Bon Iver - Skinny Love [Live Video]

A great video of Bon Iver performing Skinny Love on the Jools Holland Show.

Bon Iver on Daytrotter and Wisconsin, B-Side from iTunes

For the life of me, I can't figure out why I didn't post this right when it came out. Thankfully, the tracks are still available: Bon Iver did an interview and recorded four live tracks-Flume, Lump Sum, Re:Stacks, and Creature Fear-over at Daytrotter. Two of them, Flume and Lump Sum, are two of the most ingeniously transformed, hauntingly beautiful recordings I've ever heard. I'm not exaggerating; these are powerful, entirely engrossing pieces of music. I listened to them shortly after my girlfriend and I broke up, and I couldn't get enough of them. I have this vivid memory of when I was on a plane to Boston, slightly freezing, listening to the slowly-moving, slightly airy, reverb-soaked Lump Sum, watching the sun set and its orange light reflecting on shifting lakes and the sheds of farms. Testament to the emotional impact of these songs, like the rest of his album, at least.

Also check out an exclusive bonus track he did for iTunes off his debut release. It's called Wisconsin, and it's incredible. Definitely one of my favorite songs by Vernon, this song sucks me in like no other song can right now-especially at night, in bed, headphones on, nothing to distract. But it doesn't fit with the rest of the album: with an echoed electric guitar only, the sound is pretty different. If you're into Bon Iver and you bought his album, this is a must-download.

...and, because this is his only song with unpublished lyrics, there seems to be a quest online to figure out what they really are. Here's the best I've come up with so far, not entirely there yet, but working on it; these are the most accurate I've found on the internet, but still let me know if you have any suggestions.

You're right in the park and you’re peeking
Piss pools in your seat
She’s standing inside but you surely repeat
Oh, God don’t leave me here
I will freeze to the leave
Love is love's reprieve

Winter is calm and you’re stuck in
All your summer shoes
Now when the wind blows you cover your tooth
And out to the shed where you trade in your blues
Love is love's sad news

That was Wisconsin, that was yesterday
Now I have nothing that I can keep
Cause every place I go I take another place with me
Love is love's mystique

You’re up on the bar and you're shaking
With every grimy word
Who will they love,
What’s love when you’ve hurt
You wonder as you see the snow kiss the curb
Love is love's return

That was Wisconsin, that was yesterday
Now I have nothing that I can keep
Cause every place I go I take another place with me
Love is love's critique

Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)

Shyes. This is awesome. Used to have dance parties to Homework back in the eighth grade. For some reason I never thought they'd become an international live phenomenon. I've heard they're incredible live; am I the only one who hasn't seen them!? Necessity: subwoofer, maximum volume.

Rachael Yamagata | Elephants / Teeth Sinking Into Heart

Yamagata seems to be a real artist who doesn't seem to consider commercial viability as her first priority. She recently released a double album, the first disc which is entitled Elephants, the second, Teeth Sinking Into Heart.

Her first solo album Happenstance had the piano, strings, and guitar, along with the hooks and choruses. It was ultimately a pop album, but had an unmistakable "mature" sound to it; she carved a niche for herself in the adult alternative realm, as well as the pop realm, through the use of affective lyrics over catchy tunes that blurred the line between rock and traditional singer-songwriter material. I feel sorry for the people who have never heard of Yamagata, because that album was so damn good.

Elephants is slow, soft and relatively quiet. It's composed of Yamagata's smokey vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, and a lot of strings. Most of Elephants is like Yamagata's airy voice, breathed out as a wisp of smoke that gently wafts through the air, shaped by the slight vibrations from a slowly-beating heart.

Teeth Sinking Into Heart is its antithesis. Electric guitars, drums, and a more forced voice leaves Rachael's mouth. Like a heart that's been ripped out; still warm. Raw.

Yamagata plays the piano and/or acoustic guitar on every track, and she arranged many of the song's string/brass/woodwind parts. She's backed by a powerhouse of talented musicians that give this album a very sophisticated and impressively orchestrated feel.

This album doesn't really fit into a mold, and is an obvious break from Yamagata's brief past. It's clear she wanted to try something different, because this effort, four years later, is very different. An experimental album. Love it or hate it. She gives you two choices, to better her odds: Elephants is the white to Teeth's black. The quiet to the loud. An elephant to a tiger.

I should mention that "Duet" is a song she did with Ray Lamontagne, and it's pretty good. Also, the entire first disc may be mostly quiet, but it certainly has its moments; she never lets the music become stagnant. Above all, I must stress one thing: the brilliance of the opening and title track, Elephants. This was immediately, and remains, one of my favorite songs that I've heard in a very long time. It floors me. It is incredibly heavy, genuine, and poignant. It is Yamagata at her absolute best. The rest of the album has flashes of its brilliance but ultimately cannot (how could it) live up. If you're on the fence, listen to some samples, or honestly just buy this one song.

http://www.rachaelyamagata.com/
http://www.myspace.com/rachaelyamagata

Conor Oberst - "Milk Thistle"

This is my favorite song on Conor Oberst's (the guy who is Bright Eyes) new self-titled LP.



As for the rest of the album, it's all right; a lot of it is pretty upbeat, some if it is actually fun, knee-slapping hoe-down music...interesting, works some of the time (e.g. Cape Canaveral, Sausalito). Other forays are rockier; overall, this is one of his poppiest releases...you decide if that's the kind of Oberst you want to hear. But this closer is Oberst at his best: melancholy. His music has so many more layers down there in the depths of negative affect.

Kings of Leon | Only By The Night

These guys strike an enjoyable balance between cerebral songwriting and catchy, energetic, rock-pop. Bloc Party meets TV On the Radio meets The Killers.

This is probably my favorite album by them. This is the culmination of a band that has consistently evolved over the last four albums, and consistently improved.

They have slowly replaced a relatively raw, harsh sound for a more polished, deeper, and yes, more commercially accessible and viable sound. They've been huge in Europe, and they're getting huge in the U.S.

I have been listening to a lot of quiet, slow, contemplative stuff in recent months, and this has taken a much-needed role in giving my speakers the workout that they sometimes need. I cannot listen to this album loudly enough!

They show some real passion in their songs (and their videos), and they create some of the best rock melodies I've heard in a long time. Followill's (Caleb's--they're all Followills) voice is unique, and pretty awesome--it opens up so much on the high notes. I found myself noticing the drummer, the bassist, and the guitarist as well, more so than I usually do with this kind of music. The rhythms and individual parts are not simple, and it adds a lot of depth to their music (listen to the opener, "Closer," for the best example).

What really sold me on this album is the closing track, Cold Desert, in which the band does something I almost never hear with a rock band. Listen, you'll see.

Key tracks: Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, Revelry, and Cold Desert.

Turn it Up.

Passion Pit: Sleepy Head; Debut EP

The last thing I have when I listen to this song is a sleepy head. These guys make fun, loud music that is so full of energy I am compelled, every time, to move to the electro-dance beats. There was no CGI used in the making of this video.


"Boston’s Passion Pit is the brainchild of Michael Angelakos with live band consisting of ian hultquist(synths), ayad al adhamy(synths, samplers), jeff apruzzese(bass, synths), nate donmoyer (drums). Michael is a songwriter’s songwriter drawing from a variety of influences, from the classic pop of Randy Newman to the synth work of Giorgio Moroder.

The Chunk of Change EP was originally put together as a (belated) Valentine’s Day present to Angelakos’ girlfriend which then prompted him to give it out to friends and fellow students at Emerson College. Angelakos wrote and recorded the entire record by himself and it only hints at what is to come from this extremely talented perfectionist. The production of the recording - brief, sporadic, and explosive - worked towards the development of Angelakos’ signature euphoric and blissfully melancholic sound. Frenchkiss Records will reissue the ep this fall with the addition of two bonus tracks “Better Things” and “Sleepyhead” that are already catching the online world on fire. All of this is in preparation for Passion Pit’s debut full length coming out in early 2009.

Playing as a five piece live, Passion Pit has already blown away audiences opening up for Death Cab For Cutie, Girl Talk, These New Puritans and more. Also winning the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll as the Best New Local Act of 2008, Passion Pit hopes to bring their soulful dance explosion to your town this fall."


My other favorite track from the EP:
Smile Upon Me

If You're Feeling Generous....

D&R, originally uploaded by orgutcayli.

So there's a new-music explosion that's starting to happen. I heard about a couple bands I like releasing some new albums, then, well, it seemed like everyone else decided that yes, right now sounds like the perfect time to release another work. So to keep track for myself, a bit of a wishlist if you will, and maybe even for your own convenience, I'm going to list some new releases. There are some bands we haven't heard from in a while; hopefully you'll see something that will pleasantly surprise you!

August 12
Inara George with Van Dyke Parks - An Invitation

August 19
Natalie Walker - With You
The Stills - Oceans Will Rise
The Walkmen - You & Me

August 26
Gabe Dixon Band - Gabe Dixon Band
The Verve - Forth

September 9
Calexico - Carried to Dust
Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini

September 16
Jem - Down to Earth
Leona Naess - Thirteens

September 23
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling
TV On The Radio - Dear Science

September 30
Ben Folds - Way to Normal
Enigma - Seven Lives Many Faces

October 7
Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
Rachael Yamagata - Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart
Antony & The Johnsons - Another World
Aqualung - Words and Music

October 14
Keane - Perfect Symmetry
Ray Lamontagne - Gossip In The Grain
Ingrid Michaelson - Be OK

October 21
Brett Dennen - Hope for the Hopeless
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping (Dig)

October 28
Bloc Party - Intimacy
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
The Cure - 4:13 Dream

November 4
Dido - Safe Trip Home
Travis - Ode to J. Smith

November 11
Tracy Chapman - Our Bright Future
Seal - Soul

November 18
Belle & Sebastian - BBC Sessions

November 25
The Killers - Day & Age