LP 4 is the new album by New York City electronic duo Ratatat, and the bland title doesn’t shed much light on the electronic symphony that it encompasses. The album is a patchwork soundscape of infectious beats, strange vocal samples and shredding guitars, which results in a strange but beautiful beast of a record.
Deer Tick’s latest album, The Black Dirt Sessions, was released today. Peter Pan has the Lost Boys, and lead-singer John McCauley has Deer Tick. The first thing I notice about him is his gold tooth. It glints in the sunshine of the cold March afternoon I spent with the band at Coney Island in New [...]
As the weather warms up to a humidity level like that of warm jello covering our entire bodies, the perfect solution for the weekend warrior is to take a trip up to Central Park and chill out to live music and a cool breeze. I did just that this past Saturday, all to a soundtrack [...]
Few things scream “Hipster” like an apartment garden. But this Spring, when visiting my family in a small village about twenty miles due east of Albany, New York, I found something in the garage that struck my interest. A small cardboard box with a monsterous tomato plant hanging out of an upside down vinyl bag [...]
There’s a lurid aspect to celebrity deaths: the 911 call. This spring has already been the start of a monumental death march, with the loss of iconic Easy Rider Dennis Hopper (also had a great cameo on “Demon Days” as the narrator of the Gorillaz track “Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head”), and the [...]
Hooray For Earth’s new MOMO EP is a taste of what’s to come in the current music landscape, and it’s out today. Broadly inspired by the classic 80′s new wave movement, the album is poppy and relevant. The album is considerably layered, and the band put the two strongest tracks at the beginning. “Surrounded by [...]
When researching for a book I wrote last year, I made it a point to go to every Flea Market around New York City. Hands down, Brooklyn Flea is my favorite. It’s got all the charm and panache of Hell’s Kitchen, but it’s closer to my house and they sell McClures pickles, and have amazing [...]
Few bands have inspired the cult-like status that Arcade Fire has in just two full length albums time. With the release of Neon Bible in 2006, it’s been four full years since fans have heard a shred of new material, aside from the acoustic version of “Wake Up” on the Where the Wild Things Are [...]
The pink shrimp in the room is covered in oil. More specifically, British Petroleum. It was April 20th, 2010, (37 Days ago) that the explosion on a B.P.-Leased oil rig exploded, killing eleven workers in the Gulf of Mexico. Initial reports of the incident focused mainly on the search and rescue operation, and briefly mentioned [...]
In an effort to speed the recovery of Nashville’s flooded streets, the organizers of Bonnaroo will match donations dollar for dollar (up to $50,000) for those who donate to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The three-day festival that showcases indie rock, bluegrass and jam bands will go on as scheduled from June 10th-13th, as [...]
Get ready for a mental boner if you’re a fan of glitch pop, because you can stream Ratatat’s new album LP4 a good two weeks early on NPR. As I write this post, I’m listening to the great new single, “Party With Children.” The album is full of unexpected turns and musical oddities. Check it [...]
The lights go black. It’s been seven years since I’ve seen this “touring band,” and it might be another seven before I see them again. Added up, this might only be a thrice in a lifetime experience. I looked around at an incredibly diverse crowd of Girl Scout moms, frat boys, Wall-Street alcoholics, and aging [...]
This morning, while doing my regular “check to see if the world hasn’t blown up” scanning of the internet news sites, I stumbled upon a rather interesting story: The Paris Modern Art Museum was heisted of five irreplaceable pieces of art; Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso (painted in 1911), Pastoral by Henri Matisse [...]
That’s right, the estate of George Washington has finally returned a book to New York’s oldest library, The New York Society Library. When checking records, staffers at the library realized that Emer de Vattel’s “The Law of Nations” was checked out on October 5, 1789 by Washington and never returned. A few phone calls later [...]
In a world that has a shitload of free torrents, it’s only natural that this week was the worst week for cd sales since 1991 (New York Times). Justin Bieber came out with a strong 60,000 this week, barely beating out the Lowest Selling Soundscan Album in History, which was the Dreamgirls Soundtrack in 2007. [...]
Pitchfork.com is streaming an original Atlas Sound mini-concert entitled Cemetery Gates. The the music is hauntingly fitting to the baroque church in which it’s held. Bradford Cox proves his pedaly genius, putting on a tenacious solo show. Check it out after the jump.
Even though Phoenix sold their music to the greedy powers-that-be, they still rock. They stopped in to NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concerts” and played four of their tracks off of Wolfgang Amadaeus Phoenix completely acoustic. On the setlist: “Lisztomania,” “Armistice,” “1901,” and “Playground Love.” Here’s the link.
With the weather warming up, people are leaving their comfy couches for the green grass and heading out in droves to Prospect Park and Central Park. Now, there’s a better reason than a cold 40oz. to head there, because the NYC summer music schedules have all been released! Here’s the round up of all the [...]
I can’t say I’ve ever felt the seductive pull to the Twilightfilms or books, but I can say for sure that they get some pretty awesome soundtracks together. The track list for the film was released today, and it’s no exception to the rule. With tracks from The Dead Weather, Metric and Muse, take a [...]
As the years move on, more and more people are pulled into the Lebowski-obsession camp. Now, after years of waiting, a hip-hop album that’s solely inspired by the cult-classic film has become a reality. And it’s available as a pay-what-you-will download after the jump.
