Bon Iver - Skinny Love [Live Video]

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

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

Leona Naess | Thirteens

Meet miss Leona Naess. Five years to the day after her eponymous 2003 release, this English/American songwriter graced upon the world Thirteens, the culmination of the thirteen lo-fi albums she recorded since her last.

I bought this album, which was released September 16th, on the heels of two let-downs I'd bought the week prior, so I was hoping for something substantial. I was not disappointed: from the first track, I knew this girl was for real. I've been listening to a lot of female artists lately, and unfortunately too many of their sophomore efforts have been over-produced, unoriginal radio-pop crap.

Naess is anything but! What's so wonderful about her is (at least) threefold: 1. her variety; 2. her voice; and 3. her songwriting. Now, I should say that this is the only album of her four that I've heard yet; I do intend on getting the rest but I can't compare to her earlier releases--maybe that's a good thing? So. On this album, the variety is superb! The first track starts softly then moves gently, the second ends in a chorus of her screaming friends (a unique inclusion that turns off some, but lighten up people--it's fun, and that's the point), and the rest of the album is fairly chill, laid-back folk/pop--varying from fun and upbeat to soft and slow.

Acoustic guitar and/or piano provides a backing throughout, with bits of light percussion, mandolin, and strings. Fairly stripped-down, nothing is over-done. And that's for the best: at the end of "Learning As We Go" somewhat of a cacophany (for her) seems like just a bit too much going on. She and her beautiful voice (reminded me of early Feist only a little lower), which she manipulates ever so subtly to sound slightly different in each song, sounds purest with less going on. With the exception, perhaps, of the first track.

"Ghosts in the Attic," "Heavy Like Sunday," and "On My Mind" are absolutely my favorite tracks. Having these songs in my head all day for a week made me think about how well they're written, and how Leona Naess has brought back the lost art form of analogy and metaphor. Seriously, I've had enough of the same old "ooh, I want you," "oh no, I lost you," and "I need you but am too proud to admit it," etc. etc. "singer-songwriter" repetitive blather. Naess (with the help of her bandmate/producer Sam Dixon on most) writes real, poetic songs, that, if you listen closely enough, might make you think. Being open to interpretation might make you enjoy it that much more if you're into that kind of thing ;-)

She is touring this fall with Ray Lamontagne!

Please listen:
Ghosts in the Attic
On My Mind

I love this video. So unassuming, so pure, so perfectly about the music and the story.



http://www.myspace.com/leonanaess
http://www.leonanaess.com/

Favorite Song: "Breathe Me" by Sia

This is the most emotional song I've ever heard. Quite possibly the heaviest, even with Sia's airy vocals. I remember exactly what I was doing when I first heard this song on the radio. It knocked me over; I was stopped in my tracks. I waited to hear who the artist was, and the next free moment I got, I bought the album.

Over two years later, this song still has the same captivating effect on me. It cuts straight to my heart, and it weighs me down. And I love it.

When Sia's single from her second solo album was featured on the series finale of the hit HBO show Six Feet Under, she was finally recognized around the world as a very talented artist on her own. I had never seen the show, but upon hearing that this song played during the finale, I started the show just so I could see that.


I recently finished that series finale, and I have to say it was one of the most jaw-dropping montages I've ever seen. I fell completely in love with the show, which I'm convinced is one of the best TV shows ever made. The cast is superb, the plot line is not afraid to deal with some of the most important things people face (the show centers on life and death)--addiction, homosexuality, violence, love, loss, (in)fidelity, struggle for expression and individuality--and the production quality is higher than a lot of movies I've seen. The final scene is spellbinding, and in it Sia's song took on even more weight--I didn't think it would be possible--but this song got even heavier, even more significant, even better....When you realize all the things Sia's singing about in this song--all the suffering in the world, all the self-loathing, self-mutilation--physical or not--that occurs among all this war, death, and struggle......but the end of her choruses--the end of each phrase involves the simplest of acts and the simplest of requests: just to breathe, which is essential to keep on living, to get through it all, to find hope...Yes, we will all die, we will all suffer heartbreak, but if we just breathe everything will be okay.

There's something about the piano at the start that hits the listener with a ton of bricks; the orchestral explosion near the end is like the sky opening up for a glimpse of the heavens. This is the saddest, most life-affirming, song. My favorite.

Listen.

Watch.

Coupl'a Bon Iver Videos

Vernon performed two songs off his debut album over at The Current's studio in Minneapolis on January 17th, 2008. He's so good live! So pure, so clean. I can't wait to see him in April.

"Flume"



"Lump Sum"

Sony Bravia - "Balls" Commercial

This is probably my favorite ad, ever. The slow movement of the balls with José González's "Heartbeats" makes for a supremely calming, happy viewing experience. There's no computer-generated images in this ad; it's all high-speed cameras on literally busloads of bouncy balls on the streets of San Francisco.

This ad introduced me to this song, which has since become one of my absolute favorite songs. It's actually a cover of The Knife's original, which is much different. After listening to the original, which is mostly synthesizer, heavy bass, and skreeching vocals, I felt a new reverence for José's talent, and his ability to completely transform a song to make it his own. There's something about the guitar in his version that pierces straight to the heart. The lyrics take on a new significance with his relaxed but emotion-laden voice, the result of which simultaneously makes me feel like crying and screaming for joy.

A New Kind of Music Video

Robert Hodgin makes really cool videos with an open source program called Processing. If you're interested, check out his blog to get an idea of how much work goes into these. Really, you should click on the title beneath the vid to see it bigger and in HD. btw, the song is "Lovely Head" by Goldfrapp.


Solar, with lyrics. from flight404 on Vimeo.

If You Like Björk...

Then you'll probably enjoy this interview. It's a bit long and slow, but enlightening.



I've always been on the fence with her; some of her work I love, some I hate. Maybe most people are like that with her. But after watching this interview I definitely understood her more. Pretty easy to see that she is a genius.

"[Music is] just the one, most all-embracing, forgiving, understanding thing there is. Just in the full obstruction of it, it doesn't ask any questions, and you don't have to explain yourself, and it's the one world that can cover all the emotional levels of view..."

Cat Power | The Covers Record

Since falling in love with The Greatest, I've found it difficult to really enjoy her earlier albums. It seemed to me that they were more avenues for her own catharsis than adequate representations of her talent. The focus-being completely independent the first two albums, and on a rather small label up until her newest release-did not seem to be primarily on the music: her lyricism was good-at times astounding-but her musicianship was only moderately interesting and her voice did not sound like it does today. Although there are a few gems in her back catalogue that truly shine, most of the songs are too raw, hard, or unpolished to create a pleasant listening experience (they seem to work on some level in the background, or if you're really down, but they're difficult to love). The nature of her (past) music makes sense, considering her battles with alcoholism and depression. Here's a relatively recent NY Times article and video in which she explains some personal things.

After taking a couple years off from music after her 1996 album What Would the Community Think, she released a collection of covers she'd played on the road between 1998 and 1999. It's very interesting how much different the sound of this record is from her prior releases, and even You Are Free, which came out three years later. Perhaps the main difference is that there is no evidence of any other musicians: it's only Chan. She mostly plays her guitar, sometimes the piano, which allows her gentle, smokey voice to be heard as it should without detracting from its almost unnverving intimacy. She covers The Rolling Stones (I don't know if I've ever heard a more radically satisfying cover of a song than her version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"), Lou Reed, her (ex?) boyfriend Bill Callahan of Smog, and even herself, transforming each song into something nobody else ever could. The most similar song on The Greatest would have to be "Where is My Love," but somehow the songs on this album each have a weighty significance, like she inspected each of them with her heart and expects us to (i.e. knows we will) do the same. Chan's "Wild is the Wind" is perhaps the most hauntingly poignant, soul-piercing song I've ever heard. I absolutely love this album. It is a supremely satisfying listen straight through, and is best suited for listening at night, with quiet stillness, disturbed only by Chan's hauntingly beautiful voice.

Look for a song in my upcoming mix.

Feist's New Album, "Intuition" Video

It's always nice to see really talented artists get the attention they deserve. Leslie Feist, the Canadian songstress who began by lending her vocals for Broken Social Scene and Kings of Convenience before launching her solo career, certainly has no shortage of exposure right now, with her own iTunes commercial.

The Reminder, Feist's third album (most people don't know about her debut, "Monarch (Lay Your Jeweled Head Down)" released in 1999) is her strongest yet, and has rightly proven to be the most successful. Contributing to this success is its impeccable production, which along with her talent for songwriting, composing, and singing, has made an album of top-notch indie-folk-pop songs that vary considerably but never cease to please.

Whereas Let it Die showed hints of genius, her weaker songs suggested that she was still trying to find her comfort zone. The Reminder is an album full of confidence, in which Leslie (again) bares her soul, but does so in a way that suggests she's moved on, in more ways than one perhaps. Her new songs are beautiful; some are very catchy ("My Moon My Man", "1234"), others are very chill ("The Park"), but they're all spot-on lyrically and melodically.

One thing that I've noticed about the ablum is its perfect song arrangement. Being one whose favorite hobby is to make mix cds, I must say that the order of songs on this album is absolutely perfect, and makes listening to it enjoyable as a whole. It starts out exactly how it should and ends exactly how it should; in the journey from an apology in the first track through the many feelings one feels in and out of love to a realization of oneself, you don't want to miss a beat. All the emotions are here, and all her talents are on display.

Intuition is my favorite track on the album, because it is the most heartfelt and it is the song in which Feist's voice shines through the best. I didn't even know she played guitar on this song, which is amazing, until I saw this video. It's only she and her guitar, recorded live. Seeing her perform it adds so much to it. I can't wait to see her live in Chicago come November. (She recently added some North American tour dates, check out her official site for info).

Bjork - It's Oh So Quiet

Brilliant. Captures the mood of this wonderful song perfectly.

Cat Power - Lived In Bars

Cat Power's voice is mature far beyond her years. When I first heard this song I envisioned a fourty-something woman singing in a smoke-filled jazz club...I love this video, she looks and sounds fantastic. So much personality, yet she makes you wanting more. Cool how her athletic jacket lends tribute to the album's title, and more? Chris Ott over at Pitchfork seems to capture her aura well in his review for her previous album:

"Liz Phair was a grifter. Using sexuality as a weapon, she turned the tables on obsessive boys and set their hearts aflutter with brazen lyrics, from the flagellant lust of "Flower" to her dead-to-the-world praise for doin' it doggie-style, "That way we can fuck and watch TV." Yet, forgiving a few heartfelt ballads like "Explain It to Me", Phair was in many ways a coy tease, partying and watching porn with guys she'd never date, despite their lust for her.

Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) was never such fun, never crude or masculine; she's the opposite fantasy, the porcelain art-school doll whose blissful confusion you could never hold in your hands. She's the girl that never called you back, that made you lose your cool and leave two messages. Every time you see her on the street, or a mutual friend tells you, "Yeah, I saw her at Cokie's, she's dating the guy from so and so," it ruins your weekend.

The cagiest of modern songbirds, Chan has a famously fragile ego and skittish countenance. She's wrestled with the consequences of baring a relentlessly observant soul to the world, and bagged on any number of shows when heckled or simply "not feeling it."...read the rest of the review here: You Are Free Pitchfork Review.

Check out her myspace page.

Regina Spektor - Fidelity

I was introduced to Regina just a few weeks ago and now I'm going through her back-catalog and let me tell you how talented this woman is. Her stuff is different, but her sound is beautifully unique and varies from album to album and song to song. Her most recent album is definitely the most approachable...Anyway, check out this video and you can actually listen to almost all her music, and view the videos for On the Radio, Samson, Better, and Us on her website. Go here: http://www.reginaspektor.com/

Kitten vs. Frontrow (watch this!)

kitten vs. frontrow from mattcoats and Vimeo.