Stream Future Island's "On The Water."

Two posts back-to-back--way to be, NPR.  Future Islands, the Baltimore band who killed it at Sepomana 2010, will release their third LP, On The Water, October 11th.  More subdued than 2010's In Evening Air, the album makes full use of the Samuel Harring's melancholie lyrics and gravely vocals.  You can stream On The Water in its entirety at NPR's First Listen website.  Click here to listen.

Wilco Live: Merriweather Post Pavilion

As you should already know Wilco just released their album, The Whole Love.  A LP that finds the band squarely back in their Yenkee Hotel Foxtrot sonic realm, it features beautiful melodies and grating sounds that combine to form a delicate and complex soundscape.  NPR recently recorded Wilco performing a two hour set full of both new cuts and classics from as far back as 1995's A.M.  Obviously this recording is something special.  Click here to stream.

Setlist:
Art of Almost
I Might
Black Moon
I'm Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
Impossible Germany
Born Alone
Handshake Drugs
Jesus, Etc.
It Dawned on Me
Box Full of Leters
Standing O
War on War
A Shot in the Arm
----
Via Chicago
Whole Love
36 Inches High
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Monday
Outtasite

Leave Me Alone, Mom!

So, I guess I should start off this post with a disclosure: I'm good friends with two members of this band.  However, if I has stumbled upon their EP on my own, I would still be writing this post.  Based out of Oberlin College--Leave Me Alone, Mom brings a fresh face to the scene of "Surf Punk."  With tracks entitled "Beat Me Up" and "R.I.Pet" it's easy to get an image of their sound before even downloading it.  They are tough but with a hint of vulnerability.  Self-doubt runs through the album, giving it a feeling of self-loathing reminiscent of Weezer's Pinkerton.  Despite this, the album still hits hard due to it's fuzzed out guitars, mottled vocals, and aggressive drumming.

"Pool Boy,"a song featuring a Mrs. Robinson-esque suitor and a sexually inexperienced protagonist, is lofted by self-deprecating lyrics, "Please don't make me cry / I've only kissed one girl before," as a chorus adds the decisive, "She thought I was someone else."  This lack of esteem runs throughout the album; on "Creep by TLC," a woman is quoted as saying, "I'm trying to sleep so stop calling me now / And I try to leave when you're hanging around / And you're such a sleaze when I see you in town / So don't call me / I'm not your f****** girl."  Heavy stuff.

The EP is free at their bandcamp; stream and download below:

 

New Releases: 9/13/2011

A post to keep y'all in the loop this Tuesday night: There have been some killer releases today.  St. Vincent released "Strange Mercy."  Her third effort, the LP is held down by singles "Surgeon" and "Cruel."  She has received numerous favorable reviews, including a "Best New Music" nod from Pitchfork.

Additionally, Neon Indian's sophomore LP, "Era Extraña" was released today.  Tracks to check out include "Polish Girl" and "Hex Girlfriend."  The just-released music video of the former is embedded below.  A collaboration between The Creator's Project (Vice and Intel) and director Tim Nackashi, it tells the story of "a futurist romance between a data-mining outcast and the woman he loves."

Finally, several notable music videos were unveiled today.  Scroll down to view Cut Copy's "Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution" and a director's cut of Das Racist's latest single "Michael Jackson."  The videos feature post-apocalyptic monkey-men and a Michael Jackson impersonator respectively. 

Video: "Holocene"

Bon Iver's latest, self-titled LP is superb. Evoking strong emotions and visions, the layered tracks are serene yet jarring. The recently released music video for the single "Holocene" is beautiful. Consisting of only a young boy exploring the natural beauty of Iceland, each scene fits into the track like a puzzle piece. As the clip progresses, nature subtly changes: rocks grow, a stone turns into a bird, and ripples move strangely. This departure from reality creates a visual accompaniment to the off-putting, droning synthesizers that reach into and throughout the song. The video is worth a watch if only for the Planet Earth-esque scenery, let alone the fact that it's a Bon Iver video.

cultic

Go Outside, by Cults from Boing Boing on Vimeo.

summer programming

oh la la summer programming has begun!

Tune your car dials to 91.1 fm and your interweb to http://boombox.middlebury.edu:8000/WRMC192.m3u for some supreme beats hosted by your favourite deejays. Note that summer time at Middlebury also means language school (!!!), so be sure to expand your musical palette with some world music and/or improve your listening proficiencies with Spanish, Hebrew, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Russian school throughout the week.

banana ripple

Junior Boys - Banana Ripple by DominoRecordCo

WRVU and College Radio

WRVU out of Vanderbilt University in Nashville (which also broadcasted on 91.1) played its final tune last Tuesday--the station's license was sold by the Vanderbilt Student Communications organization to the local public radio station. Freddie O'Connel offers some good commentary on the station's end and the value of college radio in today's NYT.

There’s a false but widespread image of college radio as a pointless, narcissistic exercise — that it’s nothing more than a crew of campus oddballs who like playing D.J., even though no one is listening.

WRVU demonstrated how wrong that image is. Not only did it command respect and interest on campus, but, thanks to a longstanding and farsighted policy, it allowed and encouraged members of the off-campus community to volunteer as D.J.’s — and so drew on the rich cultural heritage of Music City U.S.A. as well.

My co-host and I shared the airwaves with Ken Berryhill, who calls himself the world’s oldest D.J. and played country classics; the encyclopedic Pete Wilson, who spun a mind-bending mix of old R&B, rock ’n’ roll and blues on his show “Nashville Jumps” (and had the sad honor of playing the last song on WRVU, Johnny Thunders’s “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory”); and countless college students, balancing their awkward moments of dead air with delightfully original musical sensibilities.

The result was a cornerstone of the local community. Students learned from veterans, townies got to know Vanderbilt and Nashvillians got access to a chunk of the public commons otherwise dominated by big business: the airwaves.

It's sad to see the plug pulled at another college (and community) radio station, but discussions on the issue like this piece help reiterate their special value. For what it brings to a campus, town, its broadcasters, and its listeners, I see the unique college radio format as explicitly irreplaceable.

july

Slow, hazy, and somewhat unremarkable, the first minute of "July" recalls the torpor of summer. Don't be put off, as the song rewards patience. With the gradual addition of a triangle, keyboard, guitar, and tambourine, the layers coalesce until the sharp crack of a drum at 2:50 brings the glory of summer suddenly into focus.

July by Youth Lagoon