Name a Band / Song We Should Know About

You can preview the whole album at KCRW right now. Today's the last day for it, though, so get 'em while they last.

WipEout wrote:

You can preview the whole album at KCRW right now. Today's the last day for it, though, so get 'em while they last.

*raises eyebrow after hearing a couple songs* I think I may dig this Kimbra character. Been digging the new Regina Spektor too.

I've been on a huge James Blackshaw kick lately. His music is like a lot of the old Windham Hill stuff that my dad would always listen to. His older stuff is mostly 12 string steel guitar, but this new one is nylon 6 string.

I've listened to the new sigur rós twice now. It's sooooooo good. Seeing them do these songs live is going to be a treat.

Sigur Rós is doing short films made by different people for each of their new songs. This is the first one. It came out yesterday or the day before IIRC.

This is one of those albums that just gets better and better as you listen to it. Most everything is very subtle.

I'm jealous. My download doesn't unlock until next week.

El-P's new album Cancer For Cure dropped this week. It's good. Really good. He's still spitting paranoid dystopian rhymes and his production is still unparalleled.
The whole album gels in a strange way that individual tracks can't really communicate.

-

-

...and last week the new El-P-produced Killer Mike album R.A.P. Music dropped. It's also good, but in more of a "mainstream" way rather of El-P's "jackbooted zombie soldiers are reading my thoughts" type of good.

Quakers - Fitta Happier

Fatty Fatty Fat Fat.

Two new finds for me for the math-rock/indie pop crowd. Let me compare them to other bands for your enlightenment

Maps & Atlases - listen to this if you like Vampire Weekend but want less hipster world music connotations

Jonquil - listen to this if you wanted Phoenix to get more prog-rock and folkier at the same time

Trashie wrote:

Maps & Atlases - listen to this if you like Vampire Weekend but want less hipster world music connotations

Intriguing. I like it, but then I also find Vampire Weekend's world music connotations endearing. I'm torn.

Happy sigur rós - Valtari release day everyone! My vinyl preorder ended up coming with a couple b-sides which was a pleasant surprise.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Happy sigur rós - Valtari release day everyone! My vinyl preorder ended up coming with a couple b-sides which was a pleasant surprise.

didn't know about this group yet. Liking it so far! Thanks

Sparhawk wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Happy sigur rós - Valtari release day everyone! My vinyl preorder ended up coming with a couple b-sides which was a pleasant surprise.

didn't know about this group yet. Liking it so far! Thanks :D

Very cool! I should mention that this new album is not a great way to start listening to them. It's fairly subtle. You've probably heard their older stuff in pretty much every "epic" movie trailer that's been released. Takk... is probably the most accessible and popular album.

Edit: I love that I originally posted that it's Valtari release day, and I just got an email from them saying this:

although it's different depending on where you are in the world, we are designating today valtari release day, since today's the day it's out in reykjavik, the world's most northerly capital and home of sigur rós. happy valtari day, one and all!

I'm way ahead of them.

Ooh, thanks for the reminder, I totally forgot it was today! Downloading now. I hope my t-shirt arrives soon.

Saw the Shootmania Storm trailer, can't stop listening to this song now:

Gypsy - Jawbreaker vocals meets Handsome/Quicksand music. Not sure how many people on this board are into those bands but you should still check it out.

That Gypsy is pretty good. All their songs so short? Having a hard time finding anything on them because of the generic name. Do you have their website?

Here's their album on Amazon-- pretty good, I'll have to remember to pick it up sometime soon.

And a review.

WipEout wrote:

Here's their album on Amazon-- pretty good, I'll have to remember to pick it up sometime soon.

And a review.

That review gives a decent overview of the band. Unfortunately I can't find a website, I don't think they have any online presence outside of being able to buy the record from their label, Six Feet Under.

You can, however, listen to the entire album on Spotify, so I recommend that if you're interested. If you like the vocals definitely check out Jawbreaker's Dear You album as well. The vocals are extremely similar.

McChuck wrote:

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned them at some point on this site, but Mucca Pazza is one of my favorite bands. Live they're more fun than Girl Talk or Matt & Kim. Seriously. Here's an article about them with their new (first?) video embedded. NPR article

Went to their sneak peek album release show last night. Holy crap! So much fun. It was in a super tiny venue of which they took almost half the space. Rather than performing on the stage, they performed on a single level riser on the side of the room. There was another one like it on the opposite side for the audience and chairs were on the stage for audience seating. There was a Mucca Pazza sign hanging behind them as they played with a large A on it.

IMAGE(http://lockerz.vo.llnwd.net/v1/photos/medium/x2_cea07c4)

Eventually, with no announcement, they just switched sides to the other riser. Didn't say a thing. Just walked over and everyone had to get out the way and off the riser. Then they hang the sign back up but flip over to the other side which has a large B on it. They all yell, "Side B!" Ha! Genius. Since they were playing the new album verbatim, we had now reached the other side of the record. Wow.

IMAGE(http://lockerz.vo.llnwd.net/v1/photos/medium/x2_cea15ce)

If you can, make sure to check them out as they promote the new album. You will have a good time. I promise. Mucca Pazza tour

Embedded version of previously linked video:

I think that pop hit algorythms are starting to reproduce existing songs.
If you like this,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQkBe...

You should know about these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5_QV...

Somehow this is mashed in there too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUYu...

I'm still working on the starting harmony. What am I hearing there.

Any I'm trying to figure out why, if the guy can sound like freddy mercury in the first verse, why is he autotuned throughout the rest of the song.

I forgot to post the most recent sigur rós experimental video. I really dig how this one turned out:

Ghostship wrote:

I think that pop hit algorythms are starting to reproduce existing songs.

Fun is one of those bands like Muse that seems to be some sort of professional mash-up group. Every song is some Frankenstein creation of other, better pop songs stitched together.

Not that I'm aware of. I just don't think they're a particularly creative group. I haven't heard a song by Fun that I didn't think you could diagram like a sentence: this bit's the Arcade Fire, this bit's the Shins, etc.

Is that actually their intended MO?
That opening makes me either think of Alabama, or some song with the lyics "carry me home"

I don't think it is-- I think you have the right of it: that pop music tends to be an amalgamation or reinvention of previous pop songs.

In cases like Fun. or Muse, though, their influences and styles are far more obvious. Kind of the same thing with Coldplay-- they have enjoyable songs, but IMO ultimately forgettable because they get old fast (and they get old fast because we've heard the likable bits of their songs a million times before).

It's the nature of pop music, though-- I think we as humans are more pleased with certain chords, tones, riffs, etc. than others, so when we hear new ways of incorporating those elements, they're inherently that much more enjoyable, but ultimately peter out early because they rarely bring anything new to the table.

Speaking of fun:

Big Eyes - Back From The Moon

For fans of: super catchy rock and/or punk

Big Eyes is some good stuff.

SuperDave wrote:

Big Eyes is some good stuff.

I can't stop listening to them. Back To The Moon is unfortunately only a 2 song single but it's their best 2 songs so far, at least for me.

SixteenBlue wrote:
SuperDave wrote:

Big Eyes is some good stuff.

I can't stop listening to them. Back To The Moon is unfortunately only a 2 song single but it's their best 2 songs so far, at least for me.

Their demo is pretty great too. I can't wait to go home and get all their music.

Edit:
If you like Big Eyes, you might like some of the Soviettes stuff.