via the folks at Pitchfork, we get the new Destroyer track called “Chinatown”. Honestly, I’m not loving it. It’s the lead-off track, so it setting an interesting tone, but a leak time will tell how it plays when we get the rest! But for now….. 2 wheelies.
Perusing the intertubals, came across this Cloud Cult performance at something called KEXP, no related to WKRP in Cincinnati. Quite lovely live performance and, as you know, I’m quite the Cloud Cult fan, but given their uber-environmental belief system (umlats removed to conserve energy), shouldn’t they only play acoustic instruments? Then watch the videos, look at all the people, microphones, camera angles, hot diggity, how many kilojoules did they burn through that day?
That little baby megaphone alone is probably pulling some wattage from a 9-volt, eh?
Hey Cloud Cult, you know I’m going to keep bustin’ those balls until you put out your awesome-O records on RECORDS, right? I love you guys, but I want Light Chasers on vinyl where I will love it, hold it, caress it, & make love to it for ever and ever, then pass it to my girls….
By the way, while I got you, your PR peeps at *insert PR company here* (redacted to protect the innocent) in some email meant to get me to listen/review/etc your album that I already listened/reviewed/etc, was rather disingenuous when they quoted Pitchfork saying, “…epic, millennial indie rock…” about your TSURURADIO album of the year contender. I checked, the album actually got a rather “meh” 5.4 review. Made me kinda wonder about the rest of the quotes…
I believe Utne’s “…this music sends out pulsing rays of hope.”, they are bias, but when you have that Filter said it was “…supremely beautiful…”, for all I know they were saying, “the chicks in Cloud Cult are supremely beautiful, but man, unlike these women, this album sucks my balls!!!”
After all, they are quite beautiful…
…and it is Filter.
*shrug*
Anywhosaldoosal, last day in Phoenix before I fly home later today, so enough oil-burning, let’s get on with the viddys!
Bloggerin’ ain’t easy! Thanks to heads up via retweet from good friends gimmetinnitus, we learn by way of Pitchfork’s other blog Altered Zones as they blog about a blog post by another blog Gorilla Vs. Bear blog post on Montreal’s Grimes!
So, in this spirit, we will re-blog the blog post on the blog post from that first blog on our very own blog! Proving, once and again, BLOGGERIN’ AIN’T EASY!
Via Gorilla Vs. Bear:
More ethereal, eerily moving outerspace transmissions from Montreal’s amazing “cosmic-pop deity”Grimes, who’s firmly established herself as one of our favoritenew artists of 2010. “Weregild” + “Devon” are a preview of her magical new album, Halfaxa, which will be officially released byArbutus Records on September 30th at the Pop Montreal festival. Much thanks to our friends to the north Weird Canada and Leaning Trees for the heads up.
Watch a short documentary about Grimes called Human Hearthere, and you can still download her Geidi Primes tape for free courtesy of Arbutus here.
Via Altered Zones:
More ethereal, eerily moving outerspace transmissions from Montreal’s amazing “cosmic-pop deity” Grimes, who’s firmly established herself as one of our favoritenew artists of 2010. “Weregild” is a preview of her magical new album, Halfaxa, which will be officially released byArbutus Records on September 30th at the Pop Montreal festival. (via Gorilla Vs Bear)
Our personal take on Grimes? I’d have to go with….
More ethereal, eerily moving outerspace transmissions from Montreal’s amazing “cosmic-pop deity” Grimes, who’s firmly established herself as one of our favoritenew artists of 2010. “Weregild” is a preview of her magical new album, Halfaxa, which will be officially released byArbutus Records on September 30th at the Pop Montreal festival. (via Altered Zones via Gorilla Vs Bear (when did GvB get so “blocky”?))
When you hear the first chords off the new Born Ruffians album, Say It, you might think, just for a second, that you loaded up Frog Eyes. The quivering, quavering, shimmering chords start & stop, all a capella style & shit. And just as you look down at your mp3 player of choice, probably right around the 0:19 second mark, half-expecting Mercer to start yelping at you, the drums and bass kick in & you smile & you bob your head. You really can’t help it.
Okay, like I intimated yesterday, I’m going to be all controversial & whatnot right now. Say It sounds like — *gulp* — what the Vampire Weekend album should’ve sounded like! There. I said it.
Now, before you shoot off a nasty email to the editor (me), hear me out. The ONLY reason that comparison or statement or whatever pops in my head is the Afro-centric bass, percussion, well, general rhythm section, okay? But, instead of lacing the song with overt this-is-what-we-are-supposed-to-sound-like-isms, loaded with inside jokes, that this boy will never understand, you just have a fun & soulful pop/rock thing going on, letting their influences guide them & not their hype control them!
And man, is it fun! Playful on words, on annunciations, on riffs, on, well, on everything. Take the first song to pop out, “Sole Brother”, you kinda want to sing Soul Brother, but you can’t, he’s really sing about what a pain in the ass his sibling is! ha!
Or in “What To Say”…
When I get up I’m speaking slooow,
When I get drunk I’m speakin’ mo’.
Get to drunk and I don’t speak at alll.
Get to close to you and I don’t knoooow….
What to saaay!
Then a light R&B melody kicks in while vocals compete with a playful guitar for lead lyricist! Yeah… And that’s the serious song.
Where with Vampire Weekend, unless you come from a word of, well, of Oxford Comma’s and popped-collared polos, you might be left out in the cold, not invited to the party… Born Ruffians mom worked at as a 5 & Dime waitress, buying gas to get to work daily on the shitty tips she made the day before, and THAT I can relate to!
Am I projecting imagery on a band without any basis of facts? Sure! But hey, if Pitchfork can do it, so can I, right? ;) haha!
Anywhosal doosal, I think I tweaked enough people with this one (sorry, I do like Vampire Weekend, fine, just not nearly as much as the hype surrounding them and as for Pitchfork, well, they are just easy targets) sorry!
Back to reason for the season, Say It. Fun, catchy, good times man from a band clearly having some fun good times themselves, what else do you need?
01 Oh Man
02 Retard Canard 03 Sole Brother
04 What to Say
05 The Ballad of Moose Bruce
06 Higher & Higher
07 Come Back
08 Nova-Leigh
09 Blood, the Sun & Water
10 At Home Now
Watch out Pitchfork & Stereogum, the little odd engine that could is about to run your asses over! haha!
Bitches going DOWN! HAHA!
Why am I in such a good mood? Oh man, because one of those albums from an artist I didn’t truly appreciate until much too long has finally showed up on the intertubal webbings! La La Land by Plants & Animals has arrived! WOOT!
Holy shit.
I made the mistake of reading the label blip before listening and it jibbered on about how this is a rock album, saying it’s “louder & tougher” and stuff. Their last album was so full of yummy Canadian Indie-Prog Pop/Rock goodness, I suddenly was fearing amped up distorted something and as we discussed yesterday with MGMT, expectations and about-faces can be jarring!
Wel, I’m so so happy to report this is not some re-dubbed Led Zeppelin or something. Yeah, there are flourishes of bluesy orchestra rock here and there, but there’s also my beloved prog in full swing in places as well — oh man, of note, the finale of “Celebration” which sounds like “Starship Trooper” by Yes! — and whaffs of David Bowie, such as “American Idol” which can almost be considered a modern day version of “Young Americans”, just without the sassy ladies singing in Bowie’s classic.
Is it rock, or “indie-rock”, yeah sure, but man it’s so so much more! My, what, 8th time through now and you keep catching glimpses into the depth of this album. It’s brilliant, cohesive, & just awesome. Immediately leaping up into the “one of the best of year so far” category!
My only complaint? The only one? A complaint that isn’t even fair, that is my own problem and mine alone?? The lead-off track, “Tom Cruz”, the opening bass line is close enough to “Hurt Feelings” by Flight Of The Conchords. No really, check it, push play on this LaLa embed.
It’s not the same, but it’s close enough that when the album starts over or starts up, I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t think of premium rappers Jermaine and Brett. It’s tough, but I’m working through it.
Okay, let’s get to it, but before we do, just because I had to listen to it, here’s the video for “Bye Bye Bye” (Plants & Animals, not N’Sync).
Ah… much better. Needed that. Okay, back onto the new album!
HOORAY!
1. Tom Cruz 2. Swinging Bells
3. American Idol
4. Undone Melody
5. Kon Tiki
6. Game Shows
7. The Mama Papa
8. Fake It
9. Celebration
10. Future from the 80s
11. Jeans Jeans Jeans
The new video for “In The Sun” from the the soon to be leaked released She & Him Volume 2!
Soon, my pretty…. soon….. you’ll be ours!!!!
tsururadio. The musical obsessions, meanderings, and field observations of Aaron Tsuru most often presented in mixtape format, the way the good lard intended!
Follow @tsurufoto
