<3 you Memoryhouse. 2k11 has been so absent without your wistful melodies and melodramatic whispers. Can’t wait for Sub Pop to wake up from the dream state you put them in with your music so that they can release your LP. Hope it happens soon… Until then, I will be watching these videos all day, every day:
Archive for the ‘Youtube Finds’ Category
Memoryhouse // A lot of Videos
Thursday, June 16th, 2011Reading Rainbow // Live Videos
Monday, May 30th, 2011Reading Rainbow just posted on their blog a series of live videos from a recent gig in Pittsburgh featuring a 3-piece version of their group. Below are my favorites — stellar stuff!
jj // A Bunch of Stuff
Sunday, May 15th, 2011
Got inundated by a deluge of jj news from the past two days. The first are two brand new tracks that are part of the most outrageous record release imaginable, courtesy of the folks over at Sincerely Yours. For a paltry 100€, you can get this mini-release with one of ten “different, unique and handmade covers by jj and Malin Bernalt,” or for those not on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, you can download just the mp3s from Sincerely Yours’ website here (or check out my personal favorite below). Spring is definitely in the air…
The other news is that a video has surfaced for jj’s track “My Life / My Swag” — a cut from their very first release, appropriately entitled entitled jj n° 1 — depicting what can only be described as idyllic rural Swedish life. Take a look/listen:
oOoOO // Plains Is Hot
Monday, May 9th, 2011
The more I spin past oOoOO tracks the more I dig them. I’ll be the first to admit I was a skeptic when the unorthodox naming conventions started to pop up — and it didn’t even have to be “Witch House” related (re: tUnE-yArDs) — but when they have proven talent, who gives a fuck how they spell their name. My love affair of oOoOO began with his No Summer4U CD-R (where the title track has appeared on several of my mixes), but I’ve just now gotten around to spinning his 2010 Tri-Angle released s/t EP and I got to say it’s just as amazing.
One of the standouts on the EP for me is the track “Plains Is Hot.” In traditional oOoOO fashion, the song is a slow-burner full of head-thumpin’ bass and delicate female vocals with a side-order of ethereal synths. Nicely accompanying the track is this unofficial video which splices up footage from Fernand Léger’s (yes, THAT Léger) Ballet Mécanique in the most creepy way possible. Enjoy!
Lera Lynn // Wolf Like Me (TV on the Radio Cover)
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011I’ll be the first to admit that the shtick of folk/banjo musicians covering popular “indie” songs has grown increasingly nauseating — reaching near “chillwave” proportions by volume — however, this Lera Lynn version of TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me” seems to buck the trend. In fact, no one is more surprised than myself about how much I dig this cover, considering how my love of the original (one of my favorite tracks of 2006) set expectations incredibly high. Although the vocals and arrangement are undeniably country, the pace, crescendos, and, overall, the general excitement, keeps true to the original. Love it!
Just a Number 05272011 // He Didn’t Want a Love Song
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011
As if we hadn’t learned our lesson last year with the antics of iamamiwhoami — and the subsequent flame-out on a massive scale when songs rather than snippets actually started leaking out — here comes the snarkily named artist Just A Number 05272011 to ride in the wake of the cryptically named musicians. Although both the pair of (presumable) Swedes have similar sigh-inducing origins, Just A Number 05272011 has a leg up by storming out the gate by release three complete, creative tracks.
The first track to appear out of thin air, and my personal favorite, is the frankly titled “He Didn’t Want a Love Song” which you can view below. Although the pace battles molasses for last place in a race, you can’t help but be drawn in by the electro-metallic sounding opening clangs and fully enveloped by the time the first crash of the chorus “He didn’t want a love song / I tell you that’s for sure” hits your ears.
The second track (whose release was also accompanied by a video) is a little more forgettable as the singer’s schtick of imitating Fever Ray’s voice (or is it Fever Ray herself?!?!) gets a little grating by the second verse. Also, the induced motion sickness by the swiftly transitioning jpeg compressed images of the video certainly doesn’t help the cause.
The final track, and the sole one I could find on the blog-o-sphere via mp3, is an up-tempo discothèque track if I’ve ever heard one — which, for anyone whose read my site for a while knows, is the quickest way to get a re-listen from me. It’s a great dance duet whose male vocals sound like it’s supplied by The Knife collaborator Jonathan Johansson (just adding fuel to fire when it comes to the Fever Ray rumors). You can check out/download the track below:
d’Eon // Transparency
Monday, April 18th, 2011
If you had any doubt about whether or not to purchase the Grimes/d’Eon split 12” from Hippos In Tank (the one that I covered from the Grimes-side just a week-or-so ago) it got completely erased when I finally sat down and listened to some of d’Eon’s tracks. For reals, this is a must-have purchase for any music fan and/or GvB reader out there (on occasion, those two can be mutually exclusive).
With “Transparency,” d’Eon does the same work as gallons of alcohol, providing an insta-dance party with a single track. With an obvious nod to the 80s, sans the over-played chillwave influence, d’Eon opts for vague, ambiguous lyrics soft-sung over slightly cheesy but highly catchy groove lines (auto-familiar bass plucks, church-like keyboards). You really can’t help but dance to this stuff or, if you’re like me, nod your head with your headphones on.
Check out the track, graciously supplied via GvB, as well as a pair of videos from each of the artists on the split release below:
The Diamond Center // Caraway
Sunday, April 17th, 2011
Got a new track, “hot off the presses” (i.e. only a month ago) from former Lubbockites (present Richmonders?) The Diamond Center and man, it’s dense. A slow burner for sure, this 6 1/2 minute track is haunting throughout, starting with the slightly pitch-shifted opening chords and continuing with the monotonic vocals from singer Brandi Price, before smashing head-first into some killer reverbed-assisted guitar solos. For me, it’s very reminiscent to the drugged-out prog-rock ballads from decades ago…
Check out the track below in both audio and video form (directed by PT-Music favorites NervousRoomService). Also, pre-order the 7” featuring the track here.
Vitamins // No Notion of Anything Only Whatever Is What
Thursday, April 14th, 2011I know this video for Colorado’s Vitamins is three months old, but hey, better late than never! Super trippy — as one commenter aptly described it as the “LSD Olympics” — the video matches perfectly with the prog/experiemental rock track. Might be just me, but with Vitamins I get flashes of Ponytail in their music (something which will always be OK with me). You can pre-order the 7” from Hot Congress here.
Work Drugs // Curious Serge
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
With all the snow I’ve seen this past winter in Utah, one thing is for certain: summer can’t come fast enough. Work Drugs must feel the same way as me because their track “Curious Serge” is about as chilled out summer-y as you can get without broaching into “chillwave” territory. The song is off of the band’s new dual-album Tropic of Cancer/ Capricorn which you can buy here (limited to only about 50 copies).
And in typical Work Drugs fashion, you can listen and watch the track below:
