30. The Pigeon Detectives – Wait For Me 29. Kaiser Chiefs – Yours Truly, Angry Mob 28. Sondre Lerche – Phantom Punch 27. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare 26. Mobius Band – Heaven
Mobius Band's sophomore album shows them experimenting in the blurry realm between indie rock and electronica. With electronic blips, canned beats, and monochromatic unemotional singing fused together with poppy arrangements, Mobius Band plays a brand of music that's hard to describe and equally hard to put down. I don't have a single favorite track on the album, so check out my favorite three: "Hallie," "Friends Like These," and "A Hint of Blood." 25. Rilo Kiley – Under The Blacklight 24. Winterkids – Memoir 23. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Trip The Light Fantastic
British pop stars don’t usually find their way onto my year-end list… that’s definitely more Dany’s style than mine. But Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s album is sooooooo good that it would be a crime to leave it off. All fourteen songs are party starters, the type of songs that get people moving on the dance floor and keep them there even after the booze stops flowing. Sure, it doesn’t veer into any new sonic territory—it’s basically your average disco pop dance album—but who cares?
22. Le Loup – The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations' Millennium General Assembly 21. Delorentos – In Love With Detail 20. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 19. Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures 18. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank 17. Handsome Furs – Plague Park
The words from my review of Plague Park in April still hold true: "The band takes a decidely minimalist approach to song construction, relying on the addition and subtraction of repetitive layers of instrumentation to the mix as a mechanism for propelling the music forward (rather than say verse/chorus/verse). This contrasts with the more complex forms and musical intricacy laced throughout Wolf Parade's catalogue, though, interestingly, the end result is the same. Both Handsome Furs and Wolf Parade create music that ebbs and flows with kinetic energy, making it so that the songs feel new and exciting even after the fiftieth listen." 16. Elliott Smith – New Moon 15. Dartz! – This Is My Ship 14. Georgie James – Places 13. White Rabbits – Fort Nightly 12. 1900s – Cold & Kind 11. The Maccabees – Colour It In
10.The Wombats – A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation
The Wombats really know how to turn a phrase. Much like their compatriot William Shakespeare, the band has a knack for writing lines that provide a witty, yet poignant commentary on life in the modern world. Two of my favorite examples are: “So with the angst of a teenage band, here's another song about a gender I'll never understand” (“Kill The Director”) and “I've just had the craziest week, like a party bag of lies, booze and then deceit” (“Moving To New York”). They’re not just lyrical geniuses though, the band also knows how to write a great riff, a catchy chorus, and put on an amazing live show. Although I wasn’t crazy about the mastering on A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation, the songs speak for themselves. This is easily the most thoroughly enjoyable album of the year. 9. Feist – The Reminder 8. The Rakes – The New Messages 7. Band of Horses – Cease To Begin 6. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
Ryan Adams is back in rare form, releasing his first album in nearly a decade that’s aces from start to finish. Easy Tiger doesn’t have any half finished songs, unrealized ideas, or throwaway filler tracks... just thirteen stunning songs spanning the gamut from alt-country to Americana to Adams’ best imitation of punk rock. The album is happier and more upbeat than any of Adams’ previous efforts, only delving into break your heart territory on the incredible album closer “I Taught Myself How To Grow Old.” It’s hard to pick a highlight, but I’d probably have to go with “The Sun Also Sets” which is propelled by a simple piano riff, huge crescendos, and contains one of Adams’ best vocal performances ever.
5. Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City 4. Editors – An End Has A Start
It took me a while to warm up to Editors’ An End Has A Start, because I was disappointed that there wasn’t a dance anthem as catchy as “Blood” or “Munich” on the entire disc. Once I got over my preconceptions of what the album should sound like, I realized that the record is incredible. Unlike other bands (cough, Hard-Fi), Editors stayed true to their sound on their sophomore album by packing densely layered instruments underneath lead singer Tom Smith’s characteristic throaty baritone. Unlike their previous album, however, An End Has A Start feels cohesive from start to finish due to the record’s continuing themes of love and loss, hope and fear that span the entire album. There are a lot of highlights, but my favorite track is “The Racing Rats”—a straight-ahead rock song with some of the best lyrics of the year. 3. John Vanderslice – Emerald City 2. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible 1. Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
I could write some long explanation of why I chose Klaxons' debut album, Myths of the Near Future, as my number one album of the year... but I won't. The album speaks for itself. Songs like "Golden Skans," "Atlantis To Interzone," and "Magick" are so completely new and inventive that bloggers had to invent a genre just to describe them (new rave). Overall, the young brats had a banner year--they won the Mercury Prize, wowed crowds around the world, sold a ton of records, re-introduced neon colors and bold shapes to hipster fashion, and probably best of all, guitarist Simon Taylor got engaged to CSS' Lovefoxxx. But wait... there's more!
Top 5 EPs of 2007
1. Black Kids – Wizard of Ahhhs 2. Illinois – What The Hell Do I Know? 3. The Nightjars – Towards Light 4. Cut Off Your Hands – Blue on Blue 5. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Follow The Lights
Foals has undoubtedly been one of the breakout successes of 2007. A bunch of Oxford dropouts, the band took the indie world by storm following some high profile, buzz building shows at CMJ (though I first wrote about them back in January!). Now Foals is everywhere--they signed to Sub Pop in the US, released their first video for the spastic "Balloons," and now are gearing up to release their debut album Antidotes in March 2008. By the looks of it, next year will be even bigger and better for this super talented art core band... so hats off to them for making some great music and playing probably the best show that I saw all year.
Antidotes tracklisting:
1. The French Open 2. Cassius 3. Red Socks Pugie 4. Olympic Airways 5. The Race For Radio Supremacy 6. Balloons 7. Heavy Water 8. Two Steps, Twice 9. Big Big Love (Fig.2) 10. Like Swimming 11. Tron
No trip to the Caribbean is complete without a lot of reggae. I've been in Nassau (The Bahamas) for the past few days, and there are jitney buses that take you around the islands. Being that it is in the 70s and 80s, all of the windows are open and the music is blaring. It's a pretty awesome experience and one that would be made better with the addition of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" to the playlist. It's easily one of the best tunes of the year.
Georgie James was featured on NPR's All Things Considered this week. As the second installment in the Project Song challenge, the power pop group was given two full days in the studio with a whole host of instruments to craft an original song that matched a photograph and a phrase of their choosing.
Their inspiration? A picture of a bare room with a pile of books in the middle from famed New York photographer Phil Toledano and the phrase "Something Joyful." The result? "Monument," an infectious toe tapper that evokes the sunny and innocent pop and r&b of the early 60s. Although the song could stand to be remastered, I would love it if "Monument" found its way to a proper release someday. So make sure to obnoxiously request it a bunch of times at Georgie James' New Year's Eve performance at the Rock n Roll Hotel in DC... it can't hurt the cause, I think.
I suppose that if you're into weird LA rock groups, then you already know Health, but if not, it's time to get on board. The band was just nominated for the 2008 Plug Awards, made it onto Pitchfork's Top 50 videos of the year list (who cares) and will be touring the west coast to start the 2k8.The band's self-titled debut is out now on Lovepump United.
HEALTH Live:* w/ Dan Deacon% w/ White Williams
01/15 Los Angeles, CA El Ray* 01/17 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall* 01/18 Oakland, CA 21 Grand 01/19 Davis, CA Delta of Venus 01/20 Sun Reno, NV The Studio on 4th 01/21 Chico, CA The Crux Arts Collective 01/22 Olympia, WA Voyeur 01/23 Vancouver, BC Media Club% 01/24 Seattle, WA Chop Suey% 01/25 Portland, OR Holocene% 01/26 Eureka, CA The Vista 01/27 Santa Cruz, CA Blue Lagoon 01/28 San Luis Obispo, CA Tridosha Healing Center 01/28 Los Altos Hills, CA KFJC Radio 89.7 FM 01/29 San Diego, CA Casbah% 01/30 Goleta, CA Biko Co-op Garage Performance Space 02/01 Los Angeles, CA El Ray 02/02 Bakersfield, CA Narduccis Cafe
Teddy Thompson, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Ben Lee, and a bunch of other musicians will be playing a special benefit show tomorrow night in New York to raise funds for SaveDarfur.org. The incredible Pulitizer Prize-winning author Samantha Power will also give a short talk on foreign policy and Africa, which judging from past experience is worth the price of admission alone. If you're in New York, please try your hardest to attend this event... I know that it will be a good time, but more importantly it will help raise money and awareness to fight a devastating genocide. The show takes place at the Highline Ballroom (16th St. between 9th and 10th Ave.) with doors opening at 6pm. Tickets are $35, available on TicketWeb and at the door.
The Daze are a young blues rock/psychedelic rock band hailing from Austin, Texas. With a sound pulled straight from the hey day of the genre, their music is full of big distorted riffs, heavily punctuated drums, and gruff wailing vocals--not to mention, a huge guitar solo or two. If you're a fan of bands like The Black Keys, The White Stripes, or dare I say The Black Lips, then you're bound to be a fan of The Daze.
A couple years ago, LA's Cold War Kids were just another band heralded by the blogosphere who dropped a succession of three well-regarded EPs on their own. The first one was a six track release called the Mulberry Street EP that featured gems like "Heavy Boots" and "The Soloist in the Living Room" -- songs that made up the band's early live shows and probably should have made the album. Over at RCRD LBL, they're giving away all of the mp3s for free. For those of you who just got into the band, these tracks are must listens.
"When we last toured the States it was quite royally," says Liars frontman Angus Andrew. "Interpol laid out a magic carpet ride that took us from one historic venue to another. The whole experience was a mind-blowing orgy of music and memories."
Beginning out west, LA by way of NYC noise-experimentalists Liars will start 2k8 in style with a full national tour. No word yet on what band will be subjected to traveling the country with them, but if the past is any indication, it should be a good pick.
Fri 1/25 @ Slim's - San Francisco CA Sat 1/26 @ Club Underground - Reno NV Mon 1/28 @ Wonder Ballroom - Portland OR Tue 1/29 @ Showbox - Seattle WA Wed 1/30 @ Neuroiux - Boise ID Thu 1/31 @ Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City UT Fri 2/1 @ Marqis Theatre - Denver CO Sat 2/2 @ The Bottleneck - Lawrence KS Mon 2/4 @ Grinnell College - Grinnell IA Tue 2/5 @ Metro - Chicago IL Wed 2/6 @ Dionysus Club - Oberlin OH Thu 2/7 @ The Tralf - Buffalo NY Fri 2/8 @ Paradise - Boston MA Sat 2/9 @ Warsaw - Brooklyn NY Sun 2/10 @ First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia PA Tue 2/12 @ 9:30 Club - Washington DC Wed 2/13 @ Orange Peel - Asheville NC Thu 2/14 @ The Earl - Atlanta GA Sat 2/16 @ The Mohawk - Austin TX Sun 2/17 @ Hailey's - Denton TX Tue 2/19 @ Launchpad - Albuquerque NM Wed 2/20 @ The Clubhouse - Tempe AZ Thu 2/21 @ Casbah - San Diego CA Fri 2/22 @ El Rey Theater - Los Angeles CA
In preparation for his upcoming self-release, Small-Time Machine on March 11th, Cassettes Won't Listen (aka Jason Drake) is offering up a free EP, just in time for the holidays!
One Alternative has CWL covering '90s bands ranging from Sebadoh to Butter 08 and for all you producers and remixers out there, CWL is also offering up the EP's instrumentals and acapellas. Visit his homepage for all of the downloads.
From Lovers Unite, which is Saint Etienne's fan mailing list:
Boxette will be available to pre-order from 8pm* GMT this Friday (14th December) from this special members website for £25 +P. You will need to enter your member number when ordering.
If you missed the flyer here it is again: Boxette.
*the shop will not go on-line until this time, so don't worry if you can't find it yet
Also there's some clips from This is Tomorrow on our YouTube page: loversunitefilms
And you may have heard Sarah's honeyed tones on Radio One...
Can't find a link for you to hear it, but...
The mystery track is called THE JOURNEY CONTINUES and it's by Mark Brown featuring Sarah Cracknell. It features a sample from a 'well known' tv ad but we're convinced that the words and vocal melody - care of SC - will send it chartbound. It's released on Positiva on February 4th 2008.
A Whole Lotta Yuletide Love
Bob, Pete Sarah XXX
Boxette contains all of the out of print fan club albums -- I Love To Paint (1994), Built On Sand (1999), Asleep at the Wheels of Steel (2001) and a fourth disc that collects tracks from other fan club CDs and tracks that have never been released. Only 3000 will be pressed.
Here's another mix in honor of The Fader's 50th issue. It's the perfect collection of tunes for pretending that this cold December is actually July! I'll test it out when I am in the Bahamas next week.
Tracklist: Wale - Elevators (Scottie B Remix) [ALLIDO] Kid Sister - Pro Nails (Bag Raiders Remix) [FOOL'S GOLD] Muscles - Sweaty MODULAR] Justice - DANCE (MSTRKRFT Remix) [ED BANGER / VICE / DOWNTOWN] Mickey Factz - Talk Yo Ish [GFCNYC] Turf Talk - Bring The Base Back [SICK WID IT] Tabi Bonney - Lunchin [ORGANIZED RHYME] Kardinal Offishall f. Akon - Graveyard Shift [KONVICT] Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - War [MERC] Bonjay - Gimme Gimme [WIZZ AIR] YACHT - See A Penny [MARRIAGE] White Williams - I Want Candy [TIGERBEAT 6] South Rakkas Crew - Hotter Den Dem [MAD DECENT] The Pack - In My Car [JIVE] The Federation - 18 Dummy [WB] Blaqstarr - Supastarr (Tactic Remix) [MAD DECENT] Kim - Wet N Wild (Midnight Juggernauts Remix) [MODULAR] Kid Cudi - Day N Nite (JOTS Remix) [FOOL'S GOLD] Hood Headlinaz f. Jackie Chain - Rollin [PAPER ROUTE]
Daniel Merriweather is a name you might recognize from Mark Ronson's Version (he did the vocals on "Stop Me") or Wale's remix of "Smile" by Lily Allen. This spring he'll have an album all too himself, which is slated to drop on J Records. You can preview the track "Chainsaw" above.
Touching on fashion and clothes might not be a new thing for us for at Exitfare (we wrote about American Apparel way back when), but it's something that we're interested in and hopefully will be writing about a bit more often.
East London nightcrawlers People Are Germs have thrown some of the city's best parties, with guests that include Bloc Party, The Rakes, Epic Man, Klaxons and Uffie. Their logo has become ubiquitous, as Yannis from Foals has been seeing wearing their tote bag and even getting a recent write-up in the NME.
Check out the Myspace page for shirt and tote bag designs as well as info on ordering.
I just heard someone throw up on the street outside of apartment. Unremarkable for most city dwellers, except for the fact that I live on the fifth floor! And had music playing! I'm really grossed out, so let's segue over to music...
Everyone in Britain probably knows about Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong already. Following high profile shows with no names like Babyshambles, Dizzee Rascal, The Kaiser Chiefs, and CSS, every rag from NME to Q started to sing the young band's praises. The coverage is well deserved, as the band writes songs full of killer hooks that stay in your head for days on end. Sonically, Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong sound at home with the Razorlights and the Strokes of the world--though with a sprinkling of 1960s surf rock thrown in for good measure. It's an interesting and highly enjoyable sound, one that could easily break into the mainstream following the success of other nouveau throwback acts like The Pipettes and Amy Winehouse.
Here's a Mad Decent mix from The Fader's 50th issue. There are some pretty awesome tracks, and then some others that I could do without (umm hello Remi Nicole).
"The mix we got, made with Mad Decent cohort Paul Devro is, unsurprisingly, not so much about what's already happened but what is going to happen next, and it is totally nuts."
MAD DECENT FADER MIX by Paul Devro Kid Cuti - Day & Night (Jokers of The Scene Remix) {Fool's Gold} KW Griff - Phil Collins Remi Nicole - Rock 'N' Roll (Lee Mortimer Remix) Roundtable Knights - Freaks of Desire {Arcade Mode} Nifty - Nifty {Atlantic Jaxx} Jackie Chain - Blinded By The Light {Paper Route Records} Diplo - I'm So Hood Dubplate MC Creu - Danca Do Creu MC Nemen - Come Queto Katalina - DJ Girl DJ Sega - Bodies Hit The Floor {Hollertronix} Blaqstarr - My Smacked Bitch {Hollertronix} DJ Sega - Dig {Hollertronix} Trip - Who's That (Jack Beats Remix) {Ahead of The Game} Kissy Sell Out - Harriet (Kissy's Special Annie Mac Edit feat. Bolt Action Five) Pomomofo - Back at the Club (Boy 8-Bits Emotional Hardcore Remix) Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Defender {Vulture} Crookers - Purple Lens Game Odyssey - Who {WWA}
This is one of my least favorite tracks off of Made of Bricks, but it's still a good one, if not a little too sweet. It's the third single in the UK and the album will be released in the States on January 8th. She will be playing a very limited North American tour in the new year.
7 Jan 2008 The Mod Club Toronto, Ontario 9 Jan 2008 The Bowery Ballroom New York, New York 12 Jan 2008 330 Ritch San Francisco, California 14 Jan 2008 The Troubadour Los Angeles, California
I got back from London last night, and surprisingly, I wasn't jetlagged at all, but I was smelly and quite tired. Friday night, I caught The Wombats (video above) at Koko in London and Saturday was my first ever Manics show (clip of "Send Away the Tigers") here, which I traveled out to Birmingham to see. It was a fantastic trip -- I saw a lot of sights, ate some great food and met some awesome people, but most importantly, I came back with a list of great new bands to share.
Naked and the Boys are a great little band from London. Playing a light and subdued brand of Brit-rock on acoustic instruments, you'd almost expect to hear these boys busking outside a tube stop or performing in a small cafe. I'm sure the songs sound great amped up, too, but I just love the naked feeling of their demos. Naked and the Boys have been spending some time in the studio lately, so keep a watch out for new music on their Myspace.
The Neon Plastix broke up/amicably parted ways/called it quits yesterday. According to their Myspace bulletin, "Some of us got tired on the way and had to finally realize that sometimes being an electro-pop backwards rockstar isn't for everyone. We contemplated carrying on and replacing members, etc, but after two singles replacing a vocalist would just kinda seem wrong." Sounds scandalous! Keep checking their Myspace page, as they're planning to post some free downloads and other goodies over the next couple of days.
The incredibly influential Eric Matthews is set to release a new album on his own Empyrean Records in January. The Imagination Stage shows Eric Matthews at his finest, building dreamy pop soundscapes full of lavish, layered instrumentation and gorgeous melodies. The album presents a dichotomy of sound, as songs may start off light and whimsical and then abruptly change into something a bit more grandiose and complex. It's definitely an accomplishment, especially as Matthews wrote every note, sang every word, played every instrument, and arranged every song.
Earlier this week, The Alones jumped on the whole release your music for free bandwagon by offering up their Spread The Word EP for free download. The five songs are decidedly British in influence, running the gamut from straight ahead British rock in the vein of Oasis to classic British punk reminiscent of the Sex Pistols. As I've said multipletimes before, The Alones are a top notch band and their songs are thoroughly enjoyable, so download the EP for free while you can by clicking here!
I hope this is indie enough for you guys. Some very intriguing nominees at this year's Grammy Awards, including Feist, Justice and Amy Winehouse. I haven't really had time to digest this yet. Here's the official press release.
Foo Fighters, Vince Gill, Herbie Hancock, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse vie for Album Of The Year at 50th Annual GRAMMY® Awards Feb. 10, 2008 Kanye West Leads Nominations with Eight; Amy Winehouse Earns Six Feist, Ledisi, Paramore, Taylor Swift and Amy Winehouse Up for Best New Artist
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nominations for the 50th Annual GRAMMY® Awards were announced today by The Recording Academy® reflecting one of the most diverse years ever with the Album Of The Year category alone representing the country, hip-hop, jazz, pop and rock genres. The press event was held at The Music Box @ Fonda in Hollywood and was attended by national and international media, as well as key music industry executives. Artists reading nominations this morning included Akon, Chester Bennington (of Linkin Park), Fergie, Vince Gill, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Jam, Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), George Lopez, Mike Shinoda (of Linkin Park) and Taylor Swift. The 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," Feb. 10, 2008, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Kanye West tops the nominations with eight, Amy Winehouse garners six, and the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and T-Pain each earn five nods. Akon, Dierks Bentley, Chris Daughtry, Feist, Tim McGraw, John Newton, Ne-Yo, Rihanna, and Bruce Springsteen receive four each. "This year's nominations truly reflect a diverse and talented community of artists and creators who represent some of the most exceptional music of the year," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "The GRAMMY Awards process once again has yielded a comprehensive group of excellent nominees and coupled with the fact that it's our milestone 50th year, this year's telecast promises music fans a spectacular show filled with stellar performances and unique 'GRAMMY Moments' for which Music's Biggest Night has come to be renowned."
Following is a sampling of nominations in 110 categories from the GRAMMY Awards' 31 Fields: GENERAL FIELD Nominees for Album Of The Year are: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace -- Foo Fighters These Days -- Vince Gill River: The Joni Letters -- Herbie Hancock Graduation -- Kanye West Back To Black -- Amy Winehouse
Nominees for Record Of The Year are: "Irreplaceable" -- Beyoncé "The Pretender" -- Foo Fighters "Umbrella" -- Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z "What Goes Around...Comes Around" -- Justin Timberlake "Rehab" -- Amy Winehouse
Best New Artist nominees are: Feist Ledisi Paramore Taylor Swift Amy Winehouse
Song Of The Year nominees include: "Before He Cheats" -- John Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood) "Hey There Delilah" -- Tom Higgenson, songwriter (Plain White T's) "Like A Star" -- Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter (Corinne Bailey Rae) "Rehab" -- Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse) "Umbrella" -- Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z)
POP FIELD Nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album go to: Lost Highway -- Bon Jovi The Reminder -- Feist It Won't Be Soon Before Long -- Maroon 5 Memory Almost Full -- Paul McCartney Back To Black -- Amy Winehouse
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals nods go to: "Steppin' Out" -- Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera "Beautiful Liar" -- Beyoncé & Shakira "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" -- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss "The Sweet Escape" -- Gwen Stefani & Akon "Give It To Me" -- Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
Best Pop Instrumental Performance nominees are: "Off The Grid" -- Beastie Boys "Paris Sunrise #7" -- Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals "Over The Rainbow" -- Dave Koz "One Week Last Summer" -- Joni Mitchell "Simple Pleasures" -- Spyro Gyra
DANCE FIELD For Best Dance Recording, the nominees are: "Do It Again" -- The Chemical Brothers "D.A.N.C.E." -- Justice "Love Today" -- Mika "Don't Stop The Music" --Rihanna "Love Stoned/I Think She Knows" -- Justin Timberlake
ROCK FIELD Nominations for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance go to: "Timebomb" -- Beck "Only Mama Knows" -- Paul McCartney "Our Country" -- John Mellencamp "Radio Nowhere" -- Bruce Springsteen "Come On" -- Lucinda Williams
Best Rock Album nominees are: Daughtry -- Daughtry Revival -- John Fogerty Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace -- Foo Fighters Magic -- Bruce Springsteen Sky Blue Sky -- Wilco
Nods for Best Rock Song go to: "Come On" -- Lucinda Williams, songwriter (Lucinda Williams) "Icky Thump" -- Jack White, songwriter (The White Stripes) "It's Not Over" -- Chris Daughtry, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson & Brett Young, songwriters (Daughtry) "The Pretender" -- Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel & Chris Shiflett, songwriters (Foo Fighters) "Radio Nowhere" -- Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
R&B FIELD Nominees for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals are: "Same Girl" -- R. Kelly Featuring Usher "Disrespectful" -- Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige "Hate That I Love You" -- Rihanna Featuring Ne-Yo "Baby" -- Angie Stone Featuring Betty Wright "Bartender" -- T-Pain Featuring Akon
For Best Contemporary R&B Album, the nominees are: Konvicted -- Akon Just Like You -- Keyshia Cole Fantasia -- Fantasia East Side Story -- Emily King Because Of You -- Ne-Yo
Best Urban/Alternative Performance nods go to: "Make A Baby" -- Vikter Duplaix "That's The Way Of The World" -- Dwele "Daydreamin'" -- Lupe Fiasco Featuring Jill Scott "Fantasy" -- Meshell Ndegeocello "Dream" -- Alice Smith
RAP FIELD Best Rap/Sung Collaboration nods go to: "I Wanna Love You" -- Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg "Kiss, Kiss" -- Chris Brown & T-Pain "Let It Go" -- Keyshia Cole Featuring Missy Elliott & Lil' Kim "Umbrella" -- Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z "Good Life" -- Kanye West Featuring T-Pain
Nominees for Best Rap Song are: "Ayo Technology" -- N. Hills, Curtis Jackson, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)" -- Clifford Harris & Byron Thomas, songwriters (T.I.) "Can't Tell Me Nothing" -- A. Davis & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West) "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" -- Soulja Boy Tell'Em, songwriter (Soulja Boy Tell'Em) "Good Life" -- A. Davis, F. Najm & K. West, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring T-Pain)
For Best Rap Album, the nominees are: Finding Forever -- Common Kingdom Come -- Jay-Z Hip Hop Is Dead -- Nas T.I. vs T.I.P. -- T.I. Graduation -- Kanye West
This is the group's new video, although it may only be new to those of us in the States.
Beth will be holding down the fort for the next few days while I am in London -- she has some awesome stuff planned! I'll have some updates on the road (hopefully some pics from seeing The Wombats, Captain and Manic Street Preachers), but I will promise you no lame tourist stuff. If anyone wants to grab a pint, let me know.
After releasing one of the best albums of 2007, Editors will start the new year off on the right track with a tour of North America. They'll be sharing the stage with Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV, so plan to show up late. Editors put on an intense live show, one that you will not want to miss. As these shows will sell out, make sure to buy your tickets ASAP.
Jan. 08 2008 - Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale, FL Jan. 09 2008 - Jannus Landing, Saint Petersburg, FL Jan. 10 2008 - House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL Jan. 11 2008 - Roxy, Atlanta, GA Jan. 12 2008 - Wildhorse, Nashville, TN Jan. 14 2008 - The Norva, Norfolk, VA Jan. 15 2008 - 9:30 Club, Washington, DC Jan. 17 2008 - Terminal 5, New York, NY Jan. 18 2008 - Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA Jan. 19 2008 - Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA Jan. 20 2008 - Club Soda, Montreal, QC Jan. 22 2008 - Koolhaus, Toronto, ON Jan. 23 2008 - Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH Jan. 25 2008 - Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL Jan. 26 2008 - Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI Jan. 27 2008 - Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, WI Jan. 29 2008 - Majestic Theatre, Madison, WI Jan. 30 2008 - Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis, MN Feb. 01 2008 - Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO Feb. 04 2008 - Showbox at the Market, Seattle, WA Feb. 05 2008 - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC Feb. 06 2008 - Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR Feb. 08 2008 - Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA Feb. 09 2008 - The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA Feb. 10 2008 - House of Blues, Anaheim, CA Feb. 13 2008 - House of Blues, San Diego, CA Feb. 14 2008 - House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
Peasant, a native of Doylestown, PA and new signing to Paper Garden Records, will be performing a handful of free shows in NY over the next few weeks.
12/06: Pete's Candy Store Williamsburg 10 pm 12/14 & 12/15: Subway hopping on the L train between Union Square and Graham Avenue 9:30 - 11 pm
Peasant, aka Damien DeRose, paints pictures with his music in the vein of Belle & Sebastian and Nick Drake. His new full length record, On The Ground, will be released in 2008. It is mostly recorded on 2" analog tape, and contains the guts of a years worth of writing and rewriting.
Easily the best song on their solid debut album Oracular Spectacular (out on January 22nd through Columbia), Brooklyn group MGMT has just dropped the video for "Electric Feel" on the world. You can check it out over at Spinner. If you're not pleased with the results, instead of whining about it, you can make your own version here.
Also, the band is currently playing a handful of dates with the Fiery Furnaces.
8 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg 9 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church 10 Boston, MA - Great Scott 11 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire 12 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace 13 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
I am not sure how new/old this video is, but I stumbled upon it a few days ago while checking out the Klein Records webpage. It's a good, albeit trippy video, and my favorite so far off of Sally's debut album Disco Romance.
There are just a few dates and I forgot to post these when they were first announced. Les Savy Fav's latest album, Let's Stay Friends, is out now on French Kiss.
12-15 Lost Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre 12-31 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom 01-18 Dallas, TX - The Loft 01-19 Austin, TX - Emo’s
Also, LSF frontman Tim Harrington has been busy being a complete weirdo which we really need more of in rock. Check out his Randall's Island spoof and a failed interview at AOL's HR department. For his latest craziness, he teamed up with VH1 Best Week Ever and Nothing But Nets (a Malaria awareness campaign) to film a PSA in Manhattan. You can view the clip here.
Lust Lust Lust drops in the States on Feb. 19th through Vice Records. Here's the tracklisting:
01 Aly, Walk With Me 02 Hallucinations 03 Lust 04 Dead Sound 05 Black Satin 06 Blush 07 Expelled From Love 08 You Want The Candy 09 Blitzed 10 Sad Transmission 11 With My Eyes Closed 12 The Beat Dies 13 My Heartbeats Dying * 14 Honey, I Never Had You * * - only available on North American release
Posted on Funny or Die a few days ago, James Franco and Mila Kunis effectively make fun of Audrina and Justin Bobby from The Hills by just repeating what they say. This could be a benefit of the writer's strike -- if only a group of comedians banded together and made a spoof episode each week of The Hills or The Real World. The genius of this clip is not what they say, but how it's said. And although The Hills is awful, shitty television, you can guarantee that I'll be watching again this week.
After much speculation, UK group Foals have inked a US deal with Sub Pop. This is what they said in their Myspace blog:
we've been teasing them for ages, and they've finally fell for us. it's your average love story, really. we're going to be putting out pretty soon. putting out... an album! aha. right. in like april or something. this is awesome news for us. subpop are an amazing label, with an obviously amazing history.
so we can start touring america at length. i'm talking a big bus, some pancakes, some kings of leon on the stereo, a big hat, some sort of item of denim, and the long open road. this will probably be around the same time as we release an album.
Yet another wonderful unconfirmed rumor on the internet, courtesy of one of my addictions, the Lefsetz Letter. Not sure if this is on the website, but it was sent out as part of his "Mailbag" feature on his e-mail list.
From: ______________
Subject: Zeppelin/Bonnaroo
Date: November 30, 2007 7:08:09 PM PST
To: bob@lefsetz.com
Zeppelin just confirmed for Bonnaroo. They can't officially announce until after the London gig so pass it on!
"Pro Nails" directed by Ruben Fleischer featuring Kanye West. Kid Sister's debut album will be out next year on Fool's Gold, the label founded by A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs.
When we first met up with The Maccabees back in December '05, they were just another band with a few good demos on their Myspace page. Despite releasing a string of great singles, I wasn't totally sold on their debut LP Colour It In -- everything sounded too clean and it lacked the spark and immediacy of those demos.
The true test of a band is the live show, and to put on a great show, a band needs to be playing like it has something to prove. And when I finally got to see The Maccabees at CMJ, that's exactly how their set went down. I was just able to wedge myself into Piano's downstairs room after the band had already begun playing, but my discomfort was worth it. Too many established bands from the UK come over with attitudes (umm hello Hard-Fi), but these guys played like their lives depended on it, and the crowd reacted positively. It was only after catching this set that the album finally clicked, easily making it onto my year end best of list.
If you come to this site regularly, you're going to notice a lot of changes starting today. If you've never been here before, then it's all new to you anyway.
I've been doing this blog the same way for two and a half years and things have gotten to be pretty formulaic. Some things have changed -- I brought on writers, I added/removed features and focused things a bit, but for the most part, things have remained the same since day one. But it's time to change things around. Maybe you'll hate the changes, maybe you'll like them, but it's my hope to draw in more readers and make things more interesting for the regulars. On the surface you'll notice color and font changes -- expect more layout changes. Most important though is the change in Exitfare's scope. Music will always remain the #1 priority here -- especially the newest of the new bands, but there are other things I want to work into the mix as well -- TV, movies and travel. I've been wanting to do away with Boston-centrism for the better part of a year for a number of reasons. Being a temporary transplant to the city, I'm not familiar with all of the local bands, and many of those that I've come in contact with haven't held my interest. There are other Boston blogs out there that do a much better job of covering the local scene (Bradley's Almanac for one), so I need to quit acting like I know what's up with the city. Exitfare is going to have an awesome 2008. In meantime, look for a month of transition. There will still be daily posts, including some fun on location stuff from London and the Bahamas, but if things look weird, please bear with us. And thanks for coming back every day.
the mp3s provided are for preview purposes only. if you like what you hear, go to the show or follow the
link to buy the album or single. also, i will be glad to remove an mp3 if you are the owner of the file and are unhappy with
its appearance here. thanks!
