…I was riding my bike through Prospect Park today and heard Animal Collective sound-checking for a show tonight. Here’s what my iPhone and I overheard>>>
Animal Collective – ‘Bits of Sound Check 8/15/09′: [mp3_embed blog_plyrs="4" playlst="http://beyondbeyondisbeyond.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/mp3-player-plugin-for-wordpress/mp3/AC Soundcheck ProspectPark-rev.mp3" colors="#900345" id="0"]
This is pretty damn cool. Animal Collective debuted a new song “Lion In a Coma” at the Pitchfork festival. Always interesting…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q1pf_t_IQo&hl=en&fs=1]
All right, I noticed that a lot of blogs are doing their ‘best of 2008…so far’ lists about now since we’re half way through the year, so I’m gonna blindly follow suit. Well, maybe not so blindly, since I’m gonna allow you to share stuff that you got this year…but didn’t necessarily have to have come out this year. But it can be new too. Whatever you want, because Sh*t L*sts are all about YOU!
So my list is probably gonna be a mix of new and old, cuz that’s just where I’m at. Just click on through after the MGMT album pic below to see my list (which I’m starting to compile in my head as I write this), and then leave your list in comments.
Well, the weather done gave all us New Yorkers the ol’ bitch-slap this past week, as it got tired of hearing us complain about cold, rainy days. We’ve already seen 100 degree weather and it ain’t even July yet! I won’t complain because I fuckin’ love summer. It’s hard to live in New York in the winter. You can’t let your mind go where it naturally tends to go, you know? Here’s the famous telescope that stretches from Brooklyn to London, that we checked out on Saturday, the first above 90 degree day, before we boarded the water taxi for Manhattan…
Here’s a bunch of stuff I noticed that stood out this week…
Radiohead fans are furious over EMI’s Best Of release now that Radiohead are Indie again. Check out some of the hundreds of pissed-off reviews via this link to iTunes. Relax, people. I guess it’s hard to lighten up when you listen to too much Radiohead (sorry, had to got there).
Rolling Stone talks about the gradual return of vinyl, as people fall back in love with its aesthetic. Reminder: who’s been talking about vinyl’s return since the onset of this here blog?
Animal Collective listen like Newms does. Check out the links to these AC mixes and playlists!
I think the hip-hop community could use some chess too, Wu. It’d be one thing that’s not about bling and being the biggest asshole.
Check out my review of the Man Raze album. Def Lep meets Sex Pistols equals HOT!
Luckily the little ma & pop store, Wal-Mart, has some people to get their back. Now if only the poor people behind the counter making $17k a year, trying to raise a family, could get someone to get their back. Pay more and support living wages, says I! But I’m sure that makes me a communist. Did I even mention how UN-rock & roll it is for AC/DC to do a Wal-Mart exclusive?! Stoppit, world!
What’s missing from these Greatest Guitar Songs of All-Time?
Well, here’s news that I’m sure will delight all… I’ve had a couple breakthrough moments concerning Radiohead in the last couple days. ‘So what!’ you may scoff, but never do I get any stranger looks on peoples’ faces as when I inform them kindly that I don’t really listen to Radiohead. I think the popular assumption is that everyone does, so that would especially include me. But I’ve never really caught on to their brand of magic, although it certainly must be there (here’s where I’ll avoid saying ‘millions of people can’t be wrong’). I think the biggest factor was that when they were really blowing up after Kid A, it was a time right after I had discovered Krautrock, so when I heard Kid A, it didn’t floor me the way that it floored everyone else the first time they heard it. I had already been listening to way trippy electronica mixed with droning rock guitars. That said, I just kind of missed the wave when it was at it’s crest.
But a couple nights ago, I fell asleep near the beginning of Conan and awoke near the beginning of the musical guests’ live simulcast from England. It was Radiohead (who was the very first musical guest Conan had on Late Night when the show launched in ’93). I was captivated. It sounded beautiful. I must say I didn’t even know the name of the song, but I was in a sleepy trance. Well, I’ve got the full performance for you below. I missed all the stuff at the beginning with the ‘carbon emmissions’ and ‘dedicated to the **** who walked away from the Kyoto agreement’ and was happy to see it all on YouTube.
And before I play the projection for you, the other thing that put Radiohead in a nicer light for me was today when I was reading in Rolling Stone that Radiohead performs (or will perform) a different set list every time they play, so each show is different. I dig that. Anyway, come 2010, I may be headed for becoming a big Radiohead fan ten years after Kid A was released. That would be sort of typical for me… always dabbling in the old sounds!
Dig this…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccAiL6Klo0w&hl=en]
And I’ve got a few more links to throw at you at the start of your weekend, links that will shape your world…
- You must hear and see the new Animal Collective song and video, ‘Water Curses’, which will be the name of the upcoming EP release.
- New Eno/Byrne album and tour coming soon, although I would unpopularly say that My Life In the Bush of Ghosts was not a favorite of mine. The show will be fantastic though, I’m sure!
- Do you have time/interest to read a lot about African music and why white people should be outlawed from playing it? It’s a very well-written and informative piece with lots of great mp3 examples, but I do think Heart on a Stick is missing one very valid point.
- Van Halen is back at it!
- Cool video from the new John Varvatos at CBGB… now that’s punk rock. Or something.
- The 2008 Celebrate Brooklyn schedule is up.
- Daryl Hall in action at Live From Daryl’s House
What else is up?
All right, as someone who never really caught on to the whole Radiohead phenomenon, one thing I can safely deduce is that they certainly can’t possibly live up to all the super-hype that constantly surrounds them and that they also must be a magically fantastic band which I’ll probably listen to a lot somewhere down the road. I must say that this new “choose your own price” technique for selling the new album, In Rainbows, is revolutionary. It makes me wonder what it means for smaller bands though. I think that people are generally okay with paying $10 for an album, but start feeling like they’re being ripped by a record company when it costs more. And it seems like it may be the case that when we buy a CD, we get an inferior product then we got when we bought records, and we pay much more. I know, some of that’s inflation, but some of it is bullshit too. Have you been to a used music store lately and seen how unsexy used CDs are? And how super-hot records STILL are? Anyway, I think we’re gonna see the return of the good old record album here in the very near future. Shit, buy the record and receive a code to download the digital files. Sound good?
Animal Collective on Conan. Awesome.
Black Lips on Conan. Also awesome.
Check out the great packaging for Rhino’s new Heavy Metal Box Set. Be sure to watch the related video. Sweet!
David Byrne’s cross-country adventure is a fun read.
Funniest headline I saw this week.
Stevie Wonder plays MSG on November 17th!
Cool-ass download of the week…Darker Than Blue soul-reggae compilation at Acorde Final.
Pictures from where I was last weekend.
What’s going on with you suckas?! Let us know below…
Me, Franny and Gabbi are headed to Boston this weekend for a hippie-style wedding at a venue called “Earthdance”. I guess I can leave my facial hair alone and leave my deodorant at home (especially since homeland security prohibits us from bringing grooming products in rental cars). I will also bring a bevy of live Grateful Dead jams on my iPod. I have been known to embrace hippyism, so it should be far out. So here’s a few things for you to check out over the weekend….
Perfect fodder for hippie wedding weekend, check out thursdayborn’s Awesome Tapes from Africa. There’s tons of killer authentic African jams there!
Pitchfork tells us how the Animal Collective are corrupting our children!
The new epic Neil Young song is B.A. Baracas. Listen to it now at the awesome Recessed Filter blog.
Never Get Out of the Boat serves up some killer early Dead, brah…. and that chronological George Harrison’s Beatles compilation from a few days ago. Willard’s the man!
Latest Indie Rock band with an animal name….Bald Eagle. There’s also We Are Wolves (since there weren’t enough ‘wolf’ band names).
The RIAA starts making folks pay for their god-awful crimes.
Van Halen really ‘hit the ground running’ with this tour…no Police-style warm-up for these boys! These recordings make the case. Thanks to Hidden Track.
And read on for proof that the Flaming Lips actually played on Beverly Hills 90210…
