One of my favorite 2011 trends is that indie-folk bands are becoming more melodic. With full respect to our bearded buddies, I lamented that there were so many people with “long beards and no hooks”. Hooks are good, and I’m all for talented artists reaching more people. Rhode Island’s Deer-Tick are the latest example. Two listens to “Miss K”, and I was hooked.
Kudos to the B3Sci dudes for leading the blogosphere on The Raveonettes’ “Oh, Stranger”. It’s killer and if it weren’t already posted here, I’d have a tough call for this week’s Fave. Contributed by Bruce Rave
#TEAMLANA. Here’s a something we hadn’t heard yet from Lana Del Rey. We did some research and came up empty with any sort of attachment of this song to her Lizzy Grant persona. Everything Lizzy Grant has been wiped from the record. Gone. However, judging from the “hi-fi” production values and Lana’s singing style on the track we’re guessing this track dates a little a bit. The track’s vid does look like a post-enhancement Lana though. #lipinspection. That aside, it’s still a nice track from Ms. Del Rey Grant.
Works of great critical acclaim often suffer from a backlash against their popularity, not through any fault of the creative enterprise but rather the whims and caprices of the general public. For example, we’ve become sick of hearing that The Beatles released five of arguably the top ten albums of all time (Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s, White Album, Abbey Road), or that Dylan released three of the top twenty over a period of less than eighteen months (Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde). Especially with the proliferation of information, hearsay via the opinions of others provides a sustainable mode of expression. Why restate the opinion of 1,000 others to change an adjective or preposition?
Lovers of “alternative rock music” are understandably sick of hearing about In the Aeroplane over the Sea, which has been lauded unconditionally for as long as there’s been rock journalism on the internet. We’ve grown to take the combo of feedback and irony for granted, but Jeff Magnum is one of the best exporters of the style, on full display during all 39 minutes of his 1998 magnum opus. Become best friends with that tortured writer across the hall if you live in Boston and they have tickets to Magnum’s concert at Jordan Hall on Sept. 10th. Tracks 1-4 of In the Aeroplane are sublime, but the rest of the album is the glue which gives the LP its infinite replay value. Contributed by Christopher Gedos – Chris performs tonight @ The Comedy Store in Hollywood, CA. 7pm.
Neutral Milk Hotel – Holland, 1945Neutral Milk Hotel – The Two Headed Boy Pt. 2Neutral Milk Hotel – Untitled
Here’s our latest Virgin Mobile Live broadcast because we’ve been straight drooling to recap the week’s choice tunes. Tracklist is after the jump. GET INTO IT!
Listen to B3SCI Radio on VML Fridays @ 3pm eastern HERE!
Hey fam! Here’s a look at our latest Virgin Mobile Live broadcast featuring an interview with Australia’s hottest exports – DAMNDOGS. The band share thoughts with us about their iconic history, their forthcoming debut LP, the importance of music with attitude, Rock ‘n Roll legacies and more. So make like you do and give us a spin! Tracklist is after the jump. GET INTO IT!
Listen to B3SCI Radio on VML Fridays @ 3pm eastern HERE!
Alex Clare’s “Up All Night” is one of our fav songs thusfar of 2011. Here dub heavyweight Skream takes “Up All Night” to the coldest most remote reaches of the ice age; the darkest, furthest throws of deep space (basically somewhere really cold dark and remote lol). Listen.
Check out this video from MTV’s 120 Minutes of lo-fi prodigy Dean Wareham and his band Luna playing “California (All The Way)” from the 1994 album, Bewitched. The show, which ran from 1986 until 2000 on MTV and until 2003 on MTV2, has been recently revived with Matt Pinfield as its host. Indie’s current preponderance on late night TV is nothing short of phenomenal given its marginal status even ten years ago. We simply wouldn’t have Fleet Foxes playing SNL if it weren’t for Dean Wareham fighting the good fight 20 years ago. Luna never really escaped from the shadow of Galaxie 500, Wareham’s previous band, but “California (All The Way)” is one of the sweetest songs in all of nerd rock. “And now I realize I’m livin’ like a trucker does, although I haven’t got the belly” = pure brilliance. Now let’s get James Franco to act, write and direct the biopic! Contributed by Christopher Gedos
This week Troy kicked it at Feliz Hts in LA for a set featuring our choice picks from Virgin Mobile FreeFest acts performing live next weekend, September 10 in Columbia, Maryland. VM25ers will be there in full force… stay tuned. Tracklist is after the jump. GET INTO IT!
Here’s the second track to surface from the Dum Dum Girls’ Only In Dreams, and so far so good. Producer Richard Gottehrer worked with people like Blondie and The Go-Gos, and this track will take you back to some of the finer 80’s tunes. After a promising EP earlier this year, this album drops September 26. It was produced by Richard and Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes.
What’s up fam?! We’re just jamming to this week’s mix and wanted to give you the chance too! We’ve been hosting a weekly 30 minute new music slot on Virgin Mobile Live, spinning our favorite records of the week plus tracks past and breaking… special guests, interviews and performances aren’t strangers either. This week we had Bruce Rave in the studio and dropped some seriously fresh stuff! Tracklist is after the jump. GET INTO IT!
Awwww shit, our man X got pinched again. As he went “ride or die” a bit too hard in Arizona last night. Homey was clocked at 102 mph! X, we are rooting for you, bro! You gotta 86 this shit! We know you can still make hard-ass records. We still wouldn’t fuck with you, dude! Less jail time, more “X Gonna Give It to Ya Pt. 2”, capeesh?
“2 Roadrunners” comes from Fruit Bats frontman Eric D. Johnson’s recent work on the Our Idiot Brother soundtrack. The folk-inspired good nature of the track suits the film’s free spirit vibe as well as its recurring Willie Nelson theme. Check it out:
(Official) (Myspace)
