jim o'rourke - 'there's hell in hello but more in goodbye'

beautiful and raw

alt-j - 'breezeblocks'

i've been recently evangelizing quite a bit for this fledgling band out of the uk. their first album, an awesome wave comes out sept 18th in the us. it blends lush instrumentation, hushed vocals, and polyrhythmic percussion. 'breezeblocks' verses sound like drunken bluesy hymns joined with a plucky toy piano until the chorus sweeps in with backwards synths and driving bass all culminating at the climax 'please don't go, i'll eat you whole, i love you so' which should ring familiar, (lines from maurice sendak's where the wild things are). expect a review of the whole album shortly. 

the whole album is streaming at the moment on soundcloud - listen here.

the music video is perplexing and, in the same vein as a horrifying car accident in reverse, it's nearly impossible to not watch. somehow it strangely fits the song in it's beautiful cinematography and scope. perhaps they took the lyrics to the song too literally...

usher - climax

ok. just to state this before anyone starts ripping into me. i like usher. there you go, your opinionated/snobby/particular friend enjoys usher. there. now, maybe no one else will give me flack for listening to r&b; i highly doubt it.

the diplo produced 'climax' just came out officially and to me, the mix is near flawless. usher's high flying falsettos careen delicately above deeply embedded synths bouncing back and forth. i'm admittedly not a big fan of diplo in most cases, so the fact that he restrains killing the chorus with overblown instrumentation and epileptic drums displays an amount of maturity which i haven't heard from him before. the atmosphere on 'climax' is something like i'd expect on mercury; very sparse. the low end is reminiscent of burial with less percussion, (there's even the james blake double timed high pitch click track right before the chorus- hear it?). the package is wrapped in usher's gillette tones. please enjoy.

ramona falls - 'spore'

'spore' is the first single off brent knopf's solo project ramona falls which had a great record in intuit. i'm happy to say if this track is any indicator, i will be very pleased. i appreciate the cut and paste technique knopf employs and all the little melodic threads tied together. the beginning sounds similar to something like we'd hear of thom yorke's solo stuff, (akin to 'hearing damage' perhaps?) and it builds to a synth/bassy bridge that piqued my ears. let's hope for more like this on may 1st.

starfucker - 'bury us alive'

big hat tip to my friend jacob for letting me know starfucker had a new album. ever since i saw them in austin just before austin city limits, i've been a big fan. their tight traps, bouncing bass lines, and shoegaze vocals. this is a favorite of mine off their newest release reptilians called 'bury us alive'. it manages to pull what seems to be a sample from my past, it reminds me of the music right after you beat a boss in the castle. short, sweet and poppy. enjoy.

carousel - 'here now'

this is a song by boston based pop-dream outfit carousel. you will hear sufjan influences in the vocals with a bouncy postal service production. the keys sound quite aken to death cab's 'some boys' even though it's much lighter fare. also including the video for my favorite: 'games'.

hélène grimaud plays rachmaninov piano concerto no.2 in c minor (1/3)

i came across this really moving version of one of my favorite classical performances of all time. rachmaninov was a master of crafting haunting dissonance while still resolving these progressions in a romantic manner. when i was sailing in the caribbean, we always listened to rachmaninov while raising the sails and i have so many fond memories of this piece. for muse fans, if you wanted to know where matthew belamy got inspiration for 'space dimentia' from, just listen in to about 1 min 32 seconds in :)

beautiful.

buke and gass - 'sleep gets your ghost'

i just recently discovered buke and gass, which despite the somewhat offputting name, are absolute ear candy. buke is in reference to a baratone uke which has been modified as a guitar and a gass is half guitar/half bass. the sound is very prog, think a low-fi st. vincent with less ballads and no loops. full of syncopated and riffing which not only will impress musicians, but just not in the "i like them in theory" way. check out their album riposte, which has been out for a bit.

me - the christmas song

merry christmas

radiohead - all i need

this song is like an open plane ticket. i'm never sure where it's going to take me, but it moves me. jay and i were talking about music at dimsum and this song came up.

hans zimmer + charlie chaplin

damn, this really hit me to the core...
but then again i think you could put anything to the inception soundtrack and emotion bends like tall grass in the wind

sigur ros - lúppulagið

a new track just surfaced. delicate keys blend over a contorting melody; ambient, complex and beautiful.

modeselektor - new tracks with thom yorke

some new modeselektor tracks from their new album monkeytown have surfaced. they sound very clubby, but still maintain some real bassy grooves with thom's falsetto drifting like a lazy rowboat in the tide. i think, 'this' is better, swiveling on a synthesized bass line giving eventually to a 'kill bill 4' chopped up percussion. hopefully these tracks indicate more good stuff coming on the modeselektor album.

com truise - brokendate

Com Truise - "Brokendate" from stereogum on Vimeo.

grizzly bear - shift (live)

cant - rises silent

cant is chris taylor, who occasionally plays bass with a band called grizzly bear.

his new album, dreams come true, just came out. it's a erratic electronic ride. the song 'rises silent' is a favorite moment off it for me. it begins sounding like working for a nuclear free city or a mix of autechre with hushed vocals from my bloody valentine. jumpy percussion pads the smooth bass sliding until semi-pantomiming piano plucks minor bass chords while shards of synthesizers scatter.

peter, bjorn and john - 'tomorrow has to wait'

again, thanks to guru nick for the recommendation. peter, bjorn and john are a power trio from sweden, who you've undoubtedly heard from before even if their name brings back childhood memories of a certain savior of a sandwich. their song 'young folks' was scattered across the internets, television and even videogames. i would whistle the theme and you would recognize it immediately. anyway, they have released a slew of albums in the millennium and their most recent one titled gimme some is gold. the first 6 tracks or will have you bobbing your head and even humming leads akin to 'young folks'. i'm picking to highlight a track which drove me on most of my trip through vietnam/thailand called 'tomorrow has to wait'.

the lead track begins on a droning guitar note and a high falsetto as the grinding bass grittily chugs along. 'i don't think you're sorry for what you did' peter blankly spits out. i can imagine a stadium of fists pumping along with the bass drum as it slams into your skull. the droning verse gives way as heavily distorted guitars swarm enmasse ,(ala nick zinner style). peter/tyler durden declares, 'if you control yourself and give up before you break, well, it's too late'. accusingly caustic of procrastination, this song swept me and i recommend you let it do the same for you.

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.

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.

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.