Though I’m not too crazy about British Sea Power’s 2008 release Do You Like Rock Music?, the album’s first single “Waving Flags” is by far the album’s best track and an early contender for best single of 2008. Although Do You Like Rock Music? has a few gems, too many of the songs on the album are just too generic indie rock sounding for my tastes. But check out “Waving Flags” if you’re into any grandiose, Arcade Fire sounding stuff. Enjoy!
Just wanted to remind you guys that the Plug Independent Music Awards are tonight at 8 pm EST. The awards will be hosted by Patton Oswalt and include performances by nominees St. Vincent, Dizzee Rascal, José Gonzalez, and The Forms DiVinci. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is headlining. I was actually supposed to attend the awards, which is being hosted at Terminal 5 in New York City, but had a last minute change of plans. Even though tickets are sold out, you can catch the whole event on a webcast HERE.
The Plug Awards were founded to highlight outstanding accomplishments within the independent music community, and if I’m not mistaken, you still have a little time to vote for various categories via Plug’s website. Michael Showalter, who is one of my biggest idols, also did three really funny promo videos for the Plug Awards which you can see below (click “continue reading” to see last two)
Here are a few songs that are on albums that have been nominated as Best of 2007:
My Predictions:
Album of The Year: Radiohead – In Rainbows
New Artist of The Year: Justice
Female Arist of the Year: Emily Haines (have to admit I’m not sure)
Male Artist of the Year: Andrew Bird
Indie Album of the Year: Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
Song of the Year: Justice -D.A.N.C.E. (though if up to me, The National – Fake Empire)
Live Act: Of Montreal
Music Video: Justice: D.A.N.C.E.
Record Label of the Year: Sub Pop
Music Website of the Year: This is close. Between Pitchfork, Daytrotter, and Hype Machine. I’m going with Hype Machine.
Music Blog of the Year: Brooklyn Vegan
Online Radio Station: Either KEXP or KCRW. I’m going with KEXP.
What do you think about my predictions? Make your own in the comments!
[vimeo 685295]
I am a huge fan of the New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement are geniuses and bring to the table a refreshing creativity that makes life much more fascinating. As absurd as it may sound, their music makes it much easier to understand the world we live in, and if everyone took the time to listen to this album, the world would be a better place. People just need to be able to poke fun at themselves!
While I do enjoy the HBO show, I much prefer their stand up, as I believe, for the most part, their songs work best when the listener can visualize their lyrics in their head. The next best thing to stand-up video is stand-up audio, and on April 22, Sub Pop will be releasing a full-length Flight of the Conchords self-titled album for your listening pleasure. Our friend at Jonk Music put together a great post that shows the track-listing for the new album, plus links to each song as seen in the show.
Thanks to Jonk Music, here is the track-listing plus video links. Go to his site to see all the video links:
Flight of the Conchords‘ track listing is:
1. Foux du Fafa
2. Inner City Pressure
3. Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros
4. Think About It
5. Ladies of the World
6. Mutha’uckas
7. The Prince of Parties
8. Leggy Blonde
9. Robots
10. Boom
11. A Kiss is Not a Contract
12. The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)
13. Business Time
14. Bowie
15. Au Revoir
The Distant Future EP (2007):
Flight of Conchords – Business Time
Flight of the Conchords – I’m Not Crying
Site| | iTunes |HBO| Amazon (Season 1)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlYkIJVguCU[/youtube]
Jenny
I'm a pretty big fan of instrumental music. I find it to be good music to listen to while doing homework or reading and I've been doing a lot of that recently so I've compiled a little playlist of some of my favorite instrumentals. I'm mostly focusing on “indie” types of instrumentals ranging from folk to electronic. Some songs are from bands that are exclusively instrumental while others are just one of the few instrumental songs that a band has (many are aptly named “Instrumental”). Sometimes I like to let the music speak for itself and in this case that's all there is. Enjoy!
MP3: Andrew Bird – A Breaks B (Daytrotter Sessions)
MP3: Boards of Canada – Dayvan Cowboy
MP3: Broken Social Scene – Ambulance for Ambiance
MP3: Dntel – Last Songs
MP3: Doug Martsch – Instrumental
MP3: Dungen – Det Du Tänker Idag Är Du Imorn
MP3: Eels – Theme For A Pretty Girl That Makes You Believe God Exists
MP3: El Ten Eleven – Sorry About Your Irony
MP3: Explosions in the Sky – First Breath After Coma
MP3: James Blackshaw – Running to the Ghost
MP3: José González – Instrumental
MP3: Mice Parade – Steady As She Goes
MP3: M̼m РThere is a Number of Small Things
MP3: Ratatat – Lapland
MP3: Samoyed – Making Snow
MP3:Â The Six Parts Seven – Stolen Moments
The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane – At Carnegie Hall still stands as one of my favorite jazz albums of all time. Recorded in ’57 but released in ’05. Monk’s constant redefinition of the logic and pacing of music and Coltrane’s perseverence to discover never lose their brilliance or excitement for me. I finally went out and got the Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane album which was released in ’57 with a relatively short tracklist. A few friends had recommended this and I was not disappointed. It is nothing short of amazing to listen to these two geniuses work together.
Relatively unknown when these were recorded, the two continue to break ground and make some of the most beautiful, original and awe-inspiring music of all time. Subtlety is something that music sorely lacks these days and if some would just take the time to understand the power of rest and comping, music would see a boost in quality for sure… a boost in soul.
This particular set of songs were taken from a special session. Including one 9 minute solo Monk track called “Functional,” this is a spectaular array of talent and concentration for everyone involved. Some major highlights of my listening experience were from “Off Minor” and the ever pleasant “Epistrophy.”
MP3: Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane – “Epistrophy”
MP3: Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane – “Off Minor”
Here’s a little more Trane
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLlIuhLujvA[/youtube]