End of 2011 Friday Five!

Happy last Friday of 2011! I wanted to do a year end list, and I also wanted to do a top albums of 2011. I honestly tried to do both of these things, but I feel like all of my lists are biased in some way. However, I decided to come up with a non hierarchical list of my favorite tunes from this year. Enjoy! Have a Happy New Year!

Ringo Deathstarr - Chloe

CSS - City Grrrl

St. Vincent - Cruel

Feist - How Come You Never Go There

Anna Calvi - Suzanne & I

tUnE-yArDs - Bizness

PJ Harvey - On Battleship Hill

Pictureplane - Real Is A Feeling

Wild Flag - Romance

Friday Five! Right on time!

Friday Five! Right on time!
Happy Friday! I had the day off today, and I did what I do best; I spent the day crawling though youtube trying to find the best new and intresting videos for my weekly collection of awesomeness! I have some new stuff, I have some old stuff, but just be happy that the Friday Five is back on regular schedule!

Warpaint - Jubilee. I read in this article that this was going to be on the newest album (I guess it was a leftover song?). Anyway, I hope this makes the cut onto the newest one because this song is great!

Beach House - Norway. This is from the Pitchfork Practice sesion. (Yeah, I know...). Why is everything so fuzzy?

Scout Niblett - Dinosaur Egg. This isn't your ordinary song about dinosoar eggs. This is an awesome song about dinosaur eggs! This really sounds great near the end.

Extra! Scout Niblett - So Much Love To Do.

Wild Flag - Romance. I was going to post this last week, but I got lazy and I just didn't do it.

Wild Flag - Romance from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Sleater Kinney - Wilderness (From big day out 2006). I hate to say it, but this footage feels old. Its old, but good, so that is all that really matters. (We get a history lesson too! How cool!)

Wild Flag - Wild Flag album Review

I've been waiting for this album for a while. No, let me rephrase that. I've been waiting for this album for a very long time, and when I mean very long time, probably since last October. I've outbid people to get the 7 inch LP, I've heard the bootlegs (sorry Wild Flag), and I almost made it to their concert with Sonic Youth and Kurt Vile on my Birthday (August 12th). I've done everything that I could possibly done to hear just a little sliver of Wild Flag, and now I get the chance to.

Listen to this album as you read the review! (thanks NPR!)


Like I said before, I've only heard various tidbits of this album. Some songs here and there, a music video here and there, a bootleg here and there, but besides all of that, I don't think that I've been exposed to the studio recorded epicness that I need to be exposed to. So I have high hopes for this album. Really high hopes for this album. Album of the Year Hopes for this album. I'm pretty sure that I can speak for a lot of people when I say that. I hope it can meet my standards!

Romance
(Go listen to it here!) Something told me that they would open with this. It was one of their singles after all. (should have been a red flag) It is a fitting song, it just starts off awesome. You have the dual guitar maze going on with those blaring drums and the flowing wind of the keyboard. They really started this album with a bang! I could just be happy with this one song playing over and over, but instead I have a whole album to play though! This is very good news. If I find it hard to not move on from the first song to the next song, then you know that I would like the album!

Something Came Over Me
This has been my favorite song from the bootleg, so I'm remotely familiar with this song. This is a slower song, but it isn't lacking on the awesomeness. Right off the gate the dual guitars are just what keeps me listing, it really is a simplistic guitar tab, but it is just in the way that they play it on this song! Something just sounds...Better I guess? I'll find more examples thought the song

Boom
Wow, Carrie's vocal delivery on this one is reminding me of the Kinks or is it the Pretenders? Whatever it is I'm enjoying it. This song is pretty simple lyric wise, but at the same time it is so complex; this is showed in the breakdown near the end of the song. This might just be me again, but I 'm fining some resemblance to Sonic Youth here too? (am I just crazy?). Anyway, this is a great song to listen to, and it flows greatly into the next song. 

Glass Tambourine
I think that Wild Flag collectively summed up the universe. I've really liked this song ever since I heard it on the 7inch and I"m so glad that Wild Flag went back and revised it a little. (yes I can tell). But it is still the same song but this time around, they just added a little extra something in the solo/breakdown, and they made the ending more epic (4:31 on is re-worked). What else can I say about this song? It is just very good. Halfway through it you feel like you are floating in space looking at a glass tambourine.

Endless Talk
Endless Talk is the halfway point of this album. If you read my reviews often, you will understand that the halfway point is where I judge if an album is just average, or if it is really great. Like most halfway point songs, this one started off a little bit slow (one of my pet peeves) but the pace is a major part of this song. I when I listen to this song, I can hear a mix of The Who, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pretenders and those awesome 60's pop harmonies (no I seriously do). The guitar isn't mind melting on this one, but that is a good thing because we get to hear the harmonies from the keyboard!

Short Version
Nice Opening! I feel like this band never stops on this album! To be honest this sounds even better than I thought that it would sound (dont' rely on the lyrics).  I seen a live version of this not too long ago, and I was amazed by the dual guitar harmonies and the vocal melodies and even at times the keyboard melody is pretty out there. I guess this song is what liquid would sound like, and by that I mean that this song is very fluid. 

Electric Band
 I've heard this song plenty of times on the bootleg. Every time that I listen to it, I just can't get my mind around how awesome the drum opening is. It just holds up the rest of the song, and gives it unique qualities.
I also like the high gain effect that the lead guitar has on this song; it goes great with the drums It takes a little effort to hear it but from what 2:18 until the end of the song, that guitar with the gain is going crazy. On the other hand I felt like this song could have been a little bit longer, but the ending just sounds great,so its fine even if the song is a little short.

Future Crimes
The Drum opening is what really sands out on this song. It is there from the start, and right there when the song ends. But there is more than just drums on this song. Again you have to listen carefully, but you listen to the guitar with the gain, you can find a really good riffs,  and also if you can listen and try to find the keyboard riff that is going right along with you will probably be amazed. You probably didn't hear the difference (trust me I did) but this "album version" of Future Crimes is a little bit different from the 7inch version. I personally think that re-recording it is smart, but that just might be me tyring to be cool again.

Racehorse
This is the best song on the album. But you would only agree with me if you listened to the whole album in order. Firstly, listen to that bridge at 1:09. There is just so much in that small section of that song, and then not too long after that at 1:20, we have another breakdown! Check that out. (Another one at 1:45 I need to quit counting!)  The small instrumental beak starting at 2:40 is nice too. After that the keyboard adds another dimension to this song.4:40 on is just pure joy in my ears and brain. It is 6 minutes of pure amazing.

Black Tiles
I love how they broke up the long song by ending this album with a shorter song. I really haven't seen that on a shorter album. This song is also a highlight on this album because it is shorter, but also because it sets the new standard on how to end an album. It doesn't scream "This is the last song on the album, be sad that it is over" but more "This song is slower, but because this the last song on the album, enjoy it and listen to it again". I really appreciate the ending  of this song (3:45 on). It is just the cherry on top, the one last guitar melting solo on this album; and then it is over. Just like that.


Trust me, I'm not joking when I say this, but this is probably my new favorite album. I honestly can't find any weak points on any of the songs or on any of the instrumentation. This is pretty much anything that I could want in a album. It has elements of punk, indie, noise, experimental and it even has hints from some of the great bands of the past. Looking to the future, I hope that Wild Flag releases more stuff! They can't just leave us hanging (a la Sleater-Kinney). Because if they did...

Anyway, I hope I didn't sound like a rabid Wild Flag fan that was trying to get you to buy this album. It is just great. Go buy it Today as a thank you to Wild Flag. I think that they just saved music.

The Summer Playlist Part Two.

Hey everyone! Happy July! I really wanted to post this yesterday, on the first, but I pulled something in my back, so I took the good desision to turn off my computer and relax for a while. A coupple of muscle relaxers later, I'm (somewhat) well rested, but my back is still in pain, so I decided to bring my laptop to me and post the second part of the summer playlist. This time around, I'm posting my most played songs from the last month (thanks Last.Fm!)

Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo. If you want to read my Beach House review, click here. As far as I can tell, this is the offical video. Kinda trippy right?


Extra! Beach House - Silver Soul. This is also an offical video that was approved by the band.I feel like this is a Summer song. I always play this whenever I'm outside.


Warpaint - Krimson. My sources tell me that a *new* Warpaint will be out later this week (I think it will be on the 7th. I'll post the link on my twitter when I see it). Looks like the drummer and guitarist switched places on this one. That's neat, I haven't seen that before. It sounds like this song will never end!


Wild Flag - Romance. (@ The Hi-Dive Seattle 11/12/10) Why isn't the album out yet! Quit giving us singles! Anyway, if you haven't heard it, here you go. (This is the Studio Version. It came out like a week ago.)


PJ Harvey - Hook. This is the best version that I've found.


Wavves - So Bored


Best Coast - Summer Mood. How could this not be on a Summer Playlist?


Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights. Apparently this is "super rare" it looks old to me, so that might be true.


Sonic Youth - Star Power (acoustic). They recorded this song for Gossip Girl. I personally hate that show, but at least we get to hear an acoustic version of Star Power!

First Impressions of Wild Flag

As you might or might know from reading my blog, I'm a Sleater-Kinney fanatic. I have all the albums, I have some on vinyl, I have a signed poster, I have some b-sides, I've seen hours of live footage; I know what I'm talking about.

Its hard for me to boil Wild Flag down to 5 points, but I had to put the limit someplace right?

1.Wild Flag is not Sleater-Kinney, so don't compare them.
This is going to be hard for me not to do. Simply put it is hard  to find the adjectives to describe Wild Flag! They have 2 of the 3 members from Sleater-Kinney, so the drumming style and guitar work sound "almost" the same. Every other element is diffrent. If you are a Sleater-Kinney fan, you will have a hard time transitioning into Wild Flag's musical style. Don't worry though, you will get used to it after 10 or so listens.

2.Wild Flag is not a studio band.
Alright, I admit it, I haven't seen Wild Flag live (But they are playing on my Birthday in New York with Sonic Youth), but I have seen the live bootleg videos (If you want to see some of them, look at past Friday Fives). Wild Flag is not one of those bands that just play studio based music. Wild Flag is all about the live performances. I've seen some pretty crazy live shows, but I haven't seen anything that is quite like Wild Flag. They are interesting, they are new, and I also think that they will get better with time (If they keep releasing albums).

3.Wild Flag is here to rock, and they will.
This is similar to the last point, but I truly believe that Wild Flag can keep pressing out the album releases if they want to. The good thing about Wild Flag is that all of their members have experience playing music, and playing in bands. Everyone knows what they are doing, and all of the members know how to keep a band going, (insert Sleater-Kinney rebuttals here if you want to.) But despite that, I'm willing to say that Wild Flag may be the main musical vehicle of all of the members in Wild Flag, and we could just drop all hopes of a *Reunion* tour (alright, I'm almost done with these inside jokes).

4.Wild Flag is a game changer.
Although I'm not that old, I can say that I haven't been this excited for any band to release an album in my life time. It is nice to see musicians that I've looked up to for a while finally getting into a project that can possibly change the history of music as we know it. Although they are not the first all female super group (Free Kitten was first in 1992), they are the first female super group that has gotten positive press in independent media. If that isn't a game changer, then I don't know what is.

5.Wild Flag is noting like you've ever experienced.
What else can I say? This is going to be hard for me not to do. Simply put it is hard to just describe Wild Flag! They describe themselves as a mixture between a "Hot dog and a Hamburger". Although that is a interesting metaphor, I would like to see what they describe themselves as musically.

Hopefully, you will check out, get into, or buy some of Wild Flags music. Trust me, this is a band that is "worth it" and you will be glad that you are listening to them.

Music My Mom Likes.

Happy Mothers Day! I thought that I would post some music from my collection that my Mom enjoys. You might think that it is shocking, but then again, you'll be impressed with her selections!

Sonic Youth - Bubblegum. I took my Mom to the Sonic Youth show when they came to Denver last year. She loved it!


David Bowie - The Jean Genie. My Mom loves David Bowie. She didn't hear this song before I started playing it, but now she loves it!


Mika Miko - Turkey Sandwich. I love playing this because she sings along with the song.


Sleater Kinney - Be Yr Momma. Good stuff here. The prefect Mother's Day song.


Siouxsie and the Banshees - Headcut.


Wild Flag


My Mom likes a lot more music, so I might have to do another instalment of what she likes.

The Monday 15!

So last week, I was Debating at the National Qualifying Debate tournament Friday and Saturday,so I had no time to do the Friday Five. I was celebrating the end of debate season this weekend, so I had to delay the "Friday Five" to Monday. Don't worry, I found some good stuff over my break, I've been watching videos like crazy, so enjoy these 15 (!) videos.

Warpaint - Undertow. Hate me if you want to, but I just got into this band not too long ago. I didn't know what I was missing, and wow. I'm just at a loss for words here. To me, their music sounds like a modern day version of the Cocteau Twins (one of my favorite bands)


Extra! Warpaint Bees From Coachella '11


Another Extra! Warpaint - Elephants From Coachella '11


Free Kitten - Smack. I've been trying to find their early realeases on Vynil, but I'm not haveing any success. I could aways download them, but I'm not a huge fan of downloading music.


More Free Kitten! Teenie weenie Boppie


PJ Harvey - On Battleship Hill. This is the last of the "Let England Shake" videos. I still have to post more of them, but I'll save that for later weeks.


LiLiPUT - Turk and Split Live. I think that the opening part is in German, but that doesn't distract from the music.


The Pretenders - Mystery Achievement Live in France '79. This is some amazing footage. Its clear, and it soungs good. This might be my favorite live version of this song.


Extra! The Pretenders - Up The Neck Live in France '79.


Black Tambourine - Throw Aggi Off The Bridge.


Extra! Black Tambourine - Black car


Helium - Superball. I used to listen to a lot of Helium, I don't know why I stoped listening to them because they are a pretty good band.


Even more Helium! Honeycomb.

Even more WILD FLAG videos!

Future Crimes - From South By Southwest '11. This was a while ago, but I wanted to show you all this anyway. Its addicting!


IFC Interview. I find this interview kind of awkward, but I'd still watch it.

Funtastic Friday Five!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that it was a good one for you! Anyway, I'm back (on time) to present the my 5+ videos for the week! I even got this done early too! I'm on vacation for a week, so keep checking back often so you can read my latest music related posts! I don't know if I'm going to write album reviews, my thoughts on bands and and the current music world, or just do some mini reviews on the latest albums that I've just bought. Anyway, I'm sure that you all will enjoy it.

St Vincent - Actor out of Work. This is a rehearsal video. I've been listening to a lot of St. Vincent recently. I think I'm going to buy one of their albums over vacation, so I can have something new to listen to.


GBH - Go Home. I'd thought that I would change things up a bit. (Don't kill me if I say that I don't own this album)


Pixies - Bone Machine (Live 2004). I've also been playing this song a lot. Who wouldn't? It is so enjoyable!


Cocteau Twins - Wax and Wane. I'm trying to find more live footage of the Cocteau Twins to share. This footage is pretty grainy and old, but it is brilliant. It really showcases the early Cocteau Twins. If you look really closely, you can see a Killing Joke Poster. Did they open for them?


Free Kitten - What is Fair live 1994. I'm going to sound crazy, but this might be the first all female super-group (Kim Gordon, Yoshimi P, Julie Cafritz, Mark Ibold. Fine, you have to subtract Mark Ibold on the early albums) not Wild Flag (Go ahead and  kill me). If I feel like it, I'll prove my point in a later blog post. Anyway, this is a really good track. Listen to the lyrics, they will enlighten you.

MORE WILD FLAG!

I'm having Wild Flag mania although they haven't officially released anything yet. But if you have the time crawl Youtube and watch some of their live videos. It is everything that a S-K Fan (or non fan) would enjoy. Heck, if my Mom enjoys Wild Flag, then you sure will.

Wild Flag - "Arabesque" live 11/18/10. They are awesome and funny at the same time! How rad!

The Fruitful Return of The Friday Five!

Happy Friday everyone! I've had a hectic last couple of weeks but I promised myself that I would get this Friday Five out on time. So here it is, The Fruitful return with extra videos! I even added some new artists this week, so enjoy!

Sugarcubes - Hit. Hey look, Its Bjork! I love this video.


Minutemen - Do You Want New Wave? Or Do You Want The Truth?


Black Randy and the Metrosquad - I slept in an arcade. How can you not like this band?


Sonic Youth - Rain on Tin. I'm slightly obsessed with this song. Its so mellow, and it just goes into this awesome noise break guitar goodness. It is just prefect. (I'm really liking Kim's SG bass right now)


Shonen Knife - Brown Mushrooms. This is such a fun music video. All of Shonen Knife's videos are fun, but I really enjoy this one.

WILD FLAG!!!

Alright, I had to throw in the Wild Flag Video. Come on! KEXP Filmed it at South By Southwest! Its (almost) band new! This is probably the best live footage I seen this year. I'm pretty stoked about Wild Flag right now (I have been for the past while really).
(might just be me, but does this sound like Sonic Youth mixed with something else to you?)

Finally, Friday Five on Friday!

I wanted to post a Friday Five on Friday, even though I got home at 9:00 and I still have a full day of debating left to do tomorrow. I'm not going to lie, but this Friday Five might be kind of weak. (I'll make up for it though).

Huggy Bear Pansy Twist


Sonic Youth French Tickler 1998: Live In Tokyo. This a petty good crowd, they really appreacate sonic youth (inside jokes over). Kim's vocals are mixed kind of low on this song, but you can still hear them.


PJ Harvey - The Last Living Rose. This is from a series of short films that goes along with "Let England Shake" I'll post some every week.


Wild Flag - Glass Tamborine. This is streaming on NPR, but it is better to watch the live bootleg version.


Pre Sleater-Kinney Goodness
Heavens to Betsy - Direction


Excuse 17 (Unknown song) at CBGB's. Who needs a name when the footage is so clear!

Friday Five, Finally on time!

Vendredi Heureux! Happy Friday! However you say it, be happy that I finished a Friday Five early! I put in some good stuff this weekend so I hope you guys enjoy the Friday Five this weekend!

Chaos UK - No Security. I wish shows were this fun these days.


Grass Window - Fried Egg. You have to wonder how long it took them to make this 3:35 second video.


Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Live in Cincinnati, 1970. Where did these announcers come from? They suck, but at times, they are quite funny! Focus on the music.


L7 - Wargasm - live in Rio. Hey look, it's Kurt and Cortney! But seriously, check out that guitar part.


More Wild Flag! F.Y.I., If you don't want to listen to Wild Flag because you are still waiting for their 7"(hopefully it will be here soon...) Don't Watch This Video! Skip directly to the video below this one. (This is a cover by the way).


Classic Sleater Kinney - The day I went away. This is pretty good for a "older" video! Sounds good, and the video is really smooth! I wonder if its a bootleg...


I'm still thinking about doing a "Best of 2010" list, but I'm still undecided. If you want to help me out, vote on the poll on the upper right hand side of the blog.

Friday Five: Making you less full.

Happy Friday! And to my American Friends, Happy Black Friday/day after thanksgiving. I got some sweet videos for you guys this week, so hopefully you have a little extra room on your plate for these tasty Videos! I found a link that I'm thankful for, but I'll tell you about that later.

Vivian Girls - All The time. I didn't really listen to this song, but now I listen to it all the time. Good start to their album. Listen to that wall-o-feedback!


Youth Brigade - Did You Wanna Die. Whenever I hear this song, I want to go skate, too bad it's super cold outside. My wheels might freeze if I do.


PJ Harvey - Electric Light (with messed up drum machene). PJ wanted to play a song with the drum machene, but it didn't want to coroprate. If you wanted to see some of PJ's personality, this is the video. My favorite part is 1:13-2:17. Wait till the end though!


Extra! 50 Foot Queenie at Big Day out 2003. I don't know why I like this so much. It might be because she switched up her guitar playing or vocals. Whatever it is I like it.


Big Black - Kerosene. I've been listening to this song religiously for the past 3 days. I still can't find this album and it's really bugging me. Heads up, turn your speakers down if you don't want them to blow them up.


My Bloody Valentine - Sueisfine Live London '89. The drums make this song. Watch Colm Drum, its worth it.


Classic Sleater Kinney.

It's Enough. Strange angle for a video, but you get to see all of the cool action without all the people in the way.


Something to be Thankful for.
Ok, so I'm thankful I found the Bootleg of the First Wild Flag Show. If you watch it, click the link and be windblown. If you want to wait until the 7" comes out, then wait. But be prepared to be mind blown. I doubted it before, but the keyboards work really well with the rest of the band.

(No really,someone tell me when their 7" comes out. I will push someone out the way to buy it.)

Link#1 (This one is in HD)
Link#2