VISUAL NOTES: Album Covers Inspired by Famous Paintings
If you are a band planning to release an album, and you’re lacking in visual artist friends…look no further than the closest art museum!
I spotted a photo of a Bow Wow Wow album cover in an new edition of The Oxford History of Western Art that was an “interpretation” of Manet’s “Picnic on the Grass”, and committed this ridiculous and awesome idea to memory.
CHALLENGE: Scour The Internet for apparent match-ups between famous dead painters and rock stars.
The Majestic Sounds of Fleet Foxes’ "White Winter Hymnal"
Have you ever wished that My Morning Jacket and The Shins would someday record together? Well, if you have, then the woodsy and majestic “White Winter Hymnal” from Seattle’s Fleet Foxes is your new favorite song. Currently on tour with Blitzen Trapper, these glowing harmonies will keep you warm until summer comes a-rollin’ back.
On June 3rd the band will release it’s currently untitled album on Sub Pop. Summer can’t come soon enough.
Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal
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These New Puritans’ "Elvis" Evokes Today’s Technological Paranoia
Compared to other mp3 blogs, I am a little late on discovering England’s These New Puritans. Nevertheless, I can’t stop playing the super catchy, early Liars meets This Nation’s Saving Grace-era Fall sounding UK single “Elvis.” The song’s style may not be totally fresh, but in the age of civilian wire-tapping and Google Earth, the song’s paranoid lyrics are gripping and evocative of the times.
TNP’s debut album, Beat Pyramid, is out now in the UK and will be available March 18th in the US, via Domino.
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Pete and The Pirates Fight Off The Blues With New Single "Knots"
Despite his lyrical melancholy Thomas Sanders, lead singer of two awesome English indie bands Pete and the Pirates and Tap Tap, likes to maintain some optimism. Case in point, the Bloc Party/Kinks-esque first single “Knots” from the new Pete and the Pirates album, Little Death. It’s a humble, call-to-arms tale that pits mis-stepping against adventure. But which one will walk the plank?
The answer appears to lie in the video, where the band, armed with instruments and silly-string, is shown going on care-free road-trip during a beautiful, sunny day:
Little Death is out now on Stolen Recordings. The album also features an excellent re-recording of the Tap Tap song “Come On Feet.”
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Rigas Makes Sweden Funky
Rigas is one of Sweden’s most prolific producers and also releases music on his own. The title track from his newest album The Hardest Pocket to Pick is a mix of Prince, Tom Tom Club and P-Funk with a modern-day indie-dance sound. “Stench of You” from 2006’s This Year Has Been Good To Me is a funny and funky little song, reminiscent of early Peter Bjorn and John…if they spent more time hanging around the carnival circuit…
Buy his music via Flora and Fauna Records.
Rigas – The Hardest Pocket To Pick
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The Perfect Tune for a Snowy Winterland: White Hinterland’s "Dreaming of The Plum Trees"
Currently, it is snowing gently outside in perfect rhythm to the sounds of White Hinterland – a Boston-based troupe of lovely, willowy folksters. Besides describing their collective visage, lovely and willowy also describe White Hinterland’s delicate sound. “Dreaming of The Plum Trees” peaked my attention because of its acoustic sweetness and instrumental subtleties. Soft percussion, piano melodies, and singer Casey Dienel’s alluring Joni Mitchell-esque voice are the main draws to the track.
I am looking forward to the March release of their latest, Phylactery Factory on Dead Oceans.
White Hinterland – Dreaming of the Plum Trees
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Athens, GA Rockabilly Legends, Flat Duo Jets’ Documentary Soundtrack, "Two Headed Cow"!
I received a promotional disc of Two Headed Cow, the soundtrack to the Flat Duo Jets‘ 2006 documentary in the mail yesterday. I have never heard of these guys before, and I must say that I was blown away!
Dexter Romweber, frontman of Flat Duo Jets, is the real deal. Forming in Athens, Georgia in 1984, Dexter started Flat Duo Jets inspired by rock n roll heroes such as Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, and Buddy Holly. Dirty, wild rockabilly music was the result.
The sound is not unlike The Cramps, but without the glitz and glamor. Here is a rockabilly band from 80’s with no gimmicks. There is plenty of country roots influence present, but it’s a far cry from retro. Upon hearing the duo’s raw thrashing energy, it’s obvious the Jets are a rare breed of genuine rockers, especially Dexter’s crooning wolf-man vocals.
Scope out a clip from the documentary, Two Headed Cow. (Includes an interview with Dexter and old footage of the band performing, the Collin’s Kids‘ “Hoy Hoy”.
Flat Duo Jets On MTV’s Cutting Edge. (A quite hilarious segment on Dexter and his rock and roll lifestyle. “Welcome to the Mausoleum!”
Enjoy The Flat Duo Jets’ “Rockin Bones” from 1986, as heard on the soundtrack!
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The World’s Greatest Music Collection Sells for $3 Million?!
Really? That’s it? Well, if you consider this particular collection to be, in fact, the greatest in the world, then I would assume it would have a much higher price tag. Granted, the collection was estimated at having a value of $50 million but to purchase 3 million records and 300,000 CD’s for a little more than $3 million is crazy! Kudos to Jopspup for the buy of a lifetime!
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Hoodoo Gurus Wonder, "What’s My Scene?"
Australians are awesome. Hoodoo Gurus is another great group hailing from the country that brought us AC/DC, The Go-Betweens, Nick Cave and Olivia Newton John. Hoodoo Gurus are just normal rock n roll dudes who don’t hesistate spliffing out a good power-pop song.
This video for “What’s My Scene” is ultra-80’s looking, with tons of bold colors and cheesy split screen effects. Changing into costumes throughout, these goofballs simply express the human need for belonging. But the beauty of the message is that you are the scene! Now don’t you feel better?
Buy Hoodoo Gurus’ 1987 album Blow Your Cool now!
Merry Clayton, The Epic Voice Behind the Rolling Stones’ "Gimme Shelter"
The Rolling Stones‘ Let It Bleed album begins with the political tune, “Gimme Shelter”. But who is that massive voice belting it out under Jagger’s cocksure mumbles?
Nick Cave Plays With a Ouija Board and Harry Houdini Stops By For A Visit
“A hemorrhaging of words and ideas,” is how Nick Cave describes the upcoming March 4, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds release, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!. True to Bad Seeds form, the album is an intellectually expansive collection of songs, this time focusing on Ouija boards, a visit from Harry Houdini, and subversive spirituality. A video for the title track, “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! features the ex-Birthday Partier simply parading in front of projections on a screen, and looking like a used-car salesman (complete with a bulky pinky ring.) Cave and The Bad Seeds have set the stage for what appears to be another interesting album. My fingers are crossed and we’ll see come March!
ANTI-, the Bad Seeds label, has everything you need to know about Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
The Flaming Lips Re-Record "Free Radicals" in Simlish, The Language of The Sims Video game
And it is bizarre! We all know The Flaming Lips are an eccentric and progressive band to begin with, which is why we love them…but “Free Radicals (Simlish Version) recorded for EA’s Sims 2 Pets Soundtrack takes their eccentricity to a whole new level. The song now contains the Gibberish-styled language from the video game. Hilarious and nerdy as hell! Fagaggabah!
Learn more about the project and download another Simlish song by The New Amsterdams at Muzak For Cybernetics.
The Flaming Lips – Free Radicals (Simlish Version)
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