2/28/10

Vampire Weekend/Galifianakis SNL


On March 6, Vampire Weekend will make their second appearance on Saturday Night Live. The host is Zach Galifianakis, who's making his "SNL" debut. Mark your calenders folks, this is going to be the best SNL for a long long time.




2/26/10

DMB Tickets On Sale/No Tickets Seen


Well, 10am was a bust, per usual. However I scored 1 pit ticket for the tour opener, plus another mid level seat that I will use to bargain with. Absolutely nothing was available for SPAC. The band really should do something about this Ticketmaster monopoly that is going on. The fans should be the ones getting these tickets, and to only have lawn seats available as soon as the tickets go on sale is pretty unfair. But don't worry, you can get tickets @sites that I will not name. Prices are over 1000 dollars, I paid 80 for the same seat.

I don't make the kind of money to pay at that much for one show, let alone four. But there are the forums, and I will be scouting them daily for seats. If you are trying to sell your tickets please offer them HERE. You need to register for Ants Marching first. Very fan friendly, and you can buy tickets for face value. Keep checking Ticketmaster too, that is the only outlet site where tickets are face value, they do release more tickets. /Rant.


Very pumped to get a pit seat for N1. Front row for the tour opener will be insane!!!


Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover

Donald Glover is my new favorite actor/human being. He is by far the funniest guy on NBC's new show 'Community' and when he teams up with Abed, I am literally on the floor laughing. Turns out Donald Glover is also a badass hipster! He dresses cool, listens to cooler music, and has a sweet blog. http://www.iamdonald.com/ He posted a mixtape under his alter ego Childish Gambino. It's called 'I'm Just A Rapper' and The Babe raps over a bunch of the indie worlds favorite songs. It's fucking legit, he can spit and pretty much calls himself out as being the man, which he is. The dude fucking raps over Washed Out! He should be opening for Toro Y Moi, now THAT is a fucking show. Huge fan of this his stand up, and the work he is doing on NBC. Currently he is working on new project named 'Culdesac'. Follow Donald on Twitter


Download 'I'm Just A Rapper' Freeeeee -----> http://www.mediafire.com/?4mfynqmlyrl

2/25/10

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor


This album hit the internet back in December and I must admit, I slept on it. I don't know why, but I was busy trying to start this blog and just put it aside. 'Gorilla Manor', Local Natives debut album is really really pleasing. The band is full of emotion, the music has a real passion to it. I love the tribal like chanting, they sound a lot like one of my other favorite bands Fleet Foxes.

The opening track 'Wide Eyes' is full of group harmonies, and the drums are very prominent even though he is just tapping the rims of his drums. 'Airplanes' is my favorite track. The chorus is so genuine, and the drums go perfectly with the words. When Taylor's voice takes off during the final chorus...favorite part of the album for me. It just gets me singing along every time. 'World News' really showcases the way the band can sing and harmonize together. This being their first album, I am really excited to see what these guys can do in the future. A very solid 8/10

Buy the album Here
email me if you need help... ;)

Watch their Blogotheque session, really is amazing.

Happy Birthday Nesty!!!!!

This one's for you Nesty....you PYT!


2/24/10

Aziz Is The Man


Aziz Ansari is one of the funniest guy's on the planet. I posted one of his videos before . He has a blog Aziz is Bored. It's a must follow, the guy is hilarious. He has made a mixtape under his alter-ego RAAAAAAANDY. He dropped the first single from what he is calling 'The Randy Mixtape'. The song is called AAAAAAAANGRY. It's pretty funny. Aziz is on the mic and calls out every single rapper for not getting back to them with the verses for the mixtape. Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, Luda, Dre, Drake, WuTang, Eminem, MF Doom, Mos Def, Kanye....no one is safe.

Download 'AAAAAAAANGRY' FO FREEEEEE

2/23/10

Local Music Alert!!!!!!! - Straight To VHS

Oh shit!!!!! Just found my new garage rock punk band to follow. 'Straight To VHS' is a band out of New London, CT...and they are wasting no time getting their name out there. They are playing tons of shows and just released their debut EP titled 'Self Titled'. Lo-fi fuzzy guitars and multi tracked vocals, it all just sounds so badass. The multi tracking gives it a sound as if there is more then one person singing. You can compare them to the 70's punk of The Clash and The Sonic. The album has a rock and roll swagger to it, really really good!  I can't wait to check these guys out real soon. Head over to http://straighttovhs.bandcamp.com/ to stream &/or buy the album. Check out their Myspace for shows.

2/22/10

Local Music Alert!!!!! - Mike Parrott


A good friend, and owner of The Swingin Parrott Pub, Chris Parrott posted this link on his facebook page last week and I wanted to post it on the blog. His Uncle, Mike Parrott made a Youtube page and posted a song titled 'Wake Up in Another World'. Mike has the folky Bob Dylan/ Colin Hay sound down pat. It's a nice acoustic song about falling asleep and waking up in a better world where the things aren't well, shitty. I really love the whistling at the end of the song too. Just a great little tune to listen to when you're just sick of everything going on. fuck winter.

2/20/10

Best Kid Cudi Cover Ever.

How awesome is this yukalaylee cover of Kid Cudi's 'Pursuit of Happiness'

New Vampire Weekend Video


Vampire Weekend is back with a new video! The song is 'Giving Up The Gun' and it's hilarious!! Featuring a Jonas Bro, THE RZA, LiL John, and Jake Gyllenhaal. It's a weird tennis dream. The band is performing during different tennis matches in which a girl (same used for Cape Cod Kwas Kwas) is playing against random opponents. Yet another cheap, and awesome video from the boys...enjoy!

2/19/10

Local Music Alert!!!!!!! - Slam Donahue


Just found out about Slam Donahue. He is one of the DIY, shoegaze, indie-pop guys and he is from Connecticut. I can't find out too much about the guy, it appears he has no albums out...just playing local gigs around the area. He is playing the Tweefort CD release party tonight @ Cafe 9 in New Haven. 'These Things' is the song featured on the CD. You can listen to some of his music on his Myspace. I found him through this blog post  over at Ct Indie. Marijuana Cops is a new video just posted a few days ago.



Andrew W.K., Japanther, Lemonade, Free Show in Hartford



'It's hard to imagine a more perfect pairing: The Hartford Party Starters Union celebrates its first anniversary Friday with a performance by Andrew W.K., who loves to party so much that the word is in the title of at least a half-dozen of his songs.

The booking is a coup for the Party Starters, a loosely organized group of area residents that formed a year ago with the intention of, well, starting parties and fomenting other activities to show that Hartford is more fun than many people think.' Source

What what what?!?! I am just finding out about this now?! (thank you Sierra for the tip). So, there is a group called The Hartford Party Starters, and I need to find a way to make them my best friends. They put together this group to throw sick parties in Hartford. You don't get any cooler then that. So tonight is the 1 year anniversary, and they are throwing a FREE show @ the The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Check out the Facebook page for it ------->HERE!!!! see ya there!

2/18/10

The Morning Benders - Big Echo


The Morning Benders are an indie band from Berkeley, California. The band consists of Julian Harmon, Tim Or, and Chris Chu. They already have one very successful album released in 2008, 'Talking Through Tin Cans'. They have toured with Grizzly Bear, The Kooks, MGMT, Death Cab, Yeasayer and more. The new album, 'Big Echo' has leaked (due out March 9). I'm blown away by it really.

Produced by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, this album is full of amazing retro indie pop/rock. Apparently, it took less then two weeks to record and edit this album. It has immediate credibility, I connected with it as soon as I heard the opening song 'Excuses'. 'Promises' has a very catchy melody and sing along lyrics..its full of energy. 'Morning Sighs' starts off very slow, like the morning. Soft drums, and softer guitar. Then it builds up, and the guitars add layers on top of each other. I can't recommended this album enough. Check out the video for 'Excuses' below, and buy this album!



Yours Truly Presents: The Morning Benders "Excuses" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Passion Pit - Little Secrets



Passion Pit is one of Oxygen Ashtray's favorite bands. Their debut album 'Manners' is the most danceable album I have ever heard. It is perfect indie synthpop to the T. They are the single band that I want to see most in 2010, save maybe Phoenix. I just realized, I have yet to do a write up on this band soooo here is what you need to know.

- They hail from Cambridge
- They have one album, Manners and a EP ---> Buy
- The EP was written as a Valentines Day gift for lead singer Mike's girlfriend.
- The EP was passed around Emerson College. It became huge in Boston.
- Form band, play Boston, record album.
- Album blows up on the interwebs
- Become one of the biggest bands in the country (happening now)

Here is the music video to my favorite song 'Little Secrets', it was just released this morning via their Twitter.  If ya not dancing...ur dead.

it wont let me embed the video....so here is the link-------> http://www.mtv.com/videos/passion-pit/484643/little-secrets.jhtml#id=1518071

Qusar

Well this is the most visually pleasing experience Ive had in a while.


Quasar from envis precisely on Vimeo.

2/16/10

Dave Matthews Starts Youtubing



Dave is a weird guy. People always think he's high, or drunk...but really, he's just odd. He likes to draw, and it looks like he enjoys playing with his iphone. He made a cool little video to introduce the band to Bonnaroo's lineup. You can watch that below. His user name is a2s7g7 (august,stella,grace) his children and their ages. He made a few other videos you can watch too.

The band kicked off their European tour today, in Germany.









Monsters Of Folk - 'Dear God'

Monsters Of Folk has released their second music video from their 2009 self titled debut album. The song is called 'Dear God'.  No doubt it's my favorite off the new album, it sounds unlike anything else on the record. It starts you with a hip-hop beat and harps I think? Each band member has their own verse talking to God.

'I know I'm thinking aloud but if your loves

Still around why do we suffer?
Why do we suffer?'

Monsters of Folk - "Dear God" - Grand Prize Contest Winning Video from Shangri-La Music on Vimeo.

2/14/10

DMB Vday

It's a Dave Matthews Band Valentines Day. All videos should be shared with your lover. The last video is for all those who hate this holiday.
























2/13/10

Magic Man - Real Life Color


I think I just found my new favorite album of '10. Okay, maybe that was a quick draw...I'm still on my first spin, but this is fantastic music. The Boston based duo, Magic Man, started making their music together during a summer spent in France. They took what they had and brought it back to the states, where they tweaked and edited it. It's definitely got that lofi indie feel, but its very electronica too. This music reminds me of Freelance Whales, with a little Modest Mouse feel.

The best part, the band has decided to give this album away for the lovely price of free. So do yourself a favor...head on over to http://magicman.bandcamp.com/ download this album fo freeeee!!!!

Seriously, go download it.

2/12/10

Avi Buffalo - What's In It For?


Avi Buffalo aka Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg, is an 18 year-old singer/songwriter and guitarist from Long Beach, CA. It (Avi Buffalo) is also the name of the band and the their debut full-length album. The album is coming out April, 27 via Sub Pop Records. Here is the album version of the song 'What's In It For?' Be sure to also check out the stunning YouTube video below.

Avi Buffalo - Whats In It For by berman1125

Neon Indian Performs Fallon

Neon Indian was scheduled very last minute to perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They played 'Terminally Chill' and 'Ephemeral Artery' off their debut album 'Psychic Chasms'. This is the perfect video to start your weekend with. Enjoy!

2/11/10

OA's Best Beats - Yeasayer


Ambling Alp is one of my favorite tracks off one of my favorite albums in 2010. (Yeasayer's 'Odd Blood') Therefore it's one of the best songs of 2010...so now it's on the Oxygen Ashtrays Best Beats Playlist to your right. I'm going skiing now...yall have a nice day.

Youtube Vid

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp by berman1125

2/10/10

Afternoon Walks


This video is what walks in the afternoon should sound like. If you are on mushrooms, this is also what walks in the afternoon should look like. The song is Mogu Mogu from Chinza Dopeness. Throw it on next time you stroll through the park, or on mushrooms.


鎮座 Dopeness : Mogu Mogu from Shane Lester on Vimeo.

MGMT Announce New Album - 'Congratulations'



MGMT's second album, 'Congratulations' will be released in the U.S. on April 13. This Grammy nominated band, out of good 'ol CT (Wesleyan University) is made up of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. Their first album 'Oracular Spectacular' was named best album of 2008 by NME.

When asked about the new album VanWyngarden said, "We dropped any sort of irony that was on the first record, and Congratulations feels true to who we really are." The album is "sequenced to flow with sonic and thematic coherence." Sounds pretty perfect to me! "There's a surfing thread throughout the record. For example, "It's Working." When you're surfing, there's a specific break you're paddling to. And when the waves are really good you say, 'It's working.' The song kind of has a surf-y vibe. It's like surfing on ecstasy! 'Siberian Breaks' is a 12-minute-long tune that's like eight different songs strung together into one, and the general theme is about surfing in the Arctic Circle by Russia,"

Really looking forward to the new album. 'Oracular Spectacular' was one of my favorite albums of the decade, and it looks like things are on track to make this album a smashing success. But not from a money stand point, MGMT has already stated that they may not want to release any singles from this record. Just straight up good music that people will want to listen to on their own, not something forced like da radio.

Congratulations tracklist:
"It's Working"
"Song for Dan Treacy"
"Someone's Missing"
"Flash Delirium"
"I Found a Whistle"
"Siberian Breaks"
"Brian Eno"
"Lady Dada's Nightmare"
"Congratulations"

Key Tracks From OS
 


2/9/10

The 2010 Bonnaroo Lineup

The lineup to the 2010 Bonnaroo Festival is being announced today, but not all at once. Bands playing the the festival will each be announcing it themselves one by one through means of social media (websites, email, twitter, myspace)...sooooo keep checking in for updates.
Also for the first time ever, tickets will go back on sale the same day as the announcement. The festival will be held from June 10-13, 2010 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee.

The announcements have been made! Roo '10 is on! Here is your featured lineup...

2/8/10

OA's Best Beats - The Whitest Boy Alive



Last week I added a lala playlist to the right side of the blog. Head on over to Lala.com and sign up for a free account and get tons of free music. I threw up 25 tracks to start with, and have been adding new tracks as needed. I just threw up a song from ERLEND ØYE aka 'The Whitest Boy Alive', it's called Burning. TWBA is a indie-pop act out of Berlin that came out in 2006. It found its way to my ipod last year, and they have yet to leave my playlist.
The Whitest Boy Alive - Burning by berman1125

2/7/10

Sunglasses - Whiplash


While I was doing my daily blog reads, I came across this track by a band called Sunglasses. This is what I got from their Myspace. 8000 bam bam (Samuel Cooper) & Baby Seal (Brady Keehn) first started working together at Savannah College of Art and Design during the post production stage of Samuel's senior thesis film, MILES. Their relationship was strictly dealing with dialogue and the mixing of original songs for the short film, in which Brady was the Post Sound Supervisor. Eventually having completed MILES, the two had worked so well together on the last project that starting a new one only made sense. Thus SUNGLASSES was born.

The song is called 'Whiplash' its like reggae-pop. Whatever the hell it is, I'm down. I don't know, maybe I'm just pumped that the Colts are in the Superbowl tonight, but this song is the shit! I can't stop listening to it...kind of reminds me of MGMT. Check out the vid below (its insane) and ddddddload it!



THE DL LINK-----> http://www.sendspace.com/file/db9ngs

Almost Famous Is Perfect


This morning I awoke in New Hampshire with what I like to call 'The Keene Hangover' and it sucks...every time. After digesting some Dunkin, and a B-load to the face, the opening credits for 'Almost Famous' were just finishing, I was a happy boy. I sank down into the couch, and let one of the best soundtracks ever take over and ease my hangover.

'Almost Famous' is a fictional movie that is semi-autobiographical because director Cameron Crowe was in fact a teenage writer for Rolling Stone. The story is loosely based on his journeys with The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Lynard Skynard, and The Eagles. Every piece of music whether it be a two second clip of Rod Stewart's 'Every Picture Tells A Story' or the entire 'Tiny Dancer' scene is perfectly placed throughout the movie. Crowe knows how to make music become a character in his movies. Each song sets the mood for the scene and really ties the story together. I kept catching myself saying wow, this is the perfect song to use right here.. If you have seen it, you know what I mean. If you have not seen it...GO SEE IT! Just look at this soundtrack...

The Green Tracks are YouTube links *****gottta watch em! They are the best ones

Simon & Garfunkel: "America"
The Who: "Sparks"
Todd Rundgren: "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference"
Yes: "I've Seen All Good People: Your Move"
The Beach Boys: "Feel Flows"
Stillwater: "Fever Dog"
Rod Stewart: "Every Picture Tells a Story"
The Seeds: "Mr. Farmer"
The Allman Brother Band: "One Way Out"
Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Simple Man"
Led Zeppelin: "That's The Way"
Elton John: "Tiny Dancer"
Nancy Wilson: "Lucky Trumble
David Bowie: "I'm Waiting for the Man"
Cat Stevens: "The Wind"
Clarence Carter: "Slip Away"
Thunderclap Newman: "Something in the Air"
The Who: "Baba O'Riley"
Alvin and the Chipmunks: "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)"
Brenton Wood: "The Oogum Boogum Song"
Iggy and the Stooges: "Search and Destroy"
Black Sabbath: "Paranoid"
Jethro Tull "Teacher"
Yes: "Roundabout"
Joni Mitchell: "River"
Black Sabbath: "Sweet Leaf"
Pete Droge: "Small Time Blues" (Droge)
Little Feat: "Easy to Slip"
The Raspberries: "Go All the Way"
Stillwater: "Hour of Need"
The Guess Who: "Albert Flasher"
Stillwater: "Love Thing"
Neil Young "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"
Fleetwood Mac: "Future Games"
Deep Purple: "Burn"
Stillwater: "You Had to Be There"
Blodwyn Pig: "Dear Jill"
Steely Dan: "Reelin' in the Years"
MC5: "Looking at You"
Stillwater: "Love Comes and Goes"
Jimi Hendrix: "Voodo Child"
Free: "Wishing Well"
Buddy Holly and The Crickets: "Peggy Sue"
Elton John: "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters"
Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show: "The Cover of The Rolling Stone"
Stevie Wonder: "My Cherie Amour"
Chicago: "Colour My World"
Neil Young and Crazy Horse: "Cortez the Killer"
Led Zeppelin: "The Rain Song"
Led Zeppelin: "Bron-Yr-Aur"
Led Zeppelin: "Tangerine"
Led Zeppelin: "Misty Mountain Hop"

2/4/10

Snooki Meets Phoenix


Oh god...This juuust what we needed. Phoenix gets nominated for a Grammy, comes to the award ceramony and runs into Snooks. You can tell the boys are throughly puzzled by this thing interviewing them. This vid brings the lolz

2/3/10

Vampire Weekend - Blogotheque

La Blogotheque is an amazing French website that records artists in a very fast, one take, demoish type feel right in the heart of Paris. In 2008 Vampire Weekend stopped in for a session that you can watch Here. They headed back to France in 2010 for another session with La Blogotheque. They breeze through songs off their new album like 'Cousins', 'California English', and 'Horchata'. They also played a few songs off the old album. Usually tracks are broken down into different videos and shot in seperate locations. This time they kept the cameras rolling. Here is a special twenty minute set with Vampire Weekend playing for a very friendly crowd. Enjoy! :)

2/2/10

Band To Watch: Born Ruffians


Born Ruffians are a Canadian indie rock band, originally from the small town of Midland, Ontario(same as my Grandpa Ted). In 2008 they released their first album 'Red, Yellow & Blue'. It's very indie pop, think Vampire Weekend mixed with Phoenix vocals. All the songs on this album feel very innocent, it's very straightforward music. Just three guys, playing guitar, bass, and drums. Luke LaLonde has a very clean, catchy voice, and with all the harmonies on the album, it sort of reminds me of The Beach Boys.

They went through a bit of a rough patch, getting burnt out on the road, and eventually Steve said he didn't want to tour anymore. Now after taking a year off, they have gotten back together, put their differences aside and recorded a new album titled 'Say It'. Luke said their second album will sound much like the first, 'We just knew we couldn't go lo-fi. We want something cleaner. We're trying to make a hit record but in the most genuine way. We just want it to sound like us live ... but better.' Look for this album to hit stores and this band to blow up sometime in the next few months.

Key Tracks:

Born Ruffians Hummingbird by berman1125
Born Ruffians - I Need A Life by berman1125
Born Ruffians - Little Garcݧon by berman1125

Everlasting Winter

wtf is this guy doing

Today is Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil DID SEE his shadow sooooo six more weeks of winter. sonofabitch! In the last 10 years Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early spring only one time.

Also a big Happy Birthday shoutout to my Dad!

2/1/10

Daytrotter - Beach House


Daytrotter(recently named Itunes App Of The Week) is a great music website that brings in amazing artists, and records them in a very small studio setting.

'What Daytrotter is attempting to do is to not kid around with you and tell you that we found something that you never knew existed. We are going to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line. We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard. We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands.'

Beach House was today's featured artist. I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before they got in there. They did not disappoint. Victoria Legrand's vocals are so beautiful. This is a must have session! If you have an Iphone or Itouch, get the free Daytrotter app.

Listen to Beach House on Daytrotter----->HERE

Grammy's Rant

Honestly I'm not upset that DMB didn't win any awards last night, I didn't expect them to win. But I am shocked by who did win the categories in which DMB were nominated for. Rock Album Of The Year...Green Day. Are you kidding me? Green day is the biggest sell out band I've ever seen in my life. They used to be a punk band that kicked ass in Seattle, now they have a musical, a fucking musical. Their performance last night was cheesy as hell. I hear them everywhere I go and it pisses me off!

Now on to Album Of The Year. In my opinion the band never had much of a chance from the start. Gaga or Beyonce is who I thought would win, but Taylor Swift? Are you fucking kidding me? This girl is the biggest joke in the music business right now. She writes her own songs? Who gives a shit, that should be a GIVEN with any musician! She is the complete teen money making project with no vocal talent what so ever. Did you watch her performance with Stevie Nicks? Taylor Swift couldn't stay in key to save her life!(watch it here) I get it, she won Best Country Album...no one cares about that, but Album Of The Year? really? reallly??

I guess I'm most upset that John Legend couldn't take the five fucking minutes to learn how to say all the albums titles the right way. GrooGroo? are you serious? Dave said himself how proud he was of this album. They worked very hard on it, and it was all for Roi. Roi is the GrooGrux, he's the king, and the Grammy's disgraced him for the 2nd year in a row. It's a real shame, and I WILL be boycotting the Grammy's from now on. But whatever, when he fucked up the name, they showed the band and Dave was laughing and pointing down to Carter, it looked like he just won a 50 dollar bet on if he would screw up the name or not.  /rant

But on to the good stuff. Phoenix did win an award last night, for Best Alternative Music Album, and should have performed. However, DMB did perform, they played 'You and Me' and it was kickass! This is not one of my favorite songs, but this was by far the best version of this song ever! It started out with just the boys, and as the first chorus came in, so did the rest of the 40 piece orchestra. Dave looked sharp in a 5 piece suit and Fonz was sporting some crazy hair. Everyone was having a blast! Dave was a dancin fool! I think it was the second best performance of the night behind Mary J. Blige and Bochelli.

The best story of the night was what I heard about Adam Sandler introducing the band. As he stated, Adam showed up rather casually...he wasn't going to be there at all. The man who did the boring speech before DMB, he was going to bring them on, but Dave wanted to have Adam do it. They are very good friends,(Dave has been in two of Adams movies) So when Adam showed up and came out wearing jeans and a DC teeshirt (at least he decided to borrow Dave's jacket)...he spoke from the heart. Gave a shout out to Roi, said a little diddy about the band. He wanted to make a point to get out there and speak for Roi, because he was upset about what happened in 2009.