May 15, 2012
Whether it’s Radiohead, Justice or Kanye West, lots of artists have used children’s choirs in their music and it can have the effect of sounding uplifting, cute, anthemic or just plain creepy. The Langley Schools Music Project album, Innocence & Despair showed that’s even possible to maintain the concept for an entire album and still be fascinating. Sigur Rós are the latest to use a children’s choir in their gorgeous track “Varúð” (translation: “Caution”) from their upcoming sixth LP, Valtari, and it inspired me to make a mix of some of my favorite uses of singing kids. Download below or listen to (most of) the mix at Spotify.
MP3 Radiohead – 15 Step
MP3 Gorillaz – Dirty Harry
MP3 Kanye West – We Don’t Care
MP3 The Smiths – Panic
MP3 Sigur Rós – Varúð
MP3 John Lennon – Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
MP3 Passion Pit – Little Secrets
MP3 The Wombats – Let’s Dance to Joy Division
MP3 The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)
MP3 Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
MP3 The Langley Schools Music Project – Space Oddity
MP3 Fun. – All Alright
MP3 Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1)
MP3 Jay-Z – Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
MP3 Karen O and the Kids – All Is Love
Spotify Mix: The Kids Are Alright (Children’s Choir Mix)
Tags: fun., Gorillaz, Jay-Z, John Lennon, Justice, Kanye West, Karen O, Passion Pit, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, The Decemberists, The Langley Schools Music Project, The Smiths, The Wombats
Posted by Taylor in Mix 
1 is talking loco »
May 10, 2012
Ben Wigler, former frontman of Arizona (a band who I’ve raved about quite a bit on here), has returned with New Beard, a Brooklyn-based quartet whose expertise includes awesome music and facial hair. The first single on their debut LP, New Beard City, is a well-crafted, refreshing track called “Doom”. The track begins all strings, handclaps and fetching harmonies before evolving into a full-out guitar jam showing off some of the bands freakier prog-rock tendencies. It’s definitely got me hooked and I can’t wait to hear the full album.
MP3 New Beard – Doom
New Beard City will be out this summer on Shouldertap Records.
Tags: Arizona, New Beard
Posted by Taylor in MP3 Talk To Me »
May 8, 2012
After releasing the phenomenal double-album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming last year, M83 were high on my bands-to-see list and their tour with recent faves of mine I Break Horses made this show an absolute must. To things even more enticing, the bands were playing The Pageant in St. Louis, a beautiful venue which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to see a show. I missed the beginning of I Break Horses’ set, but fortunately was able to see them play three of my favorite songs from their album, “Hearts” “Winter Beats” and “I Kill Your Love, Baby”. Their soaring synths and angelic vocals was the perfect preface to M83 and from the crowd response it was obvious that they were completely captivated.
M83 opened the show with a brief appearance from the fly monster that has graced their most recent LP / single cover art, before the band took the stage fittingly, with “Intro” (keyboardist/vocalist Morgan Kibby taking over for Zola Jesus’ verses). The band’s majestic synths and thunderous drums provide an immense, all-encompassing sound and it was accompanied by an incredible neon light show that was just as cinematic and awe-inspiring. I actually had to look away from the stage a few times throughout the night so my eyes wouldn’t burn out. The band transitioned into the driving “Teen Angst” from 2005′s Before The Dawn Heals Us and was followed by a euphoric performance of “Graveyard Girl”, one of my personal favorites from the band.
The band continued, focusing on tracks from Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming with magnificent renditions of “Reunion” “Wait” and “Steve McQueen” following, with an assortment of older tracks mixed in. Two tracks I hoped for “Don’t Save Us From The Flames” and “Kim & Jessie” were skipped over, but performances of “We Own The Sky” and “A Guitar and a Heart” more than made up for it. Out of the band members, front man Anthony Gonzalez was the most subdued, completely focused on the task at hand. Morgan Kibby, on the other hand was completely charismatic and enchanting to watch while the most engaging with the crowd was player Jordan Lawlor who amazingly joined the band after a video audition.
The band played their huge hit “Midnight City” as the penultimate track of the first set, and it was great to see the crowd completely go wild when that familiar synth hit. A saxophonist came out to do the solo during the song, which was a huge surprise and totally awesome to watch. The band’s encore consisted of two Saturday=Youth tracks, “Skin of the Night”, a showcase for Morgan Kibby’s powerful vocals and an extended dance-crazy version of “Couleurs”. If the crowd weren’t in a frenzy before, they were once those hypnotizing disco beats and flashing strobe lights hit during the finale. It was like the most intense (and yes, epic) 80′s dance-club party you can imagine. And as the music faded and I began to regain their vision and hearing, the band did a bow and thanked the crowd before leaving the stage.
MP3 I Break Horses – Winter Beats
MP3 M83 – Midnight City
MP3 M83 – Graveyard Girl
Follow the jump for many more M83 / I Break Horses photos. Click here for the full set.
Continue reading »
Tags: I Break Horses, M83
Posted by Taylor in Live 1 is talking loco »
April 30, 2012
A lot of great albums have been coming out (or leaking) recently, so it took me a while to listen to Suckers latest LP, which is unfortunate, because Candy Salad is an extremely solid sophomore album for the whimsical Brooklyn group. The highlight for me is “Figure It Out” (named after this, I can only assume), which spotlights Quinn Walker’s gift for writing spectacularly catchy yet slightly off-kilter melodies. With it’s emphatic beat and boisterously fun vocals, it’s one of the memorable earworms I’ve heard this year. Download below.
MP3 Suckers – Figure It Out
Candy Salad is out now via Frenchkiss Records
Posted by Taylor in Other 1 is talking loco »
April 30, 2012
I’ve been listening to the Beach Boys longer than any other band. Their greatest hits compilation was one of the first CDs I ever owned and I had the whole album memorized backwards-and-forwards. So it’s no exaggeration to say the California surf-rockers are near and dear to my heart. The band are having a huge resurgence this year celebrating their 50th anniversary, releasing a new album and embarking on a nationwide tour (their first with Brian Wilson in over 20 years). I’ll be seeing them for the first time at Bonnaroo and I couldn’t be more excited.
Below I’ve listed my 25 favorite tracks from America’s greatest band (debatably). As you’ll probably notice, I heavily favor their Pet Sounds / Smile-era, but I have my favorites from their earlier, surfier days and there more avant-garde, 70′s work as well. You can listen to the whole list on this Spotify Playlist (if you’ve dismissed Beach Boys because of “Kokomo” or their Full House appearance, I’d suggest you start here). As always, feel free to share your favorites or angrily disagree with my choices in the comments.
The Beach Boys – 25 Essential Tracks
Found on: Spirit of America
Found on: Surfer Girl
Found on: Today!
MP3 She Knows Me Too Well
Found on: Pet Sounds
Found on: Wild Honey
Found on: Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
Found on: Surfer Girl
Found on: Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
MP3 Let Him Run Wild
Found on: All Summer Long
Found on: Pet Sounds
Continue reading »
Tags: Beach Boys, Essential Tracks
Posted by Taylor in Features, Lists 3 is talking loco »
April 26, 2012
On their self-titled debut album, Hundred Waters perform the rare feat of making songs that are both incredibly melodic and challenging. I’ve seen them described as “folktronica” a few times, but I think “experimental pop” is a better descriptor of band’s playful use of rippling synths, syncopated drums, inventive harmonies and electronic flourishes. ”Me & Anodyne” and “Boreal” are both standouts on the album, showcasing the band’s ethereal tapestry of sounds. I’d suggest listening with good headphones and little distraction, otherwise it may be easy to miss all the complexities of these lovely songs.
MP3 Boreal
MP3 Me & Anodyne
Listen to the full album at the band’s website.
Tags: Hundred Waters
Posted by Taylor in Artist Spotlight Talk To Me »
April 23, 2012
I’ve been following Chicago’s Maps & Atlases casually for a number of years (they put on a hell of a live show), but even still, their lastest album Beware and Be Grateful snuck up and completely took me surprise. The band has always been very skilled in the technical arena, with their noodling math-rock guitar lines and energetic drum fills, but their songwriting has grown by leaps and bounds. First single, “Winter” is a great example, an exhilarating slice of guitar pop with sunny melodies and tight rhythms that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Phoenix song. Check it out below and grab the full album via Barsuk Records.
MP3 Maps & Atlases – Winter
Tags: Maps & Atlases
Posted by Taylor in MP3 Talk To Me »
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