Grimes - Visions

Grimes - Visions

I love this album. I didn't originally like it. I originally lumped it in with some other stuff, but after a few listens I can see that there is something different here.

For one thing, I like this description: "Her music is an eclectic mix of styles which she described herself as “ADD music”, because it shifts frequently and dramatically." I think that it is fairly accurate. It is very ADD. 

I also like her voice.

I saw Grimes at the 2012 Capitol Hill Block Party but I hadn’t really listened to her album very much ahead of time. Now that I am into this album and it is in regular rotation, I am ready to see her live again and really see how it translates live.

The songs that I really like are :

Genesis

Oblivion

Sasquatch 2013 Lineup

Sasquatch Music Festival At the incredible Gorge Amphitheatre. All I can think about is festivals....festivals.... MUSIC festivals!

There are many names that stand out to me, and while not many of the headliners grab my attention... scroll your eyes down to about mid-list and there you find a bunch of obscure names that have me ready to rock. Lets break it down a bit.... in no particular order.

Headliners:  
The Postal Service - It's the Postal Service! (please let the new album be good. thanks.)
Siqur Ros -  I only caught a piece of their set at Bonnaroo '08 and have been kicking myself ever since. It was beautiful, and I missed out. not again.
Macklemore etc - I would love to see them live.  I bet it will be lack-luster., but I am willing to find out.
Mumford & Sons - Sometimes this band annoys me, but I'll give them a chance to change my mind.
Cake - Yes. I'm excited about this one. Many memories related to Cake.


"Freebie" Headliners:
Most of the other headliners, I will watch, should they not interfere with other essential acts. I'll watch them and pretend that I didn't pay for them (and call 'em freebies).  ; )


Mid-listers and bottom-of-the-barrel listers:
This is where I usually get over-excited about obscure bands, that it is rare to see.
Empire of the Sun - I am totally excited about seeing this band.
FANG ISLAND - Capitalized because they might be the reason I commit to buying a ticket. One of the most under-rated bands in my opinion. I love this band. Especially their self-titled album. It is like a party of the most positive energy in your brain. Crazy uplifting guitar rock anthems!
Bloc Party - Wow. I can't wait! Been on my "see live" list for about 10 years.
Divine Fits - VERY pumped about one of last years favorites.
Ariel Pink etc - should be interesting.
Surfer Blood -  love their music. very fun.
Toro y Moi - I'm interested.


Bands I will gladly see again:
Edwarde Shape etc.  - Always a cult-like experience. And I have a crush on the chick.
Grimes - Saw her at the 2012 Capitol Hill Block Party but I hadn't  really listened to her album. Now I am ready to really see how it translates live.
Dirty Projectors - Regardless of their (insulting in my opinion) last-billing on the Line-up trailer, I will vouch for them. It was there live performance at Bonnaroo '09 that brought them to my attention. And they blew me away. I stumbled up to their stage (tent) and heard what I thought (at first) was some kind of electronic sound, then realized that the 2 chicks A Capella harmonizing! I am in love with some of the sounds that emanate from their voiceboxes. It is amazing.
Youth Lagoon -  CHBP 2012. Not super impressive live, but I like the album a lot. I'll watch him again.
The Barr Brothers - Saw them open for Deer Tick. My notes "Very good. nice sound. cool harp. I am very interested in keeping this band in the rotation." I haven't kept them in rotation. But I'll put em back in!.


Bands that may tarnish your hopes :
Andrew Bird - He is my 2nd top artist according to Last.fm, and I love him, BUT his live show will ruin him for you. This is assuming you assume his songs will translate well live. THEY DO NOT. (sorry to burst your bubble), but its not rocket science: You hear his awesome whistling and vocal inflections on the album, You get that in your head, and then you realize that he takes "artistic liberties" with his songs during live performances. and you walk away unimpressed at best.
The XX - My notes from their latenight 'Roo '10 performance: "They were spot on, as one might expect. Glad I caught this one, but they have the stage presence of a dead.... rock."  So you can just listen to the album and you will get more than at the live show.

Comedians:
Kyle Kinane - VERY funny guy. Would love to see him.
Nick Offerman - "Ron Swanson" he's on TV!  all around good guy. I'd like to see him.
Recommendations? - this is a common place to overlook talent (and regret it later). suggestions appreciated.

And as always, I feel I have a lot of listening "research" to do in preparation for the festival, as there are many bands that I am (ever-so-slightly) embarrassed to say I don't know. It's a a lot of work to go to a festival and be on top of new music.

Now accepting suggestions on what bands I am overlooking!

If anyone is interested in how Sasquatch compares/contrasts to other music festivals (I have been to a few others. Most of them on the East Coast), I would be more than happy to discuss this ad nauseum. There are equally as many things that make this festival great, as there are failed opportunities to make it better. (Many of which are not difficult to achieve.) If only I could speak to the festival organizers directly... Maybe I just need to be the festival organizer. :)

It appears that they have learned their lesson from the wristband fiasco of last year, and are sending out wristbands via the mail this year. THANK YOU Sasquatch! That shit was ridiculous last year. People stood in line literally all day to exchange their ticket for a wristband: a completely unnecessary transaction.This means (I assume) that you will need a wristband to get on the camping grounds, which will limit random people from just showing up to party for the weekend. Not sure how I feel about that, but its an easy price to pay to avoid that mess again.

Local Natives - Hummingbird

I LOVE the previous Local Natives album Gorilla Manor, and the new album Hummingbird seems to be a continuation of the same goodness. I like it.

Coachella 2013 Lineup

Looks like a throwback to about 5 years ago, but that is fine with me, because I really haven't moved on from that point.   plus some other good recent bands that I would like to see. Headliners are a little weak, but still good. The fucking Postal Service !!!! (hell yeah).   I want to go.

San Cisco - San Cisco

This is really growing on me!

It sounds like Phoenix at times and also Vampire Weekend (but better) I think at times. and sometimes a blend of the two.

Very catchy. A late find for the year for me (thanks Blake!), but I would say its up there on the list of 2012 albums!

How Festival line-ups are made

I found this on Reddit, and thought it was funny enough to pass along. It is pretty much spot on.

You have to look no further than this very page to see that this must be the algorithm that festivals use to fill choose their line-ups.  

Pitchfork serves up initial 2012 Festival Lineup

Calling all no-coast-ers!

The initial Pitchfork Music Festival line-up has been announced. It is currently pretty crappy (IMO), but if past years are any indication, it will probably be a great lineup of the current indie bands, and it will be a bargain. 30+ additional bands have yet to be announced, so you can expect the line-up to get significantly better. It will sell out...fast.

I have always wanted to go to the Pitchfork Music Festival, and see Chicago while I’m at it. But not this year.

When: July 13-15th 2012

Where: Chicago's Union Park 

Tickets on Sale:  Friday, March 9th    12 pm (Central Time)   at the Pitchfork Music Festival website. 

Ticket Cost: 

Individual Day:  $45

3-Day Passes:   $110

The line-up as of now: 

Vampire Weekend, Feist, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Hot Chip, 

AraabMUZIK, A$AP Rocky, the Field, Liturgy, Kendrick Lamar, 

Grimes, Cloud Nothings, Tim Hecker, and Willis Earl Beal 

Bonnaroo 2012 Lineup Released

The 2012 Bonnaroo Festival Lineup has been released. There are some pretty good gets as far as headliners: Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, and The Beach Boys

Probably the biggest names for headliners of any festival lineup I have seen for this years festival lineup announcement season.

Radiohead at Bonnaroo is probably really awesome. I missed Radiohead's Bonnaroo debut several years ago (2006), of which Thome Yorke said it was his "favorite show for ever and ever and ever."  !!!!!!!!!!!!  That is quite a statement, although he is not the only musician to say that Bonnaroo is their favorite venue.

As far as The Beach Boys, it is the full original members[who are currently living]. In other words this is different from past tours where it was just a few "Beach Boys" with a backing band. However, I'm sure it will just end up being a depressing rendition of all of their hits. I would probably still check it out.

Phish is a big get from the jam scene and will please the Bonnaroo festival-goers reminiscent of Bonnaroo days past, when it was almost exclusively a Jam festival.

And who doesn't like the Red Hot Chili Peppers? So I would say it is not a bad set of headliners

And continuing down the list there is a good collection of mid-level bands and lower-level bands. Pretty typical good lineup for Bonnaroo. Worth the ticket cost. Worth the driving??...is another thing altogether. Get 'em while they are cheaper, because it will probably sell out, and the price will only go UP!

The full lineup (as of now):
Bolded bands are the one I would initially have on my list (of course that will evolve).

RADIOHEAD  •RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS  •PHISH • THE BEACH BOYS (BRIAN WILSON, MIKE LOVE, AL JARDINE, BRUCE JOHNSTON AND DAVID MARKS)  •BON IVER  •THE AVETT BROTHERS  •THE SHINS  •FOSTER THE PEOPLE  •SKRILLEX  •AZIZ ANSARI DISPATCH  •FEIST  •THE ROOTS  •ALICE COOPER  •SUPERJAM  •BLACK STAR  • THE WORD (JOHN MEDESKI, ROBERT RANDOLPH AND NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS)  •LUDACRIS • BEN FOLDS FIVE  •FLOGGING MOLLY  •SPECTRUM ROAD (CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA, JACK BRUCE, JOHN MEDESKI, AND VERNON REID) MAC MILLER  •CHILDISH GAMBINO  •MAJOR LAZER  •TUNE-YARDS  •AFROCUBISM  •FLYING LOTUS • UMPHREY’S MCGEE  •LITTLE DRAGON  •ST. VINCENT  •CITY AND COLOUR  •THE CIVIL WARS • YOUNG THE GIANT  •TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB  •PUNCH BROTHERS  •NEEDTOBREATHE • FITZ & THE TANTRUMS  •BAD BRAINS  •YELAWOLF  •DAWES  •BATTLES  •DANNY BROWN THE BLACK LIPS  •SBTRKT  •PHANTOGRAM  •KENDRICK LAMAR CHARLES BRADLEY AND HIS EXTRAORDINAIRES  •THE KOOKS  •THE JOY FORMIDABLE  •THE ANTLERS  •KATHLEEN EDWARDS  •MIMOSA  •KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS  •ALABAMA SHAKES  •DAS RACIST DELTA SPIRIT  •GARY CLARK JR.  •IVAN NEVILLE'S DUMPSTAPHUNK  •LAURA MARLING TRAMPLED BY TURTLES  •MOGWAI  •THE WAR ON DRUGS  •BEN HOWARD  •GROUPLOVE • BLIND PILOT  •ALO  •THE DEVIL MAKES THREE  •WHITE DENIM  •EMA  •HERE WE GO MAGIC  •K-FLAY THE LONELY FOREST  •MARIACHI EL BRONX  •BIG FREEDIA  •DALE EARNHARDT JR. JR.  •THE SOUL REBELS KVELERTAK  •SOJA  •STEVEN BERNSTEIN'S MTO PLAYS SLY  •BIG GIGANTIC  •SARAH JAROSZ ORGONE  •DARONDO  •FRUIT BATS  •MOON TAXI

Geograper - Animal Shapes

(indie pop, indie, electronic)

I found this album by accident, and it is fantastic! I mistook Geographer  for Geologist (a member of Animal Collective).... I gotta say, that was an easy mistake to make, but I'm glad I made it!. Haha.

It sounds like a cross of Grizzly Bear and Passion Pit. I arrive at that combo since it has the chill vibe and vocals of Grizzly Bear, but the crisp, catchy synth-work of Passion Pit. Which is a weird, but fantastic combo.

It is an EP so it is short and has no filler so all 6 tracks are solid. Give Paris a listen and tell me that synth riff doesn’t immediately resonate as in your brain as addiction.

…And I just found out that they are playing within 4 miles of my house, in less than a month!!! Damn that was good timing on that accidental find!

Paris 

(No actual video here, just audio for your listening pleasure)

Sasquatch 2012

Update (2-8-12):  The Pre-Sale password  is  "electronic"

Buy tickets here

Update (2-7-12) - New Additions: Santigold, Of Monsters & Men, Graffiti6, Anthony Jeselnik

The Sasquatch Lineup has just been released.

The festival will be held on Friday, May 25^th to Monday, May 28^th.
Tickets [4-day passes + camping] on-sale: Saturday, February 11th at 10am

Price: approx $315 for 4-day passes. (YIKES!!!!)

The line-up isn’t amazing or terrible, just kind of ehh.  There is a lot of initial negativity pouring out from festival-goers, probably because they are depressed that Coachella is sold out without them. I’m somewhat in that boat.  

Being previously on the East coast I have not paid too much attention to the lineup as I knew it was out of reach, but looking back at past line-ups, this year does seem to be missing the big guns. Had this been my festival stomping grounds, and my yearly escape-from-reality destination, this lineup probably would have been depressing.

For me it will be a whole new festival to experience, so I guess I’m not as let-down as others who have been going for years. It is still a music festival, with quite a few bands I could fill up a 4 day weekend with.  I haven’t made up my mind about going yet, but initial feelings point to no, based on the price versus lineup factor. Update: I am now pretty sure I am going, I am now going! So if you are in the PNW and are going, let me know! What changed my mind you ask? Well I don't know who I was kidding, thinking that I just sit home while a festival is going on this close by! And some good friends are going (which makes it all the more exciting) and ....who can turn down a festival?

The Artists. Bold are the ones I am currently interested in seeing. I have to do a bit or research to add to my ‘to see’ list. If you have any recommendations on who to see please feel free to give them!

Jack White, Beck, Bon Iver, Pretty Lights, Tenacious D, The Shins, Beirut, Girl Talk, The Roots, The Head & The Heart, Portlandia, Feist, Silversun Pickups, Metric, Explosions In The Sky, The Joy Formidable, Mogwai, Nero (DJ), M. Ward, John Reilly & Friends, Childish Gambino, St. Vincent, The Civil Wars, Jamey Johnson, Little Dragon, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Wolfgang Gartner, Beats Antique, Apparat, The Walkmen, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Mark Lanegan Band, Spiritualized, Blitzen Trapper, The Cave Singers, Shabazz Palaces, Fun., Grouplove, Tycho, Sbtrkt, Strfkr, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Deer Tick, Imelda May, Alabama Shakes, Dum Dum Girls, The Helio Sequence, Kurt Vile, Cloud Cult, We Are Augustines, Ben Howard, Here We Go Magic, Zola Jesus, The War On Drugs, Shearwater, Cass McCombs, Active Child, Trampled By Turtles, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Araabmuzik, Star Slinger, L.A. Riots, Com Truise, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, I Break Horses, Walk The Moon, Dry The River, Allen Stone, Pickwick, Hey Marseilles, Gary Clark Jr., Purity Ring, Electric Guest, Yellow Ostrich, Nobody Beats The Drum, Coeur De Pirate, Lord Huron, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Beat Connection, The Sheepdogs, Hey Rosetta!, Said The Whale, Howlin Rain, Gardens & Villa, Felix Cartal, Craft Spells, Vintage Trouble, Poor Moon, Black Whales, Gold Leaves, Greylag, Awesome Tapes From Africa
Thee Satisfaction, Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, The Physics, Sol, Metal Chocolates, Grynch, Spac3man, Don’t Talk To The Cops, Scribes, Fatal Lucciauno, Fly Moon Royalty, Katie Kate

Comedy: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Todd Barry, Beardyman, Rob Delaney, Pete Holmes, Howard Kremer, and more!

Here is the Lineup Announcement Video

and here is a CLASSIC Sasquatch video to hold you over until May!