Voting is now open for Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2009! They’ve come up with a shortlist of the songs played on triple j this year and released in 2009. Hottest 100 Voting list.

I’m having major trouble choosing just 10 tracks to vote for, so here is my short shortlist!

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Help me decide!

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Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes

Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars

Basement Jaxx – Raindrops

Bat For Lashes – Daniel

Bluejuice – Broken Leg

Bon Iver – Blood Bank

Calvin Harris – The Rain

Chairlift – Bruises

Deadmau5 – I Remember

Delphic – This Momentary

Florence & The Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)

Florence & The Machine – Cosmic Love

Friendly Fires – Kiss of Life

Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

Julian Casblancas – 11th Dimension

La Roux – Bulletproof

Metric – Satellite Mind

The Middle East – Blood

Miike Snow – Animal

Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than The Stars

Passion Pit – The Reeling

Passion Pit – Swimming in the Flood

Passion Pit – Sleepyhead

Phoenix – 1901

Royksopp – Happy Up Here

Sarah Blasko – We Won’t Run

Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch

Temper Trap – Science of Fear

Temper Trap – Fader

Washed Out – Feel it All Around

Yeasayer – Ambling Alp

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…oh my gosh, ‘Help I’m Alive’ by Metric and ‘Sweet Disposition’ by Temper Trap aren’t on the list (apparently they were released late 2008), …i want to vote for them!

(i’ve bolded the songs that i THINK i might vote for)

Shopping N Mingling just doesn’t get any better than this…

Hundreds of attendees shopped the collections of local brands and designers as well as enjoyed a ton of free services and products.

Special Thanks To The ICU for producing this video clip.

Special Thanks To The Shop N Mingle Sponsors:
his years sponsors include metroPCS, FADER, Uptown Magazine, Steaz, E:Harlem, Miss Jessie’s, Dr. Miracles, The New York Sports Club, Larabar, Robert’s American Gourmet, Anna Mae’s Cheesecake, The Sweet Spot, The Chocolate Muffin, Downtown Records, Café Bustelo, LEVELS Barbershop, B. Young Cosmetics, Imena, Fusicology and Going.com.

Santa wants to know what you want for the holidays.

Santa visited the Cornerstone and FADER offices this afternoon. He was asked to make an appearance at the holiday party. Will you be there?

The new video from The Temper Trap for their latest single Fader. Released in the UK 4th January 2010. The band’s debut LP, Conditions, out now.

Recent news:

Coming off the back of a sold out UK tour, The Temper Trap have stormed up the UK Charts this week, with their debut single ‘Sweet Disposition’ currently placed at #7 and album ‘Conditions’ at #25.

The band are currently on the move with shows in North America and Europe scheduled in for the end of the year, before they return to the homeland – Australia. The Temper Trap have been announced to play Big Day Out across Australia and NZ in January, including two Sydney shows.

Their stellar “Sweet Disposition” performed live at 2009 Awards for ARIA in Sydney, Australia

And in other news – The Temper Trap have been nominated for four ARIA awards for their debut album ‘Conditions’ – Best Rock Album, Breakthrough Artist Album, Single of the Year and Album of the Year.
The ARIAs are broadcast live on Thursday November 26th around Australia.

The band are scheduled to be part of the biggest Ozzie summer music festival in January, BIG DAY OUT 2010

Buy album here.

After two years away, Editors are returning to the US for a long-awaited headlining North American tour this February in support of their highly anticipated new album In This Light And On This Evening. The album, which is out stateside via FADER Label January 19th 2010, debuted #1 on the charts the week of release in the UK this past October and charted in the Top 10 throughout the rest of Europe.

North American Tour Dates
Feb 05 || Seattle, WA || Showbox at the Market
Feb 06 || Vancouver, BC || Commodore Ballroom
Feb 08 || San Francisco, CA || The Warfield Theatre
Feb 09 || San Diego, CA || House of Blues
Feb 11 || Los Angeles, CA || The Wiltern
Feb 13 || Denver, CO || Ogden Theatre
Feb 15 || Chicago, IL || Victoria Theatre
Feb 16 || Toronto, ON || Phoenix Concert Theatre
Feb 18 || Boston, MA || House of Blues
Feb 19 || New York, NY || Terminal 5
Feb 20 || Philadelphia, PA || Trocadero
Feb 21 || Washington, DC || 9:30 Club

All tickets will be on-sale December 12th

(Saville Factor: 2)

It seems SO wrong, and yet somehow so right: Lee “Scratch” Perry has done a Christmas song. It’s called Santa Claus. It’s sort of a trancehall thing. And he says “Walt Disney… Mickey Mouse… Monkey in the sky” quite a lot.

On first listen it sounds suspiciously like the ravings of a man who has completely lost touch with reality. But given his track record as a visionary genius, chances are that before too long this tune will have completely replaced the Christmas carol, and The Upsetter himself will be single-handedly delivering presents to all the world’s children. Personally, I can’t wait.

Lee “Scratch” Perry – Santa Claus [via FADER]

This past Friday I partied at the American Museum of Natural History for Fader’s monthly jam One Step Beyond, known for bringing in the best DJs for this one-night museum takeover. Brooklyn-based Matt Shadetek & Dj Rupture killed it promoting their new disc Solar Life Raft which has been getting positive album reviews all around for its smooth genre-hopping style. Mad Decent’s newest signee Maluca was also there. Her debut single ‘El Tigeraso’ originally produced by Diplo is fyre with it’s sexy Latin-reggaeton vibe. An awesome soundtrack to dance the night away under the planets, moon & stars

DJ Rupture – Mirage: Quest, Brooklyn Anthem

Timeblind & Matt Shadetek – Space Cadet, Strength In Numbers

Gang Gang Dance – Bebey (Matt Shadetek & DJ Rupture remix)

Maluca – El Tigeraso (Gumar’s Magic Mix)

Mad Decent’s latest signee, New York’s reggaeton phenom Maluca will be performing with DJ Rupture, Matt Shadetek and Jahdah Blakkamore next week on Friday the 13th!

The event takes place at The Museum of Natural History on November 13th for Fader’s One Step Beyond…and we’ve got your FREE tickets to all of the fun! Last month Amanda Blank put on a kick-ass show for the event, you’re not going to wanna miss next week’s!

Make sure you’re following @tlcblog, then Re-Tweet the following to win tickets:
@tlcblog Enter to win tickets for Maluca at the Museum http://wp.me/prU45-YK!

Winners will be picked at random and notified by Thursday November 12th. More info for the event can be found HERE.

MP3: Maluca – El Tigraso or zShare

The main draw for me at Fader Fort at the ACE Hotel in NYC was Florence + The Machine’s 7:15 set but along the way, open bar and wonderful sets by MNDR, Jenny Wilson, The Temper Trap, Chauffeur were an awesome bonus! Full pictures from each set can be seen HERE.

<< MNDR >>

has been building steam over the past couple months through her blog, MySpace, and her frequent party gigs.

Bushwick’s MNDR was a breath of fresh air in the sweaty basement of the ACE Hotel, jumping from keyboards, knob-turning, and moving the crowd with her incredibly fun and tech-no-logic set.

Keep an eye out for MNDR!

MP3: MNDR – C.L.U.B. or zShare

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<< The Temper Trap >>

were essentially CMJ’s headliner, playing some of the biggest showcases of the week and gracing the cover of the CMJ industry newsletter.We saw The Temper Trap Wednesday night at The Music Hall of Williamsburg for the Blue Flowers showcase in the headlining slot once populated by Speech Debelle.

I’m going to be honest in saying that I was not impressed by their set that night, and was quite frankly bored. However, the band I saw onstage at MHOW was not at all the same one smashing the stage at the ACE Hotel.

I think The Temper Trap are more comfortable in a smaller and more intimate setting where they connect with the fans, stepping up their stage presence 150% and feeding off of the energy of the crowd. The crowning moment for me was when lead singer Dougy Mandagi poured bottles of water on the drums to create a geyser effect while Jonathan Aherne swung his bass around like a chainsaw. Now that’s what I call a show!

MP3: The Temper Trap – Science Of Fear (Herve Remix) or zShare

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<< Jenny Wilson >>

was first on my radar as the guest vocalist on The Knife’s infectious You Take My Breath Away from the band’s 2005 album Deep Cuts.

Fellow Swedes Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson (aka The Knife) signed Jenny Wilson to Rabid Records where she released two records: Love and Youth (2005) and this year’s Hardships!

Like Chauffeur and Florence + The Machine, Wilson made her debut performance in New York at Fader Fort’s CMJ party. It was a beautiful debut performance and a great introduction to her electro-orchestra sound complete an ensemble of horns, flutes, keys and percussion.

MP3: Jenny Wilson – Like a Fading Rainbow or zShare

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<< VEGA >>

is Alan Palomo’s third musical identity, the previous being Ghosthustler and the blog staple Neon Indian.

I first caught Vega live at Studio B last spring, and again at Hype Machine/Babelgum’s CMJ showcase before Fader’s party, and the set gets more and more polished each time.

MP3: VEGA – No Reasons or zShare

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<< Chauffeur >>

is the super-power collective of New York’s Thelophilus London, Australia’s Sam Sparro and the Transatlantic Mark Ronson.

I wasn’t quite sure what Chauffeur was upon seeing it listed on the bill, but I was pleasantly surprised to see these three artists from different places (musically and geographically) come together to make something fresh.

The trio played an extremely short set of about 3 songs, but wowed everyone with their cover of Sheila E.’s Glamorous Life. I’m interested to see what’s next!

MP3: Chauffeur – Soles of Fire or zShare

MP3: Sheila E. – The Glamorous Life or zShare

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<< Midnight Juggernauts >>

also played Hype Machine/Babelgum’s CMJ showcase with Vega. The Australian trio played a 6-song set that floated between punk and electronic, sucessfully rousing the sweat-soaked and spritied crowd into a hardcore dancefest.

We chatted with the band earlier that week (check back for the on-camera interview with ‘Sup Magazine) and they were excited to play CMJ, an energy that was pleasantly projected through their live set.

MP3: Midnight Juggernauts – Jump The Gun or zShare

______________________________________________________________

<< Florence + the Machine

My review of Florence’s acoustic set at Fader Fort can be read here: Florence + The Machine’s NYC Debut: Sweeter Than Heaven + Hotter Than Hell

MP3: Florence + The Machine – Howl or zShare

‘Heaven’ by WorldInMyAndYourEyes

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My favourite tracks in October 2009. All links go to HypeMachine where you can listen to the selected track.

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♫ Higher Than Stars – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart ♥ ♥ ♥

♫ Higher Than Stars (Saint Etienne Visits Lord Spank Mix) – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart ♥ ♥ ♥

♫ Feel.Love.Thinking.Of – Faunts

♫ I Think I’ll Start A Fire – Faunts

♫ It Hurts Me All The Time – Faunts

♫ When The Sun Hits – Slowdive

♫ The Worst Taste in Music – The Radio Dept.

♫ Under The Sheets – Ellie Goulding ♥ ♥ ♥

♫ Animal – Miike Snow

♫ Animal (Peter Bjorn & John Remix) – Miike Snow

♫ Animal (Fred Falke Remix) – Miike Snow

♫ Into The Clouds (Fear of Tigers Remix) – The Sound of Arrows

♫ Panic – Xuman

♫ Extra Special – Animalistics

♫ Fader – The Temper Trap

♫ Sweet Disposition (Alan Wilkis Remix) – The Temper Trap

♫ In Search of Main – Miike Snow

♫ The Human Touch (Sidechains Remix) – Heads We Dance

♫ Follow Me ft. Annie (Lifelike Remix) – Ercola

♫ Collect Call (Tom Wrecks Remix) – Metric

♫ Your Tiny Mind (Lifelike Remix) – Relation ♥ ♥ ♥

♫ Your Tiny Mind (Diogenes Club Remix) – Relation

♫ Mowgli’s Road (Mille Remix) – Marina & The Diamonds

♫ Don’t Stop (Lifelike Remix) – Heartache

♫ Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension

♫ The XX – Heart Skipped a Beat

♫ Love is Gone – (Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud Radio Edit Remix) – David Guetta & Chris Willis

♫ Gui Boratto – No Turning Back

Here’s another video from the Levi’s/Fader Fort CMJ Showcase at the Ace Hotel’s Liberty Hall, with Pill rocking Junior MAFIA’s “Get Money” and then throwing some dollar bills in the air during the a cappella outro. Was that like $12?

Pill – Get Money (Junior MAFIA Brooklyn tribute live):

-Drew

Chauffeur (Mark Ronson, Theophilus London, and Sam Sparro) premiere their newest song “Soles Of Fire” – which is a track made to coincide the release of Ronson’s signature shoes at the Gucci Icon-Temporary pop-up store in New York.

For free download, click the link at FADER.

Florence and the Machine at The ACE Hotel, 10.24.09

I spent all of last week anticipating Florence + the Machine’s New York debut for the Fader Party at the ACE Hotel! Lungs is a beautifully crafted album and may be my favorite album of 2009, hands down!

The basement of the ACE hotel was a sauna of sweaty bodies, open bar and music fans eager to catch the epic line-up that  included The Temper Trap, MNDR, Sam Sparro, Mark Ronson, Theophilus London, Midnight Juggernauts, Jenny Wilson and of course Florence + the Machine.

Florence took the stage after 7PM in a killer pair of boots with only a guitarist onstage strumming along. Florence’s voice is like a rogue angel, so raw and so rare it moved me to tears. The set consisted of only a handful of songs but time stood still and I had not a care in the world at that moment. It was a truly gut-wrenchingly soulful, moving and religious experience.

Florence and the Machine plays Bowery Ballroom tomorrow night, this is your last chance New York!!! Also, check out the official videos for The Xx remix of You’ve Got the Love HERE and the Steve Pitron and Max Sanna Remix HERE.

MP3: Florence + the Machine – Hospital Beds (Cold War Kids cover) or zShare
MP3: Florence + the Machine – Postcards from Italy (Beirut Cover) or zShare

Gangsta Gibbs is easily one of the best doing it right now. At FADERFort in NYC over the weekend,  one of Zone2HomeBrew’s favorites of ‘09 proves once again that he’s nice as anyone at this rap shit.

Already classic Freddie Gibbs tapes for those unfamiliar.

Here is the Vol.9 the latest installment of the Fader’s Cornerstone Mixtape series featuring DJ Soul.

DOWNLOAD: Cornerstone Mixtape Vol 9

Shouts to Kevin

Решила посвятить этот пост великолепной серии миксов

‘We Make It Good’

которые появились на свет благодаря волшебному журналу Fader.

Если для вас это новости, то бегите

сюда

как можно скорее и начинайте качать! Я настоятельно рекомендую скачать каждый из 10 золотых миксов и обратить внимание на треклисты! Такую эклектику вы вряд-ли сможете отыскать где-нибудь еще, тем более абсолютно БЕСПЛАТНО!

КАЧАЙТЕ. СЛУШАЙТЕ. УЛЫБАЙТЕСЬ. ТАНЦУЙТЕ.

Tonight was one of those nights where you plan on keeping things simple, but end up with way more than you bargained for (in a good way)… My first stop was to Ella, where Marsha Ambrosius (formerly of Floetry) and Jesse Boykins III put on a performance for the Suite903 launch party. Suite903 (www.suite903.com) is a new site dedicated to Soul music and culture. The event was sponsored by Hennessy Artistry and Fader Magazine. The music was provided by Waajeed (of Platinum Pied Pipers) and OP!

Ella is a lovely little lounge in LES which features a stage downstairs; it’s one of those spots that fill up very quickly…I was happy to run into Jesse Boykins and Marsha Ambrosius during the meet-and-greet portion of the event:

The room was filled to capacity long before the performances began…

… but the flowing Hennessy kept everyone in a jovial mood.

Jesse Boykins III opened the show with a few song off his latest album, “The Beauty Created.” He’s one of my favorite singers, up & coming or established; his voice is something very special!

For his last song, “Pantyhose,” he picked out a young lady in the crowd for a very sexy seranade. I don’t think she was too happy with the idea at first…

…but she slowly started to fall to Jesse’s charm…

…and in the end, everyone was happy =)

We were then treated to a special performance by the phenomenal Kimberly Nichole, who sang a rendition of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley that literally gave me goosebumps!

Up next was Marsha Ambrosius, whom I’ve been following for several years, since her days as a member of the fantastic group, Floetry. Ms. Ambrosius performed old favorites and a couple of new songs from her upcoming album, with the piano as her sole accompaniment.

After Marsha’s performance, Waajeed turned the evening into a party, and Marsha stuck around to chat with fans and take pictures. Also in attendance was Emily King, a New York-based singer who opened up for Floetry in the past.

It was a great event all around, and a night of appreciation for GOOD music. Kudos to Marsha for promoting Jesse Boykins’ album, “The Beauty Created”!

Check out more photos of the show and the beautiful people who attended…

What crack and God knows what else did to The Divine Master of The Unknown, Dark Man X, DMX. An incredible talent who has spent most his life in and out of Riker’s. Eh, well I been listening to hits like What’s My Name, Who We Be, We Right Here, X Gon’ Give It To Ya… just that mainstream shit that makes me wish he was still around and relevant. It’s unfortunate that his latest verbal onslaught wasn’t a cypher with Jay, but rather a YouTube rant about Jay’s flip-flops (I think Jay said they’re actually Gucci Boat shoes).

Also, the artwork above was from his album cover for Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood, and if you digg the photography you should check more of Johnathan Mannion’s shit out HERE. He’s responsible for the photos in Drake’s FADER feature that I posted earlier.

His eyes go wide with that throw-you-off vulnerability and he says, “I don’t think I ever want to find my place.”

This has been out for a while, but I just got around to reading the whole thing, dope! Well written, insightful, worthwhile, check it out HERE.

Ich weiß nicht wie gut ich twoyoutubevideosandamotherfuckingcrossfader.com finden würde, wenn mich das Netz gerade nicht so derartig langweilen würde. Auf Twitter herrscht relativ viel Ruhe, der Reader wird auch ohne lesen nicht mehr voll. Da kommt mir so ein Ding genau recht. Einfach Videos suchen, und dann nach lust und laune faden. (Ach, wenn ihr noch Zeugs habt, nur raus damit!)

[via @tobispoerer]

Sliding behind the stage colors of CUT COPY at THE MASQUERADE in ATLANTA, GA, I followed Matt of MATT AND KIM to their Kim-decorated van for an interview after their opening set.

Both Kim and Matt are just as cheery in life as they are on stage. Kim was visiting with some of her old Atlanta friends, so Matt was kind enough to chat with me. We talked about the making of their music videos, pop-up posters, and their obsession with dogs. Most importantly, Matt taught me about the importance of having haters in your life.

Full Transcript: (Audio)

Nichole Bennett: Cool, I’m Nichole. I’m here with Matt, half of Matt and Kim. Thank you so much for joining us.
Matt Johnson: My pleasure.
NB: They just put on a rocking set here at The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia opening for Cut Copy. It was really rad.
MJ: This place is cool. It feels like warehouse style shows in Brooklyn.
NB: Did you know that each of the levels have a name?
MJ: I heard there was Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.
NB: Yeah, you guys just played in Heaven.
MJ: Oh really? Yeah it was weird. We were handed all that press for The Haunting, this movie. I don’t know.
NB: You have a notebook?
MJ: I got a notebook! It’s a sweet deal, right? But they had a card that was about…last night we were over at The Drunken Unicorn…on one of the these cards on the back it said that this place was haunted and it’s been falling apart. I was like, “Oh damnit, we gotta go there tomorrow.”
NB: They always say that they are no longer going to have shows. They always say it’s going to collapse, and sometimes it feels like it might.
MJ: The way the equipment goes up and down is so bizarre. Did you see that lift? The way to get everyone’s stuff upstairs…there’s this weird, really janky thing that’s on two wires. I don’t know about that.
NB: So if you were to describe the story of Matt and Kim, or at least the Matt story, would it be a graphic novel or a pop up book?
MJ: I’d say pop-up book only because I’m much more familiar with pop-up books. Actually we’ve been very intrigued by pop-up books. One of the first projects Kim and I did together, before we even tried playing music was that we used to make rock show posters for our friends’ bands in New York that were all pop-up, that had pop-up elements. You could open windows or spin little dials and things like that, and they were all silkscreened. They were awesome except that they would get stolen the first day you put them up. They were a lot of work for the look.
NB: That would be cool for house shows.
MJ: Yeah, depending on the spot. We also didn’t realize that if you put posters up on the street in Brooklyn, it’s a crime. So the cops busted us the first poster.
NB: Man, I didn’t know that. I saw posters all over New York.
MJ: Yeah people, do it, but…
NB: Underground poster putter-uppers. Do you guys ever read your own reviews?
MJ: Well, to begin with, I did. Because when we first started getting reviews and things like that, I was very intrigued. But the thing is we’d get a good review…we’d get band of the week on some website or whatever and then the comments would be hundreds of just haters.
NB: Yeah, only haters comment.
MJ: Yeah those are the ones you want to read. You just want the drama. The nice ones are boring. But all the same, it’s weird because we put so much of ourselves and so much of our time, you know all of our time, into doing this. And it’s not just like hating on the band, it’s like hating on us. But it’s one of those things now. Now Kim gets upset when there’s not enough hate comments. Like on Brooklyn Vegan, it’s the most talked about bands that get the most hate. I realized this when I was looking at an issue of Spin magazine, and it was the reader-voted best and worst bands of 2007 maybe. The lists were almost exactly the same. I think My Chemical Romance was number one on it. They were reader voted best band and reader voted worst band. The list was like exactly the same. Whoever was talked about the most was the most hated and the most liked, whoever was talked about the second most… So, we actually saw a Katt Williams sketch or it’s his standup act. It was actually from here in Atlanta, and he talked about needing haters. “If you only have 15 haters now, you should try to have 20 by summertime.”
NB: I think I’m learning that too. It’s kind of weird the way the internet treats music. It’s kind of an A.D.D. musicality, where you’re like “I’m going to hop on the Hypemachine and see what’s popular this week.” But hate, that’s the key I guess.
MJ: I don’t know. We’ve gone and embraced it. But all the same, it kind of cuts a little deep for me. So I decided it would just be easier to not read it.
NB: How would you describe your sound to maybe a five year old?
MJ: To a five year old? Well, it’s funny because before the band, Kim was a nanny. At the time, I think they were three and four. Now they’re about six and five, but we still go and visit those girls all the time. They’re awesome. They’re the first thing that made me understand parenting. Like, why would anyone want to be a parent? And these two girls are just so cool. And they also love Matt and Kim. I don’t know…how would I describe? Parents come and tell me that they and their kids sing and dance to it. I think it’s funny because the parents like it, and they come to our shows and talk about their kids liking it. So, I think it’s like a sing-along dance party.
NB: That’s a good one. It’s one of the few bands like that.
MJ: Yeah, on the end of the first album, the last track is just us in the studio. I was sick, so I was taking nasal spray and other cold medicines just to keep my nose clear, and I was totally flying on a kite of cold medicine. But it’s just us talking because we were thinking of starting the album with…because we used to always start our shows with “This is Kim and I’m Matt, and we’re Matt and Kim.” But it’s that, and I swear or something. And Kim says, “You can’t swear, Chloe’s going to hear this.” Just because of those two girls she used to nanny she didn’t want us to swear on the album.
NB: Our radio listeners can’t see this, but we are in a magnificent super red van.
MJ: Super red yes!
NB: Oh, is that carpeted wall?
MJ: Oh yeah, that’s a pro job right there, carpeted these wall myself. Kim painted these candy stripes on the back.
NB: Yeah, this is one of the more fancy vans I’ve been in. What do you guys listen to when you’re driving around?
MJ: Well, if you notice, we do not have a CD player or any way to plug in an iPod. We don’t turn the stereo on. That’s a band rule. We don’t listen to music. Everyone has their own iPod. But if you have five people in the van, it becomes a source of a lot of anger having to listen to what other people like. So we decided when we bought this van that we were just not going to put a stereo in.
NB: That’s probably a really good rule. That’s one of the better rules I’ve heard.
MJ: Yeah, so we all listen to our own thing.
NB: What is your favorite dinosaur?
MJ: Dinosaur? I guess the stegosaurus is kind of rad, right?
NB: That’s a good one.
MJ: It’s pretty big. Wait, stegosaurus is the one that has the tail with all the spiky stuff on it?
NB: Yeah. It’s got spikes. I guess we talked about the internet earlier. I know the internet has played a big role in you guys getting your music videos up, which are really fun to watch by the way. Were they as fun to make as they are to watch or is there a lot of work going into that?
MJ: I don’t know. It depends on who you ask. If you ask me, I’d say “yes.” If you ask Kim, she’d say “no.” We just shot another video a couple of weekends ago before we went on tour for a song called “Lessons Learned,” but the last one that has come out was for “Daylight.” Every situation in that was like Kim’s most hated situation. We play inside a dumpster, and we were told the dumpster would be a clean dumpster. But that didn’t really mean clean as much as the large garbage was pulled out. There was this thick inch of grime on the walls, and she was just hating being in there. But if you watch, she’s smiling. There’s different forms of Kim smiling. If she’s very uncomfortable, she smiles. She’s happy, she smiles. When she’s terrified, she gets this crazy squeaky wheel laugh. We went to go see some horror movie in the theater, and as someone’s getting sliced and diced and chopped up—that stuff freaks her out—and she just started laughing hysterically. And people are like, “Who’s that messed-up girl laughing at this stuff?” Oh yeah, so she hated being in that dumpster. She hates getting water in her face. We played in the shower. Whenever she goes swimming—have you ever seen a cat try to swim?
NB: Yeah I hate that too.
MJ: They’re just trying to keep their head above water at all cost. She hated getting water in her face. She’s kind of claustrophobic. She hated being in there. Yeah, so it was her nightmare. Our “Yea Yeah” video was fun to shoot for the three and a half minutes that we actually shot it for. And then the six hours of cleaning up with weird stuff in our hair…it was just the grossest smell.
NB: You guys just came from Austin, Texas didn’t you? From South By Southwest?
MJ: Sort of. We’ve been to Austin twice in the last month. We started this tour with Cut Copy in Austin and then looped over to the west coast. We had a day off between Chicago and Toronto, and we were like “Days off are for weak people.” So we decided we would fly back down on that one day off for South By Southwest.
NB: Yeah, I was like “Where are they coming from?!”
MJ: And then we flew back up to Toronto. We flew Toronto to New York, then over to Boston. We had to drive over night back to New York. And then D.C. It’s been really crazy. But we had the day off yesterday. We just got to hang out in Atlanta.
NB: You guys are sticking around for a little while. There’s some Athens and some Asheville action going on.
MJ: Yeah, well we’ll be back and then we’ll be in the area. We go from here to Orlando, then Miami, then Tallahasee, then Gainesville. Then I think we’ll be back up.
NB: A lot of people skip Florida. I bet they’ll be really happy.
MJ: Yeah, it’s one of those things that to get to the tip is sort of out of the way. But you can also do a lot of shows in Florida. We’re excited to be where it’s warm. Like here.
NB: If Matt and Kim had a catchphrase, what would it be?
MJ: It would be “You can’t threaten me with a good time.”
NB: And I’ll leave you with this last question: If you could be any animal, what would you be?
MJ: I’d have to be a dog. Kim and I are both nuts about dogs. Even though we couldn’t have one because we live in an eight foot wide apartment in Brooklyn, and we travel nine months out of the year. But, we’ll go and get cups of tea and coffee and go to the dog park and just lurk.
NB: Like a child predator, but with dogs.
MJ: We don’t really know the policy. Like when Kim was a nanny, you’re not supposed to go into a playground unless you’re with a child. So are you not supposed to go in the dog park unless you have a dog? Yeah I think we’d both be dogs.