L.E.S. Artistes – Santigold

By James • January 19, 2010 • 1 Comment

Santigold - Santigold - L.E.S. Artistes

I might be late to the party, but I just recently heard L.E.S. Artistes by Santigold on Pandora.  It sounded very familiar, so I’m not sure if I’d heard it somewhere else.  Anyway, I love the way her voice mixes with those little electronic Oh, Ooh’s.  Very cool song.  I’m going with New Wave, Electronic and Indie Pop on this one.  If you’re listening to it now, while reading this, stop.  Do yourself a favor and watch the video.

At first, it didn’t really grab me but just keep watching.  It gets really interesting at about 1:15 in.  People start getting killed, ripped apart and shot using some really fun special effects.  While some are a bit silly or childish, I found them all very effective, mostly due to the reactions of the actors.  The video was directed by Nima Nourizadeh and according to Wikipedia, was an homage to the film The Holy Mountain.  That movie looks freakin crazy.

Hope you enjoy a little Santigold, if you haven’t been already.  I’ll be checking out her other work and get back to you.

Categories: Electronic, Indie Pop, New Wave
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Buildings and Mountains – The Republic Tigers

By James • January 14, 2010 • No Comments


The Republic Tigers – Buildings & Mountains

the Republic Tigers | MySpace Music Videos

The Republic Tigers - Keep Color - Buildings & Mountains

I heard a portion of this song in between sections of a podcast three or four months ago and then forgot all about it.  I remember thinking it would be perfect for a Music Blur post.  Well here it is, finally…

The band is The Republic Tigers and their debut album Keep Color was released in May 2008.  I hadn’t heard of them before despite the fact they have been featured on several TV shows.  I guess that’s what happens when you don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy or Gossip Girl.  Sick.

The Republic Tigers and their album Keep Color are great and I recommend them highly.  Buildings and Mountains is certainly my favorite right now, but you know how that goes.  I’m not too sure how to classify it.  You might want to help me out with that.  It’s kind of a mix of folk, electronic, and new wave while still staying pretty chill.  I love the falsetto AhhhAhhhh’s throughout the song.  They have a very calming feel to them.

Sarah made an observation when I played Buildings and Mountains for her and I just had to share it here.  She said, “I think a big part of a song’s strength comes from it’s “montageability”.  You know, how well you could make a montage out of it.  This would be a great montage song.”  I guess that’s kind of true, but I know I’ve heard some crap montage songs too.  I’m looking at you Walking on Sunshine.

Categories: Chill, Electronic, Folk, New Wave
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Shadow of Ourselves – Thievery Corporation

By Sarah • September 30, 2009 • 1 Comment

ACL 2009

Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy - Shadows of Ourselves

So begins the countdown to Austin City Limits (ACL).  Although I will not be in attendance on Friday, Thievery Corporation will be, and you should check them out.  The word on the street is they will also be playing an after-ACL show at Stubb’s on Saturday.

“Lebanese Blonde” was the first song I heard from Thievery Corporation.  You may have heard it too if you’ve ever listened to the Garden State soundtrack.  One of the better soundtracks I’ve heard in a while, as well as a great movie!  My second introduction the Thievery Corporation was “Shadow of Ourselves.”

Categories: Electronic, Psychedelic
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Who? – The Brian Jonestown Massacre

By James • September 25, 2009 • No Comments

I told you I wasn’t done with the BJM, and I won’t be done after this post either.  They have so much amazing, untouched material.  I had many Brian Jonestown Massacre songs that I wanted to share, but Who? really stands out.  It just sounds like it should be mainstream.  I mean, why didn’t this get huge in 1996 when they released their album Take It From The Man?  Shouldn’t The Brian Jonestown Massacre be a common household name by now?  No, why?  I know the answer, but I’m not telling.

I’m not telling because I still want you to watch the documentary DiG!.  It pretty much lays out why the BJM isn’t as popular as they deserve to be.  If you are interested in a short look into the mind of Anton Newcombe (BJM leader) then you could take a look at this, or if you are particularly daring, this.  Yes, he is more than a little bit crazy.

I could only find a live video for this one, but I think it works pretty well.  The Brian Jonestown Massacre sound is very much a 60s/70s vibe and the video looks like it was made in that time frame as well.  It was actually made in 2008.  Weird, huh.

Categories: Psychedelic, The 90s
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My Body’s a Zombie for You – Dead Man’s Bones

By Michael • September 22, 2009 • 2 Comments

Hi.

Let’s just take a moment to reflect on why this song would be awesome, even if the music itself sucks (psst, it doesn’t suck!). This is a band called “Dead Man’s Bones”. They sing a song called “My Body’s a Zombie for You”. If that’s not reason enough to stop down and give them your brains a listen, I don’t know what is.

But, wait! There’s more!

What if I told you that this song featured, quite heavily I might add, the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir? And, what if I told you that this song also had a playgroundish-type chant near the end of “I’m a Z-O-M-B-I-E, zombie!”? Ladies and gentlemen, Halloween has arrived early this year. Actually, this album isn’t out until October 6th, but, that’s still over 3 weeks earlier than Halloween proper.

I discovered this song via NPR’s most excellent All Songs Considered podcast, on their Fall Music Preview episode. I’ve mentioned before that I love when songs have choral voices in them, and this song is no exception. And this little gem from an NPR Song of the Day entry, “Neither [of the two main members of the group] really knew how to play their instruments before they began playing, and each made it a point to record songs in as few takes as possible, mistakes and all.”, makes it pretty impressive that they churned out such a winning song.

All of the above simply means that I will be getting my hands on their album one way or another come October.

Categories: Indie Rock, Zombie Pop
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+/- (Plus/Minus) – No One Sees You Like I Do

By James • September 20, 2009 • 2 Comments

+/- {Plus/Minus} - You Are Here - No One Sees You Like I Do

Yes that’s right, +/- is their official name.  I’m sure there is a story there, but I can’t seem to find it.  From what I’ve heard, they seem pretty cool.  I’m always up for a little electronic indie pop business and they deliver in spades.  Their song No One Sees You Like I Do reminds me very much of the band Home Video.  I did a post on their song Sleep Sweet a while back that you might remember.

I don’t want to dwell on the video too much here, mainly because I’m finding that lots of the original videos we provide end up being taken off of YouTube.  So someone reading this post somewhere down the line might not get their money’s worth.  That being said, the video is pretty awesome.  It fits perfectly with the music and portrays the emotions that the song is getting at.  A little creepy, but very well done.

If you can get past the fact that the band uses symbols for it’s name, then I think there is much like about +/-.  But don’t take my word for it…  Da Na Da  (Reading Rainbow Outro)

Categories: Electronic, Indie Pop
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