(She whips her hair back n' forth also, Willow Smith!)
I'm dipping my toe into the Lana Del Rey fracas, with the Sirius XMU version of Video Games. It's been a while since I've seen such a polarizing figure in the music scene. Deep hatred, or deep nerd love, is all I've come across in my LDR experiences, nothing in between. I can only say, for myself, that there is far worse out there in the Pop Spectrum.
And yes, her attractiveness has undoubtedly made her a target. As well as the fact that she doesn't sit in front of a piano, a la Tori Amos, and perform any instruments. The whole, Lana Del Rey is actually "Lizzy Grant" issue, plus she comes from powerful, parental influence and success, yes, these can all be factors in loathing and ridiculing her, I agree.
However, you cannot deny the well polished product that is her brand of Pop music. The Born to Die video is an example. Her inevitable skyrocketing success, has just been stamped by an upcoming musical guest slot on SNL in January.
Check out the Sirius XMU session version of Video Games below. Also check out a collection of live clips, when LDR played the Troubadour earlier this month. I must confess, I think a lot of these live clips seem more like a terrible performance at a small town mall, but hey...being a big star is often a work in progress.
"Video Games" (Live on Sirius XMU) by Lana Del Rey
I think 2011 marked a new low, in regards to the amount of blogging I've done...but having a baby seriously alters your life, and I welcome it. Look for EENC to get back to as much regularity as possible, in 2012. Despite the lack of posts, it didn't mean I wasn't getting hyped on the new that was out there. I just couldn't resist, so here's my top 10 for 2011:
10)A$AP Rocky "LiveLifeLoveA$AP Mixtape" -- What does Aesop Rock think of A$ap Rocky, I wonder? Either way, I am a fan of this Eazy-E look-a-like hailing from Harlem. Lana Del Rey attempted to add street credit, by saying she's a fan.
9)Arcade Fire's "We Used To Wait" video. -- I went to college with the gentleman who directed this video, amongst Kanye videos also in his resume. So innovative, I couldn't get enough of this when it first surfaced Google Maps.
8)Jay Z + Kanye West "Watch The Throne" -- Having a daughter impeded my wife and I from seeing the 'Throne' tour stop in LA, as I hear we missed a hell of a treat. Consolation: this album, that seems to be the product of two egos keeping themselves in check for a brief while.
7)Yuck "S/T" -- Hearing a band make a record that could've been in my adolescent era, along with the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr., etc., makes me have faith in the youth of today. This album, and subsequent deluxe edition sounds so brilliant to me, based on it's familiarity.
6)Portlandia -- The genius of Fred Armisen + Carrie Browenstein was such a pleasant surprise for me this past year. I can't wait for season 2, early in '12.
5)Forgetters "S/T" -- Blake's newest 3-piece incarnation provided a short 4 song EP, that much like Yuck, felt familiar, but so welcome in my book. Seeing them play at The Echo was one of my live highlights of last year, also.
4)Youth Lagoon "The Year of Hibernation" -- Quiet. Slow building. This record really does lend itself to the band's proclamation, "Music is meant to be listened to, very late at night."
3)Drake "Take Care" -- I can't believe this record ranks so high on my top 10. I can't even listen to the album as a whole. But the tracks that do stand out, really, really, really stand out. Judge for yourself.
2)New Look "The Ballad" -- 2011 is the year everyone went Gaga for Lana Del Rey, but this is my personal female sung anthem right here:
1)10.20.11 -- The day my daughter, Gigi, was born. Best day of my life. Best day of 2011.
Two great events taking place for you Angelenos tonight. First off, DJ extraordinaire Z-Trip will be at the graciously restored Hollywood Palladium tonight, for the L.A. installment of the Rock Boxx Tour, featuring De La Soul, Nosaj Thing, and Daddy Kev. Tickets are still available at Live Nation. Should be a wild party at the Palladium, as Z-Trip's live skills makes Girl Talk look like a robot...wait, I mean a Jive Turkey. Visit Z-Trip's official site, and check out his free downloads, even as far back, as his groundbreaking Uneasy Listening collaborations.
Check out an interview from last year, with FestThis.com, with Z-Trip. About 1:01 into the interview, a great mix of Z-Trip combining Jane's Addiction and M.I.A.
Here's a new track from the forthcoming Beirut album, The Rip Tide. Sure to make all of the critic's and blogosphere's End of Year lists, along the likes of Bon Iver's self-titled release, the album is already riding strong, with the release of the first single, East Harlem. I happen to like Port of Call, the album closer, which feels like it could easily have been on the band's 2006 Gulag Orkestar release.
The Rip Tide will be released on August 30th. You can pre-order it at Insound. For all Angelenos, Beirut will be performing at The Greek Theater October 4th.
CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.
The Delta Mirror have been compiling a collection of remixes and covers by other artists for about the last year or so. They're ready and available for free download. New life is definitely breathed into the already wonderful Machines That Listen.
Also included, is a cover of And The Radio Played On, by their Chico, CA buddies, The Shimmies. Odd Nosdam, Busdriver, and Blue Sky Black Death, are some of the artists that take a stab at reworking the Delta Mirror. Head over to the Lefse Records site, to download the album for free.
In the almost four years my wife and I have been together, there have been numerous, oddly coincidental and eerie parallels to Tina Fey's Liz Lemon character on 30 Rock, and my own wife. From mannerisms, to "Night Cheese", and now the fact that Tina Fey and my wife are simultaneously pregnant, I'm always on the look out for what's next for them to share?
Prior to this past Christmas, I got the idea to get my wife the necklace Liz Lemon wears on 30 Rock, with of course my wife's initials on them. Research led me to Helen Ficalora, the designer of Liz's necklace.
I went to the Beverly Hills store, to purchase two, "V" & "G" letter charms, plus one 14K chain. Each alphabet charm disc cost $145, and the chain was $85. I'm not ashamed to admit that in this downward spiral of an economy has left my once respectable wage earnings, to something I'd never imagine I'd have to live off of, much like many Americans in this country.
So, the grand total of $375 + tax I would have to spend at Helen Ficalora was something I'd been saving for, for a couple of paychecks, before Christmas. Enter my journey to the Beverly Hills Helen Ficalora store. It's a well lit, quaint but elegant, boutique store. The help was friendly upon entrance.
The woman who ended up ringing me up at the register seemed frazzled. We all have our off days I thought, so no big deal. "Your total for today will be, five hundred...", she went on to say. My mind shut off at this point. Was there a higher sales tax in the wonderful city of Beverly Hills? I already felt like the prostitute version of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, upon entering the store...I don't do much shopping time in the 90210.
As my credit card was being processed, the young lady could not get over the confused and distraught look on my face, and realized I had in fact, been overcharged. She realized her mistake, and said she would simply refund the overage amount. I asked if it would be easier to refund the entire amount, and start from scratch, but she insisted this is their protocol. Long story short, she refunded the incorrect amount(which was less than what was stated on my invoice), which later caused me an overdraft charge. The refund process had also caused a suspension of funds at my bank (the week of Christmas shopping), and I was leaving the store with a bevvy of receipts, that looked like I was about to participate in a ticker-tape parade.
Well, I had taken to Yelp to relay the mishaps of my experience, to warn other HF shoppers, and even wrote the store manager an old-fashioned, mailed letter. Neither of which garnered a response.
Two weeks ago, I received a voicemail from a woman claiming to be Helen Ficalora. She wanted to speak to me personally, regarding what had happened. I told my wife, and her response was, "Yeah right. Mrs. Fields just sent me an email for that bad batch of cookies we bought last week." It turns out, one of Helen's children had been reading the responses at their various locations on Yelp, and passed word of what I'd written onto Helen herself.
Any person who has a spouse, knows that an opportunity to prove their spouse's doubts wrong cannot be passed up, so I called Mrs. Ficalora back. It was in fact, the real Helen Ficalora. She was genuinely apologetic, incredibly gracious, and a wondeful listener. She made no excuses for what went wrong, but really compelled me to commit to the rare excercise these days, of forgiveness. I was truly humbled that someone of her stature would take the time to reach out to me, directly. And listen to me. If only more business owners had the kindness of Helen Ficalora. And, the ability to understand that every employee is a direct representation of their image as a business owner.
Also, Helen graciously sent me a check to cover my overdraft expenses. And to boot, she sent me a little something extra, when she heard it was my wife's birthday coming up, as well. The truth is, she didn't have to do any of these things, but yet she wanted to. And did so, without any pretenses. She even confessed that she had "been dreading contacting me for quite some time", as my Yelp review conveyed an impression of me being fairly irate. Her honesty was incredibly refreshing.
The fact that someone of her stature, took the time to track me down, and call me directly, is something that is truly unheard of these days, and something I will always remember. I will always think of her good gesture, whenever I pass any Helen Ficalora store, look at my wife's charm necklace, or watch Liz Lemon on 30 Rock. Unfortunately for my pocket book, I think our household will be supporting the Helen Ficalora name for quite some time to come, which I will gladly participate in, given Helen's goodwill.
An exclamation point, to this story for me personally, is this article that I stumbled upon this article in People Magazine a while ago, that can attest to the nature of Helen Ficalora.
I like to pretend there is a magical musical goblin in the heart of my iPod that is in charge of making decisions like playing Gangstarr, preceded by The Velvet Underground, when on the 'shuffle' option. Just to remind me about the opposite ends of spectrums.
Well, the following two songs came about the other day, and now, I cannot have one without the other. The first song is from the Oscar winning soundtrack score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the highly emotionally stirring, musical salutation to "The Social Network". Check out "Hand Covers Bruise" below, to be immediately followed by...
"The Passenger Seat" by Death Cab For Cutie. Written approximately seven years prior to the release of "The Social Network", this Gibbard & Company track exists on a very similar musical plane.
To me, these two tracks are the musical equivalent of the party game where everyone writes down story fragments onto a piece of paper, and they are later put together to form one coincidental, and cohesive story.
It is important to note, you must listen to these tracks in reverse chronological order, to prove my theory. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, immediately followed by Mr. Zooey Deschanel.
The People’s Key is out now on Saddle Creek Records.
Bright Eyes 2011 Tour Dates:
03/09 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall *
03/10 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues ^
03/11 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre ^
03/13 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy ^
03/14 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre ^
03/15 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre ^
03/16 – Champaign, IL @ Foellinger Auditorium ^
03/17 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
03/19 – Austin, TX @ Auditorium Shores (SXSW) (FREE SHOW)
04/03 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
04/04 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
04/05 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
04/08 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
04/09 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
04/12 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
04/13 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
06/23 – London, UK @ Royal Albert Hall
"Both Ways Open Jaws" is the new record from the terribly creative and wonderful duo, The Dø. Check out "The Calendar" below. I can't get enough. It's like a mad scientist took a Joni Mitchell record, and fed it into the computer with a DJ Shadow record, à la the Weird Science production of Kelly Lebrock's famous "Lisa" role.
(This ain't no Jennifer Anniston movie, Aaron Sorkin!)
It's quite rare I get excited for an over the top action movie release, but these trailers for "Battle:Los Angeles" have put me in the proverbial shoes of a fat nerd waiting in line for Comic Con. The wonderful use of the eerie track by Icelandic musician Jóhann Jóhannsson sent me over the edge. According to the movie premise, L.A. is the last line of defense against alien invaders. Thanks for letting us down NYC, and SF! Cue Michelle Rodriguez's tough face!
Check out the trailer for "Battle: Los Angeles" below, and the haunting track titled "The Sun's Gone Dim and the Sky's Turned Black" also. "Battle: Los Angeles" will be released on March 11th. Check out their official site.
"The Sun's Gone Dim, and the Sky's Turned Black" by Jóhann Jóhannsson
Awesome New Republic, aka ANR, melds all that is good from bands like Menomena, Animal Collective, Yeasayer, and the hey-day era of Depeche Mode. The band is comprised of John Hancock & Brian Robertson, fellow graduates from The Frost School of Music, formerly the University of Miami's music program.
Unlike this writer, the fellows have taken their practical college education, and applied it to the real world. "Stay Kids" is like a genial by-product of Paul Simon's "Graceland" impregnating Hawthorne, California's favorite sons' "Pet Sounds", with a modern day spin. Check out my favorite track, from an all together great album, "It's Around You".
Forgetters is Blake Schwarzenbach's latest project. I hope this one lasts longer than his last project, Thorns of Life, which I quite enjoyed as well. Rather than ramble on about whether or not this new material sounds more like Jawbreaker, or more like Jets to Brazil, I'll let you listen to "The Night Accelerates" below.
Blake is joined by former Against Me! drummer Kevin Mahon and bass player Caroline Pacquita. Seems like the same type line up as Thorns of Life, but I haven't confirmed if his bassist was part of the ensemble cast of "The L Word"?
One thing I can be certain about is, that Blake continues to build on his prolific punk rock legacy, with this self-titled EP courtesy of Too Small to Fail Records. Forgetters will be playing two L.A. shows next month. This aging music nerd is left to decide which night he will be attending? The 22-year old version of me, would have no-doubtedly already bought tickets for both.
The Swedish trio continue their mission to prove to everyone, that they will be known for being more than just a one hit wonder. Here's the opening track to the forthcoming Peter, Bjorn, and John album, which has a release date of April 5th (March according to their official site). I'm reserving judgement until I get a real good listen to the follow up to 2009's "Living Thing", titled "Gimme Some", but the catchiness and harmonies we've come to expect from these three Swedes can be heard in "Tomorrow Has to Wait", below.
You can pre-order "Gimme Some" here. Visit the official site here.
Here's the album opener from the forthcoming Tapes 'N Tapes album, titled "Outside". Check out the fantastically rousing "Badaboom" below. The album as a whole has me hearing tinges of old David Byrnes/Talking Heads. Give a listen, and check out our Top Ten Albums of the year list below as well. "Outside" will be released on January 11, 2011. You can pre-order it HERE.
(10)The Way Out - The Books - I like found sounds. I like The Books. Highlight of this album, "Free Translator".
(9)Treats - Sleigh Bells - After hearing what this act was comprised of, my gut instinct told me to dislike this at all costs! Until I heard "Kids" & "Rill Rill".
(7)First Four Ep's - OFF! - This punk rock all star team puts out 16 tracks, each clocking in under 2:00 minutes. Nostalgia is nice.
(6)High Violet - The National - For me personally, I enjoyed this more than their last release. Dark never sounded so comforting.
(5)The Brutalist Bricks - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - I was fist-pumping to this one all year. Ted makes NJ proud. Highlight song on this album for me, was "Bottled in Cork".
(4)Halcyon Digest - Deerhunter - I've always thought Deerhunter was an acquired taste, that took a little effort to really appreciate, as far as full albums go. I quite enjoyed this one though, and a few tracks even made my father question' "What's this?"
(3)Majesty Shredding - Superchunk - The much needed album from one of my favorite bands of all time, was highly welcomed in 2010. Mac & Co. showed they certainly still had the chops that I grew up hearing.
(2)The Suburbs - The Arcade Fire - The band of Canadians can seemingly do no wrong in my book. The exclamation point on this album, was my favorite music video experience of the year.
(1)My Beautiful, Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West - Yeah, I guess he's kind of an asshole, but Taylor Swift is a whore, no? I only keep up through TMZ. This album just has the goods. Highlight of the album for me, "Blame Game" featuring Aphex Twin sample.
Here's two tracks to fuel your Tuesday, holiday struggles. The first is a great track from The Crystal Castles, with The Cure's Robert Smith on vocals. Check out "Not in Love" below.
"Not in Love (featuring Robert Smith)" by The Crystal Castles
Secondly, we have a great track from a local L.A. band called Full Frontal. Check out their Facebook page, for show info and more tracks. Recommended if you like The Horrors, Joy Division, and Bauhaus. Check out "Suitcase or a Coffin" below.
Here's the new single from Basement Jaxx titled "Dracula". Also on here, Jason Segel singing "Dracula's Lament" from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". You decide which Dracula song you like better.
Unrelated to Vampires, you should check out www.bookofbandnames.com. Its a site that hilariously suggests fictitious band names for struggling artists. Just click it.
CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.
No excuse. I hate myself for not posting anything new in so long. And with lots of music out there I really like. Coming soon. Been working on another site, that is a writing project, with a few friends. Instead of a book of baby names, we're writing and compiling a Book of Band Names. Check out www.bookofbandnames.com. Do it. Write us. Use the suggestions. Don't be so cruel.
Check out a song from the new Ghostland Observatory record titled "Codename: Rondo". For fans of the Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, and noises that come from computers, check out "Give Me The Beat", below. Good luck getting it out of your head.
If you like vampire tv shows, novels, movies, I may just look at you like you just told me you're a registered sex offender. With every judgement, there is an exception, and my exception is this Swedish masterpiece.
My "I think Vampire shows and movies are dumb" segue leads me to the soundtrack for "Vampire Diaries"...which is some ridiculous looking show on The CW Network, or something like that? The soundtrack features songs from Bat For Lashes, Placebo covering Kate Bush, Goldfrapp, and The Gorillaz. It also features the song below, by The Silversun Pickups. Vampy, and charecteristically fuzzy, check out "Currency of Love" below. Have I mentioned that Chris Guanlao is an amazing, Animal from the Muppets-like drummer?
Here's a track from a record I'm growing quite fond of, from Canada's P.S. I Love You. P.S., happy belated Thanksgiving, Canada! Check out the P.S. page HERE. They will be playing tonight at The Central in Santa Monica. Don't like that part of town? Me either! P.S. I Love you will be wrapping up L.A. at The Mint tomorrow night. Check out "Little Spoon" below.
