Get 'em Mamis

I feel totally removed from the US music scene. Going out around here involves heavy club techno, or really old "alternative" music. It's unfortunate that there isn't more respect for the hip-hop/rap/R&B scene (and yes, I'm totally unapologetic in my affection for that genre) around here. With the recent closing of LaLa, I'll miss out on cheap, available music (actually Karl will miss out on this, and by extension, so will I).

NPR's All Songs Considered rarely plays respectable hip-hop/rap but they recently featured their "resident expert in hip-hop" and she had some great finds, specifically the Get 'em Mamis. So if you want to dance like these cool peeps, check 'em out:

Tracks are available for download on their site Get 'Em Mamis  and here


zSHARE - Soft Skin Remix.mp3

Get 'Em Mamis - Work

zSHARE - Get Em Mamis - All That Junk.mp3

Pitch for lala

lala.com is an awesome website, if you spend a lot of time listening to music on your computer. Here's the dealio:

1. You have an online library
2. You can listen to any song in their collection (massive) once for free
3. You can buy songs for this library at 10c a pop (album discounts as well). You can then listen unlimitedly on the website
4. For an additional 79c, you can buy the mp3 and download it to your device. High quality rips at 256kb with album art
5. You can upload your collection so that you can listen to your personal library from anywhere
6. You can make online playlists and send them to others, although they may be limited to a single listen if they don't own the song in their library

It may be perfect for this blog as well. I love it and swear by it as the music solution of our time.

Joe Pug

We went see Joe Pug and Justin Townes Earl at the Artscenter after a referral from my music savvy friend Caroline. Joe Pug was the opener and we enjoyed his gig the best. Now, I'll let some music writers do the talking :)

“One of the most surprising facts about singer-songwriter Joe Pug is that he’s only 23 years old. Not only does Chicago-based singer have a beautifully mature voice, but the lyrics on Pug’s debut EP, Nation of Heat, possess wisdom seemingly beyond his age.”–NPR

“While most singer/songwriters are content to warble out a few semi-clever turns of phrase, Pug’s scorching poetry and soulful, ‘every phrase could be my last’ voice will stop you cold. If you want to read the actual endorsement, touch the braille stretching up my arms. Twenty years from now, lazy journalists will compare every halfway decent songwriter to Joe Pug. Mark my words.”–Jason Killingsworth, Paste Magazine

Our favorite song from the show: Joe Pug - Hymn #101

bands to check out further...

Timber Timbre

Ivan and Alyosha

Kings Go Forth

all appearing at SXSW this year.

Band of Horses new album

http://pitchfork.com/news/38073-band-of-horses-announce-new-album/

Maybe I will have to hit that Widespread Panic/BoH show after all.

Beach House *side story*

Ok so funny story. I first read about Beach House in 2008 when their album 'Devotion' came out and I really liked a couple of their songs. My favorite being 'Gila'. So I was at Open Eye "studying" one day when 'Gila' started playing. I got all excited because I had just "discovered" this song (thanks to hype machine) so leave my study carrel and approach the barista, who happens to be an artista (de musica) and asked "Is this Beach House?", to which he replied "Yeah, it's from their new album!" Now, if you noticed the exclamation point you might be thinking that this is all BS because an Open Eye barista would never show this much affect to one of their customers. But it's true!! I happened to have "made a connection" with this particular guy. I didn't know it at the time, but I found out from Dave later that day that his name was Brian Howe, Open Eye worker by day, Pitchfork writer by spare time. Here's his picture if you don't know him (yes you can see that the pic was taken at the Eye)......and here is his take on Beach House's 2008 album 'Devotion' which received an 8.5 rating.

Beach House- Gila

Now, After reading Nils and Kals posts I'm excited to check out Teen Dream, which Pitchfork describes as "the most diverse and listenable of their 3 full length LP's". Also, Mark Richardson gave it a '9'. ;)

yay for parlour blog!

BROKEN BELLS

I cannot express how excited I am about this self-titled album release. Danger Mouse and The Shins' James Mercer are the collaborators on this project set to be released a week from this Tuesday on March 9. I have pre-ordered my copy from the website http://www.brokenbells.com/ after sampling some of the tracks ;). I feel like these two can do no wrong. They are both such talented craftsmen and they were somehow able to capture the classic Shins sound with those sweet Danger Mouse beats you might recognize from Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, and Gnarls Barkley tracks.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

If a picture is worth a thousand words, an animated gif is worth an album. The eponymous debut of "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart" is described thusly:

http://www.morrisseydance.com/

(I actually love this album (and Morrisey) and the aforelinked picture is in no way insulting).

if you ain't dance to this shit you ain't alive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRo_I_WeYfI

That's what she said

Echoing Nilam (in my own words, written previously to reading hers):

Corinne Baily Rae: The Sea

Mixed-race jazz-pop artist guaranteed to turn the head of any culturally hyperaware NPR enuthiast. An album of good moments that is too often seduced into Starbucks-friendly choruses, best exemplified by the supremely grating "Paris nights and New York mornings". C+

Beach House: Teen Dream

Beach music for the haunted. A melodic blend of surf guitar, organ, and caterwaul. Likely to be one of the year's best. A+

Beach House, Lawrence Arabia, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Bomba Estereo

Karl and I went to see Beach House in Gent at this music venue place called Vooruit. It was a really fun show and an amazing music/arts hall.  For a Sunday show their set was under an hour, with Lawrence Arabia opening.  For an opening band, Lawrence Arabia rocked it.

Beach House's Teen Dream has been on near constant rotation. Ethereal, poppy,  keyboard-electric piano and nice slides. The entire album is worth a listen all the way through.

Corinne Bailey Rae's The Sea comes alive for me with Belgium's rainy days. I like about 4 of the songs, the rest border on R&B cheese. Something you would imagine a suburban couple to be listening to while they cook dinner and drink wine while prepping ingredients from Whole Foods or WSM OR alternatively, me and Duds couching it while rain patters on the window. You get it. Like these tracks a lot: Are You Here, The Sea.

Finally (a Karl fave):
Bomba Estereo: solid beats, punk, cumbia, MIA-style Spanish rapsing (rapping + singing?). So. freaking. awesome. Here they are live on Seattle's KEXP and don't miss Fuego

resurrected

let's see if i can get this old thing up and running again... i'll start with what's been spinning for me in 2010.

local natives - for fans of fleet foxes, yeasayer, and dodos. harmony and percussion heavy uptempo indie.

telekinesis - a merge band that i missed at XX merge and was reminded of them on a trip to denver. "coast of carolina" is fun. other songs are a little grittier, but all with poppy hooks.

frightened rabbit - scottish band, whose songs are about as gloomy as edinburgh in february. new album streaming for a week here

givers - heard them on all songs considered. "saw you first" was my jam for a week. more percussion, some male-female harmonies, some synth beats. will enjoy this more when there is sun.