Creed Bratton - Rubber Tree

The Office is one of my all time favorite TV shows. Absolute perfection. It's up there with the likes of Arrested Development, Always Sunny, and Freaks and Geeks. For those of you that watch The Office, then you obviously know the hilarious Creed Bratton. Yes, Creed Bratton is also his real name. He is one of the funniest characters in the show, and always has the most random lines.
I had no idea that he was a talented musician that used to be in 'The Grass Roots'. He has a number of solo songs that he has produced over the years, and has just come out with a new song titled 'Rubber Trees'! Check it out below, its actually really good! Creed is a great folk singer, almost reminiscent of Bob Dylan. Ed Helms (The Office, The Hangover) is also the featured banjo player on the track. Creed is in the studio working on his album titled 'Bounce Back' due out in March. Tune into The Office on NBC Thursdays at 9.

Homeless Man Covers Radiohead

A friend of mine looks like she was hitting the stumble button very repeatedly at 2am, and came across this video of a homeless man in NYC doing a cover of Radiohead's 'Creep'. The popular talk show 'Opie and Anthony' which is based out of New York, hired the homeless man to do some voice over promo's for their talk show. Then they found out the man had some pipes too. Check out Daniel Mustard's emotional cover below.


Mustard sings Creep from Rex Kramer on Vimeo.

Oxygen Ashtray's Best Beats

Today I installed a Lala playlist to the right hand side of the blog. Lala is a great music sharing website much like Pandora, or LastFM. It's completely free to sign up, and it gives you access to 8 million songs for free. You can upload your tracks to the website and make playlists that other users can find and play as well. You can search around for artists you like, and other users making playlists containing those artists, and then play their playlist. It's a very cool concept. Downloading the legal way, only costs 10 cents a song.

I made playlist consisting the songs that I am currently obsessing over. I will update the playlist as needed. All you have to do to listen to all the songs for free, is sign up for a free account over at Lala----> Here. Then you can listen along to what I am too!

The first playlist contains:

Toro Y Moi
Four Tet
Vampire Weekend
Spoon
Owen Pallett
The Soft Pack
Miike Snow
Dave & Tim
The Antlers
Memory Tapes
Laura Marling
The Temper Trap
K'naan
Tim & Jean
Girls
Freelance Whales
Harlem
Tune Yards
The Smith Westerns
Surfer Blood
Phoenix
Discovery
Neon Indian
Passion Pit

DMB Grammy Performance & Haiti Relief Project

The Dave Matthews Band will be performing at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards this Sunday night. The band is nominated for two awards: Album Of The Year, and Best Rock Album. They will be competing against the likes of Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Black Eyed Peas, and Taylor Swift. Good luck boys! As nominees, they will be performing their 3rd single from 'Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King' 'You and Me'. By the snap shot of rehearsals, it looks like they will be performing the song much like the way they made the music video (see video at bottom). Be sure to tune in Sunday night at 8!

The Dave Matthews Band 'Haiti Relief Project' EP, is now available for download. It includes the rare 'Butterfly' and a great 'Cry Freedom' The live performances from the disc are as follows:

• "Butterfly" (8/28/07) KC!
• "Cry Freedom" (7/31/04) WPB!
• "Out of My Hands" (7/19/09) Alpine!
• "Lying in the Hands of God" (6/12/09) SPAC!
• "Dive In" (9/10/09) Greek!

It only costs $5 and the money goes to the Haiti Relief. You can download it Here

Album Review: Toro Y Moi – Causers Of This

You know that feeling? After listening to the opening track of an album, you just get know that it's going to be a fantastic listening experience from start to finish. Well that's how I felt after listening to the opening track 'Blessa' off of Toro Y Moi's debut album 'Causers of This'. It has warped beats, dreamy vocals, and eventually moves into an electronic jam sphere. The entire album is drenched in exotic synths and heavy dance beats.

If you are trying to place Toro Y Moi aka Chaz Bundick into a musical category, he can be compared to the likes of other DIY lo-fi pop projects like Neon Indian, Washed Up, Emil and Friends. 'Lissoms' has that straight up Animal Collective/Daft Punk dance floor vibe to it. It really gets your toes tapping and is currently my favorite track. 'Freak Love' is a musical whirl. Repeating vocals and crackling white noise, it sounds like a record being spun at a very weird and fast pace. The song goes round and round in non stop rotation. I also really love 'Low Shoulders'. It has a real good summer feel to it with very catchy synth hooks. This album is a full-blast indie dance anthem if you will, a perfect way to welcome the new decade.

Also check out Chad's blog, he takes some really cool pictures http://www.toroymoi.blogspot.com/
Head on over to his MySpace to check out tour dates and more info. Hoping to check him out in Boston on March 27.

Key Tracks:

Toro Y Moi - Lissoms by berman1125

Toro Y Moi - Blessa by berman1125

Toro Y Moi Low Shoulder by berman1125

SoundCloud/The Hype Machine to Partner & Apple Press Release

Great news for music and technology lovers everywhere. The popular music hosting sites, 'Soundcloud' and 'The Hype Machine' will partner up and become the most badass site ever.
The Hype Machine is going to be able to aggregate the output of blogs, but more importantly the bloggers get official releases without having to be forced to release an MP3 into the wild. In addition labels/artists can track listens and pull analytics on who and how the content is being consumed, as tracks get released. Since labels and bloggers haven’t traditionally got on, this move is potentially a lot more productive for both sides.
Bloggers will be able to embed a range of players from the Berlin-based SoundCloud allowing them to promote the music of their favorite artists using the tracks that were originally uploaded.
Domino are the first label to sign up as well as artists including Massive Attack, Marina and the Diamonds, and Delphic. The Hype Machine aggregates thousands of handpicked music blogs across the web and is really fun to visit because of is incredible ability to curate music genres. You should try it, it’s great. -Source

The most important part of this is to tell you that The Hype Machine now detects SoundCloud players in the blogs that it aggregates. And as you probably know, the blog post and track are then sucked into The Hype Machine. If you're a blogger this means that you can use our players even more now and know that your post will show up on The Hype Machine. This is exciting news in itself, but wait, it doesn’t stop there. When a fan listens to that track on The Hype Machine it’s actually streamed directly from SoundCloud. This means that if you’re the artist or label that has uploaded the track you’ll actually get stats on the number of times it has been played on The Hype Machine – as well as knowing exactly which blogs embedded your music in the first place. We’ve been busy building the most kick-ass stats for our users as possible and we think this is a great addition.
We think that this is all rather badass. The Hype Machine and the music blogs serve a massively important role in fans discovering new and exciting music. And it’s often the blogosphere that helps interesting new acts break to a wider audience. We’re thrilled to be part of that ecosystem, by allowing artists and labels to serve tracks directly to music bloggers via SoundCloud. Awesome news for music bloggers. Popular music - Source

Apple held a press conference this morning to unveil the Ipad (.5 inches thin, 1.5 pounds -- 9.7 inch IPS display) It will do it all. Think, all you would want in an Iphone/Itouch...just on a screen 10 inches wide. Everything just works! Essentially a mobile Safari with ultra smooth scrolling and drop down menus.
'It's the greatest web experience you've ever had.' Watch live baseball games with MLB Network, or read a book with Ibook. Iwork looks like they have done some considerable upgrades for the Ipad as well. Did i mention that there will be WiFi capabilities and AT&T monthly plans? How much will this bad boy cost? $499 for 16GB of iPad. That's the base model. 32GB is $599, 64GB is $799. 3G models cost an extra $130. $629, 729, and 829 with 3G. I kiiiiiinda want one! Check out the blog i was reading today for all the up to the minute info---->Here

 

 

 

DMB Summer 2010 Schedule

It's that time of year again! The Dave Matthews Band has announced their 2010 Summer Tour. Best of all, they are opening the tour right here in Hartford! I am so pumped that Hartford gets to play host to the tour opener. It will be my first time attending the first show of the year and I'm excited to see what it feels like. Everything will be seen for the first time all year, and anticipation will be sky high.

DMB is also changing up their seating arrangements for 2010. Concerts held in arenas and stadiums will have general admission standing on the floor. Dave Matthews Band concerts in arenas and stadiums have always had assigned seating on the floor, but that will change this year, according to new Warehouse ticketing guidelines. The guidelines state, "In all arenas there will be GA floor standing on the arena floor, with reserved seating in the lower and upper arena seats." For stadiums, the guidelines say, "For concerts held in stadiums there will be GA field standing and reserved grandstand seating."

I'm not really sure how I feel about the new seating. I know for a fact that I don't feel like going into a show 4 hours early and not being able to take pee breaks...anywhoooo, here are the rest of the summer dates! Look for me to be at Hartford, Spac, Citifield, maybe Mansfield, and Scranton. And if DMB plays Roo.. I'm there!

Tickets are $40 for lawn seats + fees. Seats inside will run you $70 + fees. I'm thinkin Friday night on the lawn....Saturday night floooo seats.

DATE	CITY	VENUE	SUPPORT
05/28	HARTFORD, CT	Comcast Theatre	Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
05/29	HARTFORD, CT	Comcast Theatre	Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
06/01	TORONTO, ONTARIO	Molson Amphitheatre	The Felice Brothers
06/02	DARIEN CENTER, NY	Darien Lake Performing Arts Center	The Felice Brothers
06/04	SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY	Saratoga Performing Arts Center	The Felice Brothers
06/05	SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY	Saratoga Performing Arts Center	The Felice Brothers
06/07	MANSFIELD, MA	Comcast Center	Yonder Mountain String Band
06/08	MANSFIELD, MA	Comcast Center	Yonder Mountain String Band
06/15	CINCINNATI, OH	Riverbend Music Center	Robert Earl Keen
06/16	MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre	Robert Earl Keen
06/18	NOBLESVILLE, IN	Verizon Wireless Music Center	Robert Earl Keen
06/19	NOBLESVILLE, IN	Verizon Wireless Music Center	Robert Earl Keen
06/22	COLUMBUS, OH	Huntington Park	Robert Earl Keen
06/23	CLARKSTON, MI	DTE Energy Music Theatre	Martin Sexton
06/25	CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH	Blossom Music Center	Martin Sexton
06/30	CAMDEN, NJ	Susquehanna Bank Center	Martin Sexton
07/01	CAMDEN, NJ	Susquehanna Bank Center	Martin Sexton
07/03	EAST TROY, WI	Alpine Valley Music Theatre	Zac Brown Band
07/04	EAST TROY, WI	Alpine Valley Music Theatre	Zac Brown Band
07/09	HERSHEY, PA	Hersheypark Stadium	Zac Brown Band
07/10	PITTSBURGH, PA	PNC Park *VIP Packages Available	Zac Brown Band
07/13	BETHEL, NY	Bethel Woods Center for the Arts	Amos Lee
07/14	SCRANTON, PA	Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain	Amos Lee
07/16	NEW YORK, NY	Citi Field *VIP Packages Available	Zac Brown Band
07/17	NEW YORK, NY	Citi Field *VIP Packages Available	Zac Brown Band
07/20	VIRGINIA BEACH, VA	Virginia Beach Amphitheater	Amos Lee
07/21	CHARLOTTE, NC	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte	Amos Lee
07/23	WASHINGTON, D.C.	Nationals Park *VIP Packages Available	Zac Brown Band
07/25	LOUISVILLE, KY	HullabaLOU Festival	Tickets On Sale Now
07/27	ATLANTA, GA	Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood	Gov't Mule
07/28	TAMPA, FL	Ford Amphitheatre	Gov't Mule
07/30	WEST PALM BEACH, FL	Cruzan Amphitheatre	Gov't Mule
07/31	WEST PALM BEACH, FL	Cruzan Amphitheatre	Gov't Mule
08/14	WICHITA, KS	InTrust Bank Arena	Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
08/17	WEST VALLEY CITY, UT	USANA Amphitheatre	Brett Dennen
08/20	CHULA VISTA, CA	Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre	Brett Dennen
08/21	IRVINE, CA	Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Brett Dennen
08/23	LOS ANGELES, CA	Hollywood Bowl	Raphael Saadiq
08/25	CONCORD, CA	Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord	Raphael Saadiq
08/27	MARYSVILLE, CA	Sleep Train Amphitheatre	Raphael Saadiq
08/28	MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA	Shoreline Amphitheatre	Raphael Saadiq
08/31	BOISE, ID	Taco Bell Arena	SUPPORT TBA
09/03	GEORGE, WA	Gorge Amphitheatre	Ben Harper & Relentless7
09/04	GEORGE, WA	Gorge Amphitheatre	Ben Harper & Relentless7
09/05	GEORGE, WA	Gorge Amphitheatre	Ben Harper & Relentless7
09/10	WOODLANDS, TX	Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion	Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
09/11	DALLAS, TX	Superpages.com Center	Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
09/14	OMAHA, NE	Qwest Center	Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
09/15	St. PAUL, MN	Xcel Energy Center	Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

Local Natives Perform 'Wide Eyes'

HibOO d'Live : Local Natives "Wide eyes" from Le-HibOO.com on Vimeo.

I'm feeling lazy today and I dont feel like writing anything. Local Natives played an acoustic version of 'Wide Eyes' for Le-Hiboo. It's very good. They are very good. Get their music. Have a nice day.

#1

Colts to XLVI. THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!

Sup Pop 2010 Sampler

Sup Pop Records has released a 2010 sampler of their upcoming releases. Our friends over @ Pretty Much Amazing posted a link to download the sampler...sooo what are you waiting for?! Head on over to PMA and pick up this great music.

Free Download of Sub Pop's 2010 Sampler--------->Here

Here is the full tracklisting:
Happy Birthday – “Girls FM”
The Ruby Suns – “Cranberry”
Dum Dum Girls – “Jail La La”
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore – “Something, Somewhere, Sometime”
The Album Leaf – “Falling from the Sun”
Retribution Gospel Choir – “Hide It Away”
AFCGT – “Two-Legged Dog”
Beach House – “Norway”
Avi Buffalo – “What’s in It For?”
Nirvana – “Scoff (Live)”
Flight of the Conchords – “Too Many Dicks”
No Age – “You’re a Target”
Eugene Mirman – “Vancouver, Detroit and Bears!”
Grand Archives – “Oslo Novelist”
Pissed Jeans – “Dream Smotherer”
Fruit Bats – “The Ruminant Band”
Obits – “Two-Headed Coin”
Handsome Furs – “Radio Kaliningrad”
Vetiver – “More of This (Neighbors RMX)

Conan's Early Exit

Conan left us last night. Those bastards over at NBC...I blame Jack Donaghy personally. Conan did go out with a bang of course. He gave us a heart-wrenching speech. Voice cracking and eyes tearing up, CoCo thanked NBC for all the good times, and then let ZZ Top, Beck, Ben Harper, led by the vocals of Will Ferrel rock out Skynard's 'Freebird'. Conan strapped on his own Gibson and played along with them and the rest of the Tonight Show Band! Conan can shred!!!!!! The last 3 minutes of this song looked like so much fun!  Have a nice vacation Conan, hope to see you on another network in the fall.

Cruise over to NBC to watch the ep. Those assholes blocked all youtube videos.

She & Him - New Song & Tour Dates

Previously I posted about the love I have for Zooey Deschanel (Here) . She is drop dead gorgeous and has the voice of an angel. Zooey teamed up with M. Ward and have a group by the name of  'She & Him'. They released one album in 2008 named 'Volume One'. They are back in 2010 with a new album, 'Volume Two' due out March 23rd. Pitchfork is featuring 'In The Sun' off the new album, it's wonderful folk music. Head on over to Pitchfork and check it out ----->Here. Leave a comment here and let me know what you think!

She & Him announced a few tour dates to support the new album, so be sure to check them out if you have a chance! (Yet another reason to go to Coachella)

03-15 Los Angeles, CA - Largo
03-25 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
03-27 Savannah, GA - Savannah Music Festival
03-29 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03-30 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-15 Pomona, CA - The Glass House
04-16 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival

Wu Tang Vs. The Beatles

 

I came across this remix today on twitter. It came from Quest Love of The Roots, who posted a link from his twitter page to 'The Magical Mystery Chambers' which is a remix album using Wu Tang acapellas on Tom Caruana beats that sample Beatles songs. It's dope, so download it for freeeee --------> Here

Aziz Ansari - Tapes 'N Tapes

I was watching the show 'Human Giant' the other day. It stars Aziz Ansari along with Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. I found this skit and haaaaad to post it. Aziz plays a manager for a band who threatens bloggers and Pitchfork to spread the word about his band. Aziz has also just released his new CD/DVD release yesterday called 'Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening'. It is very very funny. Enjoy the skit!

Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring

Los Campesinos! has their third album coming out at the end of the month, it leaked online just before Christmas. The band has put out the first video 'Romance Is Boring', the same title that bears the album cover. The album is their third in just 24 months and was recorded here in good 'ol Connecticut! Enjoy the video mates.

Romance Is Boring by Los Campesinos! from Los Campesinos! on Vimeo.

Coachella Festival Dates & Lineup

Jay-Z, LCD, Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Fever Ray, She&Him, La Roux, Deertick, Muse, MGMT, Dead Weather, Hotchip, Dirty Projectors, XX, Procupine Tree, Pretty Lights, Girls, Temper Trap, Beach House, Pavement, Spoon, Phoenix, Thom Yorke, Julian Casablancas, Deerhunter, Matt&Kim, Miike Snow, Owen Pallet, Local Natives, The Soft Pack.

Holllllllllllllllllllllllly shit. Get me on a plane to Cali fo 4/20 and this fest nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Spoon - 'Transference' Review

Spoon is a band with a shitload of albums, like 10 or something like that. I admit, I was a little late to the bandwagon. I got their album 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga', that came out in 2007. You might know the catchy song 'The Underdog' from the movie 'I Love You Man'. This band is one of the most popular in indie-rock. Spoon uses a clean mix, tight guitar licks, a little out there but listenable vocals, and bashing drums as their formula for most of their albums.
Each song has a bit of experimentation to it. 'Is Love Forever?' has some crazy multi tracking vocals and 'Who Makes Your Money?' is almost too chill (actually its perfect). I also really like the usage of the piano in this album. It sounds so good on 'Written in Reverse'. They jam out on 'I Saw The Light' too. 'Trouble Come Running' sounds like the type of song that could get some love around the internet. This may not have the swagger of past Spoon records, it might not be their best album to date, but it's another enjoyable Spoon album. 7.5/10

Key Tracks: NPR hooked it up, you can stream the entire album Here

LOCAL MUSIC ALERT!!!! - The Mclovins

Connecticut's favorite teen band 'The Mclovins' have put out a new song and video on youtube. OA previously wrote about this group(Here). These 15 and 16 year olds are simply amazing. The lead guitarist has the ability to play like Trey Anastasio and he can't even drive a car. I was able to catch them in Collinsville a few months ago, and they are 100% legit. They have already been featured in such magazines as Rolling Stone, Relix, and Jamtopia and are really making a name of themselves.

The new song out from these youngsters is called 'Tokyo Tea'. It's an 8 minute funktastic jam. The only thing I would change is the lead singer drummer. I don't hate his voice, I just think its more natural when the drummer is not singing. It also allows the drummer to focus on drumming, which is a hard enough task. However, he does a great job of balancing both vocals and keeping the beat. This band will be huge, if not, at least the members will all move on to be successful in the music business. Next show I will be checking out will be at good 'ol Infinity Hall in Norfolk. You can buy tix for that show in Feb--> Here The show is in may!

Enjoy the vid!

Here Are Some Indie Music Videos

I have three videos to report for you today. The first video is by 'The Very Best' featuring 'Vampire Weekend's' Ezra Koenig. This was one of my favorite songs in 2009, I'm so glad to see a video made for it, and it looks like it cost about 200 bucks to make too. It's such a fun upbeat summer song.


The second comes from 'Girls'. 'Morning Light' first appeared as the b-side to 2008's single 'Lust For Life'. That video was directed by Aaron Brown... you can watch that one----->HERE. Brown also directed the video for 'Morning Light', the new 7'' single from Girls due out February, 22. It's full on throwback 60's style. I love the way both videos are shot, super vintage. The single also includes the song 'End Of The World'


The last video I have for you comes from 'Islands' and features Michael Cera on drugs! The song is called 'No You Don't' and is from the 'Vapours' LP released by Islands in September. In the video, Cera takes some pills and enters a psychedelic universe. Sooooooooo trippy. Check it out!

K'naan - 'Take A Minute'

K'naan is a rapper that was born in Somalia but ended up in Toronto and became apprentice to Sol Guy. Not knowing really any English, Sol Guy taught him how to rap. K'nann has branched out on his own now, and in 2009 released his album 'Troubadour'. The album features artists such as: Mos Def, Damian Marley, and Adam Levine. I admit, I've never heard of him, hip-hop is not my forte. However while watching the new 'Poor Boyz' ski video 'Everyday Is A Saturday' I came across his track 'Take a Minute'. I love when rap songs have great piano melodies and acoustic guitar. The chorus is so pleasant with church like back vocals. Listen to the track below, hit the little arrow in the right box to download.

K'naan - Take A Minute by berman1125

GREAT QTV Take of 'Take A Minute'

The Conan Debate

Let there be no doubt...I am on Conan's side. My good friend and blog mentor Conor Rusinko (Ogling Ed Hochuli)sums it up perfect. Fuck you Jay Leno! http://mutualuniversity.blogspot.com/2010/01/let-me-throw-my-late-night-hat-into.html

An Acoustic Evening with Tim Reynolds - Mt. Snow 1-09-10

I was lucky enough to attend the only solo acoustic show of the year for the one and only Tim Reynolds. On January 9th, Tim Reynolds made his way to Mt. Snow, Vermont to the 'Snowbarn' bar/nightclub at the base of the mountain. Tim took the stage to a rowdy crowd of 100+. Tim did not sing a word (more on that later) just 'made love to his car' as he said in between songs. After telling a story about smoking a lot in New Mexico and writing 'High In The West' he said...'Just give me a minute, I need to tune my guitar to weeeeeeeed' For almost two hours, Tim played a lot of populars like Stream, Betrayal, and Chatterbox. He also played some cool covers including Peter Gabriels, 'In Your Eyes' and The Beatles, 'Come Together'.

Tim is one of my hero's. I look up to him as a musician and as a person. I've been lucky enough to meet Tim four times. Every show, (not including dmb) he will come out and meet with anyone that wants a pic or autograph. In October, I got to hang out with TR3 for almost 2 hours post show, it really was a dream come true to just be hanging out with one of my idols. I was able to catch up with Tim after the Vermont show too. I asked him why he didn't sing at all tonight? He said that he had just recently had dental surgery so he really couldn't sing that much. Tim is such a genuine guy that knows what is important in life. I really inspire to be like him. Be sure to look for Tim with his band TR3 when DMB is not touring.

TR3 has a string of Tour Dates coming up before Tim goes to the Grammy's to perform with DMB. Then he will head to Europe with DMB for a Spring tour! Major props to http://www.greaterbostonphotography.com/about/ for providing those pictures, simply amazing work.

Here are some videos from the show too (really sorry for screaming D-bags. There were about 4 annoying people in the crowd. I actually told him that he didn't have to yell that loud because Tim was literally four feet in front of us.)

Come Together (crowd is soo dumb!)



Betrayal


Stream (audio fixes a minute in)





Thanks to Potitia for the vids

Beach House - Norway

Beach House is a band out of Baltimore with two records already in rotation. If you know one song by them, it's most likely 'Used To Be', off of their second album 'Devotion'. There has been a ton of buzz surrounding their new album 'Teen Dream' that leaked on the internet in November. I grabbed the early copy and listened to it for all of December/what is of January. It's dream-pop at it's best. Very slow, ambient like rhythms and haunting lyrics. The entire album is great, but the first five tracks are absolute perfection.

Itunes has chosen to feature the lead single off 'Teen Dream' as the free download of the week. 'Norway' is very dreamy, Victoria Legrand moans and howls over the guitar lines of Alex Scally. There is no doubt this album will hold up in 2010 and contend for album of the year, so be sure to grab it.


Download the FREE track from their new album 'Teen Dream' out in stores Jan, 26 via Subpop ------->HERE

Vampire Weekend - 'Contra' Review

Vampire Weekend is a kick ass band. They cause controversy like The Beatles did in 1964. There are so many haters! I just don't get it. They are too good to hate, and I think that's why people hate them. It's just coool, kind of like hating DMB(I'm callin you out raycheeface). The band is everywhere. Every blog, every TV show, every SNL ep, commercial, you name it, and it all comes down to today. Contra was leaked by the band a week ago (of course you know this because you are a loyal reader) but officially hit stores today. Soooooooooooo here is my review.

Sophomore albums are tough. Your band releases a kickass self-titled and everyone loves it. 11 tracks of instantly accessible indie-pop music and after the first guitar riff I just knew I would love the entire album. Now, coming up on two years later, they have to go back into the studio and try to recreate that initial energy. But at the same time you don't want to make the exact same record. They sport some of the same sounds this record (tribal percussion, playful synths, and the subtle voice of Ezra Koenig) but certainly do change things up for their second album.

The opening track 'Horchata' could easily be on the self-titled. It's a whirlwind of a song with absurd rhyming and no guitar. The lead single 'Cousins' is easily the most punk song they have ever done, and its badass. The chorus for single 'White Sky' doesn't even have lyrics! Then there's my favorite track 'Diplomats Son'. It features an M.I.A. sample and is currently very stuck in my head. 'California English' features the weirdest auto-tune I think I've ever heard, and 'Taxi Cab', 'Run', 'Giving Up The Gun' are also worthy of making this record.

To me it sounds more like side project Discovery then the self titled honestly. It shows a band that knows what it's doing. Vampire Weekend took risks on this album yet stuck to a formula that made them popular. It may not be instantly as catchy as their first album, but 'Contra' shows a maturing band that doesn't seem to be fading from the spotlight anytime soon. I give 'Contra' 8/10

Key Tracks: if you click on the little arrow in the box, freeee download

Vampire Weekend - Diplomat's Son by berman1125

Vampire Weekend - Horchata by berman1125

New DJ Moondance Mixtape - Shadium Arcadium

DJ Moodance is back in 2010! Previously I picked up his Jay Z/ DMB Mashup, ' The Crash Album' (Free Download Here) and I was floored. Granted I want to be both Jay Z and Dave Matthews, it's still very well done. I'll let 'Jimi Boys' speak for itself. Then in October, he came out with another mashup with a heavy summer vibe to it, naturally he called it 'The Summer Sessions'.(Free Download Here) It's got a great mix of GOOD rap music, and classic Motown tunes. Shadium Arcadium is his newest release and mashes together the sounds of The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eminem. It's an 8 track mix tape featuring samples by those two artists only. I just picked this up this morning so I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet, but I will be all day. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Free Download of 'Shadium Arcadium'------->HERE

For the lazy people that don't read, click these links to download alllll deeeeee albums... Crash Album , Summer Sessions  , Shadium

The Dirty Projectors made one of the best albums of 2009. 'Bitte Orca' was on everyone's top lists, and deservedly so. They are back early in 2010 with a FREE digital 7'' single containing two tracks. “Ascending Melody” and “Emblem of the World,” which were recorded during the 'Bitte Orca' sessions but weren’t included on the finished record. Head over to their website, give them your email...and then you get tracks FO FREEEEEEEE!!!


http://www.dirtyprojectors.net/

Vampire Unplugged

MTV got a hold of America's band Vampire Weekend and brought them to NYC for a taping of MTV Unplugged (weird...I didn't know MTV still did music.) To my surprise their music translates to the acoustic stage very naturally. They seem like the kind of band that needs that electric sound to compete. But a few candles, oriental rugs, and Ezra's voice is perfect setting for this band.

Their album 'Contra' is due out on Tuesday.

Check out their MTV Unplugged Set------>HERE

Animal Collective - Brothersport

I'm off to Vermont for a weekend of skiing and jamming with Tim Reynolds. Yall have a good one and enjoy this new Animal Collective video.

Music for the ride: New Spoon album!!!!!!!!!!!! review when i return!

The Soft Pack

Winter is at its most frigged, the days are short and the wind is howling. I need music that reminds me of summer! Music that reminds me that everything will be alright. The Soft Pack's self titled debut album really hit the spot for me this morning as I scraped the ice off my windshield. They have a very big 'The Strokes'/early 'Kings of Leon' vibe going, along with 'The Drums' beach-pop sound. Exactly the lofi indie rock that I've been craving lately. Each song eventually explodes into an all out rock and roll jamfest. Electric guitar riffs up and down the fretboard, and vocals that scream Julian Casablancas. Check out their album coming out Feb 2nd. Also see them opening for Phoenix this month.


Key Tracks: ( hit the little arrow to download)

The Soft Pack - Mexico by berman1125


The Soft Pack - Down On Loving by berman1125