Tyler Ramsey/The Drones/Band of Horses @ The Showbox 11/20

I know it's been a week since the show, but I've been kind of busy with Thanksgiving travels etc..

Anyway, I throughly enjoyed the concert, perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the evening was opener Tyler Ramsey. He has recently joined Band of Horses on guitar, and is opening for them on this tour. His bluesy, folk inspired solo set was very engaging, and left me wanting more. He opened and closed his short set with some beautiful guitar driven instrumental pieces that set the stage for the rest of his performance. His most memorable piece, titled 'Long Dream', which is coincidentally the title of his upcoming album, came off perfectly and was the highlight of the performance, with its meandering guitar segments as bookends to his poignant vocals about a dream of swimming across the sea.

The Drones hit the stage next, and didn't leave anyone in the audience disappointed. This being said, they didn't really blow anyone away either. Their live show comes off very loud, and as straight forward as rock can get. They didn't make any mistakes, but it didn't seem like they took any chances either. In sum they produced a very normal performance that, truthfully, seemed more fit for a stadium than the intimate setting at the Showbox.

Finally, the headliner Band of Horses came on (with Tyler on guitar) to a very receptive audience. The band considers Seattle its home away from home (South Carolina), and is pretty popular in the northwest (home to their label Sub Pop). I was very curious (and almost leery) to see them live. Bird's vocals are very unique, and mentally, I had been setting myself up for disappointment in light of what I experienced at the Pinback concert I attended just a month earlier. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed, and Bird offered up a great performance hitting all the favorites from 'Everything All The Time' as well as new tracks from 'Cease To Begin'. The band was tight and seemed to transition well from the overcast stylings of 'Everything All The Time' to the southern rock inspired style of their new album.

Overall, I had an amazing night, and I can't wait until Tyler Ramsey's album drops later this winter.

Here's my favorite track from the night to hold you over (via stereogum):

Tyler Ramsey - Long Dream

Also, congrats to Conner who won the special edition Drones 7" giveaway, and thanks again to Sneak Attack Media for allowing me to give it away!

Until Next time...

The Drones // Custom Made 7" Giveaway

Although I haven't heard much from Australian band, The Drones, what I have heard so far has piqued my interest a bit. They are pretty heavy in the blues department, and have some pretty straight on guitar based rock elements as well (think Wilco).

Enough of what I have to say, see for yourself:
The Drones - Shark Fin Blues

Want more? Check out their myspace page.

I'll probably be writing about this band a bit more in the coming weeks since I'm seeing them live in Seattle at the Showbox where they will open for Band of Horses on November 20th. More on that later, though. Finally, if you're interested in this cool, 'Custom Made' limited edition 7" by The Drones (via ATP recordings), just send an email to climatechangeblog@gmail.com with 'Drones 7" in the subject line, and I'll choose a winner at random on Friday November, 16th at 5:00 PST-- dooo it.

From the record label:

"ATP Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a new series of double 7" vinyl called Custom Made. Custom Made invites artists to submit 4 songs which will be released on limited edition 7" and also made available as a digital download.

Bands will choose:

* Something old - an old song of the band
* Something new - a song from the latest album
* Something borrowed - a cover
* Something blue - open to interpretation, a blues song, the word blue in the title, anything.

Limited to just 1000 pieces, 100 of them will be special edition silk screened printed covers, numbered and signed by the sleeve designer."

Although I'm not sure if the 7" is one of those 100 special edition ones, it's still cool, so be sure and enter within the next week.

annnnnd I'm back.... // Pinback Viking Union 10/23

I'd like to start off with my apologies, I've been really busy the past few months, and I'm just starting to get back into the swing of things going back to school and getting to some concerts here in Bellingham and in Seattle.

I spent the summer traveling around and went to China, which was definitely a really cool and interesting experience. Now I'm back, and I hope to update anytime I get out to a show, or occasionally when I hear something that I absolutely have to post about.

In early October I got out to see the National in Seattle at the Showbox, and although this isn't a formal review, I will say that the band did not disappoint. They were absolutely amazing and played an awesome setlist including most of my favorites from Alligator, along with much of their new album. If you have the chance, I definitely recommend seeing this band. No matter what.

Now for last night's concert:

I must say, I was pretty excited to get out and see a band that I have enjoyed since high school. Pinback's melodic flow and subtle lyrics was something that I could listen to anytime; studying, driving, or with friends. That being said, I was a little skeptical of how that might translate into a live performance. Needless to say those worries were warranted. Last night at the show I remember remarking to my girlfriend midway through their set that it sounded more like Pinback karaoke than their actual music.

Their lead singers often came off as cliche and forced, and actually sounded like they were trying to mimic the effects produced on the record. That being said, the composition of the songs was still there, and the instrumental parts came off quite well. In sum aside from the kitschy vocals the show sounded pretty good musically.

One of my favorite (older) Pinback Tracks [too bad they didn't play it, it would have been awesome]:

Pinback - Starfish

The next time you hear from me will most likely be after the Minus the Bear concert which rolls around to my campus on November 9th-- I'm pretty excited.

Bayani

Drop whatever you are doing on June 12th, and go to your local indie record store and buy this album. And if they don't have it in stock, recommend that they get it ASAP (and cop it here instead), because not only is "Bayani" the most important album to come out of the northwest, I'm going to venture to say that this is the single most important hip hop album to be released in the last 10 to 15 years, and it will remain that way for a while. It's already gone through pre-release at their most current shows, and is sending shock waves throughout the northwest, attaining good reviews from every publication that has touched it.

This effort is much more focused and structured than their previous releases (a debut LP and EP), spanning relevant issues ranging from individual relationships, to colonialism, the plight of the proletariat, and even the WTO riots in Seattle circa 1999. After repeat listens it quickly becomes apparent that the beats and the rhymes are inseparably intertwined on this disc-- it would be unimaginable for one to exist without the other. This symbiotic relationship produces some great songs, and DJ Sabzi integrates some pretty sick samples into the tracks, often blending in live and ethnic instrumentation into his beats. I can't say enough about this album, and I've only had it for about a week now, so be sure and get your own copy when it comes out, hopefully this track can hold you over in the meantime--it's one of my favorites, and a great example of the synergy created by Sabzi's beats and MC Geologic's lyrics.

Blue Scholars - 'Loyalty'

I'm heading out to Sasquatch! tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited, of course I'll be posting about what goes down this weekend upon my safe return. Have a happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Fields

This album came out just last week, and I've been listening to it quite a bit recently. Fields is a new band from Britian (luckily one that isn't new rave/disco), and they use a lot of acustic gituar, which really works for them (most of the time). This is definately a debut album worth checking out.

Here are two songs from their album "Everything Last Winter"
'If You Fail We All Fail"
"Song for the Fields"

Buy it at amazon.

Explosions in the Sky, Neumos 5/6

We arrived at the venue just before the opener, Aluvium, came on stage. Aluvium consisted of one dude sitting in the corner of the stage messing with a guitar, keyboard and some pedals (there was also an apple laptop involved). The whole production was pretty unassuming-- there was a projection of swarming birds, and you could hardly see the performer. Visual aesthetics aside, the swirling reverb and feedback that blanketed the room during his long compositions, took most of the crowd's eardrums at the brink, with many (maybe 25% or so) covering their ears for most of the set. Although I respect his artistic styling, and courage, the feedback was a little much to say the least.

Although the opener was a little unsettling, the Texas quartet finally came out to the stage, and very humbly announced themselves, along with a short anecdote on why it had been so long since they had toured in Seattle (their van blew a tire). With that they dove right in and started playing. As most Explosions in the Sky songs begin, they started out slowly, building up subtle chords into a deafening and powerful crescendo. As if moving as a single entity, they mashed on their guitar and bass strings with pure emotion.

Emotional is really the only word that can describe their performance, and they used it as their only source of energy. Explosions in the Sky use are able to use silence as their secret weapon-- an instrument that they play perfectly as they build their emotive crescendos which finally explode sonically in all directions, and collapse only to be built up once again.

As I walked out of the venue on Sunday night I can honestly say that the Explosions in the Sky concert was easily in my top two along with Sufjan Stevens earlier this year, it was that good.

Although this can't compare to the live show, I'll give you a taste of what it was like:
Explosions in the Sky - 'The Birth and Death of the Day'

In other news, due to an illness affecting someone close to the band, they will be cancelling the rest of their tour through Europe, read about that here (where you can also buy their albums).

Decemberists, Red Square 5/5

Red Square at my school was transformed into a 'music festival' as the Decemberists stopped by for the last date on their tour. Although I've seen them twice already (plus Colin Meloy solo), I was excited to see their new material live for the first time. They opened with 'The Crane wife III' and next they played 'The Island', which is my favorite track on the album, and sounded great live by the way. Highlights of the show included an inspired theatrical performance of "Crane Wife" B-side 'Culling of the Fold', in which Colin transversed the stage with only a microphone and cord acting out parts of the song as he sung. Probably the coolest moment of the show was when he asked the audience to sing the chorus of 'Sons and Daughters', which came off beautifully. The only misstep occurred during the encore, when Colin messed up the lyrics to 'Eli the Barrow Boy'--long tour I guess. Overall, it was a great show and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the new material live.

Here's the B-side they played:
Decemberists - 'Culling of the Fold'

Bright Eyes, Paramount Theatre, 5/1

Is it just me or is Conor Oberst beginning to look more and more like Jack White lately? Fortunately he sounds nothing like him. A lot has changed since I last saw Bright Eyes in November 2005, Conor has surrounded himself with a 'permanent band' and the production that is their live show has vastly improved. Their set was heavy on the new tunes form Cassadaga, which I like, but I'm not sure it's as epic as 'Wide Awake'. Conor only dipped into his back catalogue briefly, playing only two pre-Digital Ash/Wide Awake tunes-- "Method Acting" and crowd favorite "The Calendar Hung Itself (with bongo drums added in?)".

The visuals behind the band were both inventive and intriguing, and added a lot to the show. Basically, there was a dude in the back playing with shit on a document camera that was projected on a screen behind the band, the idea seems simple, but it turned out to be pretty awesome (dripping food coloring into water has never looked so cool). Unfortunately, there weren't as many drunk Conor moments this time, so I didn't walk away with a new guitar which kind of disappoints me. During the final encore ('Road To Joy'--by far my favorite song of the night), Conor jumped off stage--as his band mates looked on with that 'Oh shit what's he going to do now?' look on their face, as he threw flowers from the stage into the crowd for about 3 minutes as the rest of the band improvised before the final verse. Overall, it was a great show, and I'm definitely in the camp that supports Connor's movement toward folk/Americana, hopefully I get to see them live again soon.

Bright Eyes - Road To Joy (live from the Motion Sickness LP)

Finally, TODAY is the Decemberists concert in Red Square at our campus, I'm super stoked. THEN tomorrow I'm going to see Explosions in the Sky in Seattle-- this week is shaping up to be one of the best concert-going weeks in my life, it's awesome! I'll be sure to keep you updated, as well as posting about some new music I've been digging lately...

Who The Fuck are Arctic Monkeys?

Even though there's probably nobody left asking this question, they did release a new album this week. I haven't had a ton of time to listen to it, but from what I've heard so far, it's more of the same catchy Brit rock that they burst onto the scene with last year (selling at a faster rate than the Beatles in the UK--that's saying something). This disc seems a bit darker, but no less catchy.

Check it:

Arctic Monkeys - 'Brainstorm'

-ALSO-
I plan on hitting up the 'Free Yr Radio' event this week at Urban Outfitters in Seattle to see the Long Winters (for the first time), they have a great lineup and are hitting quite a few cities, and it's free-- which is awesome. Plus it's all for a good cause benefiting college and independent radio stations across the country (KEXP in Seattle). Check out the remaining schedule here (and print tickets out for future shows).

This time last year...

I was scrolling through my ipod this morning on my way to school and stumbled across something I haven't listened to in a while-- "Destroyer's Rubies" by Destroyer. As most music does, this record instantly brought me back to the time I was listening to it the most, which was early spring last year. I guess this is one of those records that I let slide to the back of my mind, but when it came out I couldn't stop listening to it, funny how that works. Even though I neglected to put it on my favorite records of 2006 list, it's still one of my favorite albums of last year. Dan Bejar's writing is second to none, and his dense poetic styling is very unique.

Check out the 1 year time capsule:

Destroyer - 'Painter in Your Pocket'

I'm stuck on an electro itch...

After neglecting to actually download either of their albums after stumbling over posts about them for months, I have finally caved in and I'm hooked. Ghostland Observatory, much like LCD Soundsystem, takes cues from Daft Punk et al, to craft some pretty catchy electro/dance/pop.

They'll be on the 2nd (Wookie) stage at Sasquatch! this year, and I'm really excited to see what these two can do live (their show is rumored to be awesome).

Check it out:

Ghostland Observatory - 'Sad Sad City'

Be sure to buy their albums from their label here.

-ALSO-
I might be attending the Aseop Rock concert on my campus this Sunday, although I'm still undecided, msotly because I'm poor and Def Jux really doesn't do it for me like it does for others-- we'll see though...

North American Scum

In addition to listening to a lot of Panda Bear over the break, I also spent a lot of time listening to the new LCD Soundsystem album, "Sound Of Silver". As we drove through the expansive shanty towns that dotted the outskirts of Mexican cities and countryside I couldn't help thinking about the harsh irony presented by Murphy in the song 'North American Scum'. It's kind of twisted to go to a 'vacation destination' in Mexico (where we spent a few days camping) and see gated communities of all whites, literally trying to keep the Mexicans out of Mexico--fucked up, I know.

Political commentaries aside, this is a great song (and an excellent album overall), check it out:

LCD Soundsystem - 'North American Scum'

Buy "Sound Of Silver" at insound.

PS
Since I've been so stoked on LCD Soundsystem lately, I snagged and altered their record label's logo for use on the blog, I just replaced the 'DFA' in the lightning bolt with the Climate Change logo-- hopefully they don't mind.

"Try to Remember Always Just to Have a Good Time"

Finals week has come and gone, and now I'm left with a fried brain and dark circles under my eyes due to lack of sleep...

But I just got the new Panda Bear CD "Person Pitch" (which came out this week), and I'm memorized by it-- the Beach Boys-esque vocals, and textured loops make me feel like I could listen to these songs forever. These are some pretty good tunes to listen to if you just want to relax and forget about everything, which is exactly what I'm about to do for the next week. I'm headed to Cali, then Mexico for spring break, should be a blast (really anything beats the hours of calculus and organic chemistry that I've been consumed by lately).

Here's a taste of what I'll be listening to the whole time:

Panda Bear - Comfy in Nautica

Convinced? Get it at insound now.

Clipse, Chop Suey 3/12

We walked up to a packed Chop Suey, the base thumping through the busy entrance where we were promptly patted down before gaining admission, which quickly reminded me that this wouldn't be the typical hipster crowd I was used to seeing at a show. If that first hint wasn't enough, after we passed through 'security' (minus one keychain pocket knife), we squeezed through the crowd until we found a spot with a decent view of the stage behind someone who could have easily been mistaken as a White Rapper Show reject.

After a series of sub-par openers, the rabid crowd was craving Clipse like a starved dog waiting for scraps. The closer it got to 12:15 (their scheduled performance time), the less ambivalent the crowd was to the (seemingly endless) opening MCs, at times even chanting 'Clipse' between the opener's songs.

Clipse finally found the stage around 12:30, after some hype from their DJ and rolled through Hell Hath no Fury track, 'Mama I'm So Sorry' which, aside from the initial energy of their stage entrance and the electricity of the crowd, turned out to be their least inspired performance of the night. Next, they blazed through album opener, 'We Got it 4 Cheap'-- a song about their label drama and the resulting years they were forced underground. As cliche as it may sound, you could see the anger in their eyes, as they recited the verses, "It's like tryin' to fly but they clippin' your wings ; and that's exactly why the caged bird sings..." This, and almost every subsequent track that they played, had similar energy and intensity mixed into each line--I'm not joking when I say that the look on Pusha's face when he was rapping was scary.

After that, they played an altered version of 'What Happened to that Boy', almost mocking Weezy and Birdman (who they supposedly have 'beef' with--although it has been categorically denied by Malice). Their performance of the track did nothing to help the Weezy v. Clipse rumors though, throughout the song Malice annunciated the lines, "HE was talkin' shit WE put a CLAP INTO THAT BOY," almost in refrence to Weezy, while Pusha interlocked his thumbs making a bird with his hands and waving them mockingly though the air.

They also played some mixtape tracks like 'Pussy' and pulled off 'What's Up' from "We Got it 4Cheap Vol. II" flawlessly, jacking Game's beat and blowing it up with fellow Re Up Gang members Liva and Sandman. Along with the mixtape tracks, they added some Old songs including: Cot Damn, Virginia (1st encore), and Grindin (2nd encore). The highlight for me would have to be 'Wamp Wamp' which came off perfectly, and displays the duo's strength's perfectly-- an immaculate Neptunes beat coupled with Malice's incomparable flow, and Pusha's unmatched lyricism.

Clipse was firing on all cylinders all night long-- and it showed. By the end of their set they were drenched in sweat, and breathing heavily. I believe it when I hear that they are the best live act in the 'game' right now, they constantly provoked the crowd to sing along, sticking the mic in the crowd or slapping outstretched hands after trading verses. This was by far my favorite show thus far this year, and it will be hard to top--catch this concert if you still can. You won't regret it, and by the looks of things, this just might be one of the last times they play intimate venues. Good hip hop can only come out of hunger and adversity, and believe me, Clipse have kilos. of it to spare.

Setlist:
“Momma I’m So Sorry”
“We Got It for Cheap (Intro)”
“What Happened to That Boy”
“Pussy”
“Keys Open Doors”
“Cot Damn”
"What's Up"
“Ride Around Shining”
“Ain’t Cha”
“Chinese New Year”
“Wamp Wamp (What It Do)”
----------------------------
“Virginia”
“Grindin’ ”
“Mr. Me Too”

Some mixtape shit for you:

Clipse - 'What's Up'

Cop that shit at insound, and be sure to look out for their new mixtape that should be dropping soon titled, "We got it 4 Cheap Vol. III: The Spirit of Competition"

PS
In true Clipse fashion, I Re-Uped the look of the Blog after migrating to Blogger Beta. It looks a little better, with a few things added here and there (links etc...) hopefully everything still works.

Four Winds

I've heard all of the tracks off of the EP, and they're all pretty solid, but much like the last time around (as with Digital Ash/I'm Wide Awake), this initial EP is basically a single and 5 B-Sides. The 'single' here is titled 'Four Winds' and will be on the full length "Cassadaga" out on April 10th on Saddle Creek Records. It's not any surprise (based on his most recent releases) that Conor is definitely on a path toward alt country/folk, leaving behind the introspective stylings of his back catalogue-- I like what I hear.
Listen for yourself:

Bright Eyes - Four Winds

Buy Cassadaga and Four Winds at Insound

ALSO:
I just decided to hit up the Clipse show tomorrow in Seattle, should be mindblowing... more on that later.

Annuals 2/27 @ Neumos, Seattle

After listening to their album (a bunch of times), and reading article after article (and blog after blog) about them, I was really curious to see how the young Raleigh North Carolina band, Annuals pulled everything together live on stage. After what I saw on Tuesday night, it seems like all of the hype surrounding this band is warranted.

The band came out firing, blazing through renditions of 'Bleary Eyed', 'complete or Completing' and 'Fair'. Their on stage energy was exceptional throughout the show, and it seemed like lead singer (and keyboard's/percussionist) Adam Baker was walking a thinning tightrope between chaos and utter insanity all night. Baker, definitely the ringleader of the band, drove the band forward with his emotional yelps, and inspired keyboards (and when the time was right, percussion) playing.

Highlights of the show included some awesome percussion sessions, which, at times included 4 members of the band (on two different drum sets). The lead guitarist, Kenny Florence, was also exceptional throughout the show. Of course, the performance of their single, 'Brother' was a high point of the concert, and they pulled it off effectively-- leaving little to be desired from the album version.

Although not on the same level as some of the bands they are currently drawing comparisons from (see Arcade Fire), they definitely have the potential to get there soon. Look out for this band to take over in the near future.

--Also, congrats to Justin, who won the first ever Climate Change ticket giveaway... (hopefully there will be more to come in the future)

Bonus: a new Annuals song (recorded live via Pitchfork) -- I'm pretty sure this was played at their show in Seattle too.

Annuals - Do You Like It (live)

Annuals Concert Ticket Contest -- 2/27 Neumos

As I've posted (here, and here) the Annuals were one of my favorite bands of 2006. Well, now they're coming to the Northwest, and you can see them for free!

Here's the deal: I've got 2 tickets to give away, so just place your email address and name in the 'comments' section (at the bottom of this post), and you're entered in the contest. I'll pick a winner at random on Monday (2/26) at 5pm PST, and notify him/her via email right away. The concert is on Tuesday 2/27 at Neumos (on Capital Hill in Seattle), so make sure you'll be able to attend if you win. You can refer to my previous posts about the band to hear my opinion on them, but I'm sure listening for yourself would be a much better indicator of how awesome their music is.

Mp3 Annuals -- 'Brother'

**ALSO** check out their music video for Brother here. Enjoy, and be sure to enter if you're interested in seeing this all go down live!

Sasquatch! 2007

Sorry, Blogger was kind of messed up this weekend, so my Grizzly Bear Post was late... more on that later.

For now, Sasquatch! 2007 was just announced... I'm pretty stoked, although it will be hard to beat last year, this lineup looks pretty good (and there are more to come).

Saturday 5/26 Björk
Arcade Fire
Manu Chao
Radio Bemba
Sound System
M.I.A.
Citizen Cope
Neko Case
The Hold Steady
Grizzly Bear
Ghostland Observatory
Electrelane
Two Gallants
The Slip Loney, Dear
Aqueduct
The Thermals
Viva Voce
The Blow
Gabriel Teodros

Sunday 5/27 Beastie Boys
Interpol
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Spoon
Bad Brains
Ozomatli
Dandy Warhols
The Black Angels
Mirah
Tokyo Police Club
Money Mark
St. Vincent
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
Smoosh
Common Market
Helio Sequence
Minus The Bear

Tickets on sale 3/3!

Tonight!

I'm just about to head up to the great white north to check out Grizzly Bear tonight. Should be an awesome time, I couldn't be more excited-- three day weekend, legal drinking, Canada, awesome music, and friends. I'll post about the concert soon after, until then this will have to hold you over.

Grizzly Bear - On a Neck, On a Spit

- Oh, and Neko Case on V-Day was awesome, more about that when I get back from Canada

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone...

I've had the leak for a while, but it finally seems like the newest Explosions in the Sky record is finally sinking in. After all is said and done, I think it just might be the best thing I've heard so far this year. Although I find it really difficult to write (or talk) about instrumental music, I can say that the songs on this LP will bring out some kind of emotional response in the listener. The response elicited by these tracks is entirely variable, depending on your current emotional state and your immediate environment-- which is really the beauty of this kind of music, it effects everyone in it's own way rather than being caged by lyrics, it is a shapeshifting object that adapts to the listener.


I've said enough. Check out this Mp3 from their upcoming LP 'All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone' (Due out 2-20), and decide for yourself.

Explosions in the Sky - 'Welcome Ghosts'

Pre-order it here.

PS
Happy Valentine's Day! I'm going to a special Neko Case concert tonight on our campus, the show sold out at least a month ago, and I'm super excited (a recap will surely follow in the very near future).

Knife

This video for 'Knife' was just released by Grizzly Bear, with help from Encyclopedia Pictura-- check out their site, it's pretty awesome. The video is pretty insane, and includes sand monsters, healing crystals, and quicksand. All of the stop-motion animation in it sort of reminds me of Life Aquatic, definitely worth a look.

In other Grizzly Bear news, I'm seeing them play up in Canada next weekend, which should be awesome--I can't wait!

Mp3: Grizzly Bear - 'Knife'

Beats/Rhymes/Life

This post kind exposes two recent trends of this blog; the fact that I'm a sucker for mash-ups, and I suck at updating it. I also love Seattle area DJ/MC combo, Blue Scholars (proof here). If you want to know what I've been listening to lately, this is a good indication (along with the new Menomena album--which is fucking great).

Check it:
Blue Scholars - Inkwell (Crashed Cop Car Remix)

In other news, WWU AS POP continues their amazing run of great shows, adding THE DECEMBERISTS! in May... and I'm fucking stoked that the Clipse will be coming to Bellingham in March-- time to dust off the fake ID.

If you could hear what it sounds like in my head, it would be close to this...

I'm pretty sure I have ADD-- actually, I'm positive and this song confirms it. This guy is such a fucking genius it's scary, riding the sucess of Night Ripper, Girl Talk is back with a recently released track mashing up two of my favorite songs of the year (and two of my favorite artists of the year) sending Grizzly Bear's 'Knife' into a head on collison with 'Wamp Wamp' by Clipse. It kills me to think that Girl Talk will be in Seattle next month playing a 21+ show, and I can't go (mostly cause I can't find someone to go with). On a brighter note, this song is the perfect storm, combining three of my favorite artists of the past year, check it out.

Grizzly Bear - 'Knife (Girl Talk Remix)'

So this is the new year...

Looking back, the past year has been pretty crazy for me. I started college in a entirely new place, traveled around a bunch, and met a lot of really cool people along the way. In the time between all of that I found some really great music... so I figured I'd list off my top 12 (I was going to do 10, but I couldn't narrow it down) albums of the past year, with the following qualifications; they had to be released in 2006, and they had to be full length (LPs).

Here goes nothing, in no particular order:

-Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
The Seattle band was basically the soundtrack for my winter/spring last year. Most of the songs on this album like 'The Funeral' evoke heavier emotional responses, although the vocals themselves never add to that aesthetic, the lyrics themselves are pretty dense (i.e. "at every occasion I'll be ready for a funeral"). Then there's the up-beat and poppy, 'Great Salt Lake', which for reasons mentioned in my very first post, is my favorite song on the album.
mp3: The Funeral

-T.V. On the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Aside from Yellow House, this album is probably the most cohesive album on the list. They really nailed the overall production on this album. 'Wolf Like Me' is obviously the standout track, with 'I Was a Lover' coming in a close second.
mp3: Wolf Like Me

-Islands - Return to the Sea
For at least two months this year, I found myself constantly playing this album along with the Unicorns album ('Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone') on repeat. Although, seemingly more focused and straight forward than anything put out by the Unicorns, 'Return to the Sea' remains one of my favorite releases (and live shows) of 2006. The parallels to the life of the Unicorns are scary (listen to the Unicorns 'Ready to Die' then listen to 'Swans' by Islands). Time will only tell if 2007 sees the death of the Islands, and then some sort of Nick Diamonds reincarnation in 2008.
mp3: Rough Gem

-The Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Rap album of the year, hands down. The Neptunes provide some nasty beats, and Pusha T./Malice return with unparalleled flow and lyrical prowess that has been almost unheard of in 'the game' for years. Reminds me of the days when I used to slang coke on the street corner.
mp3:Hello New World

-Decemeberists - The Crane Wife
The obvious target of 'sell out' cries everywhere-- I just don't see it. Obviously the album has its weak points ('Perfect Crime' and 'Shankill Butchers' in my opinion), but its sweeping three part epics cannot be denied. The addition of a prog-rock influenced sound on tracks like 'The Island' and the raw emotion injected into 'The Crane Wife (1-3)' are a definite step forward, easily outdoing anything previously produced by the Decemberists.
mp3: The Crane Wife 1+2

-Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
As I mentioned earlier, this is the most cohesive album on the list. The tracks blend together in a way I've never experienced before. Maybe it's cause the entire album was recorded inside an old house outside Cape Cod. I recall reading somewhere that the house turned into an instrument of its own, during the recording process, which makes complete sense after listening to the album. Add that to the subtle electronic glitches interspersed throughout the disc, and you have in my opinion, one of the most complete albums of the year.
mp3: Kinfe

-The Knife - Silent Shout
Creepy, cold, dark, warm--I don't even know where to begin with this album. You just have to listen to it and decide for yourself. Maybe listen to 'Heartbeats' (from their previously released 'Deep Cuts') first.
mp3: We Share Our Mother's Health

-Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
Quite possibly the most underrated album of the year. Perfect pop, this time recorded live, which becomes instantly apparent when comparing this to their back catalogue. They are near the top of my list to see live in 2007.
mp3: Consolation Prizes

-Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon
over-hyped, over-rated, XL sell outs... say what you want to say, but their constantly shape-shifting styles, combined with the urgency of the lead singer's voice, keep me coming back to The Loon.
mp4 (sorry): insisted

-Girl Talk - Night Ripper
The resurrection of the mashup. Brilliant (I think it also helps that I have ADD)
mp3: Bounce That

-Annuals - Be, He, Me
This album started to make a lot more sense to me after reading that 19 year old lead singer Adam Baker, recorded most of the album in an anti-depressant fueled insomnia, sometimes holing up in the studio for 20 hours at a time. This band has been compared to the likes of Broken Social Scene, and the Arcade Fire, and deservedly so--you can almost feel the raw potential coming out of the tracks. Their first single 'Brother' is one of my favorite tracks of the year.
mp3: Brother

-Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
I've pretty much said all I can say about them (here). This is a great album, the soul/gospel influences, and narrative lyrical style is very refreshing and original.
mp3: Robbers

So that's the list... There are, however, a few that I left off that are worth mentioning:

-Liars - 'Drum's Not Dead'; 'The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack' is one of my favorite individual tracks of the year, but I just didn't give the rest of the album a chance to sink in.

-Beach House - Beach House; I love these songs, but I've only had the entire album for about a month.

- Neko Case - 'The Fox Confessor Brings the Flood'; She's coming to my campus in February, and I got my dad the album for Christmas. It's my first non-New Pornographers taste of Case, and so far I like what I hear.

-Lupe Fiasco - 'Food and Liquor'; I like it so far, but unfortunately, it got pushed under the pile of new music I got this fall.

-M. Ward - 'Post War'; I know I'm late on this. I like what I hear so far.

Now I'm done. I swear... I'm really looking forward to 2007!
-Doug