dahle, and Todd Fancey will all appear on the 13-track album.

9. Jeff and Spencer Tweedy, fittingly as TWEEDY are releasing an album title Sukierae on August 16. As a Wilco fan, I'm expecting good things from the father son duo.

10. Allah-Las, my most recent found favorites, are releasing the aptly titled Worship the Sun on September 16. Their surfy, psych-y sound is perfect for the Summer, so until their new album arrives, I suggest jamming to their self-titled album. You can hear hear a single from the upcoming album if you click the band name.


Who are you waiting to hear some new tunes from?

Off the Wagon

It's been a hot minute since I posted, so I though it would be a nice catch-up if I told you about all the important things that have been happening in music since my last post.

1. Father John Misty has spoken about his new album (!!!!!!) and I now know he lives within an hour of me. Important.

2. The love of my life, Jenny Lewis, has announced a new album - The Voyager - to be released in July!

3. Pitchfork premiered a Macumentary on Monday. You can watch and learn all about the lovably goofy Mac Demarco here.

4.  Palo Alto, the movie based on the writings of James Franco, was scored by Blood Orange's Dev Hynes and it's beautiful. Listen here.

5. Jeffertitti's Nile released The Electric Hour and you'll be missing out on some serious stuff if you don't give it a listen.

6. Look out Dionysus, King Tuff's Kyle Thomas "promises mystery and sex" on his new album. I believe dat.

and 7. Portugal. the Man released an endangered song.

Obviously much more has happened, but these are the things I'm most excited about!

Little Bitta Good News

All has been pretty quiet on the Fleet Foxes front for a while now, so it was nice to get an update on what's going on. Good on Robin Pecknold for finishing up his degree; it's a huge accomplishment!

Even though I expected the next announcement from these guys to be information on a new album (as hinted by a string of pictures posted back in 2013) I'm happy to see that it still looks like something is in the works.

Until that new music arrives, enjoy this classic:

Mac DeMarco is a Delightful Dude (Now Say it Three Times Fast)

Your quality of life will be significantly increased if you go see Mac DeMarco live. I promise.

Yesterday, a friend and I made our merry way down to Tulane University in New Orleans for an afternoon of music sponsored by TUCP to see the slacker prince of indie music. 

It's barely surprising that DeMarco was asked to play at the university, as he's recently garnered a lot of attention from his latest album, Salad Days and a fair amount of coverage from numerous music media outlets, even landing Pitchfork's cover story prior to the release of said album.

Arriving 30 minutes early, we were able to snag some coveted spots up against the guard rail and listened to DeMarco and co.'s sound check. After all levels were set, DeMarco went behind the stage where fans started to crowd around. 

For the duration of the opening band's set (New Orleans-based duo, Caddywhompus) he met with people and posed for pictures. He knelt down, arm wrestled, waved, and received kisses on the cheek from strangers, all in the name of iPhone pics that have no doubt already made their way to Instagram. (Seriously, just go check out how may people hashtagged "#macdemarco" in New Orleans tonight - it's a lot.)

He was good natured, waving and talking to anyone who approached him. I chose to keep my spot up front and wait for him to make his way to the stage. This later benefited me, when DeMarco took his place behind the center microphone, and announced he had a problem with the guard rails. He encouraged everyone to jump them and get comfortable closer to the stage. It took me all of half a second to scoop up my purse, practically launch myself over the rail, and run forward. 

But enough about me (for now).

Onstage, DeMarco was as friendly with the crowd as he'd been to the many who had approached him pre-show. Taking fan requests, chatting with the peanut gallery between songs, and generally keeping communication flowing throughout the performance proved he was comfortable on stage and that all that's been written about his goofballish nature is completely true.

When he wasn't making faces and dispensing useless advice, ("You can listen to the next song, but you don't have to. If you don't want to listen, you can just dance. But you don't have to do that either."), he was pretty much nailing the performance like a seasoned professional who still has the heart of a kid playing basement shows. The set flowed effortlessly. DeMarco has a way of combining his upbeat energy with his generally chill songs to create an environment of good vibes. 

As my friend put it, "[The music] held you, but didn't hold onto you."

The set included songs from his latest album, Salad Days, as well as songs from 2, and "I'm a Man" off of Rock and Roll Night Club. He was visibly excited as the crowd sang along to every song, and recounted the last time he played New Orleans to a meager crowd of about 5 people. 

Way more than 5 people showed up for this show, and had every single person asked for an autograph, picture, or handshake, I'm convinced DeMarco would have obliged. Given his slacker reputation, I was surprised at all of the effort he put into making sure everyone was addressed and given attention. He was invited to parties and bars while accepting sips of beer from fans as he signed his name on everything from drivers' licenses to condoms. 

Even slackers like to party, I guess.

But I can't accept that DeMarco actually deserves the persona that precedes him. Despite the lovable goofus that appears in pictures and interviews, his songs are proof of the dedication to his craft, especially apparent on his latest album and in concert. He's admitted that his newest batch of songs are the most personal he's ever written, and personally, I think his songs sound better with a little meaning to them.

Nearing the end of his time on stage, DeMarco removed his cap and approached the ledge that separated his feet from the heads of hundreds of us, eyes skyward in anticipation. 

"Permission to surf?" he asked, cracking his infamous gap-toothed grin. His question was, of course, met with a roar of approval and he dove into the crowd, making his round before arriving back on stage, Pabst in hand.

He bid us adieu shortly after his return to the stage, but we cried for one last song. 

DeMarco didn't disappoint when he broke into "She Rides a Harley Davidson" by Neil Young, a fellow Canadian he informed us. He commanded everyone - as a sign of respect - to "kneel for Neil." The show ended with everyone belting what lyrics they knew, wishing our wacky prince could stay longer.

(a short video with poor sound quality that shows us all springing up from "kneeling for Neil")

Fortunately, he did hang out a bit longer, at least long enough for me to capture a little bit of his affable charm in a picture to #latergram that night.

Happy Record Store Day!

Yes, my friends, today is National Record Store Day.

I'm personally a huge fan of the vinyl medium. My parents have a pretty decent collection, mostly inherited from my grandparents. When I was in high school, I started to get into the stacks upon stacks that were hiding in our closet upstairs and decided I wanted a collection of my own.

If I'm not mistaken, my first vinyl purchases were made at my local flea market. For $20 I got a cardboard box of the moth-balliest smelling records my nose had had has the misfortune of sniffing.

Despite the stench, and much to my mother's dismay, I dug through the box and brought in the ones with interesting cover art. (Because that's the most appropriate way to choose new music, of course.)

Among my first stack was the soundtrack to The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery, Diana Ross' Why Do Fools Fall in Love?, Chicago's IX: Greatest Hits '69-'74, and the ever-popular Teach Your Parakeet to Talk.

I rubbed each of the album covers down in a flowery scented dryer sheet and pored over all of the fine print. Who were the artists, who produced the album, who were the guest musicians? I don't remember an of this information now, but at the time it was refreshing to get away from my iPod and still infant collection of mp3s.

Getting back to earlier forms of music can be a real treat, and a great way to connect with the artist. Learn about who you're listening to!

Unfortunately, I didn't have any extra money to spend on records this year, but rest assured, I will be heading back to my local shop next pay day.