Broken Bells

Mad good. Reminds me of high school music (maybe because of The Shins frontman James Mercer). The duo of Mercer and Danger Mouse (Brian Burton)=gold. Love the combination of electronic/experimental with classic beats and melodies. Cool "pastiche" as it were. Here are my faves so far:

Album was just released on the 9th, I DEFINITELY recommend it. Can't find any other good videos of the music, but it's all over the blogosphere so hop onto elbo.ws or hypem to find it.

Yes Giantess, Surfer Blood

I watched Yes Giantess play at Dartmouth a few weeks ago and they are great live performers -- so fun to watch/listen/dance to, and their music achieves that rare combination of being catchy, with some depth. After their show, I'm a fan. :)

Last night at another concert, my friend and I were chatting with JP and Jonas, the lead singers of Surfer Blood and Turbo Fruits, respectively, and we realized afterward how difficult it must be to make it as a band; both JP and Jonas said they never went to college (well, JP went to one year of Palm Beach Community College...) and have basically been touring/trying to make it big since high school. And Surfer Blood is good, too, so we were wondering: Why aren't these bands well known (yet)? We concluded that there must be an element of luck to it.

Anyway, I thought Surfer Blood was breezy yet energetic and easy to listen to, Turbo Fruits had some interesting ideas but mostly hurt my ears - they need a keyboardist or something to modulate the harshness of their sound.  They were largely unpleasant to listen to, but I did appreciate Jonas's flannel shirt. It was similar to one I bought my younger sister this Christmas.

Take a listen to Yes Giantess:

And Surfer Blood:

The interesting song we liked by Turbo Fruits:

(VOLCANO! VOLCANO! VOLCANO!)

Indie Music Musings

So I was having a late-night conversation with a friend this weekend about what defines "indie" nowadays--how does it differ from alternative, are there subcategories of folk and electronic, etc.

It's getting hard to separate anything nowadays. I'm finally getting around to sitting down and listening to a bunch of new music (new as in Vampire Weekend's new album, which is SO old now) and it's fascinating to pick up on the similarities between popular bands nowadays. Popular, that is, in the indie sense. We're disregarding Miley and Taylor.

Back in high school, I feel like the scene consisted of more bands like Arcade Fire and Postal Service; they were counterpoints to people into Rooney and who were part of that whole OC-era indie scene (remember how Of Montreal was on the soundtrack? Embarrassingly, I have to give that show props for putting out some good playlists).

But now, indie music has become more homogenized. I just listened to VW's new song "California English" and was amazed by how it sounded like a combination between Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective (who, in my book, generally represent a prominent divide indie music subgenres).

In this digital mash-up age, it seems much easier for musicians to mix genres. Kind of exciting, maybe.

Anyway, as I keep listening to this VW album, it seems all over the effing place. Not sure if I'm a huge fan, since it doesn't really seem like their sound is all that original. The whole album is more an homage to contemporary indie music and, well, the band themselves. Kind of self-indulgent.

"Cousins," which Georgina just posted about, kind of sounds like a mix between themselves and The White Stripes, which doesn't really work for me. This song is actually really annoying me. It just makes me think of Arrested Development. Oh my god, and "Holiday" just came on. What the hell is this? So contrived! VW is a one-album-wonder, I think.

Back to my earlier musings: how would you define indie rock? The definition of an indie band as being part of an independent label doesn't seem as applicable anymore. "Indie" is a classifier that's tossed around a lot, and to me it seems like lots of indie bands lose their status because they "sell out" (Kings of Leon, Phoenix)...

What do you think??

Remember this song from the OC soundtrack:



I would post "Big Sur" by The Thrills, too, but alas, I cannot embed it. Instead, here's the hyperlink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1fGNCvZL_w

Throwback.

Anyway, as one of my good friends can attest to, Scandinavia and Iceland are where it's at nowadays in terms of relatively lesser-known bands.



Isn't that PB&J video good?

Stereotyping People by Indie Band

Plagiarism: Completely stealing this off the blog "Flavorwire." Absolutely hilarious.

http://flavorwire.com/57909/stereotyping-people-by-their-favorite-indie-bands

A few of my favorites:

Phoenix
People who don’t listen to enough music.

Wilco
Guys who go to concerts to relax.

Matt and Kim
Closeted Blink-182 enthusiasts.

Kid Cudi
Blipsters who still wear neon shoes and smoke pot.

Vampire Weekend
Bros who try to make out with girls at concerts by relating to them via old Nickelodeon shows. “Remember Pete & Pete??”

The best one:

Passion Pit
Bros vaguely interested in listening to music and very interested in having sex with their girlfriend.

NYMag's Brooklyn Top 40

Oh, dear...

Check it out!

I'd never heard their number 1 before. I agree with all the GB, but think there should've been some more AC and PB. I'm obsessed with the song "Blind" by Hercules and Love Affair. Thought that "Kids" has become too mainstream to be considered in the list--needed to go to old-school Management instead, perhaps? But what do I know--I've never lived in Brooklyn, therefore I can't judge. I just happen to love indie music.

Like I said before, my taste has traveled abroad. Here are my top artists nowadays:

-La Roux (thanks, Georgina)
-Fever Ray
-The Knife
-Crystal Castles (really want to see them in concert)



-Royksopp



-Lykke Li



-Ladytron



But I'm not into Bjork for some reason. Don't call me crazy!

Empire of the Sun

What a range. Listening to "Empire of the Sun" has reminded me how much music artists can play with genre, synth, beat and all-around purpose. From pop hits to avant-garde electro, this band is definitely going to take off as an MGMT successor in popularity. I'm not sure if they will have the same kind of following because of off-kilter singles like "Art of Fighting" and "Delta Bay", but songs like "Half Mast" and their big hit now, "Walking on a Dream" certainly will cater to a crowd looking for easy disco beats. It all kind of reminds me of the fine 1980's film (one of my all-time favorites): The Never Ending Story. Oh, and apparently they're selling their whole image and call themselves "Emperor" and "Lord." WTF. Anyway, visit their website here and see how cracked out they are:
http://www.walkingonadream.com/
Just know that the music holds up to the flamboyant/acid-trip visuals.





THIS IS SO STRANGE but the song is pretty good

Little Boots New Album

Little Boots' new LP "Hands" leaked onto the internet two days ago and it's spread like the plague across the blogosphere (I guess it landed here, too). Definitely a combination of Annie, Kylie Minogue and Yelle in its combination of pop/disco/80's/chick music. Nothing wrong with that! Bubble gum has its place. The thing with Little Boots is there's a little bit of depth to it--it sounds like bubble gum but has some bitterness to it.

Download the single "Remedy". Perfect to play at a summer dance party. You'll see what I mean.

Osheaga

This is my goal of the summer:

http://www.osheaga.com/2009/en/bands

I need to go to more concerts, so I figure this packs in a bunch of bands! Esp. Crystal Castles, Lykke Li and Girl Talk.

Oh, and who wouldn't want to see the Beastie Boys?

Phoenix

So I've had this mp3 of French band Phoenix "Everything is Everything" since like 4 years ago and all of a sudden, all of my indie-music-freak friends are hyping them up as if they're the new Animal Collective or something.

Unlike Animal Collective, Phoenix sounds more like a combination of Hot Hot Heat, Black Kids, Shout Out Louds, and, really, any fist-pumping indie band.

Listen up and you'll see exactly what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSLbW1S5gHA


Good summertime music. A counterpoint to my obsession with Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest (which you HAVE to check out).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrk9m9nRxlY