Monday, April 25, 2011

other lives - 'for 12'

other lives is a band from oklahoma. their self titled debut reminded me of a bluegrassy south, with big melancholic strings and was produced by joey waronker.

their upcoming album is entitled
tamer animals. although they never sounded like an unbridled beast to me, they seem to have woven their music tighter. 'for 12' is a great step for them, enveloped the reverb, melting plinking upright pianos, a galloping rhythm, wyatt earp leads and haunting cello sounds. i enjoy that i didn't have an easy time guessing the direction of the chord progression and melodies. it even has a break that made me think of the good, the bad and the ugly. even though it doesn't truly have a climax, it's a great playlist starter on a cloudy day.


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

coachella!

well, it's my dad's birthday today, so first of all: happy birthday to my dear father, who i love to death! even your quirks, mannerisms and dad-sayings! love you, dad!

secondly, it is the eve of a grand journey, 3 seattleites are partaking in to a mystic music festival hidden in the mountains and taking place on polo grounds. i've always dreamed about going to coachella, but it never fell into place until this year. as the gray hairs are pushing forward, i'm wondering how much longer i can stand being cramped into sweaty festival scenes and in light of the effortless planning, (thanks to my californian friends) it made sense.

combining forces will be my little brother, who professes his more worldly perspective and experienced soul remains trapped within his youthful stature, and the venerable sizzler, who apparently believes since we survived austin city limits together that coachella will be a cakewalk, (i've also put him through vigorous tests in withstanding my own quirks). the californians jackie and liz will be alongside for moral support and genuine deep laughter that only comes at the verge of wetting oneself. we will all be camping in the same 10X30 space with jackie's lovable scion for the festivities. this will definitely put a stress test on myself, as i've never been to sasquatch or any festival where you don't actually leave the festival but for catnaps stolen in tents.

this all remains a bit daunting to me, but i am a lifetime subscriber to the theory that life is about the journey and i can't wait to imbibe this fantastic weekend of music, camping, sun and general revelry.

so far here are my notes (tentatively):
*friday*
chemical bros
robyn
crystal castles
black keys
interpol?
lauryn hill or (yacht and the pains of being pure at heart)
morning benders
titus andronicus
moving units

*sat*
daedelus
arcade fire?
paul van dyk
swell season
mumford and sons
elbow
bss or new pornographers
???
gogol or tallest man or foals
thao

*sun*
kanye
strokes or chromeo or phantogram
national or trentemoller
death from above
css
?
menomena
____________________________
godspeed.


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

digitalism - 'blitz'

digitalism was lauded after their 2007 album, idealism and has announced they have a new package coming out called i love you dude (they are german, so please forgive punctuation).

they have a single off the new one called 'blitz' and i'm sharing the video with you. no quirky lyrics run through this song and it's more of a dark grinder itself.

after a beaten up introduction akin to a chewed up and spit out chariots of fire synthesizer, digitalism locks the bass and the bass drum and the beast of the song stirs: this beast being an infectious, repetitive dance track with glitchy percussion. then there is a brief dreamy build with a synth lead and the song promptly picks back up. 'blitz' has a dark edge built into it's poppy architecture and around 2:38 it gives way for just a moment and fades into a daft'y exit very similar to the entrance.