skeletons!

Just a few posts for today’s Hump Day…

As you might know, Lil’ Wayne is about to drop a rock-infused album, “Rebirth,” on April 7th. Its first single, “Prom Queen,” has justly cast much worry on the rest of the album with its Nickelback-cover-band-like guitars and excessive Weezy-style warbling.

Fortunately, “Yeahhh,” a track from his recent mixtape “Hottest Ni**a Under The Sun,” redeems any sort of prom-night missteps. Check out the sweet cover art at the top of the post, too. Nothin’ classier!

Jump down for crazy YouTube antics and an indie-rock breakfast. Read Full Post

After perusing various media outlets for new things to share with you this week, I’m convinced that I shouldn’t waste your time or mine on mediocre acts putting out mediocre things. Instead, here’s a news roundup of things that recently occurred to people somehow connected to music.

The Roots are now Jimmy Fallon’s backup band on “The Late Show.” Vibe has a great interview with them about their new gig. I’m not sure how they’re going to fit this in with their 1456 appearances on college campuses nationwide, but we’ll see. Who knew they were the musical directors for “The Chappelle Show’? Read Full Post

After a long weekend of Mardi-Gras-celebrations-itis, it’s good to be back here at Indy central (hold on–turning down $1 mixed drinks, jambalaya and free shit? Who am I kidding?). Anyway, let’s get to this week’s tunes.

As Greg so kindly posted last week, tracks from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ upcoming album are leaking all over like a bad diaper. Get the newest one, “Heads Will Roll,” here. This is a pretty glammed-out single, a far cry from grungy tracks like “Black Tongue” or anything on their last release, Show Your Bones. Frankly, I’m more into “Zero,” with its fuzzy guitars and New Order-y synth.If these tracks are indicative of the rest of the album, the YYYs are definitely getting in touch with their New Wave selves. This could be disaster for many bands, but I’ll put any genre into this one’s capable hands. Look for It’s Blitz! on April 14 (and more leaks in the coming weeks, I’m sure). Read Full Post

Since this is a music column, it's more like Free Robot SAX, amirite?

Jess is out this week with a severe case of going-to-New-Orleans-for-Mardi-Gras, so I’ll be handling your Music du Jour du Hump today (assuming ‘hump’ is masculine, of course). I will try to emulate her music savvy, but if you find my treatment lacking, well, your mom. There’s a lot of music news out there to tackle, so let’s get to it.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are about to come out with a new album, entitled “It’s Blitz.” The first single, ‘Zero,’ leaked down the internet tubes recently. Have a listen, I’ll wait…
For those of you who stopped checking out the band after the emo-rific success of ‘Maps,’ this may sound a bit strange. It’s catchy, though, and the electro-rock thing is pretty well done. For a peek at the album’s tracklist and the mindf#%king cover art for ‘Zero’ check out Rolling Stone’s coverage.

It's like this, but sexier.

Next up are some old friends of ours, Royksopp. The Norwegian house producers have come out with a new single, entitled ‘Happy Up Here.’ It’s got a bouncy rhythm, and a melody reminiscent of ‘Eple,’ except this time there are words to go along with it. The track manages to preserve the light-but-epic (yeah, I know it’s confusing) style of the group, complete with breathy and ostentatious lyrics. Good stuff.

Our last new music release comes from Sonic Youth, who are supposed to finish “The Eternal” sometime before June. I’m not a big fan of their stuff in general — Anoraak is scratching my angsty itch with their smooth jams at the moment — but they’ve been around for a minute, and are wicked important. The album art, tracklist and some explanation can be found here.

Pitchfork takes a fair amount of of crap for managing to publish intellectual masturbation on a regular basis, and getting other people to read it just as regularly. Their review of “Incredibad,” the comedy album from the Lonely Island, managed to complement the “stickiness” of the group’s online videos. Eww (unless this is supposed to be some sort of literary term, in which case — blarggh). On a related note, Overheard Music recently dissected a Pitchfork review, and she really lets ‘em have it. Worth a long weekend read.

And finally, those of you wondering who is behind Hipster Runoff, the Village Voice comes just a little bit closer to uncovering the truth. Black leather semi-robot suits FTW.

That’s all this week. Jess will be dishing out your music next Wednesday. It was nice meeting you all in this context, but let’s not do it again, mkay?

The Grammys were this Sunday, and for the first time in a while, it wasn’t totally boring. To be fair, I missed the first hour, but from the moment that Katy Perry landed in a giant shiny banana onwards, it was great. Pitchfork has a great summary of the night, and I pretty much agree with them on all counts. M.I.A.’s absurdly awesome outfits stole the night, as did the rat pack-themed “Swagger Like Us’ with Jay-Z, T.I., Kanye, and Lil’ Wayne. The Grammy powers-that-be scrubbed YouTube clean of clips, but here are some pictures to whet your interest. Musically, it wasn’t the best performance of the night, but it was the most exuberant–everyone on stage seemed like they were having the time of their lives. Also, M.I.A. looked all the more badass totally pregs and swaggerin’ on stage. Ray Bans seem to be crossing over from the hipsters to rap stars, because everyone had a pair that night.
Radiohead’s performance of “15 Step” with the USC marching band was innovative. I thought the brass instruments put an interesting twist on the song, and the arrangement was excellent. Was it just me, or was Thom Yorke singing in some sort of Dylan-esque style?
Other highlights, briefly: Jigga dancing to “Sweet Caroline,” Kanye’s hair (Lionel Ritchie c. 1982??), Adele’s acceptance speech for Best New Artist (over the JoBro and Duffy!), Estelle’s mod dress, the strangest of seeing Robert Plant next to Alison Krauss.
For additional pics, check out NYMag’s diva slideshow.

In other news–speaking of Grammy winners, here’s an interesting breakdown of Joe “Coldplay totally ripped off of me” Satriani’s claim on the descending melody.

And speaking of people who WEREN’T at the Grammys–Chris Brown, what is your damage? I think Perez Hilton says it in the most eloquent way:

indeed.

…and CB better watch his back, because Jigga is the last person you want as an enemy.

from http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/i-lego-ny/?em

Some of the biggest tidbits this week (does that even make sense?) are the leaks or maybe just unreleased tracks from Justin Timberlake. All I can say is, if his upcoming album sounds like these two tracks, I’m going to cry in my pillow for a week. This is certainly no follow-up to the pop masterpiece that was Future Sex/ Love Sounds. “Bigger Than the World” sounds like it uses some discarded loop that Timberland created in his sleep, and “Better Not Together” just sounds like an average R&B song with an average R&B tale–JT and his woman can’t work things out, he sings about it in falsetto, etc. Yawn. Let’s move on, shall we? Read Full Post

Andrew Bird’s new album “Noble Beast” is garnering lots of attention lately, and with good reason–I’ve been a fan since his 2007 release, “Armchair Apocrypha,” a mix of delicate folk songs and sonorous indie-rock elements. Bird is a classically-trained violinist from Chicago who debuted as a solo artist with the 2005 release “The Mysterious Production of Eggs.” “Noble Beast” debuted last week at #12 on the charts, just sneaking by beloved Bmore natives Animal Collective. Read Full Post

from left: Danny Boyle, A.R. Rahman, and some British dudes. from masala.com.

In case anyone cared, the Golden Globes happened last Sunday night. With the votes from the nebulous, clannish and only marginally important Hollywood Foreign Press tallied, Hollywood partied, downing flutes of Moet and becoming a little rowdy over the commercial breaks. The most interesting parts of the night were Tracy Morgan’s hilarious acceptance speech and any time that Slumdog Millionaire won an award. Despite stiff competition from Alexandre Desplat and Hans Zimmer for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Frost/Nixon” respectively, Indian composer A.R. Rahman took home the globe for Best Original Score.
This was an interesting win to me for many reasons. While all eyes were on “Slumdog” to sweep the night, for some reason not many people were talking about the music. The film was good; Rahman’s music made it great. Original compositions like “Jai Ho,” the theme “O…Saya” with M.I.A. and “Liquid Dance” blend South Asian drums and vocals with Western syncopation, capturing the constant movement inherent to the film. “Latika’s Theme,” written for the female protagonist, is a dreamy tune led by humming melodic line, balancing fantasy with a building romance. Rahman also uses the original and a DFA remix of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” whose lyrics follow the scene quite literally.
Read Full Post

So it’s not technically Hump Day. What of it? You’re on break anyway–do you even know what day of the week it is? I thought not.

Lists, lists, lists–there are many, as you know, that attempt to sum up the crazy rollercoaster that was 2008. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but 2008 left me a little cold. 2007 spoiled us with some big releases–M.I.A., Radiohead, a superior Britney album–and even though I was abroad for half of the year, I don’t feel like I missed a ton of stuff. Not even Pitchfork’s list could liven my spirits, highlighting acts like Deerhunter and Lykke Li.
When it comes to pop music, however, there was no downturn. Leave it to the studio magicians to turn out consistently excellent pop music. As a new study shows, troubling economic times don’t have a strong effect on pop’s messages. Thus we still have a cocky T.I., a sultry Rihanna, and an underaged pinup girl. Let’s count down the ten best of the year, shall we? Read Full Post

Hey, that shirt's from Urban! (from stereogum.com)

It’s December, and you know what that means in music journalism–everyone’s list of the best and the worst of the year, just in time for your perusal and procrastinating. Rolling Stone put up an eclectic mix, with TV on the Radio’s “Dear Science” at the top. Stereogum placed some predictable favorites near the top, but why people love Deerhunter I may never know. It’s also interesting that Ra Ra Riot’s acclaimed album placed lower than Of Montreal’s “Skeletal Lamping,” which got pretty mixed reviews. Stereogum’s list of ‘most overrated artists’ includes many acts from their ‘best of’ list–coincidence?? NYMag’s list doesn’t really say anything new, but check out their wrap-ups in all other things cultural for some good commentary (and procrastinating…see a theme here???).

So far, the common favorites are Born Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago,” Fleet Foxes’ epynomous release, TVOTR, Lil’ Wayne’s “Tha Carter III,” and Santogold. But Metacritic spices it up with a broader look at who got the best reviews. This is science, people–it must be true. This list has The Bug’s “London Zoo” at #2, which as you should know is a great album. And the Voice’s list includes Cut Copy’s “In Ghost Colours,” which kind of got the shaft everywhere else.
Which other albums were left on the shelves? MGMT made a splash this year, yet no love on the charts; Ratatat’s “LP3″ was inventive and kooky but is nowhere to be found. Of course, Pitchfork leaves us entrenched in suspense for their rankings, but check out The Year in News and The 20 Worst Album Covers in the meantime.
What made your top ten?

from contactmusic.com

Does anyone like the new Kanye West album? It seems that his reviews are, at best, uneven. The Boston Globe calls “808s and Heartbreak” a “sonic wasteland,”and Spin magazine said it sounds “strangely rushed and unfinished.” Pitchfork noted the inherent contradictions in West’s own psyche, as he’s “hand-wringing over his consumption one moment, boasting about his wealth the next. He’s someone as driven by ego as he is plagued by doubt– in other words, a wholly human pop star.” It does seem to be West’s ‘indie’ album, and as the Onion’s A.V. club said, ” It seems destined to be the weird little orphan that fans single out as a favorite.” Read Full Post

A Born Idler at the Walsh Blackbox, 11/14

You don’t have to travel far from Georgetown to enjoy new music. In fact, sometimes you barely have to leave campus. If you were one of the concertgoers at the Walsh Black Box theater last Friday night, you know what I’m talking about–A Born Idler and the Daley Machine, both bands of Georgetown students in celebration of A Born Idler’s new EP, You Will Be Destroyed. Read Full Post

We know you enjoyed last week’s Hump Day Music post, so we thought your Sunday could use a dose of artsy electronica. Michel Gondry, the hipster-famous director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, also moonlights as a director extraordinaire for such acts as the Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk. ‘Around the World’ by Daft Punk is above, and excellent. Hit the jump for the Chemical Brothers’ naturally synchronized ‘Star Guitar.’ Good luck studying.

Read Full Post

Yeah, I bet she is

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling less-than-100% on this Hump Day. Break is too far away to be exciting but near enough to bring lots of work; it suddenly got cold in the District; yeah, we’ve got a real president now but we’ve got to wait two months before he can really do anything. No no, nothing’s really wrong, but what’s a good cure for the blahs?

Ah yes, I remember now–ridiculous house music videos! When you’re as stressed as a pair of herniated balls, there’s no better cure. As big fans of house music in general and bigger fans of the videos, Greg Gangelhoff and I amassed some of the best of the best for this post. House music artists like three things: a warm beat, samples, and hot chicks in bikinis. These videos exemplify all three interests. Let me know if they brighten your day as much as they have mine.

Note: All of these videos are NSFW. I mean, it’s not Nailin’ Palin, but there’s time spent gratuitously on ass-shaking, thrusting, stripping, licking, and what my history professor referred to as “sexual intrigue” in every single one. Don’t watch them if you’re in a public area or class or if you’re easily offended by copious amounts of flesh.

Onward! Read Full Post

oh yeah, he’s happy…from abc.com

Yeah, I know, this is supposed to be about music. But the U.S. just elected its first black president after twenty-one months of headlines. Are you excited? Terrified? Below the jump, editorials from newspapers around the world. Read Full Post