Went to the last Castledoor residency show last night and was bummed that Fool’s Gold had pulled off the bill. I was ready for some more dance party! Ok, maybe not… I was tired and fading fast. But hopefully I’ll be ready when they play Sunset Junction in August.
They’ve now signed with IAMSOUND (who also nabbed Little Boots, so you can imagine my jealousy) and have a new bright and shiny version of their single. Thought I would pass it along to you guys.
Have to throw in an extra post today because of how good Phoenix was last night. Unreal. I haven’t had that much fun at a concert in a long time. Get your tickets for the Greek show now people.
After the show ended, they played MJ and nobody left - everyone stayed for a dance party. I’m in here somewhere:
And in case you wanna see the actual show…
“Girlfriend”
“Lisztomania”
“Lasso”
p.s. I didn’t take any of these videos. I was too busy dancing my ass off to worry about filming. I wish there was a video of “1901″ when the lead singer jumped into the pit about 3 ft away from us and we all jumped up and down with him. Oh man, I’m still on a high from this show. Soooooooo good.
After the super fun weekend I had, there’s really no other choice of song to be posted (Just kidding Scavo! Don’t lay me off! K thanks!) But really, this song is great. And with all the funemployed ones out there, I expect it to become somewhat of a summer anthem. My friend Josh, who has much better music taste than I (is that even possible? I kid…), introduced me to this song’s amaaaaaazing remix by Dam Funk. So listen to that one too on the MySpace.
It’s a sad day. I wasn’t a huge Michael fan like some people, but I definitely respected what he had done for music. Nobody has ever or will ever reach the whole world with music like he had.
I have a few memories of my parents playing his vinyls when we were little (in the living room with the metallic orange wallpaper and orange carpet. hot.) and with all my years of dance, I oddly don’t have any dance related memories of MJ. But the one thing that sticks out to me, and it emphasizes what kind of world we live in now, is when I got the first iPod that played video and it was sooooooo cool the first thing I did was buy the Thriller video from the iTunes store. That was the one thing I knew I wanted on there. Will forever be a classic.
Makes me sad that this video probably wouldn’t happen today or wouldn’t be received the same way. Music is entertainment and brings us happiness, let’s try not to hate so much and give artists the respect they deserve. Sound good? K, thanks
Wish I could have made it to this show tonight. Sean Bones and Local Natives at Space 15 Twenty. Drats. Had work things to do. Ah well. I will try to catch one of the other shows this week. For those who don’t know, this kid is part of Sam Champion… a band you know I love. So now you know. So listen to this song.
I was sick the end of last week (big surprise, huh? my immune system is 80 years old, I swear). While dying on my couch, my brother sent me these St. Vincent videos and ordered me to watch them immediately. My computer was misbehaving and wouldn’t load them. I couldn’t muster the strength to figure out the problem. Well this morning I finally got around to watching them. They only further my girl crush on Annie Clark. She’s amazing. Proof:
Sometimes you fail, and sometimes you FAIL. It was the latter for me at Sasquatch. Missing AA Bondy??? How could I. Granted, he was super early on the first day and we were in the middle of nowhere in a Washington state sanctioned liquor store picking up some very necessary Woodford Reserve. But excueses, excuses. When I saw him at SXSW 2008 I fell in love. And you don’t do that to your loved ones. FAIL Lindsey, FAIL. I’ll try to make up for it with this new album. Here’s a brand new track from said album. Love it and cherish it as you should.
I looooooove me some Fruit Bats. I feel like they’re not as well known as they should be. That Mouthfuls album was a doozy. Hopefully this album on the way will bring some justice. Here’s a preview:
This was the song that got me to their SXSW set. It’s a good one. And now it has a lovely video! Oh, and Here We Go Magic is Luke Temple’s band and he is fabulous. That’s all you need to know…
So this band comes to you from my mom. No joke. My mom is a cool indie hipster who turns me on to bands. Maybe not, but she did recommend this band to me. I was home for a wedding about a month ago and when my mom picked me up from the airport, she was listening to XMU. I told her I was impressed and she handed me a list of songs she had written down that she liked after hearing them on the radio. This list included Grizzly Bear, Doves, and Passion Pit (how’s that for a cool mom?). “Coast of Carolina” by Telekinesis was also on that list. I had heard their name before, but hadn’t checked out the music yet. I downloaded the album from eMusic once I was back home in LA. It’s really really good. Nice call mom. And it has this gem of a song tacked on the end. Almost seems like an afterthought as it sounds nothing like the rest of the album, clocks in at 2:12, and is the last song on the disc. But it’s soooooooo good. Really. Listen to it and you will fall in love.
Ok, I can only arrive at 3 possibly conclusions for why this video is the way it is (no pun intended):
a) Dave has gone completely crazy (if he hadn’t already)
b) This is the band saying a big f you to the label. I’m guessing this is their final album in the deal and my gut is telling me they’re going on hiatus after this album cycle. They made this CD as a tribute to LeRoi, and I’ve read that they say the band isn’t really the band without him. Only makes sense to go out with a bang, right?
c) This is just a messed up way of interpreting the lyrics. The song is supposed to show that you can have this up-tempo happy sounding tune when the lyrics are basically about how the world is messed up. So they make a video that’s all crazy and “funny” to do the same. I dont know though, b/c this one is just so overboard.
New Mute Math song!! Woo hoo!! Love this band so much. And I’m really hoping they get the recognition they deserve with this new album. We shall see come August 18th when Armistice is released. For now, you can listen to “The Nerve” here.
Pleeeeeeaaaaase listen to him! Pretty please with sugar on top!
xoxo,
Music Ramen
I mean, it’s Hov. You kind of have to. No more autotune! But isn’t it a teensy bit ironic that this is produced by Kanye? The man who just did a WHOLE ALBUM full of autotune? Hmmm… Anyhow, this is the first single off of Jay’s The Blueprint 3. Can’t wait.
“Get back to rap, you’re Tpain-ing too much”. My thoughts EXACTLY.
Gotta give thanks for the Hype Machine #1. Plus, I’m loving this song lately. The video? Eeeehhhh not so much. Kinda creeps me out how they look all doll-like and then their heads explode. Ah! Oh well, these guys are the golden boys of indie rock right now. They can do whatever the hell they want.
Ok, I think this is kind of stupid. Maybe it’s just the blogger curmudgeon in me. But we know that this was a Notorious B.I.G. song when you did it the first time Dan Black! If you’re not gonna stick with the cover, then just leave it alone and off the album. Don’t change all the words! Maybe I’ll come around, because I do love me some Dan Black, but right now I’m being grumpy on it.
I wrote about these guys in my Sasquatch recaps, but they deserve their own post. This album will most likely make my top 10 of the year. And I’ve had this song on repeat for the past week or so. It’s beyond beautiful. Ugh. Just listen…
You can download this song for free along with “Paper Cities” in exchange for an email address on their MySpace page.
And make sure you pick up the full album because it’s stunning:
Mash up Monday? Sounds good to me. This is my favorite song on the Grizzly Bear disc mashed up with a hip hop classic thanks to The Hood Internet. Lovely.
I awoke to the final day of the fest in my tent. Wait, in my tent? Yep… everyone dragged me in there after my power nap lost its steam and turned into a good night’s sleep. Only after kicking me multiple times to see if I was alive of course. My friends/brother care about me sooooo much! After a mandatory trip to RESTAURANT (madatory, yes.) we packed up our campsite and headed in to see our final shows.
Heartless Bastards, Loch Lomond - I know I saw a little bit of both of these, but maybe the whiskey was still hanging around b/c I can’t remember much about either. Sorry!
Other Lives - This was one I was sure to get to early. WOW. These guys were amazing. I saw them play at SXSW, but this was even better. Maybe the surroundings inspired great things. Maybe I hadn’t been paying as much attention in Austin. Whatever it was, this set ended up being in my top 3 of the weekend. Since the fest, I’ve been obsessed with the album. PLEASE go pick it up, you won’t regret it. My personal fave is “black tables”. If I was still dancing I would make a ballet to it. Uuuugggghhhhh love this.
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Um, what? This was weird. They had some video of this happy murder club playing behind them. And I’m sorry, but they were the dorkiest looking band. Music sounded decent, but we hightailed it out of there.
Grizzly Bear - Now, I’m not all crazy in love with these boys like all the hipsters. But of course I had to go watch them play the main stage with the beautiful scenery as a backdrop. I liked it! There are songs I really like (Cheerleader, Two Weeks) and songs that just don’t pop to me. Maybe I need to give them some more listens. But all in all it was nice.
Horse Feathers - Saw one song… realized I think I just like “Curs In The Weeds”. Sad times.
Santigold - Started her set with advice to performers: Never eat Burger King before a show. Good call. She hoped she wouldn’t vomit… she didn’t. And she rocked it like there was nothing wrong. She even did some songs from Top Ranking which instantly sent my brother and Elyse into a tizzy. The whoooooole Gorge was dancing. Just how I like it.
Gogol Bordello - Elyse MADE us watch a song. I decided they were like bad Decotchka or gypsy Flogging Molly. Yes? In other words, No.
Blitzen Trapper - Loved them at SXSW 2008, but they were a little to sleepy for me this time.
The Dutchess & The Duke - Everyone had been talking them up. I thought it was bad. Maybe I caught them on a wrong song.
Fleet Foxes - This is like Seattle’s mother ship. So of course everyone convened at the main stage to hear the pretty harmonies. This was one of the sets I was most looking forward to…. and perhaps I hyped it too much in my mind. Because I found myself a little let down. Not because they were bad. But because it was LOUD… had to be for the main stage, but not how I think they should sound. I want them quiet in the Orpheum. Also, we had a group in front of us who talked for the entire set. And not just casual conversation… full on food fight, climbing over each other craziness. Very distracting. Other than that, the boys sounded great.
Silversun Pickups - Stayed put at the main stage for what would be our final show of the weekend. The crowd thinned out… I think a lot of people went to Beach House? I guess SSPU really are an LA band, but I was surprised. They’re one of the biggest selling indie rock bands! Oh well. I didn’t care how many people were there. The new songs sound amazing live. They played “Lazy Eye” as the last song and Brian’s guitar cut out halfway through. It took them about 2 minutes of a repeated bass/drum line to fix it. Was still messed up when he came back in. But they pulled it off like the rockstars they are.
When the Pickups walked off the stage and the sun started to dip below the gorge rocks, my brother turned to me and said “I’m done. I’ve seen far too much good music and can’t possibly hear anymore.” Well said brother. We packed our sunburned selves into the hyb and headed back to Seattle. After a stop at a random mexican joint and my obligatory post-gorge nap (heeeeey!), we were back. Ready for our first showers of the weekend (I’m not waiting 3 hours for a shower only to get dirty 20 minutes later!) we washed off the weekend and fell into a deep sleep. The weekend was done, but will be remembered forever (Awwww!). I highly recommend this festival to anyone who likes good music, good surroundings, and good times in general Gorge, I will see you next year!
Woke up at 5 am Sunday and watched the sunrise Perfect start to the day. Took a little napski, made some PB&J (since the veg food inside the venue was almost non-existent. Can’t live on yakisoba and pizza forever!), lathered on the sunscreen over a pretty bad day 1 burn and was off to the shows!
Mad Rad - I had heard good things, so I wanted to get in right at noon to catch these guys. Wow. Glad I did. I walk up to them saying that they need the crowd to help with the next song. They say when we say “pay me” you say “bitches I have come here for my money.” AMAZING. The crowd was loving it. THEN one of the guys goes all monkey and climbs up the side of the stage to perform the final song from the roof with all of security chasing after him. These guys were rockstars.
The Walkmen - Only saw a song of theirs, but they sounded great. I think I remember there were horns? And that they sounded different than I remembered from recordings…
I think I was hanging around backstage for a while at this point b/c the next thing I saw was…
Fences - Felt bad for the guy, he had to stop in the middle of songs about 4 times b/c the sound was so messed up. He was not happy. It was a little sleepy for my liking after eating lunch and baking in the 85 degree sun, but I’m thinking it would be lovely in a seated air conditioned venue
St. Vincent - Can I marry her? This was one of my favorite sets of the whole festival. She is so adorable and seeing the live show made me love the new album even more. I’m going to see her tonight at the El Rey (woo hoo!) and if you haven’t seen her yet, I strongly suggest you do so when she comes through your town.
Aziz Ansari - Ok, not music. But I LOVE him. Hilarious set. He made fun of people in Ed Hardy shirts and I really hoped someone in the audience was wearing one.
The Submarines - They sounded so lovely. And just as the day was starting to cool off. It was a nice transition to evening and you could tell they were having a blast being there.
TV On The Radio - I didn’t get to watch much, but what I did see was spot on. These guys rocked the main stage and sounded amazing.
Of Montreal - Walked behind their stage en route to the dance tent and saw people in footie pajamas preparing to go on stage. I can only imagine the craziness.
Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head - This was ridiculous. I’ve seen them several times now. The best of which was when they opened for CSS at the Echoplex. The SXSW shows were a little disappointing. I knew this show would be different because it was a hometown crowd, at night, and in the dance tent. It was CRAZINESS. Silly string. The entire tent dancing their asses off (I may have joined a dance circle at one point). Whiskey in a flask did not hurt the situation (by the way, did I mention that this festival had the most lax security I’ve ever seen? Saturday I walked into the fest without them checking my ticket). Awesome way to end the evening (skipped NIN and Jane’s Addiction - heeeeeeey!).
Then it was time to go back to the campground. This was the one night I decided to party. So I drank whiskey for 30 minutes, played DJ to the campground (taking requests from the passenger seat of the hyb and spinning SSPU, Warren G, Passion Pit, and Prince among others… hell of a mix), had a dance party by myself in the spot next to us, then decided to take a power nap in my sleeping bag OUTSIDE the tent. I’ll tell you how that ended tomorrow…
The plan was to get there at noon. The plan did not happen. We got there at 2. I missed AA Bondy and almost cried, but we quickly moved on…
Doves - Caught only one or 2 songs. It sounded pretty good. My brother said they were much better at the Sasquatch kick off party in Seattle. Such is life.
Passion Pit - Ok, so you may remember that I put them in my top 5 from SXSW, but was a little disappointed in their live show. Yeah, I should have gone with that feeling. I just can’t get on board with the guy’s voice live. Love the songs, love the album, don’t love the live show. I’m sorry.
Dent May - Saw half a song and my brother said it sounded too happy and made us leave. I thought he sounded lovely
M Ward - This one surprised me. I’m not a huge M Ward fan, but his live show convinced me. He played the main stage and sounded amazing. Definitely going back to give his albums some further listens.
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - The drummer is 14. THE DRUMMER IS FOURTEEN. Are you kidding me? Apparently he’s the adopted son of someone in the band. Or so I hear. He is frickin good. And so is the band as a whole. Definitely made me a fan.
Devotchka - Dragged my brother kicking and screaming to this one. He likes them a little better now but still can’t get behind them. I loved it.
Animal Collective - I like “For My Girls” but I still don’t get the rest. The one dude looked like the coach in The Waterboy. Just don’t get it. Sorry folks.
Ra Ra Riot - They were so great! My friend Elyse said they were one of her favorites of the day.
Mos Def - Thought I would be a fan, but really wasn’t. Nice masquerade mask though.
Bon Iver - Probably the set I was most looking forward to of the festival. It did not disappoint. This was when the weekend started to feel like summer camp - with everyone singing along together. One of the highlights of my weekend.
Crystal Castles - Skipped the headliners (YYYs and Kings of Leon - I don’t hate either of them, but just don’t love either of them) to go see Crystal Castles. There are parts of the CD that are unlistenable to me so I was a little skeptical going in. Boooooy was I converted. I was dancing up a storm and loving every minute. This was good beep music. Even though Elyse would disagree. But the picture above does not lie!
I then proceeded to go pass out in my tent while everyone partied around me. Yes, lame. But Sunday was a different story. More on that tomorrow…
This past weekend I attended the Sasquatch Music Festival in George, WA. It’s at The Gorge amphitheater about 2 hours outside of Seattle. My brother lives up there and works with the people who put on the festival, so I headed up to catch some good bands. I’m gonna do recaps for the next 3 days. Sadly they won’t have any pictures (other than the few small ones from my iPhone before it died) because I realized my camera’s battery was dead when we pulled up to the campground. Awesome. But hopefully they will help expose you to some new music or urge you to go see a band live. First one coming up tomorrow! Hope you all had a great holiday weekend
This may be a nice summer jam for ya. From a Michigander Southfield to be exact. And a Michigander that Kanye has been blogging about. Download his EP for free on iTunes.
A new band for you guys! From the UK! Yay! I really like them. They have some solid songs - check out the MySpace. And this specific song is included on an upcoming Kistune compilation. Never hurts. Especially when you’re alongside Phoenix, We Have Band, and The Golden Filter. It’s available pre-release on eMusic (love that site). They’re also playing a TON of festivals this summer, also on the MySpace. Sadly, they’re all overseas. I’ll make it over there one day, I swear. My ultimate goal is to live and work in the music industry in London at some point. Too boring to stay in LA forever! For now I’ll just have to settle for listening to some UK tunes…
Full disclosure: I have not listened to this album as much as I should. I think it’s gotten one spin. That happens sometimes. But I need to remedy that. As I like everything I hear from Little Joy. What I do not like, however, is the bar they get their name from. I ventured into it to use the bathroom a couple weeks ago while waiting in line for Short Stop, and it smelled a lot like vomit. Love exploring the new hood, but not when it smells like puke. Anyhow, I wrote about Little Joy back in the day, aka October. So clearly I’ve had time to listen. Man, gotta get on that one. Here’s the latest video:
I read a review that compared K’naan to M.I.A. I was on board before, but that really made me get it even more. I don’t know that he’s gonna appeal to the hipsters as much. And I can’t vouch for his live show yet. But he’s making great music and this specific track is inspired by Africa. T.I.A. = This is Africa. Itching to catch a show from this guy…
This album is definitely going to make my Top 10 albums of 2009. Mark my words. And I wouldn’t have predicted it. I had really only casually liked Phoenix. But this album changes the game. Here’s a new video:
I highly recommend listening to this disc to start your day. Makes it a good one
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is out May 25th. Or on iTunes now:
Lindsey Cook is Music Ramen. She lives in LA and works in the music industry. You can find her on the various social networks including Facebook and Myspace. Make sure you sign up for the mailing list to receive emails from Lindsey every weekend.
(Just kidding Scavo! Don’t lay me off! K thanks!) But really, this song is great. And with all the funemployed ones out there, I expect it to become somewhat of a summer anthem. My friend Josh, who has much better music taste than I (is that even possible? I kid…), introduced me to this song’s amaaaaaazing remix by Dam Funk. So listen to that one too on the 
Lindsey Cook is Music Ramen. She lives in LA and works in the music industry. You can find her on the various social networks including Facebook and Myspace. Make sure you sign up for the mailing list to receive emails from Lindsey every weekend.
