Today's Brew | Feist/ Grizzly Bear

Feist with support by Grizzly Bear will be hitting the Wiltern Theater (here in LA)- tonight. A definite double bill treat, if you haven't caught either live. I've written about them both on numerous occasions, the past year or so. I also had the opportunity to see them both as they came to LA last year. Especially to catch Grizzly Bear's first show here in LA, was definitely one of the highlights of last year's many shows here.


Feist contributed to this movie.


from the movie soundtrack "Paris Met T'aime":
mp3: Feist- "La même histoire"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

mp3: Grizzly Bear-"Knife (Live KEXP 10-4-2006)"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

YouTube: Feist- "1,2,3,4"


YouTube: Grizzly Bear- "The Knife (Takeaway Show)"


official site: Feist
My Space: Feist

official site: Grizzly Bear
My Space: Grizzly Bear

Late Night Brew | Arcade LCD Goin' Bowlin'

If you haven't already heard...but this Saturday, June 30th (beginning at 10am), tix go on sell for the double bill of this summer--Arcade Fire/ LCD Soundsystem at the Hollywood Bowl. Good luck with getting tix!!



Now you may think, as you examine the tix price table below-- as being insane, but imagine how much these tix will go for, as the date actually approaches...and you're guaranteed two excellent bands sharing the stage on one night under the stars (that is if you're able to see through the LA air)...and we're talkin' the Bowl. (okay, someone should be paying me for writing this...haha or at least hook me up with some tix).


YouTube: Arcade Fire "Neon Bible & Wake Up (The Takeaway Show)"


YouTube: LCD Soundsystem- "North American Scum (Late Show with David Letterman)"


More info about the Hollywood Bowl show with Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem- ovah here.

Today's Brew | U.F.O.s at the Zoo

L.A. Film Festival is in full swing the past week or so and continues til July 1st. One of the feature screenings is The Flaming Lips concert filmed in their own hometown Oklahoma City.








trailer: U.F.O.s at the Zoo: The Legendary Concert in Oklahoma City

Directed By: Bradley Beesley,
Wayne Coyne,
George Salisbury

L.A. Film Fest Screening
June 29 Friday 8:30pm
John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
$11

Buy tix for that show ovah here.

mp3: The Flaming Lips- "Seven Nation Army (cover)"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

official site: LA Film Festival
official site: Flaming Lips

Late Late Night Brew | The Cave Singers

Matador recently signed them to their label with high hopes as The Seattle Weekly's Brian Barr describes them as "folk music approached by way of punk rock. "
We'll keep an eye on these guys...

They'll be in town the next two nights:
June 29 Friday | EL Cid
June 30 Saturday | 6th St. Warehouse

From their self titled EP:
mp3:The Cave Singers- "Seeds of the Night"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

Their full length album 'Invitation Days' will be released sometime in August.

My Space: The Cave Singers

Today's Brew | The National

I caught The National as they played a soldout show over at the El Rey last night.
Let me tell you now, I'm not a big fan of the venue itself, and even going there again that night, it hasn't changed my opinion of the place. The venue layout is horrible, and the place has a horrendous ventilation system. But aside from my bitching and complaining about the place, this is my second time catching this band, and I'd say that they are definitely a band to see live if you haven't seen them already. They may not be the most flamboyant or entertaining band to watch, but they know how to put on a good show.


(photo courtesy of Joel Didriksen for kingpinphoto.com | NPR performing live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C)

The band opened with the song "Start a War" and the set included many of the crowd favorites from their previous album 'Alligator'. Also got the whole crowd going with "Mr November" and "Fake Empire".

From their 2003 album, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers:
mp3: The National- "Slipping Husband"

NPR: The National play Nation's Capital

Sidenote:
This Saturday evening-
NPR: Polyphonic Spree: Hear Full Performance Live on NPR.org from Washington, D.C.

Today's Brew | D-Day for Webcasters

Whether or not you fully agree with this measure or not, it appears that some notable webcasters are marking this day as the day of protest.



As one of the key proponents leading the charge- KCRW along with Pandora and Yahoo! are making their campaign to save the net radio.
Read about it more ovah here.

Also check out:

SaveNetRadio.org

Wall Street Journal: Online-Radio Royalty Fight...- 5/31,'07

Today's Brew | Daytrotter: The Spinto Band

Our friends over at Daytrotter serve up for this Monday session--
The Spinto Band.



Their previous appearance on the hugely popular weekly vid site The Take-Away Show featured the Spinto Band with their unorthodox performance of the song "Oh Mandy" in France.


mp3: The Spinto Band- "Oh Mandy" (Daytrotter Session)
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

official site: The Spinto Band
My Space: The Spinto Band

Daytrotter

Today's Brew | Simian Mobile Disco

Happy Friday with London's very own SMD.


From the album "Attack Decay Sustain Release":
mp3:Simian Mobile Disco- "Love"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

official site: Simian Mobile Disco
My Space: Simian Mobile Disco

Late Night Brew | Jesca Hoop

"Jesca Hoop's music is like a four-sided coin. She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or a red moon. Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night." - Tom Waits



Now if you got Tom Waits commenting about how good you are, then I think that makes you something more than just your typical garden variety performer/musician. And you can't top that...I mean come on. And I also recall hearing her music quite a bit on KCRW.
She's currently on a nationwide tour with Polyphonic Spree.

From the album "Kismet" (release date: September 18th):
mp3:Jesca Hoop- "Intellgentactile"

official site: Jesca Hoop
My Space: Jesca Hoop

Today's Brew | Ra Ra Rabbit

Be sure to check out P'folk's Guest List: Joanna Newsom. Find out her last great film she saw and what she has on her ringtone....quite an insightful response from one of music's talented performer/songwriter.

From her album "Ys":
mp3: Joanna Newsom- "Cosmia"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

She mentioned her favorite new band was Ra Ra Rabbit. I don't know too much about these guys other than that they are based here in California...or at least that's what they've put on their profile.



Stream their music ovah at their My Space.

My Space: Ra Ra Rabbit

Today's Brew | The Chemical Bros.

If you haven't already seen the new batpod images floating around the web, it only builds the anticipation of things to come...



and I'd say, if anything about the Chemical Bros, I'm more intrigued by their music vids than their music. Makes you wonder right?

YouTube: The Chemical Bros- "Do it again"


We are the Night (UK release: July 2nd/ US release: July 17th)

But going back, maybe to their heydays--
From their album "Exit Planet Dust" (1995) and featuring guest vocals the Charlatans' Tim Burgess:
The Chemical Bros- "Life is Sweet"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

official site: The Chemical Brothers

Second Cup | The White Stripes

Here's a bit of old news, but worthy of an entry even if it is.
Jack & Meg return with "Icky Thump" (their sixth album which drops today) and if you haven't already heard, they'll be playing a "free show" over at the former Tower Records store off of Sunset in Hollywood, tonight in celebration of their new album release. The catch is the first 200 people who buy their CD will be guaranteed entry to the show.

AOL Stream Video: The White Stripes- "Icky Thump":

Today's Brew | NPR Concert: The National

As part of the NPR Live Concert Series, The National will perform a full set at DC's 9:30 Club on Wednesday (June 20th- at about 10pm CT).Hear the full concert via webcast: NPR: The National- Live

#40.3 - The National - Start a war
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Second Cup | Guilty Simpson

Produced by J Dilla and recorded in late 2003 for Dilla & Guilty's
unfinished album. Guilty Simpson's album "Ode to the Ghetto" will be released in
late 2007, with production from Denon Porter, J Dilla, Madlib, Oh No, and
Jake One.

mp3:Guilty Simpson- "Man's World"

My Space: Guilty Simpson

Today's Brew | Michael Brecker

I was listening to NPR Morning Edition this morning, and they had a really nice feature on the world renowned jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker. Although he didn't live to see the official release of his current album "Pilgrimage" that came out last month which features an all star line-up of the big names in the jazz world.

Musicians list the components of Brecker's signature sound: His rich tone. His fluid and lyrical flow. His recent growth as a composer. On Michael Brecker's musical farewell, one can hear all these things. (excerpt from the article)

Visit here to check out the full NPR article about him and stream a few tracks off the album "Pilgrimage".

Amazon Video: Michael Brecker

Today's Brew | The Beastie Boys

The follow-up to 2004's mediocre album To The 5 Boroughs, the B Boys return but they go complete instrumental with this album. Quite a change up for the boys who love to vocalize and get all lyrical.

From their album The Mix Up (June 26th):
mp3:The Beastie Boys- "The Gala Event"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

Buy the album and view the vid "The Gala Event" ovah here

Today's Brew | Feist featuring Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear lends their vocal support at a recent appearance of Feist on Late Night With Conan O'Brien.
Keep your eye on the backup vocalists, and the boys will be right there on your right, as they harmonize their way to a late night show cameo.

YouTube: Feist (featuring Grizzly Bear)- "1,2,3,4"


Feist with Grizzly Bear will be coming to LA at the end of this month to perform at the historic Wiltern Theatre. If you haven't caught either at a show, this is definitely a treat you don't want to miss. Check to see if they got tickets ovah here.

Today's Brew | Later...Editors

Editors appeared last week on Later...with Jools Holland.


YouTube: Editors "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors"(Later...with Jools Holland)


Click here for their interview-
Later: Editors Interview

From their album "An End Has a Start":
mp3: Editors-"Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

From their debut album "The Back Room":
YouTube: Editors- "Bullets" (Later...with Jools Holland)


official site: Later...with Jools Holland

official site: Editors
My Space: Editors

Late Late Night Brew | Justice

I'm a bit late in the game with this one, but just began to listen to their album...and its quite contagious.
Even P'Folk gave their latest release a nice glowing review by giving it a nice whompin' 8.4.



From their album "†":
mp3:Justice- "The Party"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

My Space: Justice

Second Cup | NPR : Rufus Wainwright

As part of the NPR Live Concert Series, they've got the two-hour operatic performance of Rufus Wainwright's from New York's Gramercy Theater, originally webcast live on NPR.org Jun. 9.

photo courtesy of Joel Didriksen for kingpinphoto.com

Click here to check out the concert and the slideshow.

From the album "Release the Stars":
mp3: Rufus Wainwright- "Do I Disappoint You?"
(YouSend: for a limited time only)

My Space: Rufus Wainwright
official site: Rufus Wainwright

Today's Brew | Axe Riverboy vs Of Montréal

This week on:

Axe Riverboy vs Of Montréal- "Care of Cell 44":

#52.1 - Axe Riverboy vs Of Montreal - Part 1
Uploaded by lablogotheque

Also check out- Part 2: Roundabout

Second Cup | PBW vs LA: 7 Day LA Tour

All this week in LA.



My previous entry about this event ovah here.

I'm attempting to attend, hopefully the bolded one below.

Day 1: Sun, June 10 The Do-Over @ Crane’s Tavern - ’80s early house
Day 2: Mon, June 11 Funkmosphere @ Carbon - ’80s rare soul & boogie
Day 3: Tue, June 12 Cinespace - ’90s hipster ironic badd covers
Day 4: Wed, June 13 Dub Club @ The Echo - ’70s dub & roots reggae 45s
Day 5: Thu, June 14 The Root Down @ Little Temple - ’80s hip-hop 45s
Day 6: Fri, June 15 Firecracker @ Grand Star - ’70s Afro-Latin & disco
Day 7: Sat, June 16 Funky Sole @ Star Shoes - ’60s deep funk 45s

Read the full LA Times article ovah here.

Today's Brew | Daytrotter: Asobi Seksu

This week on Daytrotter:


I'm sorta jumping ahead, as the fine folks at Daytrotter have their Monday session with Illinois, but Asobi Seksu is a band that we've mentioned quite a few times here at our blog.

This Thursday's Session-



mp3: Asobi Seksu- "Goodbye" (Daytrotter Session)
(courtesy of Daytrotter | YouSend: for a limited time only)

To download their other performances, visit here.

Daytrotter
My Space: Daytrotter

official site- Asobi Seksu
My Space: Asobi Seksu

Afternoon Brew | Beat Konducta

Stones Throw are at it again with an amazing track to take you right into this weekend.


From Beat Konducta vol 3. produced by Madlib (release date: August 28th):
mp3: Beat Konducta- "Masala"

for the full track, check it out ovah here.

---------------

Side note:
Guess who's coming to town for a three day show- starting this Sunday.

Today's Brew | Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Jonny from Dead Air Space (aka Radiohead's blog site) has a link to an amazing performance of

Rahsaan Roland Kirk's 'Pedal Up'.
The performance is introduced by a young Quincy Jones.

Second Cup | NPR: Boogie Woogie Flu Sufferers

Wikipedia defines "Boogie Woogie" as 'a style of piano-based blues that became very popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and was extended from piano, to three pianos at once, guitar, big band, and country and western music, and even gospel.'


(john lee hooker)

NPR's Mitch Myers takes an audio commentary tour of this interesting music genre and how its influenced what we listen to now. To check it out, visit ovah here.
YouTube: John Lee Hooker and Van Morrison- "Gloria"

Today's Brew | Okkervil River

If you haven't heard already, Will Sheff and company return with a new album to their 2005 follow up of Black Sheep Boy.



From "The Stage Names " (release date: August 7th)
mp3:Okkervil River- "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe"

For those living in the Seattle area, they'll be at: Neumos on June 10th w/ Sera Cahoone + Ghost Storiese

My previous entry about them ovah here.

My Space: Okkervil River
official site: Okkervil River

Today's Brew | Minus The Bear

The boys from Seattle are back with a new album due out this August. Earlier this year, "Interpetaciones Del Oso" was released, a remix treatment of their 2005 album "Menos El Oso".


From "Planet of Ice" (release date: August 21):
mp3: Minus the Bear- "Dr. L’Ling">

From "Interpetaciones Del Oso":
mp3: Minus the Bear- "Drilling P.O.S. Redo">

From "Menos El Oso" (2005):
mp3: Minus the Bear- "Pachuca Sunrise">

My Space: Minus The Bear
official site: Minus The Bear

Late Late Night Brew | The White Stripes

Glad to see that Jack and Meg are back...with their familiar reds.
Their new album drops on June 19th.
And if you're fortunate to have tix to their show in NYC at Madison Square Garden on July 24th. It's a great bill as Grinderman will be opening up for them.

YouTube: The White Stripes- "Icky Thump"
vid directed by: The Malloys and Jack White


official site: The White Stripes
My Space: The White Stripes

Late Night Brew | Night Visions: MOCA After Dark

For those living in the LA area, MOCA is proud to bring back the extended hours- on Saturday nights with Night Visions | MOCA After Dark

Upcoming performances this summer featuring: The Deadly Syndrome, Steve Aoki, Mexican Dubwiser, The Gray Kid, Busdriver, Midnight Movies, and many more.

For details and more info:
Nightvisions | MOCA: After Dark
My Space: MOCA

Second Cup | The Explorers Club

Dead Oceans will be releasing new material from the Explorers Club, first with a single this fall, followed by their debut album in early 2008.
One could totally dismiss the song "Last Kiss" as these guys as a Beach Boys rip-off, but the funny thing is they're not from southern California, but from the other side- Charleston, South Carolina. And finally we got music to feel good vibes again for the summer.

mp3: The Explorers Club- "Last Kiss"

My Space: The Explorers Club

Today's Brew | Editors

Their new album drops in the UK (and probably in Europe as well) on June 25th.
It'll probably take awhile for the domestic (US) release to happen.
In the meantime, check out their lil' media player with various vids, and also features their first single- Smokers Outside The Hospital Door:
++update: you might have to visit their official site- to have it loaded up to this site, yea its pretty lame...oh well.

For those who can't see the player, go visit here.

Best of '07: Half n Half

We started this tradition back in 2005, and we like to continue to maintain this as a regular part of lists we compile. Personally, I think the album art has as much weight as the actual album content. But then again, we live in different times...with digital downloads and all...that in itself is a different discussion.
Here's my list (so far from what I've seen).

According to Wikipedia, the album art cover serves three main purposes:

* To protect the record, whose grooved surface was delicate.
* To advertise the contents, as the record had little room on its own record label.
* To convey the artistic aspirations of the original artists

Here's a look at last year's half year album art list:
2006 | Half Year Edition

Here's a list of the obscure numbered list:

9.

8.

7.
YouTube: Bjork- "Earth Intruders

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.
Panda Bear “Comfy in Nautica”

1.
Menomena- "Wet And Rusting"