Metal Lungies

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.

Friday at Pitchfork Music Festival was the perfect intro to a music filled weekend being that it was the least crowded and the weather was near perfect. I roamed my way around the grounds when I first got to Union Park around 3 PM and it was noticeable that Friday pulled in one of the youngest crowds I’ve seen at Pitchfork in a few years. I can only assume that the reason was Animal Collective because the other bands lined up seem to appeal to an older crowd in my mind.

The first act I caught was EMA which I headed into fresh and excited after hearing about her, mainly through Pitchfork media, and was interested to see what she would bring to the stage. Unfortunately, she packed light. It may have been the early time slot she was awarded but she played to a pretty weak crowd and didn’t have much, if any, stage presence. She turned out to be playing a show that I had to really force myself to get into, thinking in the back of my head that if she has gotten so much buzz then there must be something noteworthy. Instead I ended up leaving her set early finding her live vocals uninteresting and that I couldn’t get one decent photo from such a lackluster performance. I left wishing that I would have skipped her act entirely and gone straight to Gatekeeper whose performance at the Blue Stage sounded pretty awesome even from the sidelines.

Luckily, the next stage I hopped to was the Green Stage at 4:35 where Battles was playing and they had me hooked from the first note. Battles is one of the four or five bands that I’ve wanted to see ever since I started liking halfway decent music in the latter part of my high school years. Not only were they extremely entertaining to watch (Ian Williams on the coolest keyboard setup I’ve ever seen) but they sounded good, really good. They started off their set with a few numbers from their recently released album Gloss Drop but they also played to their fans with numerous numbers off of Mirrored, the album that gave them so much notoriety in 2007. If I hadn’t caught a single other act that day I would have left happy knowing that not only does Battles sound good at home blasting out of my speakers but that they can live up to that in a festival setting.

After Battles I switched it up and caught Curren$y at the Blue Stage (where the shade is the best thing ever). The thing I loved about Curren$y’s set is that he really interacted with the crowd. He started off his set by jokingly (but not jokingly) addressing the crowd with “Don’t clap for me, don’t do that shit, just light up”. It’s great that he’s able to not take himself 100% seriously and just have fun. You could tell that no one felt more comfortable performing on that stage than he did. Besides having a great demeanor he also sounded awesome. His rapping wasn’t lazy, he had a bad ass girl DJ (new life ambition for me?), and he seemed truly grateful and even surprised that such an enthusiastic crowd had come to see him.

Unfortunately the day couldn’t stay as perfect as it was seeming to be because after Curren$y had finished it was time for Das Racist. Now, not knowing much about Das Racist, but having seen how much people all over the blawgz seem to love them, I had somewhat high expectations. I mean, even Rolling Stone awarded hahahaha jk? one of the fifty best singles in 2010. About 1/8 of the way through the first song I could see that this was definitely not what I was expecting. They were drunk, way too drunk to be rapping coherently. Good thing that their rapping isn’t very coherent in the first place. Their lyrics sounded lazy and gimmicky. I understand humor and I would like to consider myself humorous, but as a musical artist you need to have at least some respect for your talent and take yourself a little bit seriously. Das Racist has gladly held tight to this title of hipster rap but, seriously, if you want to consider yourself worthwhile don’t show up to a venue, where people have paid to come see you, wasted and slurring.

James Blake saved the integrity of the Blue Stage when he played his set at 7:30. Although a music festival isn’t the ideal setting for Blake’s sound he still put on a pretty impressive performance. He started his softer tracks and slowly built up to some dance numbers. It was clear that he thought through his set list and what would be the best for the type of crowd that was coming to see him play. His voice sounded great although if I were to see him again it would probably be in a smaller more intimate venue.

Animal Collective headlined day one of Pitchfork and they maybe weren’t my favorite act of the day but they were definitely better than the last time I had seen them which was in 2008. The thing that’s fun about Animal Collective live is their stage set up. The only way to describe it would probably be underwater Halloween (wut? I know, weird, but still pretty cool). They played a solid set with Pandabear on drums but unfortunately he was hidden by some sort of paper-mache iceberg, really the only member you could see clearly was Avey Tare so if you’re one of those people that needs to see the band up close then this might not have been the show for you. Regardless, the overall ambiance of their set was the perfect closing act for the day.

Pitchfork Music Festival (July 15-17, 2011) is one of the things I look forward to every summer and this time around Metal Lungies gets to do it right. If you haven’t heard of Pitchfork, it’s a smaller (and more reasonably priced) music festival located in Chicago’s Grant Park that is known for showcasing both well known and emerging artists. The artists that I’m personally the most excited to see range from Hip Hop to Electronica to Folk so expect a pretty diverse review. Also, on top of being a great platform for experiencing new music, Pitchfork also houses the FLATSTOCK 30 poster show (in relation to the American Poster Institute) which I highly recommend checking out. Talented artists and design coalitions come together and showcase their work and you can see and buy some pretty amazing stuff. If you happen to be joining me at Pitchfork you should check out Delicious Design League’s booth where yours truly is interning this summer (a shameless plug, wUtEvR).

Be sure to check back on the blog next week for a final review and pictures. Also, assuming I have cell coverage (fingers crossed), you can follow me at @Meaghatron on Twitter for extra cool stuff.

Here are my picks (which are obviously the best, duh) but I’ll be stage hopping because Pitchfork is all about checking out artists you’ve never heard of:

F R I D A Y . J U L Y  1 5 . 2 0 1 1 – – – – –

RED STAGE

*3:30 EMA

5:30 Thurston Moore

7:20 Neko Case

BLUE STAGE

3:20 Gatekeeper

**4:30 tUnE-yArDs

*5:30 Curren$y

*6:30 Das Racist

*7:30 James Blake

GREEN STAGE

**4:35 Battles

6:25 Guided by Voices

*8:30 Animal Collective

S A T U R D A Y . J U L Y  1 6 . 2 0 1 1 – – – – –

RED STAGE

*1:45 Woods

*3:20 No Age

5:15 Destroyer

7:25 DJ Shadow

BLUE STAGE

1:00 Chrissy Murderbot Feat. MC Zulu

1:55 Sun Airway

2:50 G-Side

*3:45 Wild Nothing

4:45 Off!

*5:45 The Radio Dept.

*6:45 Twin Shadow

7:40 Zola Jesus

GREEN STAGE

1:00 Julianna Barwick

2:30 Cold Cave

*4:15 Gang Gang Dance

6:15 The Dismemberment Plan

*8:30 Fleet Foxes

S U N D A Y . J U L Y  1 7 . 2 0 1 1 – – – – –

RED STAGE

*1:45 Yuck

*3:20 OFWGKTA

5:15 Superchunk

*7:25 Cut Copy

BLUE STAGE

1:00 Darkstar

1:55 How to Dress Well

2:50 Twin Sister

3:45 Shabazz Palaces

4:45 Baths

5:45 Kylesa

*6:45 Toro y Moi

7:40 HEALTH

GREEN STAGE

1:00 The Fresh & Onlys

2:30 Kurt Vile and the Violators

*4:15 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

*6:15 Deerhunter

*8:30 TV on the Radio

Best Coast is quite possibly the one band that I would truly categorize as the perfect summer music. Simple chord changes, airy vocals… it just feels like the beach. Best Coast has participated in the Adult Swim Singles Program which I’m grateful for since it means new (and free!) music from a band whose last album dropped an entire year ago. Check out Adult Swim and also listen to Gone Again here:

Theophilus London (you might remember his name from back in January) is the epitome of cool. He has a rapping style that is accessible to everyone but he also has a fashion sense that makes me wish I could pull off men’s clothing. In February, London came out with his Lovers Holiday EP and one of the best tracks was unanimously Flying Overseas which featured both Devonte Hynes and Solange Knowles. Soul Clap speeds up this track and transforms the laidback melody-rap into a dance track filtered with watery effects. Be on the lookout for Theophilus London’s first full length album, Timez Are Weird These Days, that drops in a few weeks. You can listen to the remix here:

The Naked and Famous are an indie band from New Zealand that haven’t gotten nearly as much attention in the US as they have in their native land. They are comprised of five members that each add an integral ingredient to what makes their sound so full. They have two great vocalists, Thom Powers (who provides vocals that anchor their sound) and Alisa Xayalith (who’s crazy range gives the band a one up against competition). Alisa captivates the audience when she sings and it’s hard not to pay attention during their set. Check out one of their singles Girls Like You:

The Black Keys have a distinct blues rock sound which they’ve now applied to a Buddy Holly classic. Buddy Holly’s Dearest was released in 1969 and now a little over 40 years later The Black Keys have given it a facelift worthy of 2011. Dan Auerbach’s vocals and Patrick Carney’s drums make their version of Dearest simple and relaxing all the while keeping the sound that made them famous.

Listen here: