Happy Fucking Birthday from Purity Ring
Yeah. I know. It’s not your fucking birthday. But I guarantee you that SOMEONE* had a birthday on April 18th. And that person must have been ecstatic. Because Purity Ring dropped Ungirthed 7″ . And if you haven’t heard it yet just hit play. IT WILL FEEL LIKE YOUR FUCKING BIRTHDAY. That heavy wobble mixed with sexy-time vocals might as well be the red fucking bow some d-bag put on top of a new lexus in the driveway for you. But instead the Lexus is sexy hot. And not a car. But rather a jazzy track for you and your headphones to enjoy the shit out of.
Purity Ring is nothing but pure enjoyment. Purity rings themselves on the other hand…leave more than a bit to be desired. I’d rather see a proliferation of “I’ll get on my knees and blow you in a public bathroom” rings. Where can I get some ladies those rings? I would buy those rings.
Purity Ring – “Ungirthed”
Purity Ring – “Lofticries”
* Mathematically guaranteed. No sources to cite.
Of Montreal – False Priest
Well there’s the whole:
Elliot Smith, Kanye West, Rufus Wainwright, Keane, and Spoon to name a few thing.
Then there is the matter of scores: Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I Heart Huckabees. There are more of course.
Jon Brion produced the artists. He also wrote the scores. Jon Brion is, I would imagine, the most unrecognizable yet most influential hand in the music you listen to.
Everyone knows his stuff, but for some reason the pions can’t pick him out of a lineup to save their uninspired music tastes.
Kevin Barnes has traditionally recorded everything on his own. Hissing Fauna are you the Destroyer? was recorded in his attack in Georgia. This time around,
of Montreal actually went into a real studio and enlisted Jon Brion to produce their psychedelic funk jams. Thus spawned False Priest. And make no mistake it is of Montreal at Kevin Barnes’ finest. For those of you late to the train, of Montreal is the sexiest of sex jams. When the tightest of panties display themselves as a challenge in the night – all you need are the smooth shrills of some False Priest and real loving will be had in no time.
Smooches.
Of Montreal – Coquet Coquette
Of Montreal – I Feel Ya Strutter
The Black Ryder at 33 Ritch
Formerly of the “Morning After Girls”, Aimee Nash and Scott Von Ryper make up the new shoegaze act The Black Ryder. On first glance, they look like they are too cool to hang out with you. More than likely, they are. They also look like they want to do nothing but fuck you up with heavy guitar riffs while they distract you with how hot the chicks are. More than likely, they will.
Now, in my head is a list of ideas and concepts that I support. I have never written the contents of this “list” down, but I reference it from time to time in casual conversation. High on that list of things I support, is the concept of hot chicks playing guitars. Specifically on stage. At a venue that I am also at.
Lucky for me, @indierockgirl of ocmd fame, invited me out to catch them at 33 Ritch. Now, if you like hot chicks AND good music, and you STILL choose to not go see Black Ryder live…you are not the brightest tool in the crayon box. I fucking hate dull crayons.
The Black Ryder – “Gone WIthout Feeling”
The Black Ryder – “Sweet Come Down”
Take the ride, get the album: The Offbeat is the best way to start your day. If want the start of your day to involve being blasted into orbit on a rocket ship to take a quick dip into outer space. Simple as pie. FlyAmSam – “The Offbeat” Get this music: Gold Panda (Ghostly) just dropped his new LP: Lucky Shiner. More than a solid follow up to the recent “You EP.” If my ears had taste buds* they’d probably describe the sound of Gold Panda’s latest effort, as stripper glitter in my mouth.* The only way I can dream about liking it more – is if I contemplate listening to it while trudging through the gloomy streets of London. But for now I’ll settle on skipping through the sunny streets of L.A. Gold Panda – “Snow & Taxis” * I have no idea what that actually tastes like. Right. Buy this music (do it): Ellie Goulding is coming hard out of England right now, and we yanks should count ourselves jammy beggars that this bird ain’t no scrubber. The twenty-three year old is already a BFD in The Isles and starting to explode in The States, being picked up by some very savvy music supervisors for film and TV. Her slick, electro-pop single “Starry Eyed” is a stand-out on the Kick-Ass soundtrack. The movie itself was less Kick-Ass than Kick-Butt, but Ms. Goulding certainly exceeded expectations. “Under The Sheets” hit the UK in late 2009 as her first single and basically sealed her fate and career. The full album, “Lights” dropped this past spring and she has busied herself writing, collaborating and lending vocals to other artists ever since. It’s early to tell, but she seems smart enough and prolific enough to have the staying power to make it big both at home and abroad. LA gets the pleasure of her company for one night at The Roxy on September 28th. Tickets at the box office for something like $13, are you kidding me? But, Ellie isn’t the only female artist from the UK peaking my interest right now. Neon Hitch is quietly gaining ground and by my calculations, will tip into the limelight very VERY soon. Her bio on MySpace (who still uses that?) sounds like she made it up, but I believe it inexplicably. She opened for 50 Cent abroad, has been working with Benny Blanco and 3OH!3 and co-wrote the catchy “Blah Blah Blah” for the uber-mess that is Ke$ha. Her performance at Lollapalooza recently has created a flurry of curiosity that should carry over into the album she’s working on now. I wait patiently to pass final judgment, but I have my eye on this one for sure… Best of all? Neon Hitch just released a cover of a crazy addictive combo of Ellie Goulding’s “Starry Eyed” and Two Door Cinema Club’s “What You Know” and, to me, it’s better than either of the originals. You’re welcome. Neon Hitch – “What Starry Eyes Know” (Ellie Goulding v. Two Door Cinema Club) Finally. An outdoor festival that didn’t suck. This past Saturday, FYF (Fuck Yeah Fest) took place downtown in the Los Angeles State Historic Park. It was 102 degrees. The lines were hours long. Beer Gardens were overflowing with more hipsters than alcohol. It was a perfect storm of elements to make for an awful time. But it was nothing like that. The heat was dry, there was plenty of wind and the sun was down within hours. The lines may have been untenable for those with tickets at will call (three hours?! sorry Andrew). But if you got a ticket before hand, or even, like me, had no ticket whatsoever, you only had minutes to wait… (thank you for this miracle, but seriously, that’s damn poor organization). The walk from stage to stage was easy, water was everywhere, beer was less expensive than you’d think, and the Sailor Jerry version of an Arnie Palmer quenched well my thirst. And the selection of bands was great. My personal schedule: Screaming Females, Ceremony, Best Coast, AA Bondy, Soft Pack, Wavves Ceremony was meh. Best Coast could have been better. Soft Pack was an interesting discovery. AA Bondy was like if David Gray was fronting a new version of Explosions. Delorean was amazing and !!! was a crazy fucking dance party. But top honors go to Local Natives, Cold Cave & The Rapture for me. Local Natives were great. The sun was going down behind them and the weather had gotten to a perfect balance, which is exactly what their music calls for, like a drive down the PCH at dusk. It was the first moment of the festival that I realized the day would, in fact, meet its expected potential. Not to mention, the buzz from my chemical enhancers was just kicking in. In all seriousness, liked these guys much better in person than in .mp3 form. Cold Cave was the first show we shoved towards after the dark of night was firmly in place, bellies sloshing with Sailor Jerry’s. It was a refreshing find for me, having never heard of them before. Dragged by trustworthy friends, I was met with a floating groove of ecstasy and peace and happiness. For the moment I forgot about the bands before and any of the bands I wanted to see after. I stopped checking my schedule sheet / map combo and just gave into the sound. Which is a feat for these tired and picky ears. The Rapture. It was like all the people in the audience had been whisked away by some higher power into a blissful euphoria… oh right, that’s what that means. !!! was a dance party, but The Rapture is The Rapture, come on. Headlining for a reason. I didn’t even feel bad about missing Panda Bear (heard it was “boring”). Dancing at the end of the day with the best people to “Whoo! Alright – Yeah…uh Huh” is something I will never forget. I find this festival appropriately named. Fuck Coachella. Fuck South-by. Fuck… YEAH. Looking forward to next year. The Rapture – “Whoo! Alright – Yeah…uh Huh” photo If you missed gangsta rap, fear not, it’s fucking back. Freddie Gibbs latest mixtape Str8 Killa No Filla is not to be missed from front to back. Hitting play for the first time might make you dangerously giddy. So be warned. I haven’t heard of anyone listening to this album without getting addicted. Which makessense because he just dropped this mixtape for free – and now he’s got an album out that he wants you to buy…this sounds like a similar business model to how my dealer got me hooked on some shit. First it’s free – then they charge you. It’s a pretty good scheme if you ask me. Get the free mixtape here -(via 2 dope boyz) Freddie Gibbs – “Dollar$ 4 Dope” Sequels are hard to get right. Just ask MGMT. The first one is easy. No one knows what to expect. The second one though? That’s tough. Preconceived notions are tough demons to dispel for anyone. Apparently not so much for Christian Cuff though. Chalkboard is his version of taking you on an adventure. And he’s going to take you everywhere he’s ever been. And you’re going to like it from start to finish. I’m tired of hearing people tell me the art of the album is dead. Hit this from front to back and try to tell me that again. There are no singles to be had here. You need all of the songs. It would be like reading a mystery novel but only reading through certain chapters. Now, there are few bands that can rope me in with their lyrical wordsmithing. Listen, I’m the first in line to be a lush for hook laden pop songs, but even though I’ve heard Umbrella over a thousand times, I still can’t remember any of the lyrics. Unless it’s about the part where Rihanna wants me under her umbrella.* Not this. Every lyric off Chalkboard has the weight of a thousand pounds behind it. Filled with vivid imagery mixed with metaphors reflecting on life’s highs and curveballs served up by a healthy dose of sultry vocals, Chalkboard already has me anticipating Christian’s next release. Until then: the melodic – rhythm driven bass lines will woo you, the strings will sex you up, the drums will get you thumping limbs, and the vocals will sooth you. And that is just the half of it. I think I just listened to Hobo Island about 30 straight times. Order the hardcopy here. Christian Cuff – “Hobo Island” * Why does she want me under her umbrella again? Stunning good looks aside of course. Whiskey pong was a bad choice. Sometimes, something sounds like a great idea at the time, like whiskey pong (especially after being already drunk from the flowing keg of cider), only to find out later* that it was in fact a BAD IDEA. But by the same token something may sound like an awful idea, only to prove itself to be a brilliant and original idea that in hindsight you WISH you’d thought of first. And so it goes with My Sick Uncle’s “non” mash-up album (500) Days of Weezy that pits Weezy F. Baby against… wait for it… that’s right… you are smarter than you look… the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack. Loyal readers will remember my Week. Long. Obsession. with said movie album. Who would have thought the jailed rapper could even be laid on top of the WHITEST of the white stuff: A hipster love-song to white people in a hazy, de-urbanized take on LA that focuses on old white architecture and the IKEA aesthetic. Seriously? You wanna put LIL WAYNE into that mix? Are you crazy? Yes, yes, he is. But awesomely so. Some tracks end up working better than others. The Hall & Oates mash-up “Lollipop Dreams” is my least favorite, but perhaps that’s because I’m a child of the 80s and expected too much from this one specifically. “Fear Forever” introduces Doves not only to Wayne, but Mr. Marshall Mathers as well. The Smiths tracks are great. “Us (Me and Mrs. Officer)” is a better Regina Spektor mix than her other “Hero (Oh, oh, oh).” But I’ll shut up, and let you make your own opinions cause you can download the whole thing right here. My Sick Uncle – “Fear Forever” (Lil’ Wayne & Eminem vs Doves) And for good measure, because I was reminded of another great remix of the song… Fiest – “Mushaboom” (Postal Service Remix) *AKA the next morning on someone else’s couch as you wake up from the sunlight sucker-punch streaming in through the window, a bright reminder of dark choices.
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride – Digital
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride – CD
Ghostly Swim, FLYamSAM, and Beats Hotter & Wetter Than the Summer
This GNG BNG remix is nothing but raw sex. Harsh. Sexy. Over too soon.
Flying Lotus – “GNG BNG (MeMix)”
The Offbeat
Ghostly Swim – Various Artists
Gold Panda: Like Stripper Glitter in Your Mouth
Little Boots – “Earthquake (Gold Panda remix)”
Gold Panda – Lucky Shiner
Gold Panda – You EP
The New British Invasion
Ellie Goulding – “Starry Eyed”
Ellie Goulding – “Under The Sheets”
FUCK. YEAH. (FEST.)
Cold Cave – “Life Magazine” Delorean Remix
Local Natives – “Sun Hands”courtesy stolen from Nicholas Gamble’s Facebook page
Freddie Gibbs Str8 Killa No Filla Will Fuck You Up: Awesomely
Sooner or later I’m more than likely going to get gunned down in a drug deal gone sideways. Which means that eventually, one of my crew is going to have to avenge my death. And when they do avenge my death they better do it with Oil Money by Freddie Gibbs playing in the background or I’m going to have to come back as a ghost and smack some bitches around myself. I refuse to have my murder avenged to some retarded song by Sarah Palin.*
Buy the new EP for 7 bucks here
Freddie Gibbs – “Oil Money”
No Sophomore Slump for Christian Cuff’s Chalkboard
Download the digital version here.
Christian Cuff – E’s Fever
(500) Days of Weezy OR “Bad Choices Lead To Good Albums”
My Sick Uncle – “Mushababy” (Lil’ Wayne vs Feist)
My Sick Uncle – “Sweet Stunt Positions” (Lil’ Wayne vs The Temper Trap)
