Free Music Fridays...#3

+I've made a bit of a change to these Free Music Fridays worth pointing out: The link next to DWNLD is no longer a download link, (assuming you could all decode DWNLD to mean "download").  Instead, I embedded the download link into the word DWNLD, so clicking on the word will lead you to the link to grab your free song.  Now the URL to the right of that is a link to the artist's website/band page if anyone has the immediate desire to learn more about the band.

1. "Chasing My Mind" Holograms
With a bit of revved up 90s arcade-like techno thrown into the mix, this song steers back to the nostalgic days of Nintendo when punk rock was fast, messy and unbearably raw.

DWNLD | http://capturedtracks.com/artists/holograms/

2. "Flesh Dance" Gothic Tropic
Vibrant little piece of psych-pop with perfect impromptu-sounding guitars and smooth bass line.  The words take a bit a backseat here and allow everything to mesh together perfectly- not a single piece commanding the other.
DWNLD | http://gothictropic.bandcamp.com/

3. "If You Want It" TV Girl
Fresh and delightfully cheery song about the harmonizing "upsides" of one-night stands.  Sleigh bells always make things more pleasant.  

DWNLD | http://tvgirl.bandcamp.com/

4. "Henrietta" Yeasayer
A vibrant, swirling mix of fanning strings, beats and bops with a T.Pain auto-tune tossed in at the end to break it down.  This time, it actually sounds good.

DWNLD | http://www.myspace.com/yeasayer

Hear This...Stream Gothic Tropic's Awesome Problems EP

      
"They have the summer songs that blow 'Pumped Up Kicks' out of the California Pacific..." [Straight from their own bio page]  I'm not totally sure who or what designates a song to be a summer song, though it has always been the whistling in 'Pumped Up Kicks' that did it for me. 

      But this Cali trio goes way beyond whistling. Sure they don’t stand a chance overtaking Foster The People with the catchiest song ever written because frankly no one does, not even Lady Gaga. 

      Gothic Tropic took the handbook on “How to Make a Catchy Song Remain No. 1 on iTunes All Summer” and threw it out the window.  They take the atypical and often overused jangly guitar sound and add some zing to it. In their songs “Monkey Bars” and “Kill Lloyd Opus,” they throw in the occasional bongos, maracas, hand claps and distorted guitar riffs wherever they deem necessary. It’s an almost organic approach to music where a little Do-It-Yourself and impromptu touch ups are welcomed and encouraged. The end result actually sounds quite organized. Whether or not they blow out “Pumped Up Kicks” is debatable but no doubt, if I had the suitable conditions I would certainly add Gothic Tropic to my “Late Night Summer Barbecue on the Beach” playlist.

+ Gothic Tropic is offering a free download of the last song on the EP "Flesh Dance."  It will be added as a part of Free Music Fridays which I will post tomorrow.  [LINK]

Useless Clatter...2012 Album Releases [June]

Here's a general list of the albums I am most excited to hear when they release in June.  Its a good mix of new bands with debuts (Friends, solo Glen Hansard) as well as some veteran rockers breaking a sleepy hiatus (Smashing Pumpkins, Neil Young + Crazy Horse).  I even threw DMX up on the list too for some good fun, despite the fact that his music is still angry as hell.  It's all fun and anyways even without DMX,  June looks to be a terrific month for music.

June 5
Crocodiles – Endless Flowers

Friends – Manifest!

Hear This...Stream Foxygen's New EP "Take The Kids Off Broadway"

      From the same label that brought you the San Fran rock band Girls, Jagjaguwar Records moves across the country to grab a group of up and coming rockers hailing from the Empire State.  They call themselves Foxygen and these guys have generously decided to stream their second EP "Take The Kids Off Broadway" for free via their Bandcamp site.

      Describing Foxygen is no small task.  It took me a while.  Sure they're indie rock, but to pinpoint that sound is something else.  I hear something like a mix of MGMT psychedlia fused with the loose, jangly texture of The Strokes. A little Mick Jagger doesn't fail to show up either, especially on "Waitin' 4 You."

Here's the full track list-

1. Abandon My Toys  6:04

2. Make It Known  4:51

3. Take The Kids Off Broadway  3:14

4. Waitin' 4 You  4:07

5. Teenage Alien Blues  10:05

6. Why Did I Get Married  4:03 

7. Middle School Dance Song (For Richard Swift)  3:58

Hear This...Free Stream of New Craft Spells-Gallery EP

+Unfortunately, the free stream of their Gallery EP has ended, but Craft Spells is still offering up their new song "Leave My Shadow" for a free download!


Here's a full free stream of the new EP from indie-pop rockers Craft Spells. Enjoy!

Audiovisuals...Father John Misty- "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings"

      From what I've gathered, I would say that you can pretty much classify music videos into three categories-

1. Videos that consist of random shots of the artist/band preforming the song interlaced with more random shots of the artist [or in the case of a band, the lead singer] walking around aimlessly in an attempt to make some story. [ex.] [worse example]

2. Videos that take on a narrative form, in which the sequence of shots makes up a short story, almost like a short film. This video eliminates the useless shots of the artist/band preforming/singing the song [ex.] [ex.]

3. Other- The very general fall back category for the videos that do neither of the first two categories. [ex.]

     This particular video for the recent single of Father John Misty, the now former drummer of the Fleet Foxes, probably falls across my second and third categories.  

     "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" is the title and like the recent movies, Martha Marcy May Marlene and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the title pulls together four words that could easily be rearranged and no one would even figure.  'Hollywood Cemetery Forever Sings' would make more sense to me, but whatever.

     And that is exactly what this video feels like.  Seriously, it has more settings than many full length movies.  There's the road, the hipster funeral, the hipster party, and the forest, which then turns into a some sort of dreamy nightmarish sequence of the girl fighting some mysterious woman and everything's painted red. And then she wakes up back on the road where it all started.

     Like the lyrics, the video follows a young girl mourning the death of her grandfather.  But the video looks too complex to be just that.  Also, it seems too perfect that the girl of the video is played by the same actress who plays April Ludgate, the emo girl from Parks & Recreation (Aubrey Plaza).

     While I really love the song, I am not sure I can say the same about the video.  Without a doubt, its one of the best directed videos I've seen in a while.  But at the same time, its one of those hipster projects that maybe I'm not hipster enough to instantly embrace as masterful art.  I will say though I enjoy watching it and its definitely worth a click.  After watching the video a handful of times, on every view, something new managed to slip its way into the video that I had not seen before.  Its like the Black Swan of music videos.  (48 Hidden Images in Black Swan)

+ If you like "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings," a couple other Father John Misty songs are up on Grooveshark- and if you're a fan of the Fleet Foxes than his stuff should suit you too | tny.gs/GY59hj |

Hear This..."Myth" by Beach House

      Since their third album, Teen Dream, from 2010, Baltimore duo Beach House have remained relatively quiet.  When the music site Consequence of Sound released news of an upcoming album from them in February, the post was mysteriously deleted.  Thankfully, the news has officially resurfaced and confirmed as truth.  Beach House does in fact have a new album in the works titled Bloom and its set to be released May 7th.  With that comes the release of the album's first single, "Myth."

      While never really indulging too far into the likes of dreamy, transcendent pop music, I've taken a liking to Beach House.  Ever since hearing their song in the trailer for that weird looking film, The Future, I have since considered myself a fan.

      The new song is mot much of a change from the band's trademark sound, but that's no bit of criticism on my part.  "Myth" is an especially cool track.  Its constant synth back-beat mixed with Victoria Legrand's voice gives the song a peaceful tone.  For a few seconds at the refrain when the guitar kicks in with one simple strut, everything becomes amplified and doubly intense, serene, mesmerizing-however you want to call it.  The song can really hypnotize you if you are not careful.

      In short and to take from its lyrics, "Myth" is a"momentary bliss" of sound and with it, we can expect more good things from these two come May 7th.   

      

Useless Clatter...[Hear This] Brian Jonestown Massacre Announce New Album + Latest Single "Blue Order New Monday"

      I wouldn't be going out on a limb in saying that The Brian Jonestown Massacre could be the most diverse band out there right now.  But whether that's because of the numerous genres they've tapped into throughout the years or just due to the immense line up changes that have come their way, The Brian Jonestown Massacre are truly in a class of their own.  Those of you who've seen DiG! know what I'm talking about. But to base the band's reputation solely on the hot headed temper of band leader Anton Newcombe is a bit one sided.  Maybe he is a little wacky, but the stuff he and his band-mates put together in the studio completely makes up for it.

      On that note, I am thrilled to report the news of a new BJM album to be released May 7th called Aufheben.  As of late, Anton's made his home in Berlin so its not completely bizarre to see the German word appears as the album's title.  And thanks to the possibilities of web translation, I've tracked down the meaning of the word which now leads to an assortment of interpretations on why he chose that word.  Aufheben (pronounced auf+he•ben) is a verb lending itself to a variety of actions- 'to pick up, to abolish, to lift, to reverse, to capture to preserve' to name a few.  Anton could have had any number of these in mind when choosing the word and unfortunately I don't think we'll ever  know what he truly intended.  But that's alright because the greater concern, as it always is with a new BJM album, is what the stuff will sound like.  Thankfully we won't have to wait until May because with this news came the release of the first single from Aufheben titled "Blue Order/New Monday." 

Useless Clatter...Best Coast Unveils Artwork For Upcoming Album

      Bethany Cosentino takes everything us non-Californians crave during these cold winter months and shoves it in our faces.  You and I both know we would too if we lived in sunshine all year round.  But we don't.    We see snow.  Seriously, I feel like the only time I ever see those "Visit California" commercials on TV is during the dead of winter.  Sometimes they really are tough to watch. And I have to admit when Best Coast shuffles its way into my ear-buds during these cold months I have to press next because I know that when I walk out the door I won't be wearing sandals, holding a surfboard on my way to the beach.

      But despite the envy and seasonal ignoring I embark on every winter with Best Coast, that can all end soon enough.  And I really shouldn't be complaining because this has been one of the warmest winters on record but, nonetheless when I wake up, I'm not in California.  And its perfect timing for Bethany and company to release the some news about their forthcoming sophomore album titled "The Only Place" [I wonder what that's a reference too...]  The album comes out May 14th and recently Bethany has been so kind as to release the album's and art work.

Hear This...Beach Fossils- "Shallow" | "Lessons"

      "Lo-fi" rock always seems at risk of steering into certain criticism.  I used to think that lo-fi  and garage bands sounded the way they did  because they could't find an adequate singer.  To hide this, they go ahead and scratch out the vocals.  In no way is that true, but its something I've always thought of. What's the point of distorting the vocals like that? I'm not going to criticize Sealings here but a song like "Rails Means Rails" kind of led me to that assumption early on.  But when I try to imagine "Rails Means Rails" without the scratchy, lo-fi voice blaring into the microphone, it just doesn't sound right.

      But I've taken a new stance on the idea of lo-fi though the more and more I acquaint myself with it.  This band, Beach Fossils, have steered me the right way.  "Shallow" and "Lessons" are the band's latest release since their What A Pleasure EP came out last May.  Commonly associated with lo-fi is the term "fuzzy" , there's actually nothing really "fuzzy" about these songs.  Both songs achieve a very clean sound in which every guitar stroke and drum tap are heard individually, all coming together in a very ornate manner.  "Lessons" and "Shallow" both possess some of the smoothest and uncomplicated guitar solos I've ever heard, and it works immensely with the mesmerizing sound of lead singer, Dustin Payseur's voice.  They do not try to do anything too fancy, [I could probably score these songs in Rockband pretty easy], but that's the beauty of their sound.  Beach Fossils don't strive for any sort of technical rock n' roll mastery and as a result, they standout in the midst of a vague and poorly defined genre such as "lo-fi."

Hear This...Jack White's First Solo Single "Love Interruption"

      Jack White may have founded more rock bands than the entire state of North Dakota has ever turned out.  He quickly achieved worldwide success with his brother-sister duo, TheWhite Stripes, in the late 90s and at the peak of their popularity, White decided to start two more groups, The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs.  And before the recent breakup of The White Stripes, he was juggling all three bands at once.

      To say that Jack White started a fourth band would not be a surprise to anybody, but actually, his latest project has him going solo.  White’s first solo album, Blunderbuss, is to be released on April 24 of this year and in preparation he released his first single “Love Interruption.”

     White, who made himself famous through the distinct, stripped down rock ‘n roll style of The White Stripes, is taking a different approach with his new stuff.  “Love Interruption” sounds much different than the fast-paced, symbol crashing noise of The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs.  It’s a pretty placid sounding song, but because it’s Jack White, he finds a way to ask love to “roll me over slowly, stick a knife inside me and twist it all around.”

Hear This...Porcelain Raft's "Strange Weekend" LP

Listen to the new Porcelain Raft LP "Strange Weekend"  before its release on January 24th.


+ Streaming availability courtesy of The Hype Machine

Hear This... David Lynch Remixes Zola Jesus' "In Your Nature"

This is a post I wrote for my music blog, TUNEclatter, and aside from it being a song, I fgured it carried some film relevance worth reposting.

       To give comparison, Zola Jesus sounds a tad similar to Britain's ever dominant Adele.  They both have generally deep voices and have the ability to belt it out in their songs, screaming with the perfect pitch.  Adele maybe arguably the most popular female vocalist out right now, but Zola Jesus might not be too far behind.  Her song “In Your Nature” sounds like an avant Florence + the Machine track, only sung by Adele, not to say that Zola is just a copy of these two because she’s not. 

      More importantly, a remixed version has recently been created by legendary auteur David Lynch.  One of my favorite filmmakers, David Lynch is a true artist and one of the best of our time.  Mostly recognized as the creator of such cult favorites like Erasherhead, Blue Velvet and the hit show Twin Peaks, David Lynch has also established himself as a painter, musician and even furniture designer.

      His remix of Zola Jesus’ song “In Your Nature” is really something.  I’m almost never a fan of remixes, but in this case I find myself preferring the remix over the original.  It was a close call but I got to hand it to David Lynch for creating this.  It’s not the kind of remix that is sped up and with a faster bass pedal where the chorus is just repeated 10 times or something.  This remix is nothing of that sort; Lynch actually slows the song down.  What really works for this song and gives it its success is the minimalist approach Lynch took while working with the song.  Combined with those Florence and Adele elements, Lynch’s small touch gives the song a mystical sort of dreamy feel to it.  I could see it as a perfect ending to one of his surrealist films from back in the 80s.  Like if Blue Velvet had some sort of warm, reassuring ending

Useless Clatter...2012 Album Releases (Jan-Mar)

      What many people look forward to in the New Year is the idea of a fresh start.  The physical act of swapping last year’s calendar, covered in ink and scribble marks of varying importance in exchange for a brand new, never been touched replacement can be both reassuring and gratifying.  Resolutions are made and become one’s priority for the next couple weeks (or days...) in an effort to begin the new year on the right foot.  Regardless, the new year always comes forth with its fair share of optimism. 

      For me, the joy of a new year comes in the form of music.  New artists will be found, making their mark on 2012, as well as albums from old time favorites discovered in years before.  I was in sixth grade when I was first introduced to the idea that the only two things certain in life are death and taxes.  Be that as it may, I have compiled below a list of albums whose release dates have been certified by various sources around the web.  The albums below are those that I am most looking forward to in the first three months of the new year- albums from bands that already make up my IPod. 

Of course, recommendations of similar artists not found on this list are always appreciated as the whole point of this blog is discovering music.

+ Updates, singles and other album previews will surely follow