The old woman that I’m slowly turning into has been wary of this new trend in streaming concerts, not trusting video quality or not wanting to watch a concert that I can’t make it to. I’ll admit, and I don’t do this often, that I was wrong, it’s awesome. I recently tuned into Foster the People’s set on Live on Letterman, having missed the live airing, and was totally pleased to have the best seat in the house all while never leaving the couch. Their lead singer gets me every time because he dances so enthusiastically (let’s be real, awkwardly) that I can only imagine that’s what I look like when I’m getting down. I was really pleased that they took the time to rock out some of their better songs and didn’t stick to milking Pumped Up Kicks for all that it’s worth. Foster, you’re good, you don’t have to rely on 15 minute Pumped Up Kicks jam sessions. The most notable tracks that they killed it on were Miss You (maybe I’m biased, but I just love that song), Helena Beat (another favorite), and Color on the Walls (ugh, I love every song, I have a problem). Although I’ve been pimping out this band since the beginning of the summer if you haven’t checked them out yet this is a perfect opportunity, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Check it out here, here, here!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bombay Bicycle Club’s A Different Kind of Fix only dropped two days ago but that hasn’t stopped my iTunes from already having it on repeat five times in a row (it would probably be a higher number, but a girls gotta go to class). Each track flows so seamlessly to the next that by the time the album finishes it feels like you’re still on the first song without anything feeling redundant in the least. The front running track seems to be Lights Out, Words Gone featuring bouncing guitar, etherial vocals, and steady cymbals. This might be my favorite album that Bombay has released so I would catch it now so you can say you heard it first (we all wanna be first, right?).

Check it out:
BombayBicycleClub – Lights Out, Words Gone by fromgotowhoa.com
Also, if you can get your hands on it, check out the last track, Still, which is totally channeling Radiohead’s Thom Yorke (amiright or amiright?).

Little known New York five-man-band Caveman has crept into the music scene with Thankful, a jam that seems to be the perfect precursor to fall. Originating only in January of 2010 it is next to impossible to find enough of their music to satiate my desire to listen to them all day. Luckily, Thankful is a song that you can put on repeat and it doesn’t get old. The hollowing percussion paired with irresistible guitar gives me hope that their LP debuting on September 13th is going to be something none of us will want to miss.

Check out Thankful here:
Caveman — Thankful by adambrodsky

Danger Mouse has inevitably been a part of what seems like every other musical project over the past few years. Recently (but not too recent, this project was five years in the making) he paired up with Italian composer Daniele Luppi to create Rome. Needless to say I love it. One of my favorite tracks is Black which features Norah Jones showing off the darker side of her vocal abilities.

Listen here:

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi – “Black” ft. Norah Jones by theaudioperv

Sometimes, it’s frustrating sifting through piles of musical shit on Soundcloud for properly mastered remixes; most of the time (all of the time), I wish there was a law prohibiting anyone from adding Avicci-esque beats to a song; but every day, I wish that bros didn’t have access to Fruity Loops. Luckily, I was cut out for dirty jobs and found this gem. Yuksek remixed Noah and the Whale’s Life is Life which was originally a melodramatic anthem (still awesome) and provided a deft hand in creating a dance-hall number that doesn’t destroy the underlying structure that Noah and the Whale provided. This is one of the more solid remixes I’ve heard lately and I really love the transformation given to the song, I’m definitely going to keep my ears peeled for more of Yuksek’s work.

]]> http://metallungies.com/2011/08/noah-and-the-whale-life-is-life-yuksek-remix/feed/ 0 http://metallungies.com/2011/07/the-hood-internet-pumped-up-kicks-foster-the-people-feat-hollywood-holt-remix/ http://metallungies.com/2011/07/the-hood-internet-pumped-up-kicks-foster-the-people-feat-hollywood-holt-remix/#comments Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:39:32 +0000 Meaghatron http://metallungies.com/?p=8741

The Hood Internet take Foster the People’s jam Pumped Up Kicks (I mentioned it briefly a few weeks back) and slow it down into an equally awesome counterpart. This was an official remix by the duo so Hollywood Holt’s verse was crafted specifically for this. It’s a nice fresh take on this song and I appreciate that it slows it down instead of speeding it up like the other remixes out there that just ruin what was already a good thing. Check it out:

This single has been floating around for only a few weeks now and remixes are already flooding Soundcloud. Personally, I think Calvin Harris has made a single that doesn’t need someone else tampering with it. It has an updated feel from his previous work but still ultimately sounds like a Calvin Harris piece. I love it, there’s nothing else to say.

The third and final day of Pitchfork Music Festival marked the end to an overwhelmingly exhausting weekend. Sunday happened to be the first day that sold out when tickets first went on sale a few months ago so needless to say it was packed. The crowd was relatively lethargic as everyone was huddled in the shade trying to get away from the oppressive heat (whine, whine, whine, bitch, bitch, bitch… whatever it was hot). I’ll go easy on the first half of the artists for the day and blame the level of boring on the heat. Two early acts I was excited to see were How to Dress Well and OFWGKTA. Especially OFWGKTA, expecting them to bring this out of the world performance due to all the hype they’ve gotten in the last year, I was disappointed with their set but even that kind of grew into just not giving a shit. How to Dress Well didn’t fare much better and frankly they just didn’t sound good. Their drummer had about half a drum set with the floor toms and bass drum turned on their sides sitting flat on the stage, it sounded terrible. Watching them set up you could feel the anticipation in the crowd as they had an orchestral accompaniment to the band. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to do much with that either.

Luckily, Shabazz Palaces kicked off a streak of acts that fell on the opposite end of the spectrum. If you haven’t heard, Shabazz Palaces is a duo that consists of electronic beats with live drums over the top paired with live vocals. They sounded awesome and were worth waiting around to hear their entire set. They have an almost new world sound but they don’t seem as if they’re trying too hard, they sound utterly sincere. Baths followed Shabazz Palaces with a surprisingly energetic performance from an artist who was performing behind a table. His energy got the crowd moving and was the perfect precursor to Toro y Moi. Toro y Moi were by far one of the best sounding on Sunday. They mainly played songs off of Underneath the Pine, which is a personal favorite of mine. Although Chaz Bundick is reluctant to have Toro y Moi be labeled as chillwave, their chillwave….esque sound set the perfect ambiance for a hot Sunday afternoon.

As I shared some shade and some beers with a friend while waiting for Deerhunter I was able to people watch and ended up sitting two feet away from Andrea Estrella from Twin Sister (as they had played the Blue Stage earlier in the day). We lost track of time, enjoying not being baked by the sun, and ended up having to try and hurry our way through the gigantic crowd waiting for Deerhunter. It took us 13 minutes to make it from one side of the stage to the other, what?! To give you  an idea, in a normal crowd that walk would take me three minutes tops, it was crazy. Deerhunter was worth the elbowing though, they played a great set while squinting into the sun. Cut Copy was the last act of the day on the Red Stage and although people have been h8n on their latest album Zonoscope, I thought they sounded great. Unfortunately it seemed like every press person at Pitchfork had jammed themselves into the photo pit so I was only able to see them if I turned myself horizontal and stood all the way up on my toes (looks like yoga’s been paying off). They played crowd favorites from In Ghost Colours which sound just as good as they did when the album came out all the way back in 2008.

TV on the Radio headlined the last day of Pitchfork and they didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately, I suck and my camera died as I was literally headed into the photo pit. I probably won’t stop kicking myself for that one for a while. I was so glad that they played songs off of Return to Cookie Mountain and Dear Science because those are my personal favorites. Nine Types of Light, which dropped in April of this year, has gotten so much attention (and it is good) but c’mon, Dear Science is ear meltingly awesome. Although they sounded fantastic, my feet could not have been more relieved when their set was finished because it meant that I could sleep forever (probably why you’re reading this review a week late…).

On a related note, check out the rest of the festival pics on ML’s Flickr! Click meeeeeee

Walking into Union Park on Saturday was like working through a hangover I acquired without ever actually being drunk. Despite being dehydrated, and maybe just a little bit cranky, day two of Pitchfork held a lineup full of impressive acts that was even better than I had originally expected. It proved that Pitchfork really is a great platform for up and coming bands to generate a larger following (more specifically Sun Airway and Twin Shadow).

Sun Airway, who played the Blue Stage at 1:45 PM, might be my top pick for “Artists to Watch” from Pitchfork 2011. Although Sun Airway’s debut album, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, dropped nearly a year ago they still seem to be reasonably unknown throughout the music community. Their sound is filled with reverbing melodies and synth which leaves them sounding like a more coherent version of Animal Collective (I say that loosely because I really don’t think this is a band that you’ll be able to pigeon hole with a label). They were fun to watch, even in the heat, with all members of the band in tune with each other. All of this has quickly made Sun Airway a potential for my new summer obsession.

Wild Nothing who followed Sun Airway at the Blue Stage were fun to watch in a similar vein, a full piece band playing a solid set. Now, I didn’t know too much about Wild Nothing going into Pitchfork but was surprised to hear that they are actually a one-man band consisting of lead singer Jack Tatum. Seeing them live, it really felt like every member present was an integral addition to the sound and overall feel of the performance. They’re also an act that I would recommend to keep an eye out for in the next year.

Gang Gang Dance and Twin Shadow were hands down was the most entertaining acts to watch all weekend. There was so much energy on stage and Gang Gang Dance even had a shaman burning sage during the show. It’s acts like these that really make or break a festival because why go see someone live if they’re boring, might as well save your cash and stay home.

I’ll try not to drool too much about Fleet Foxes who closed out the second day of Pitchfork. Seeing Fleet Foxes live is something I would recommend to anyone who enjoys their genre of music because hearing the members harmonize is something that really creates a higher understanding of what talent is out there. They started off their set with older songs and slowly transitioned into newer material ending with the title track off of their newest album Helplessness Blues. Robin Pecknold’s lead vocals are more than enough to give you chills and take you to a place that isn’t filled with drunk bros with laser pointers (yeah, Pitchfork attracts those guys too). Fleet Foxes, in addition to the aforementioned acts, were the perfect culmination to my favorite day at Pitchfork to date.