A Glorious Dawn

This is not new by a long shot, but better to share late, then never. Here is a beautiful, awe-inspiring auto-tune remix of my idol, Carl Sagan. This mash-up mainly contains clips from Sagan’s Cosmos, a mind-blowing, all-inclusive look at the science of basically everything we know (or knew in 1980) about the universe.

The remix has been embraced by Sagan’s estate, as it has inspired a resurgence of interest in Sagan and his work, which is can only be considered a boon for science and humanity. Jack White loved the song so much, that his label, Third Man Records, has released a special edition 7” vinyl, with an etching of Sagan’s “Golden Record.” So nerdy. So awesome!

Enjoy!


...and The Sequels.

Show Review - Yeasayer @ 9:30 Club

This much anticipated Yeasayer show certainly lived up to my expectations. From the Setlist, you can see they concentrated highly on tracks from Odd Blood, as it is the Odd Blood Tour, but managed to squeeze in the bare essentials from All Hour Cymbals ( Wait for the Summer, 2080, & Sunrise). I was quite thrilled to hear Tightrope, a fantastic single that should not be overlooked, which can be found on the charity album, Dark Was the Night.

The show was a complete dance off as Yeasayer has evolved into a very danceable band, which is fine, as that is what the masses want at live shows. We unfortunately missed the opening band, Javelin, so I cannot comment on that performance, but Yeasayer is about all the excitement I can take in one night. Yeasayer was spot on, and nailed down every track, despite my fears that some of their obscure, fancy sounds would be difficult to replicate live. Fantastic show.

Photo Courtesy of “Bad” Blake

Fever to Sing Festival

Last weekend Blacksburg saw it's first music festival, Fever To Sing, take place at bars all over town! Put on by a group of people unofficially affliated with WUVT, the festival showcased a multitude of bands; local, regional, and a few traveling as far as DC and Philly. Genres ranged from folk to death metal and talent was just as variable, as some bands were quite enjoyable, while others left you no option but to walk out.

20 bucks got you a wristband to see all the bands, all weekend, at all venues, so the cost was unbeatable for weekend of fun and good listening. I had a great time and discovered several bands I'd like to keep my ear on. Let's hope the festival was sucessful enough to see it expand next year, and continue to bring music to Blacksburg.

For additional info, see this 16 blocks article.

Band of Horses New Video/New Album

Swing on over to the Band of Horses Website to check out their cool new music video, a preview of there upcoming album, Infinite Arms, to be released in May. As I have previously posted, I am fairly excited about this album. Since I first heard them perform the song "Older," I have patiently waited to see if the rest of this new album will be as great, and if letting the other band members take the lead will live up to Ben Bridwell's vocals. I think we will be pleasantly surprised.

Ambling Alp

Check out highly-blogged-about, NSFW(!), music video from my recent obsession, Yeasayer. Its popularity is most likely due to how incredibly strange it is, or maybe it's the nakedness, or maybe its the fantastically uplifting lyrics coupled with a awesome drumbeat, that makes this such a addicting anthem....any way you slice it, a captivating video.

Roo Bound

It looks like this year Bonnaroo has decided to release artists attending the show in an asinine way. They have been announcing the lineup ALL DAY LONG, by releasing one name at a time, via their MySpace page. A quite interesting and very original approach, but also VERY FRUSTRATING!

I will give them props for turning, what is usually a fleeting, overwhelming scaning-over of the much-anticipated line-up poster, into a daylong event. But on the flip side, they are causing record anxieties to the ravenous, die-hard fans who have been anticipating this release (yes, double entendre intended) for months.

Bonnaroo has been at the top of Google Trends all morning, meaning it has been the top Google search. Tickets are on sale as the lineup is (starting to be) released as of 12 noon.

More to come!

Kings of Leon
The Avett Brothers
The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform “Dark Side of the Moon”
Weezer
Medeski Martin and Wood The Gas Light Anthem
John Fogerty Blitzen Trapper
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Ingrid Michaelson
Phoenix
The xx
Regina Spektor
Mayer Hawthorne & the County
Wale
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers
Norah Jones
Bassnectar
OK Go
Monte Montgomery
Jay-Z
Punch Brothers
Thievery Corporation
GWAR
She & Him
Jimmy Cliff
Tokyo Police Club
Kid Cudi
Japandroids
Dr. Dog
Jeff Beck
Manchester Orchestra
Drop Kick Murphys
Jay Electronica
The Postelles
Damian Marley & Nas
Rebelution
Needtobreathe
Tenacious D
The Black Keys
Jamey Johnson
They Might Be Giants
The Entrance Band
Lotus
Clutch
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Tori Amos
The Dodos
The Melvins
The Dead Weather

Whorrible

Fans at the Super Bowl this weekend were treated to a halftime performance I think everyone was excited to see. Unfortunately, it seems we were treated to a snot bubble that was formally known as The Who. There were a lot of fans with high expectations coming into this performance, considering such previous acts as Tom Petty and The Boss.

Taking age into consideration, Townshend was great, but Daltrey left a lot to be desired. It seemed like Daltrey was off key, even with obvious production help he was not able to hit proper notes to "Wont Get Fooled Again." Stage presence was even not Who-like, looking like a retarded Tony Little trying to dazzle fans with ridiculous choreography.

The highlight of the performance was the amazing LED stage and light show put on by the production team. It was apparent CBS had a hand in the playlist as I found myself oddly interested in finding one of the twelve channels playing C.S.I. reruns Sunday night. I'm positive at that very moment, Horatio Caine was putting sunglasses over another pair of sunglasses.

Initial Pitchfork Media Festival Lineup

Pitchfork Media Festival has released it's initial lineup. Not a bad little list, and if past years are any indication, the final list will be any scenester's wet dream.

Those attending (thus far) include: Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, St. Vincent, Pavement, Here We Go Magic, and Sleigh Bells. The Fest is held July 16 -18th in Chicago. The very reasonably priced, $90 ticket, will get you in for all three days, and is guaranteed to be best Festival bargain you will find. Tickets are on sale, but won't be, for long...

2010 in Indie Music

Looks like this year is shaping up to be quite an overwhelming year in Indie music, with many highly anticipated releases, and tons of not-so-highly anticipated albums that will probably drown out the anticipated ones.

The blogosphere, is buzzing with speculation of which album will be this years most rewarding eargasm, and with good cause. We all have doubts about how 2010 can live up to the high standards of '09, with its vast amounts of addicting music. But it might, and here's how:

A selection of Bands with Albums coming out in 2010
Hot Chip: One Life Stand
Yeasayer: Odd Blood
Broken Bells: Broken Bells
jj: jj no 3
She & Him: Volume Two
Gorillaz: Plastic Beach
Battles: TBA
!!!: TBA
Here We Go Magic: TBA
Interpol: TBA
LCD Soundsystem: TBA
Broken Social Scene: TBA

MGMT - Congratulations - I'm more scared about this one then excited. Their "new shit" at Bonnaroo, back in June '09, didn't seem to live up to psychedelic splendor which was Oracular Spectacular, which of course is a difficult album to live up too. Nonetheless, I'm worried they may be a one-album-wonder.

Blikk Fang - This side-project belonging to of Montreal's Kevin Barnes and MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden has been gossiped about for a way too long, but nothing has come of it, due to both bands heavy touring and MGMT's explosion. A popularity explosion for MGMT that superseded the original popularity-generating-force (of Montreal). Reminds me of Micheal Cera's relationship with Arrested Development. But anyway, if this project turns out to be half as good as it should be, it will be awesome. "The group are aiming for a 2009 release."

Band of Horses - This is purely speculation... but they are due for a new album... Maybe I just want this one too much, but given how much I cherish their current discography, and how beautiful this new song "Older" is, I'm getting a little antsy...

I know there are many more... For a more extensive list, see Pitchfork. Feel free to list others you are anticipating in the comments!

Flaming Side of the Moon

Well, Bonnaroo must have heard my grumblings. It has been released that The Flaming Lips will be headlining this year's festival, a spot which they truly have earned. They will be doing their full run-through of Dark Side of the Moon, followed by their regular set.

If you know anything about the history of The Flaming Lips and Bonnaroo you know that they go hand in hand. They have previously stated that their 2003 B'roo show was the show that opened their eyes to the potential of extravagant performances, and that it is their favorite venue. No doubt, it is the best venue to see them live as can be attested to by anyone who was present at their 2007 show (read the comments of this YouTube video). I will surely attest to this (It was the best time of my life.), as will a spike in ticket sales.

They are headlining the opening night, leading me to believe that even bigger names are reserved for Friday, and Saturday. Oh, the anticipation......

Coachella vs. Bonnaroo

The 2010 Coachella line-up was recently released, causing quite a bit of excitement to many a festival-goer, as its line-up surpasses many of the fantasy line-ups that surface across the web about this time of year.

Bonnaroo has announced that its line-up will finally be released to the salivating masses on February 9th. Let's hope Bonnaroo can live up to Coachella's BIG NAME headliners, and its encyclopedia of indie bands which is exhausting just to read. But the 'Roo is gonna have to bring in the big guns, or else I am purchasing a ticket for California, and Craigslisting a ticket to Tennessee...

Review: Beach House - Teen Dream

While the two previous Beach House albums, Devotion of 2008, and their self-titled debut of 2006, were quite impressive pieces of drone pop, their newest release Teen Dream , steps it up a notch. Their music is seemingly simplistic and "kind of a downer," but this is not to be taken negatively, as their style is an art in itself, and Beach House has mastered their own sound in Teen Dream. Their cover art, on the other hand, doesn't receive such glowing reviews, except maybe under a blacklight...

Review: Yeasayer - Odd Blood

Yeasayer 's -sophomore release, Odd Blood, is a spirit-aural journey. If there is a soundtrack to finding Nirvana (as in bliss, not Grunge), there is no doubt several Yeasayer tracks from both their 2007 mind-blowing debut, All Hour Cymbals , and their soon-be-to-released Odd Blood (2010), make the playlist.

In several interviews they mention that the sort-of "spiritual" essence of their music is just an unintentional by-product of trying to make good, catchy, pop songs, a kind of forthright honesty and down-to-earthness that is apparent in their interviews . If you're like me, you want to believe this album was written specifically to guide you on a pilgrimage to enlightenment, but no, just a coincidence. But then again, that is in the ear of the beholder.

However they arrive at such eerily, enthralling music, they are doing it exactly right. Odd Blood is this years' Merriweather Post Pavilion , an early masterpiece, having unending replay value, and the potential to be a chart topper to propel them into limelight, a place where they certainly deserve to be.