I’m on a mission

I want everybody to ride their bikes.

=)

- 2006 -

Jarvis Cocker took over Shoreditch’s Village Underground for three days of workshops, jamming, cake eating and informal performances.  Taking lead from his ‘happening’  at Galerie Chappe in Paris earlier this year, Jarvis invited everyone to bring their own instruments and take part in yoga, burlesque and Jivamukti yoga sessions, all taught by instructors, with Jarvis and his recruits providing the soundtrack.  Or you could just come to watch and munch on home-made chocolate cake and curly wurlys from Jarvis’ personally overseen Tuck Shop and chillax on big inflatables.

He couldn’t have picked a better venue than Village Underground, with its disused railway carriages and excellent acoustics. It is housed under a viaduct, like a mini version of The Arches in Glasgow, and it felt a lot more welcoming and comfy than the overly-lit, white box setting of an art gallery.

I dropped by during the ‘Bring your own Instrument’ session and Jarvis was perched on a stool playing guitar with members of his band and audience members. They seemed to be mostly improvising, creating dreamy sound scapes, although it sounded very together, like they’d been playing together for years.

Throughout the residency, Charley from the nearby Pure Evil gallery worked on a large graffiti piece dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which provided the backdrop on the stage.  He was still adding the finishing touches during the final concert!

I hadn’t made plans to go to the concert, as I thought it must have been sold out, but there were still tickets left to buy at the venue (£30 seemed like a lot, but then again, the rest of the festivities had been for free).

Support came from American anti-folk nutter Thomas Truax, who had a whole menagerie of pimped up, hand-made instruments, which look like futurist noise machines.  Truax started out as a solo performer in 90s New York alongside the likes of Beck and Lach and worked as an animator on MTV’s Celebrity Death Match before decamping to London.

Thomas plays everything himself and records each instrument live, layering up the different sounds, then singing and playing blues guitar over the top. He played experimental songs from his latest album Songs from the films of David Lynch, including a cover of I Put A Spell On You from Lost Highway.  The folk at the front were pretty into it, but there were some sceptical mutterings from the oldies at the back, who were probably hoping Jarvis would enlist one of his famous mates to open for him.

Finally, Jarvis appeared and played songs from his two solo albums Jarvis and Further Complications.  He appeared as skinny and bookish as ever, but when Jarvis starts singing, he is utterly seductive with that inimitably sexy voice and and quiet Northern charm.

There was plenty of bum wiggling and thrusting going on and at one point, he led the audience into a quick aerobics session, as keeping fit seemed to have got pushed off the daytime schedule.

His new songs are more rock based and have a cool cosmic sound that goes into prog-rock indulgence in the slightly comical Pilchard, complete with interactive dance routine.  Further Complications has some hilarious lyrics but there’s an underlying melancholy and feeling of disappointment that could be attributed to the break-down of his marriage to Camille Bidault-Waddington earlier this year.

Jarvis’ main preoccupation of the night was making sure that everyone had enjoyed the workshops and most important the Tuck Shop.  He was concerned that the Roast Beef Monster might not be to everyone’s taste and proceeded to hurl packets of Love Hearts into the crowd.

Watch Jarvis singing Leftovers and having smoochy moment with a lucky girl at the front…

For upcoming tour dates and a free download, visit Jarvis’ website.

All photos by Steven Marshall.

Na favoritesongoftheweek.blogspot.com is het nu tijd voor een nieuw blog, eentje met minder gezeik over mij, en meer gezeik over muziek. Nou kon ik daarvoor natuurlijk best door gaan op favoritesongoftheweek, maar dan moet ik ook nog elke week een aantal liederen posten en dan zit je aan zo’n strak tijdframe vast. Op dit blog kan het best zijn dat er een week niets gepost wordt en dan opeens 3 dingen in 2 dagen. Aboneer je dus ook op de RSS feed, zodat je niets mist, en hier nooit voor niets komt.

Dus maar meteen even een één van de mooiste nummers ever.

Regina Spektor – Lady

Lady komt van het album Begin to Hope, wat sowiesow haar best album is (Better, Fidelity en On the Radio)

Dit is ‘r nieuwste single die ook best wel heel tof is:
Regina Spektor – Eet (filmpje wel belachelijk lage youtube kwaliteit)

Alex Sheppard’s album ‘The Magician’s Assistant’ is a nascent album from a brave, young artist. Her kooky lyrics and guitar strumming are raw and unpolished, written quickly and not overly philosophical.

The brevity of the album – the entire album is only 30 minutes long – is a little disappointing. A longer album would have allowed Sheppard to really strut her stuff. Despite this shortcoming, the album nonetheless offers uplifting and untraditionally pretty tunes. Sheppard’s voice is sweet and her playful mix of simple guitar playing with crude lyrics makes this album a nice change to more commercially produced albums.

The opening song ‘Feels Real At The Time’ introduces us to Sheppard’s off-the-cuff lyrics and un-stylized guitar playing. She sings about past loves, present career decisions and drunken nights in the bars of London’s Soho.

Her lyrics, though, are bland at times. For example, she drably sings about “another shit night in the same shit bars with the same shit life.” This is disappointing, as with song titles such as ‘Strongbow In The Morning’, ‘The Princess & The Pill’ and the eponymous ‘The Magician’s Assistant’, it is surprising that her lyrics aren’t as colourful and unusual as the song titles.

The major strength of this album, however, lies in how un-produced it is. This album is quite removed from typical studio-produced albums. While, this makes the album hard get into at the beginning, the simplicity of the guitar playing coupled with her no-nonsense lyrics is a winning combination. Overall, ‘The Magician’s Assistant’ gives us a promising, young artist at the beginning of her career. Fingers crossed for a longer, more comprehensive album next time.

Seeing Sheppard perform live would definitely enhance the musical experience of these simple songs. Sheppard plays Oxjam Festival in Norwich on the 25th of October. Check out her myspace page for more up-to-date information on upcoming gigs. http://www.myspace.com/alexsheppard.

Nasceu como Bek David Campbell, porém mudou o nome para Beck Hansen, mas o mundo apenas o conhece como um dos maiores artistas – senão já o maior – folk da atualidade com uma extensiva história, habilidade e discografia, ou apenas Beck. Já tocando violão e compondo desde os 14 anos, o multi-instrumentalista Beck é meio que um músico ‘’ou você ama, ou não entende merda nenhuma do que ele ta tocando e odeia’’, rs. Hoje ele toca com músicos de grande peso como Jack White e Nigel Godrich e cada novo álbum de Beck é puro experimentalismo e inovação.

Aqui para download o álbum One Foot In The Grave       Download

1 – He’s a Might Good Leader

So, The Idolator have decided that The Moldy Peaches‘ ‘Who’s Got the Crack?‘ is the 48th worst song of the decade. Sandwiched between LL Cool J’s collaboration with J Lo at 49 and Akon’s ‘Sorry Blame it on Me’ what this basicall prooves is that anyone can make a list, and they’re a pretty good way to generate interaction. I mean, I took this from Kicking_k’s Twitter feed, posted it here and then Tweeted it myself…so everyone’s a winner, right?

In their defence the Moldy Peaches recorded some of the most brilliantly bratty, shit-nosed songs of the early 00s. People will argue that Jeffrey Lewis is probably the true ‘genius’ of anti-folk, and rightly so, but Adam Green and Kimya Dawson combined the pure with the puerile to create the dumb-as-fuck brilliance of the self-titled debut album (the self-releases don’t count, or at least right here they don’t).

The problem with the Moldy Peaches isn’t that they were shit, it’s that they were hijacked…by the hipsters, by the movie industry…anyone you want to wave the finger at just stick ‘em *here*. Bands like the Moldy Peaches are meant to be low-key, hell – they were supposed to be fun! To take ‘Who’s Got the Crack?’ and write about what a bad record it is, is to fall for it. It’s barely situationism but there ands like the Moldy Peaches did, and still do, challenge the notions of good music, there is no good or bad…it’s just relative. Well, except for Muse…they’re just hideous.

If you’re still not convinced then check out ‘Nothing Came Out‘, covered in tape hiss and featuring possibly the most endearing lack of self confidence you will hear…for the next hour or so at least and, if that still doesn’t tickle your fancy then maybe this will.

Just don’t play that out loud at work…

Me estoy tomando el primer café de la mañana… me duele un poco la cabeza… me llama Sara, y me dice:

- He descubierto un nuevo tipo de música: el anti-folk en catalán

- “Oh-oh” – pienso yo…porque cuando le da por una cosa es muy pesada, la verdad, que hubo una temporada que hasta desayunábamos con CocoRosie, para pasar a escuchar a todas horas a esa que quiere ser pirata…¿cómo se llamaba?.

- ¿Has escuchado a Manel?

He buscado a Manel. He escuchado su música y me he enamorado. La habitación se ha llenado de luz y he sido un poco más felíz…

Pada awal tahun 2008 kemarin Dede membuat proyek musik solo (lagi) yang bernama Ledakan Urbanisasi. Proyek ini khusus memainkan musik-musik: anti-folk, skiffle, indie-folk, lo-fi, acoustic, ballad, experimental, indie-rock. Dibentuk atas dasar kegemaran Dede akan anti-folk, subgenre dari musik folk yang tergolong “nyeleneh”; bisa bebas bereksperimental, namun tetap dalam pakem musik folk. Mengaku mendapat inspirasi dari musisi-musisi jenius macam: Eels, Elliot Smith, Pavement, Sufjan Steven, Mudhoney, Nada Surf, The Moldy Peaches, Beck, Jack Johnson, The Flaming Lips, Sebadoh, Meat Puppets, Kimya Dawson, Belle & Sebastian, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, dll.

Setelah satu tahun lebih dihabiskan untuk menulis materi lagu, di akhir tahun 2009 ini, rencananya Ledakan Urbanisasi akan merilis album perdananya yang bertitel Buronan Mertua. Album ini berformat double-album, yang mana disc 2-nya (bonus-disc) berisi previously unreleased solo singles dari Dede mulai tahun 2005 sampai 2008. Meneruskan tradisi free-culture, album ini bakal dirilis secara gratis via net-label, agar bisa dinikmati oleh semua insan di muka Bumi ini!…

So, buat para kaum urban, harap bersiap akan Ledakan Urbanisasi!…

Here We Go Magic

Pulsating, Chanting, Beating, and Alive this album is wonderful and has such a full sound that its 9 tracks sometimes don’t feel like enough. The self titled release from Here We Go Magic is completely wonderful and is one put on loop.

Download the album here – http://www.mediafire.com/?zgwmzyynojj

Rio En Medio

Frontier is a beautiful and airy album with ambient sound and soft vocals. Like most “New Weird Americana” artists the Vashti Bunyan influences can be heard very loudly in some songs “The Light House” could be pulled right from Vashti’s songbook. Rio En Medio puts her own unique take on the style with such dramatic shifts in tones you at times will think you’ve skipped to a different song halfway through.  Amazing album and proof that folk music still has a lot of room for experimentation.

Download the album here – http://www.mediafire.com/?2xtyhwz5omd

so the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead

i am just a speck of dust inside a giant’s eye

life is a highway and I want to ride it!

my rollercoaster’s got the biggest ups and downs

Ok que já foi, já era pra eu ter superado, mas eu não consigo, gente.

O furacão Adam Green passou tão fortemente na minha vida que está difícil esquecer.

Quando eu o vi antes do show, era um Adam diferente do que eu imaginava… meio tímido no início, mas muito sorridente, simpático. Quando ele entrou no palco, eu só consegui ver um ser de voz grave, num corpo absurdamente ensandecido, possuído por uma mistura de Iggy pop com uma versão mais máscula de Kevin Barnes.

Aí pronto, GAMEI DE VEZ!

Não sei de quem foi a idéia de trazer essa genialidade em pessoa pro Brasil (coisa que eu nunca que pensava que poderia acontecer), se foi um dos Little Joy’s, ou não, ou se foi ele mesmo que resolveu tirar umas férias, mas o que eu tenho á dizer pra essa pessoa é: OBRIGADA, VOCÊ É MARA!

Eu li por aí que parece que o Adam disse que voltaria em Janeiro do ano que vem.

Só nos resta aguardar e acompanhar pelo @averagecabbage

Mas como eu vou abandonar esse Brasil brasileiro no ano que vem… nada me resta….

Só as lembranças! :~~~~~~~~~~~ /emo

Del álbum The reminder (Cherrytree Records, 2007)

Yo quiero hacer canciones como las que hace Feist. De sonido fresco, amables, de las que te hacen que el día parezca mejor. Accesibles a todos, pero con personalidad. Pop con mayúsculas.

La que os traigo aquí supuso un lanzamiento brutal para la cantautora, al salir en un anuncio de una importante marca de mp3, llegando a ser nominada para Grammy. Esto no la hace mejor canción que muchas otras, y de hecho el “Let it die” es fabuloso de cabo a rabo. Pero la alegría que desprende esta canción (¡¡no dejéis de ver la versión de Barrio Sésamo!!) me apetecía hoy, mira tú.

Eso sí, en cuanto empiezo a informarme de lo que se dice de ella, de su música y de su canción, empieza el mosqueo :/ Como siempre, me traen de cabeza los géneros a los que se adjunta. En concreto, me mosquea el “pop barroco“, término que hace referencia al uso de instrumentos clásicos, especialmente los de cuerda. Bien es cierto que en la segunda mitad de los 60 se pusieron de moda recursos que recordaban al barroco, sobre todo determinadas progresiones “alla Vivaldi”. Pero aquí se prescinde por completo de cualquier sonido barroco, término que más bien se asocia con lo recargado y escesivamente adornado. El que inventa géneros ese día estaba poco inspirado :d

El resto de adjetivos se encuentran en ese terreno de “no me mojo del todo”. El “indie”, por ejemplo. Y el “anti-folk“, que me parece muy bonito pero dice más bien poco. Sólo tenéis que echar un vistazo a la wikipedia y veréis que la discusión es muchísimo mayor que el propio artículo. En fin, ya se verá en qué queda todo esto. Yo de momento veo rasgos de pop y rock sin complejos para utilizar una instrumentación original, a veces cercana al folk americano (como en este caso) y sobre todo instrumentos acústicos (como el piano… de verdad, con sus martillos y todo) y que en general tiene un aire vintage. El hecho de que sea cantautora tiene que ver en su sonido, claro.

Uno de los grandes aciertos de esta canción, a mi juicio, es el uso del banjo, instrumento que ha ido cobrando protagonismo en la música actual, desde el jazz hasta el rock. Su delgado sonido nos aproxima a la música country, género con el que siempre coquetea la canadiense, sin dejarse llevar por el estilo. Con el resto de instrumentos apreciamos el gusto de las producciones de Feist -y que es muy frecuente en la actualidad- por utilizar instrumentos que se apartan del sonido pop-rock. Aquí tenemos un piano que suena un poco añejo, metales, cuerdas y, como no, la guitarra, el bajo y la batería, para no pasarnos de rosca.

El sonido acústico se refuerza con los abundantes coros y con palmadas en el último estribillo, que nos mete en la canción como si fuera de directo. Por lo demás, la sugerente voz de Feist es plato fuerte, con un timbre que parece ser que se ve influenciado por la presencia de nódulos que le da un sonido mate con algunos armónicos agudos. A mi, desde luego, me encanta.

Aquí tenéis el vídeo oficial, perjudicado por Youtube. De hecho, os recomiendo escuchar el disco por la reverberación que le han dado al vídeo (¿porqué?). Eso sí, ojo a la coreografía (abundante en bailarines) y a los bailes que se marca Leslie Feist con un traje brillante en contraste con su forma de moverse y la propia canción.

Versión de “Sesame Street”, con una letra que nos enseña de forma magistral cómo se cuenta hasta cuatro y lo divertido que es : D

I got into Lucy Schwartz about a year ago when I discovered a track of hers called “I Don’t Know a Thing.” It was a cute, anti-folk track that reminded me a bit of Regina Spektor. This new track was just released on the soundtrack for the movie Adam, and it is no disappointment. In fact, it is a solid step forward. Lucy Schwartz is really one singer to watch. Take a listen to this heartfelt ballad and let me know what you think.

The masterpiece off her new album, Far. The bridge is where she really starts killing it. Nobody writes music like Regina. Listening to her albums is like an aural orgasm. Still, as in albums past, one song always sticks out as a little more special than the rest. On Begin to Hope it was “Samson.” On Far it is “Human of the Year.”

Tym razem nie o metalu, ani nie o rocku. Nie, nie nie. Teraz zachwycam się głosem tej pani:

While searching for the Lily Allen song this morning, I found this one by Kate Nash too. Another song I love from the radio, but did not take the time to find out who it is. Fortunately my radio station posts their playlists online, so I’m going to have to scour the list and fill in the obvious cracks in my collection.

I’d tell you what radio station, but I kind of like being anonymous geographically as well as in general, so find your local indie radio station. Chances are they are playing the same songs!

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Lily Allen
• Regina Spektor
• The Ting Tings

I also suggest the music genre:

• Anti-Folk

Click here for more info on Kate Nash – Made of Bricks – “Foundations”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Kate Nash - Made of Bricks

Album Cover

Regina Spektor

“Far”

June 2009; Sire Records

By Emily J Ramey

Poetic, insightful, and seemingly effortless, simple, yet astoundingly esoteric, Regina Spektor is one of the last of her kind – a songwriting maven, if you will.  She has enchanted the indie pop world with her signature dichotomous staccato and graceful, fluid vocals, and her newest masterpiece is no exception.  Melodic, full, and well-blended, Far starts off with a bang – “The Calculation” is upbeat and irresistible; however, if one can get past the first track, he realizes that magnetic element isn’t the song, it’s Spektor herself: every track is saturated with her adorable wit and unconventionally beautiful voice, not to mention her elegant, inventive piano accompaniment.

Unpredictable and wide-ranging, Spektor’s melodies and subject matter are always anyone’s guess because everything and everyone is fair game – perspectives, situations, stories; Regina Spektor can sing about anything.  On Far, Spektor delves into new and fearless subject matter, including death, religion, and humanity.  “Blue Lips,” “Human of the Year,” “Machine,” and “Laughing With” are all clear examples.  However, Spektor’s sharp insight and spitfire intellect allow her to address heavily human themes with her characteristic light-hearted quirkiness, and with blithe, buoyant tracks like “The Calculation,” “Folding Chair,” “Dance Anthem of the 80s,” and “One More Time with Feeling” strategically placed throughout, the album not only flows with flawless forward movement, but overall comes across as optimistic, radiant even.  As does the woman herself.  Regina Spektor is a refreshing influence on today’s anti-folk scene, and a burgeoning musical icon.  Spektor proved herself worth listening to with her previous releases – Soviet Kitsch (2004) and Begin to Hope (2006), but Far goes on to show us that a little bit of charm and a lot of talent are tickets straight to the top.

287 words

So the new Regina Spektor album is dropping to the public tomorrow on June 23rd, and I am actually interested in hearing the new material.  For those that know me, and well actually know who Spektor is you probably already understand my blog post’s title. For those that do not know who she is let me clue you in. She’s a Russian born musician who moved to the States, the Bronx specifically, at age 9. She plays what most would call contemporary singer songwriter material that of course in done in a woman’s style with her piano. Now if you at least know me your saying and he likes her because….?

Well honestly I can not say why I am drawn to Regina Spektor’s music. I liked the single Fidelity from her 2006 album Begin to Hope, and I have heard a couple new cuts from her album Far dropping tomorrow on Sirius XMU. I guess maybe the songs just have enough pop sensibilities so it is not to singer song writery. I know she is suppose to be part of the “anti-folk” music, but I have never really been down with the fact that anti-folk was a musical descriptor in the first place. Maybe I am just getting sappy in my old age. I hope that is not it, and I don’t really think it is. I think it sounds just indie enough to still draw me in without seeming like to mainstream cheesy pop like a Vanessa Carlton. Spektor also tends to have this whimsical quality to her songs, and I definitely think that is a huge drawing point for me.

Of course it is not exactly music I am going to bust out at a party or when I am hanging with the fellas. Maybe it would be good music when I am out with a chick, but well you know how that goes. She also seems to not take herself to seriously unlike say an Ani Defranco. Even good Defranco songs get to me cause I swear she seems to into herself and all of her causes.  Regina Spektor definitely does not take herself to seriously. Maybe I just figured I needed to diversify my musical listening, and I wanted to bring in more women to my playlist. Whatever it is she has been wanting to hear her new stuff tomorrow which is win for her. I just hope it is win for me to in that her album is solid so I have good new music to listen too!

Regina Spektor – Far

Regina Spektor is back with a new album (her third or sixth, depending on whether you can count or not). There are a lot of things to like about Far, the new album, out on Tuesday. People who got all pissy over the Begin to Hope, will like that this leans more in the direction of her older albums on this record, while those who loved the last album will be happy to know that, while there is a lot to think about in this record, they don’t have to think about it unless they want to. (Read the rest)

God Help the Girl – God Help the Girl

It’s not unheard of for a band to provide the soundtrack for an album and history would indicate that it is really something of a hit or miss experience. Think about it. Where would we be if Once had not launched The Swell Season into the spotlight? Then again, Björk’s soundtrack for Dancer In the Dark (a sickeningly brilliant film by Lars von Trier) was a major disappointment, if only because the other actors who sang with her could not begin to approach the shear drama and power packed into every pitch she produces. God Help the Girl is, in a way, a soundtrack as well, but one accompanying a film by Stuart Murdoch that does not quite exist yet. So we have to begin the review process at a loss. (Read the rest)

If you haven’t heard of her yet, where have you been? Run, not walk, to discover a true gem you’ll surely slap yourself on the wrist for missing. Quirky, fun, endearing and just down right weird sometimes, Regina often seems in a world of her own – one that she invites us into with her music. And while I have to admit her self-released records (“11:11″, “Songs”) might be a bit of an acquired taste, it is truly a taste you won’t regret acquiring.

June 23rd sees the release of Regina Spektor’s fifth studio album “Far” and third major label release (Sire Records) and with just three days to go, fans must be licking their lips with the anticipation. It will be interesting to see the kind of production “Far” will have and how much Spektor has grown. After getting a preview of the entire album on her Myspace, her songs have some of her fans singing her tune while others are disappointed arguing that she has “sold out” and gone mainstream.

There is no doubt that her musical style has changed and somewhat differed, but that is to be expected with growth and the amount of time she has spent in the industry. And would you really want to listen to the same kinds of songs over and over again? It would just get repetitive and grow boring. After all, growth and exploration of different avenues are what we expect of artists these days or else they just become irrelevant. Regina’s 2006 release with Sire, “Begin to Hope” is undoubtedly more produced than even her first major label release “Soviet Kitsch” more less “11:11″ and “Songs”, but no one can argue that the songs on that album weren’t her catchiest yet. “Begin to Hope” garnered her the mainstream recognition she so deserved. Heck – since then, she’s had her songs in blockbuster flicks “The Chornicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and “Dan in Real Life”.

Now, even I’ll admit that I have a bit of a crush on Regina, so I can’t say that I’m impartial. Having seen her live in 2007 at Toronto’s Kool Haus (I despise that box of a venue), you can’t help but fall under her enchanting spell. The stage is where she really comes alive. You cannot truly appreciate her music or genius without experiencing her live show – just her and her piano. But I’ll end this school girl gushing now or I’ll never be able to stop.

Oh, Regina. What a woman. What an artist.

But I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Go crazy!