Archive for November, 2009
New She & Him album next year, what whaaat
Guess what? New She & Him album next year, in case the title of this post didn’t give it away:
The new album was recorded in Portland and Los Angeles over the past year-and-a-half, and will feature all-new original material penned by actress/chanteuse Zooey Deschanel and produced by M. Ward. “I think that the dark shades that were on the last record are maybe a little bit darker on the new record, and the brighter shades on the last record are a little bit brighter on the new record,” says M. Ward. “I think that people are going to hear more contrasts, which is always something that I shoot for in the studio.”
I don’t care what anyone says, I really loved Volume One and I’m excited about Volume Two.
Listen She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
Download She & Him “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” (The Smiths cover)
The live epicness that is Noah and the Whale and free remixes!
If you’ve seen Noah and the Whale live in the last few months, then your ears have been exposed to some pretty epic sounds. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a video of the Whale boys performing “Stranger” live in Paris back in September courtesy of LP33.TV. Let it build, folks. Let it build:
Epic, right?! Since I last saw them in October, I’ve been on the hunt for a decent quality live clip of “Give A Little Love” because the way they’ve reworked it literally sent a shiver down my spine. The essence of the song remains the same, but they’ve added this beautiful build up at the end that gets better and better and better with each passing second. You know, I can only do so much with words, so please have a listen: (If you’re impatient or low on time, start at 1:42)
Did you feel that shiver?? Goodness. The audio on this clip is some of the best I’ve found, it’s just too bad the beginning is cut off. So alas, my search continues. If you’ve got a few more minutes to spare / would like to continue being wowed / are not yet convinced you should check out NATW when they play your town, here’s “My Broken Heart”: (I highly recommend all 8 minutes and 15 seconds, but if you simply can’t watch it all then skip somewhere near 6:00 but know you’re missing out on SO MUCH GREATNESS)
Yep, they’ve taken one of the mellower tracks from The First Days of Spring and transformed it into this SUPER-EPIC-JAM-SESSION gig closer. Incredible. They certainly know how to leave a crowd wanting more.
And finally, some free remixes of their latest single “Love on an Orchestra” courtesy of the band and Y&LC:
DOWNLOAD “Love of an Orchestra” (Gold Panda Remix)
DOWNLOAD “Love of an Orchestra” (Max Tundra Remix)
DOWNLOAD “Love of an Orchestra” (Nightwaves Remix)
Personally, I’m really digging the Max Tundra remix. It may or may not have a lot to do with the Super Mario-esque sounds I hear thrown in there.
New Futureheads! New Futureheads! New Futureheads!
My loves The Futureheads are back in action!! Oh yes, oh yes.
The boys have finished recording their fourth album and first single “Struck Dumb” is due out next month. But because they love their fans, they’re giving away the track for FREE. Really, that’s got to be the best word in the English language. Top ten, at least. Download, listen, love-ove-ove:
DOWNLOAD The Futureheads – Struck Dumb
Ironically enough, while home for Thanksgiving this weekend I happened to stumble upon a Futureheads ticket from three years ago that went unused. Why? Well, Barry got tendonitis in his wrist, the US tour was canceled, and my dream of seeing The Futureheads went bust yet again. Fate, you are so cruel to me.
Video: The Maccabees @ Brixton Academy
Once upon a time, The Maccabees headlined Brixton Academy (or O2 Academy Brixton, if you want to be legit) and there were thousands and thousands of happy faces and hearts in one room and someone tried to capture all that happiness on camera as best they could and then shared it with the world through the magic of the internet.
In other words, you can watch The Maccabees performing on that Academy stage over here on Babelgum. 10 videos in all, here’s a teaser:
If you’ve got a half hour to spare, highly recommend you watch them all. Your ears and eyes will thank you.
Blood Red Shoes are giving away a new song for free!
So what have Blood Red Shoes been up to, you ask? Well, the Brighton band is currently working on their second album (follow up to Box of Secrets) and they road tested some of their new material at a couple summer festivals and on a string of dates supporting Maximo Park around Europe back in October.
To give folks a small taste of record #2, Blood Red Shoes are giving away a free download of new track “Colours Fade”. Grab the song from their official website or download it here, it’s good stuff so don’t miss outtttttttttt.
Regina Spektor on NPR’s Mountain Stage
This past week Regina Spektor performed songs from her most recent album Far on NPR‘s Mountain Stage:
1. The Calculation
2. Eet
3. Folding Chair
4. Machine
5. Laughing With
6. Dance Anthem of the 80s
7. The Sword and the Pen
8. Blue Lips
Regina is still on tour (she’s a machine!!), she’s finishing up dates around the US before heading to the UK/Europe in December so catch her being absolutely fucking brilliant before she takes a break: TOUR DATES
