LETS GO FLYERS!!! (and Black Kids and Cut Copy)
In support for the greatest team in the NHL, I will not be posting too much this weekend. However, I must remind you that Black Kids and Cut Copy are playing on Monday night at Paradise Rock Club. Yes, I know, another great Monday night show but it’s also another one not to miss. Should be a really fun time and I highly recommend you get your bottoms over there.
Listen to Black Kids (The Twelves Remix):
Download: Cut Copy - “Lights & Music” (radio edit)
I’ll leave you with footage from what is going to go down as one of, if not the greatest hockey fight in the history of the sport. This happened in modern times so for all those folks who feel Hockey has gone soft, check out this one between the Flyers and the Ottawa Senators. Both sides get their throws in but it’s clear the men in Orange and Black come out on top.
Winner of The Teenagers Guest List contest
Congratulations Taylor B., you’re the winner of two guest list spots at the upcoming Teenagers show at the Paradise Rock Club. Your name will be on the guest list so when you get to the ticket window just tell them your name. Make sure you bring a photo I.D.
We’re also giving away some free Teenagers gear to the runner up as a surprise. Alexander P. was our runner up and he wins the following from Beggars:
- Teenagers Badges
- Set of “Love, No” 7″ singles on red/white/blue vinyl
Beggars will be mailing this to you directly. Congrats “Zander”.
For all you college students finishing up their finals, there’s nothing better then catching some live music to let off a little steam. We’ll see you at the show.
P.S. Make sure to get there early to see the Boston based DJ’s, Hearthrob.
The Teenagers : Win Guest List Spot for Boston Show
The Teenagers are gracing us with their presence on Thursday, May 8th at the Paradise Rock Club and you could win 2 guest list spots if you are the first to send me an email with the subject: “The Teenagers in Boston”. Submit your request at kippy@hip2besquare.net. Or, you can submit a comment to this posting with the same tag line in the message. I will announce and contact the winner on Wednesday.
The Teenagers are from Paris and have developed their sound around such indie icons as My Bloody Valentine but keep it lively with added pop influences from bands like their own country men, Phoenix. Their MBV sound comparison also explains why they’ve taken a strong liking to both Sofia Coppola and Scarlett Johanssen. They’ve even written a song about Scarlett - Check out the video and download the song below.
Download: “Starlett Johansson”
Their philosophy is very similar to the concept behind M83’s recent album, Saturdays = Youth (check out music and video from M83’s new material). Just like with M83’s new album, The boys from The Teenagers love the youthfulness of the teen years, which weren’t long ago for these twenty somethings. Adolescents and all that goes with it - puppy love, awkwardness, day dreaming, etc - make up a good portion of their songs on their recent full album release, Reality Check. This teen love theme is front and center in the single, “Love, No”. Watch the video for “Love, No”.
- Also playing are Team Robespierre and local Boston favorites, Hearthrob.
- Visit Teenagers on Myspace
- Visit their Official Website
- Purchase their music: (Amazon MP3) - Best Value; (Amie Street)
Calling all aspiring music industry students:
If you’re interested in becoming a Street Team member for the Beggar’s Group, let me know as they’re looking for you. If you don’t know who the Beggar’s Group are, then head over to their website at www.beggarsgroupusa.com. They own the labels Beggars Banquet (The National, Film School, etc.), 4AD (Pixies, TV on the Radio, Beirut, etc.), Matador (Yo La Tengo, Malkmus, etc.), XL Recordings (Radiohead, The Raconteurs, Ratatat), Mantra (St. Etienne). So, yeah, take your pick on the bands you want to help out when they come to Boston plus get into all the shows for free!
Just send an email to me using the address above or leave a note in the comments and I’ll make sure you’re put in touch with the right folks over there.
Friday Grab Bag: Four Tet, Black Grass & Futureheads
Here in Boston the April / May showers are in full effect. But that shouldn’t mean you should give in to society’s normal depressed reaction. Keep your soul upbeat by jamming out to some of the square’s MP3’s for this here Friday, May 2nd post. (This are all legal MP3 downloads provided by the label or promoter).
Black Grass Download
Download: “Hold Fire” (Ft. Dionne Charles)
Look out kids, DJ Mex and his latest Black Grass release are knocking on your dance floor. This is my first introduction to the DJ and his Black Grass productions. According to Mex the last album was quite dark.
“This album is my Return of the Jedi, whereas ‘A Hundred Days In One’ was my Empire Strikes Back and was quite dark, this is more fun with couple of Ewoks thrown for laughs. Rest assured I won’t be ruining it with a load of unnecessary CGI though.”
There a several guest appearances including J Live, vocalist Dionne Charles from funk sensations Baby Charles, Hearin’ Aid’s Aaron Phiri, reggae representation by Benjammin’ and Jah Marnyah. The album is entitled Three and will be released on My 12th by Catskills Records.
I chose a track by Dionne Charles because I feel it well represents the light hearted, funky, dance vibe sound on the album plus, the plethora of remarkable vocal contributions. For a DJ album, the vocals sure are front and center. That must mean that Mex is a level headed fellow who respects his musical peers and knows how to stand quietly in the back or rather quietly in the front like any good maestro.
“Three” Tracklisting:
- Alright
- Without Your Love (Ft. Dionne Charles)
- Set it Straight (Ft. J Live)
- Bass Man (Ft. Ben Jammin’)
- Splash the Cash (Ft. Koaste
- Makin’ Emcees Run (Ft. Aaron Phiri)
- How Much Can You Take (Ft. Dionne Charles)
- Queztalcoatl Returns
- Hold Fire (Ft. Dionne Charles)
- This & That (Ft. The Good People)
- Bless (Ft. Ruben da Silva)
- Stormy Weathers (Ft. Jah Marnyah)
- Away (Ft. Rider Shafique)
Bonus Download: “Bless” (Ft. Ruben da Silva)
The Futureheads Download
Download: “The Beginning of the Twist” (Atephoald Vs The Futureheads)
When it comes to NME hyped bands, The Futureheads definitely pass the solid rock band litmus test. You may have heard but they recently pulled a “Radiohead” on us by announcing that they will be releasing their third album, This is Not The World, on their own.
“The Beginning of the Twist” is the first single off the new album and it was officially released on March 10th. For those who haven’t heard the original, give it a go:
It’s quite a brash little ditty. Packs a decent British punk punch. Little bit of a mouthful description. What I like about this remix by Atephoald is they take this once rocking punk tune, turned it on it’s head and created a club hit. It’s important that any remix takes the song to new arenas. Atephoald have successfully taken The Futureheads into the club scene and I guarantee there are DJ’s out there right now giving kids heart attacks with this one.
The mix is available through the experimental online label, RCRD LBL. If you’re not familiar with this site, become familiar. The more people become aware of this site and what these labels are trying to achieve, the better off the music industry will be. Tons of free downloads available allowing you, the music fan, a chance to hear these artists on your own time (in the car, walking to work, mowing the lawn, or where ever else you take your MP3 player).
Four Tet Mix
Download: “DJ Set” mix
Provided by the ever so gracious, Fader Mag, Four Tets latest DJ set is dominated by his new single “Ringer” which is due out on May 6th. As the Fader notes, the first 30 minutes of this mix is purely a meditation of “Ringer” sound effects. Consider this your Saturday late night option as you sink deeper and deeper into your drunken stooper but don’t worry, this won’t make you completely pass out as the ‘Tet kicks in the techno and dubstep after the 30 minute “Ringer” loop comes to an end.
Get the Ringer EP at Other Music Digital or Bleep.
Quite Village - “Circus of Horror”
The two gentlemen behind Quite Village are Matt Edwards and Joel Martin. In the electrnoic world Matt is known for his label ReKid / Radio Slave. Both Matt and Joel appear to be pretty well known in the electronic scene but their new upcoming album, Silent Movie, due out May 12th on iK7 records in the states appears to be in a genre all on its own. With all the genre bending going on these days, this is not a rare occurrence.
I have yet to hear the new album but the one song, “Circus of Horror”, is available for download so I’ve had some time away from the computer to soak it in. From an instrument standpoint, everything but the kitchen sink is basically thrown into the mix - flute, guitar, bass, chorus, horror film screams, sirens, strings. The glue of the song is a deep, thick guitar riff that opens up the track. Joel and Matt continue to layer this riff with the plethora of sounds from the instruments mentioned above. Adding a scream and siren here and there.
One true testament of a great song is the feeling associated with every listen. If a song can create certain sensations that never seem to die off with each listen, you know you’ve got something. With “Circus of Horror” the feeling is both of vintage horror and James Bond cool. I’m not a die hard fan of vintage flics but I do find them intriguing and the 1960’s era movie soundtracks basically blow away any modern day attempts. It’s clear that Matt and Joel are fans of the vintage flics. In fact, one of their inspirations was Italian film soundtracks along with acid rock, soul, orchestral music and even their own electronic influences. The album title itself came from the inspiration of Martin Denny’s Exotic Sounds album.
What is Martin Denny doing these days? Lives in Honolulu, HI and has his band, Martin Denny Combo. Give them a listen on their myspace page and you’ll understand where Matt and Joel are coming from.
Blair over at Music for Robots gets the credit for introducing me to Quite Village. And according to Blair who’s listened to the full album it’s full of masterpieces like “Circus of Horror”. And according to Pitchfork, it’s a stoners dream record. Either way, stoner tunes or more freaky vintage chill outs, I’m in line on May 12th to get my copy.
Download: “Circus of Horror”
Visit their official website - http://www.quietvillage-silentmovie.com/ and:
- See tracklist
- Sign up for updates
- Stream five tracks from album
- Watch an interview with Matt and Joel
Catch Quite Village on tour this summer:
- London - Stag & Dagger: 5/15
- Montreal - Mutek Festival: 5/28 - 6/1
- Barcelona - Sonar Festival: 6/19 - 6/21
New Design, New Music, New Season
As you can see, I’ve been messing around with my blog theme. If you know bloggers, you’ll know how antsy we get after about a year with the same blog design. We’re always trying to find ways to make it look cleaner, sharper and in my case, hip to be square.
I’m happy with this new template as I like the posts streaming down the left hand side versus the middle of the two side bars. And I like having two sidebars as half the point of a blog is to direct readers to other places in the blogosphere so it’s important to have plenty of room over there.
Hope you enjoy the new look. Keep an eye out for a new top banner design. I plan to really tweak that up.
As for music I’ve been jamming too, the new M83 and Cut Copy have been the perfect soundtrack to these coming summer months. M83 called his new album Saturdays = Youth because of the obvious, when you think of Saturdays you think of youthful teenage years. His just happened to be in the 80’s watching John Hughes movies and listening to Cocteau Twins. So it’s fitting to say that since summer also reminds us of youth that the release date for his album is perfect timing indeed.
Cut Copy’s new release, In Ghost Colours, is another album that fits nicely into the coming summer days. Their sound is similar in the sense that they mix in that 80’s vibe with the synth melodies. But the two albums in general take on a life of their own. M83 takes the drama of the 80’s and injects it into every song. Cut Copy on the other hand takes the 80’s dance club scene and pumps it through modern day machines and out comes a new age electronic genre that has been coming our way for some time now but there is no question they are going to help lead the revolution.
Stand out tracks for Saturdays = Youth are “Graveyard Girl” and “Couleurs”. The later is an eight minute long jam that rises and rises in it’s presence with each synth line becoming larger then life itself. The opening base line is this fuzzy synth effect that is reminiscent of a lot of the French dj’s such as Justice and Busy P. Gives the song a real tough interior but then you lay a nice floating clean synth line over top, a classic 80’s moment is born. He adds an echo effect on the guitar chord that enters about 3 minutes in and from there he keeps adding more percussion and more deep synth lines. It’s one heck of a ride. In fact, I’ve queued it up for my morning alarm song and it works perfectly. I set it to go off about 2 or 3 minutes before I really want to wake up to ease me into reality.
Graveyard Girl is the single off the album and there’s a great video that was directed by Matthew Frost. Pretty classic 80’s theme here. Distressed teenage girl with no friends hides out in the graveyard and the popular guy who becomes infatuated with her. While he knows it’s not cool to dig the outcast, he can’t help but dream about being with her. Ah, those confusing teenage years.
- Stream “Coulers”: (Real Audio) (Windows Music Player)
- Download: M83 - We Own the Sky (Maps Remix)
- Download: Maps - To The Sky (M83 Remix)
Watch the video for “Graveyard Girl”
- Purchase Saturdays = Youth: (Amazon MP3) (iTunes)
- M83 plays at the Middle East Downstairs on June 2nd (Purchase Tickets)
In Ghost Colours is great because it flows like you’re at a club with one song connecting to the next. There are themes that pop in and out. Most notably the theme to the single, “Lights & Music”, you hear showing up towards the end of tracks or stuck in the background. They really did a great job with this album and I look forward to hearing how the live version comes out. They play the Paradise Rock Club on May 12th (Purchase Tickets). Why we get stuck with another Monday night electronic show I have no idea. Oh wait, I know, because Boston is awkwardly stuck up in the northeast and bands either skip us or make a quick trip up here after a weekend long binge in NYC. However, I will say that Hot Chip put on one heck of a show for their Monday night gig so maybe the cure for NYC hang overs is playing an epic show the next night. At least that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.
- Stream “Lights & Music”:
- Download a remix of the track “Hearts on Fire” by Joakim by just signing up for Cut Copy’s mailing list. Do that HERE. And Stream the remix below
- Buy In Ghost Colours: (eMusic) (Amazon MP3) (Modular)
Hot Chip @ Paradise - Boston, MA 4/14/08 Plus Interview w/ Joe Goddard
I’ve been blogging now for roughly 3 or so years and there is no question that this recent experience where I was able to interview one of the founding members of Hot Chip, Joe Goddard, on top of the show on Monday night was a pinnacle point in my blogging and music review career. Keep in mind folks, I don’t get paid for this. Many bloggers don’t get paid, we just really love doing what we do and getting to go to shows, getting free music and getting to interview our idols.
Below is both a transcript of the interview plus a little 3 and 1/2 minute montage that I pulled together by taking some of my favorite moments of the interview and putting them to pictures that I mostly found on Flickr. I’ve included a link to all those folks who are responsible for the amazing pictures taken at various Hot Chip concerts. And some of the pictures are just basic stock photos of the band.
Enjoy the montage and interview with Joe Goddard and if you’re just getting hip to Hot Chip, enjoy the ride.
Flickr Photographers:
http://flickr.com/photos/flashpics/
http://flickr.com/photos/magnusw/
http://flickr.com/photos/imassingham/
http://flickr.com/photos/gabiporter/
http://flickr.com/photos/oliverpeel/
http://flickr.com/photos/greenboy/
http://flickr.com/photos/andih/
Where to find more on flickr: http://flickr.com/search/?q=hot+chip
See pics from the Boston show over at Dreams of Boston
Read the full interview after the jump…
Pitchfork.tv debut: Man Man footage and more
For some, the big WOW on the debut of Pitchfork.tv is the Radiohead footage of them recording “Bangers and Mash” in Nigel’s basement. However, I feel like there has been an overload of Radiohead surprise in-the-studio footage and quite frankly, I’m a bit bored of it all. This here is more exciting Radiohead news (bought time fellas).
Instead, I enjoyed watching Man Man’s footage from last spring during the recording of their latest “pop” masterpiece, Rabbit Hats (due out April 8th, TOMORROW, on Anti. Maybe I’m a bias Philly kid or just being “anti-Radiohead establishment”, but Hocus Hocus and the rest of the Man Man crew are hilarious and represent what making music is all about - just have a good time. Hurly Burly said it best when asked the question, “when writing a song, how do you know when it needs fireworks or this needs a dog in the bathroom?” “Why not. I feel like every song needs that stuff.“
Now with P-fork.tv and Hulu and all the other shows you can watch on your flatscreen computer screen, who the heck needs these guys.
As for the structure of the Pitchfork.tv site, it’s very clean and easy to manage. A perfect microsite if you will. I really enjoy how the top navigation induces the background to maneuver bringing in a new sidebar which corresponds to the top nav bar selection. While all this happens, the video you’re currently watching stays in the left hand frame so as not to disrupt your viewing. Quite ingenious.
Listen to Man Man on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/wearemanman
Man Man official website: http://www.wearemanman.com/
Natalie Portman Sitings and other musings
I recently signed up for Hulu, the online TV viewing website that has Joost beat for its simplicity and the fact that you don’t have to download any software. Just sign up and start exploring. They also have a strong commitment to providing HD quality streaming clips so that’s good news for us HDTV folk.
One of the first videos I watched was a clip from SNL (Saturday Night Live). I have to admit, I really can’t stand most of the comedians that have been on this show for roughly the past 10 years. But every now and then they come up with a gem such as the “Lazy Sunday” skit.
The skit I saw included Natalie Portman doing a rap about what her regular life is about or rather, surreal life. The skit itself was thought up by Andy Samberg, who is probably the funniest dude on the show (except for Darrell Hammond but that’s an unfair battle given he’s been on the show for 13 years!). Andy and his writer friends from Berkley, CA are the brains behind most of the spoof musical bits on the show today such as “Lazy Sunday”.
It starts off as an interview with Chris Parnell (for some reason Andy really digs Chris Parnell who has been off the show for a couple of years). Natalie, dawning her boyish hair cut but somehow managing to look sexy as ever, is asked by the reporter, “Natalie, what is a day in the life of Natalie Portman really like?” And she says, “Do you really want to know?” And that’s when the things start really getting hot. Watch the 2 and half minute clip below.
In other Natalie news, this time we’re delving deep into the heart of the psych-folk barrel with Devendra Banhart. Some of you may already know that Natalie and the hippy dippy singer are very close friends but for those of you who didn’t know, now you do. They solidified this friendship by recently appearing in a music video together that has yet to be released. Read more at MTV News Room.
Stream a Devendra Banhart track, “Little Boxes”, which is a cover of the theme song for the Showtime series, Weeds.
Moving away from Natalie, I went to the Malkmus and John Vanderslice show last night at the Paradise. I won’t go into a review of the show but if you’re a Malkmus, ex-Pavement or ex-Sleater-Kinney fan I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how awesome the dude is on guitar and how amazing Janet Weiss is on drums. But what I will tell you is how John Vanderslice has proven to me that he is the nicest guy on the music scene today.
This was my second time seeing John and my second time meeting him. He’s very approachable and he makes it a point to the crowd that he will be hanging out by the merch table not only after his set but also after the Malkmus set. Besides being friendly, the guy is also a musical genius and he always seems to bring along these musicians who are far and above some of the best musicians around - drummer who plays both a synth and sampler while drumming or a bass player who also happens to play the violin. You know, people like that.
J.V. MP3: “White Dove” (off of Emerald City)
Download more JV MP3’s HERE: http://www.johnvanderslice.com/html/mp3_index.html
John and Steve are only on tour for one more show together tonight in North Adams, MA at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
See more shows that JV and company are headlining after April 4th HERE: http://www.johnvanderslice.com/html/shows.html
See more Malkmus and The Jicks shows HERE: http://www.matadorrecords.com/tours/
Fuck Buttons & Caribou @ Paradise Rock Club 3.26.08
(All pictures in this post provided by Alex Burack; Contact Alex at alexATprmphotoDOTcom. To see more of Alex’s pictures from this show, visit the Pitchfork post)
I knew going into the week that I was going to see at least two shows so when I found out that the first show of the week was going to actually start at 8:15 and not 10 pm, I was pumped. Thank you Paradise.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Fuck Buttons (sorry dad but normally my language isn’t this vulgar), they recently hit the scene with some props from the overlords in Chicago. I got my hands on their upcoming release, Street Horrsing, about a month ago and have popped it in on various occasions. Usually right after I come home from work and I need to, um, relax. I paused for a reason for if you’ve had the pleasure to hear their music, you’ll know that most human beings probably would not have the capability to relax. However, for me, this style of noise electronica can be soothing. Especially when their native chants and drum beats take over. If there is one thing the F-Buttons should be known for it should be their conscious effort to squeeze as much noise into one song as possible.
This rings true during their live show. I have some pretty nice ear plugs and they weren’t even doing the trick. For the first fifteen to twenty minutes of the show I wasn’t too impressed. The trance like feeling I got while laying in my bed, contemplating my recent work day, was not felt. Instead I found myself wondering why I’m staring at two guys pushing buttons on a computer. When the drum was hit a few times I got excited but then the drum was looped and took a backseat to more noise. I was a little bored to say the lease. But after those first twenty minutes they turned it up a notch (Not the volume. I don’t think it could go up any louder). More melody started to creep in and the beats began fluctuating. In fact, my head even started to bounce.
They ended the show after about 45 minutes of straight noise by basically unplugging their instruments during the hight of what I’m assuming was a song, creating this empty feeling in the audience. I suspect that this is something they do at all their shows; go all nuttso on you for a long period of time with loud and crazy noise, at times throwing in some melody, and then, just as you start to feel the music taking a new turn, they shut down all communication and walk off stage by essentially telling the audience, “you’ve just been ‘f-buttoned’”.
Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/fuckbuttons
Official Website: http://www.fuckbuttons.co.uk/
Listen: “Bright Tomorrow” (Download this MP3 and others at HYPE Machine)
Continue on after the jump to read the Caribou review