Stop Watching YOurself

There is something to be said for loud, obnoxiously confident beats that I just can't get enough of. Coachella is packed with dance/electro acts this year and The Los Angeles Times even summarized the festival's line-up by coining "Coachella 2008 might not rock, but it will roll." I've thrown together some acts that may not necessarily be filed neatly under one cohesive genre, but if you want to cut loose and unabashedly throw back to a little hippy-shake shake/head nod bass--this is where you can migrate to...

Modeselektor
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop
Ok, I'm going to go ahead and say it: I've loved to these Germans way before everyone else got on the Radiohead bandwagon. This winter Thom Yorker guest DJ'd on the BBC and played Modeselektor's "The Dark Side of the Sun" and thankfully, people caught on. Now acting as the headliners for the first part of Radiohead's North American tour, hopefully they'll attract an even larger fan base. Their debut album Hello Mom! ,whose title I find hysterical, was followed by their most recent Happy Birthday! which dropped last year.


Bonde do Role
Genre: Baile Funk
Fellow Coachella performer Diplo began his own label Mad Decent and the first group he signed were the crazy Brazilians Bonde do Role. I'm a little biased with my love for Diplo, but I first heard Bonde do Role blasting over the Amoeba Music speakers and stayed in the store bouncing around isles just to hear the entire album With Lasers. Their music is basically nonsensical with lyrics like "I'll Beat You Like Gorilla" thrown on top of ridiculously cartoon beats. Just this past December, female bandmate Marina left and Bonde do Role found two new women to fill her spot through a contest via MTV.



The Cool Kids
Genre: Hip Hop
Synopsis: Introducing Antoine "Mickey Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll. From Chicago and Detroit, this dup began releasing their music via Myspace, creating their own buzz before recently signing to Chocolate Industries through their own label C.A.K.E. Recordings. Another of Rolling Stone's Artists To Watch, they released their first EP in January The Bake Sale and have a full-length following shortly.

Coachella #5-7: Black is the new...

Step 1. Get a Band, man.

Step 2. Have the title revolve around the word "black"...and do it quick because the options left--they are few.


Black Mountain
Genre: Rock, Revival
Synopsis: Canadian late 60s/early 70s rock revivalists Stephen McBean, Amber Webber, Matt Camirand, Jeremy Schmidt, and Joshua Wells pump out Led Zep-esque power chords, yet still maintain their own sense of self to avoid impersonating territory. On their newest release In The Future, Webber's vocals fortunately get more emphasis and give this garage rock some depth with a haunting backdrop. On a sidenote: when my best friend Alex discovered Black Mountain, she send me a text that went a little something like this: "Oh my god, Have you listened to Black Mountain? Talk about sex music!" If that doesn't get you to buy the album, I don't know what will...


Black Lips
Genre: self described "flower-punk"
Synopsis: They gained notoriety last year by playing 12 SXSW shows in a three day period and were then coined as "The Hardest Working Band" in 2007 by The New York Times.
*stand back twenty feet coachella goers-their stage antics involve chickens, vomiting, nudity, and urinating in mouths.



Black Kids
Genre: Pop, Rock
Synopsis: Based out of Jacksonville, Florida, these indie popsters made a name for themselves solely from their live performances well before record labels and tour schedules came knocking. In November they were listed as one of Rolling Stone's Artists to Watch and their debut album Wizard of Ahhhs is short, sweet, and stuffed back to back with catchy pop singles.

Animal Collective Live

Animal Collective's new track Brother Sport.
The into before the live footage is kinda long but once it kicks in - it's excellent.


ANIMAL COLLECTIVE , BROTHER SPORT
Uploaded by GrrrndZero

( a brief digression....the daily coachella band post will be up later today)

!!!new Weezer single!!!

get excited
then click here:
NEW WEEZER

Coachella #4 - The Cinematic Orchestra

The Cinematic Orchestra:
Genre: Electronic, Jazz

I recently stumbled upon an excellent music criticism essay by Charlie Bertsch that argues in favor of the first person point of view when writing about or critiquing music. Music is accessible in a way that separates itself from all other art forms because of its immediacy and ability for continuous repetition. The sounds at hand become an intimate and integral part of the reviewer's identity, thereby justifying a sense of one's persona and opinion to be illuminated through the "I".

Some of my favorite books and movies I've repeated only a handful of times, but there are without a doubt songs on my itunes that have been adoringly dragged through well over 100 plays. And it’s this reason that I embark on The Cinematic Orchestra because they are in fact one of the few groups that have crossed the 100 plays threshold. And above all, they are a group that I hold unbelievably close to my heart. Their music is precious to me and is one of the few things I sincerely adore. Whether consciously or unconsciously, I've kept The Cinematic Orchestra private: selectively shared and delicately tucked away to score my own trials and tribulations. So my apologies that this excerpt may run slightly personal, but when you genuinely fall in love with music and that music also serves as the soundtrack to your own falling, then I owe it to these musicians to assert some sort of self.

This music could easily be classified as stock tracks for late-night play lists, but the melodies have more depth than that label allows. It's a composition of gorgeous lines so powerful they create their own presence. The Cinematic Orchestra is a British based group that has been around since the late 90s and stellar albums include Every Day and Ma Fleur. When performing live, this layout also being their structure for studio sessions, the base melody is set with a turntable and pre-recorded electronic loops. The musicians will then join in improvising and on Every Day the vocally blessed Fontella Bass takes over the core, affecting even the coldest of listeners.


The Cinematic Orchestra - Into You
The Cinematic Orchestra - Familiar Ground

Coachella #3- Akron/Family

Akron/Family

Genre: Folk, Psychedelic, Experimental

Synopsis: These guys could be given the term “hippy” a little too easily with their notoriously long jam sessions and “All you need is love” type backup vocals. Yet, even with their purple haze of peculiar sounds and electronics, at the heart of their music is some great porch swing folk. This band is not for the impatient, nor for the immediate downloader who has to be "sold" in the first 15 seconds. Their music takes its time uncurling, revealing it's individual life span moment by moment. They began creating in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn (but then again, who doesn't) and tenaciously sent demos to Young God's Michael Gira who wasn't convinced until he saw them perform live. And it's this live show that has earned Akron a deathly loyal fan base and an arsenal of superhero tall tales. Survivors of Austin's SXSW recall seeing Akron/Family leading the rioting audience into the streets clapping, singing, and forming circles that spiraled into Buddhist like chants. Fellow PopMatters writer Justin Cober-Lake reviewed an Akron show and describes his similar experience.

"Then Akron/Family -- comprised of a lumberjack, a woodsman, a Banhart-stylealike, and a rosy-cheeked kid -- put on a show like nothing I've ever seen. Their performance opened with a recorder/pennywhistle/melodica/bowed-glockenspiel noise that turned into a song that then turned it into an experience. When a guitarist begins playing the rim of a glass, you know you're in for oddity; when he plays two kazoos at once while doing other stuff with his hands, it passes beyond that level and becomes something beautiful"

Akron/Family - Ed Is A Portal

Akron/Family - Running, Returning

Akron/Family - Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead

Akron/Family - I'll Be On The Water

Coachella #2- Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS

Genre: Funk/Soul

Synopsis: There are a number of artists recently that have been trumpeting the revival of blues and soul, Amy Whinehouse being the more commercial front runner. Yet, there are other smaller groups such as Sharon Jones, Poets of Rhythm, and Budos Band that are doing their own part to bring back the essence of late 6os and early 70s soul. As for Sharon Jones: This woman isn't imitating an era. Homegirl was there in the 70s singing back-up vocals on disco and funk albums. In the 80s the style lost its mainstream appeal and she instead turned towards a gospel career and then came back to her natural groove in 2002 with Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. The most recent release in 2007 100 Days, 100 Nights, showcases a much smoother Motown feel, while the previous records were loaded with heavy funk. On Daptone Records, the house band being The Dap-Kings, producer Bosco Mann described their music with: "We don’t fetish-ize vintage equipment or afro-wigs or bell-bottoms. Our music sounds authentic because it is authentic. It's real people making real music. From the depths of our souls. From our heart of hearts."

(And to all fellow coachella goers, word of mouth is that their live shows are absolutely unbelievable)



Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - How Long Do I Have to Wait

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights

COACHELLA COUNTDOWN

Alright people.
This blog will cover music news, mp3s, tours, new bands, and all that fantastic stuff. But for now..it's all about Coachella! If I have to hear one more person piss and moan about there being no good acts at Coachella this year, I may spit. So this is an attempt to illuminate some of the exceptional artists that will be performing next weekend. And although they may not be the Radiohead headliner everyone was contemplating selling their unborn children for, these indie powerhouses are just as deserving of your attention and devotion. And who better to start off with then my ultimate favorite: Animal Collective.

Animal Collective
Genre: Psych Folk or Noise Rock
Synopsis: Four boys, with pseudonyms that include Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Deakin, and Geologist, formed in Baltimore creating an experimental outlet in which the members are concentrated on the art of exploring. It's not about creating the perfect album, more so developing a playground with limitless boundaries and seeing how far their music can reach. Putting out records since 2000, they began creating buzz with albums Feels and Sung Tongs and then broke through the indie mainstream last year with their widely successful Strawberry Jam. The members and their performance lineup is constantly changing and they actively pursue solo projects. The most recent example being Panda Bear's 2007 release Person Pitch which received the same thunderous applause as Strawberry Jam.

The music is exciting and fearless. In closing, here's a quote from the PopMatters writer Matthew Fiander on their 2007 release:
"Strawberry Jam could legitimately be labeled Animal Collective’s punk rock album, and not only because of its raucous noise. This is punk rock in the same way Suicide (a band that A.C. channels on the haunting “#1"), Television, and the Talking Heads were. The best punk rock, from its heyday, made you believe that, in music, anything was possible."