COLDPLAYY and other thoughts about the ACL lineup

This is a repost from my blog. Because I think everybody needs to know.

Coldplay is definitely my predominant thought about ACL. If it can even be considered a thought. It's more of an echo. That keeps echoing. Coldplaaayyy..coldplaaaaay....coooooldplaaaaay.

Colldddplaaaay

Coldplay and Kanye West will be the Friday night co-headliners. Coldplay vs. Kanye = easiest choice of my life. Now, before I start oozing over Coldplay again, I'm going to list some of the bands I'm most looking forward to or believe I will look forward to more after listening to more of their music.

In no particular order at all, possibly even a peculiar order:

1. Bright Eyes - Why? Who are Bright Eyes? I'm not the person to ask, I just like their.. Actually, no. This isn't even the band I thought it was. I was writing about the Local Natives, who performed at ACL last year. I like their song Gorilla Manor. The Local Natives' song, that is.

2. Old Crow Medicine Show - I haven't actually listened to them either, but they participated in the Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford and Sons and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, so they have to be cool, right?

3. My Morning Jacket - I will definitely be checking these guys out. I'm Amazed played on the radio frequently a few years ago, and every time I hear it, I'm reminded of the good old days when I still rode horses (before I fell and broke my arm..). I can picture myself listening to it inside my mom's car at Sonic, waiting for my limeaide to be delivered. Oh yes.

4. Alison Krauss and Union Station - I had no idea who Krauss was until she released that famous album, Raising Sands, with Robert Plant, who was the vocalist for Led Zeppelin when he was young. Great album. Gone Gone Gone is a pretty cool song with a friggin hilarious music video. Oh, you funny middle-aged musicians.

5. Cee Lo Green - For one reason only. "Forget" You. Watch it.

6. Iron and Wine - They're lovely. Really. And if anyone has Iron and Wine CDs they'd like to lend me, go ahead, if you know who I am. If not, I'll frequent the library and Half-Price over the summer. Well, I'll do that anyway. Have a beautiful sample here, listen to Naked As We Come.

Samuel Beam, a.k.a. Iron and Wine.

Also (as a sidenote, because I'm not yet a devout listener to any of these bands)~ The Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, and Broken Social Scene (a Canadian indie rock band) will be performing as well, not to mention the tens of other bands I haven't mentioned.

These bands are not the extent of my interest, but I am neither willing nor do I have time to write about all of the bands that even remotely appeal to me. So, those are the big highlights in my mind. What do you think?

~ OMO

EZine does karaoke -- the sequel

Music fest POLL!

A(ctually) C(aught) a L(icense)

That is, I actually got three-day passes for ACL! They went on sale at 10:00 a.m. today, and they sold out in less than 120 minutes. After an agonizing wait online, many unfourtunates discovered that the tickets were already gone. But no worries, there are still single day passes that will be available on May 17. The festival lineup may be released on that date as well.

For the past few years, ACL has been held in October, a nice time of year for avoiding the sweltering Texas heat. However, this year, ACL has reverted to its original date in September. This change brings back memories of dripping sweat, dehydration, and blistering sun beams. But it's all worth it to hang out on the Zilker lawn and listen to live music for three days straight.

The Austin City Limits Music Fest location

~ OMO

OMO is one jealous octopus

Guess who is seeing Mumford and Sons tomorrow.

Wait, no, don't guess. I wouldn't want to strain your imagination, because good writers should never directly ask their readers to imagine anything at all. Not that I'm claiming to be a good writer.

My mom is going to the Railroad Revival Tour Mumford and Sons concert . Without me.

I am seething with jealousy.

But at least she's getting me a shirt.

Sulkingly yours,
OMO

Also -- Have a song.

dancing on mah bed with the ceiling fan on

...to a vinyl copy of a 1965 Beatles compilation.

Most fun activity for a Monday night, am I right?



--IBI

You could help build a well in Ghana!

The Watersong Project was born out of one woman's desire to help Africans lacking regular access to clean water. Karen Strange, the founder, began this project several years ago. She combined her interest in humanitarian aid with her interest in classical music to create the Watersong Project. 

Ghanaians struggle to find clean water sources.

Strange held a benefit concert in 2009, featuring several professional musicians, to aid efforts to drill a well in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her first endeavor to help people living in the DRC was successful; the concert raised enough money to build a well for a Congolese community. The second event occurred in 2010 and was equally successful. With the collections from this concert, she raised enough money to drill a well in Ghana. The third concert took place on April 9th 2011, which was last Saturday. The proceeds from this concert have not been revealed yet, because it happened so recently. If it's as successful as the previous performances, however, another Ghanaian community will have a new well to look forward to.

Many performers have stuck with the project through all three events. Strange herself sings a few songs for each concert. There have been slight variations in the groups of performers. In the most recent two performances, there have been a few students musicians included in the mix. I was fortunate enough to be asked to perform in the 2011 Watersong Project.

Though this specific opportunity to help build a well has passed, the Watersong Project accepts donations at any time. The benefits concerts are shaping up to be an annual event, so mark your calendar for April 2012 if you're interested.

Democratic Republic of the Congo, courtesy of UMCOR

~ OMO

leading on your... feature.

Photos by Sam Javanrouh, who I really ought to email asking if I can use his photos so much.
NB: I haven't actually transcribed my interview all the way through, so these quotes might not be exactly worded. That'll be fixed in a couple days at the latest.


One--descriptive

There's always music playing in Waterloo Records, at just the right level for listening, loud enough so you can't hear the other shoppers and quiet enough to concentrate. Four employees stand near the cash registers, chatting while their eyes casually follow the few customers milling about, working their way through the near-endless rows of CDs and LPs. The air is lightly scented with the smell of vinyl, new and old. It's a music fan's nirvana.
"I've wanted this job since I was a teenager," Matt says, scanning the store fondly. Now in his thirties, Matt is the manager of Waterloo Records.

King Street East at Ontario

Two--descriptive also 

All of Waterloo Records is divided into two parts. 
Wander through door, the logo hand-painted onto the glass. In one half of the store, rows and rows of CDs sit with their titles exposed. Pieces of blue paper flag employee picks with hand-written descriptions and recommendations. On the other, rows of LPs rest in their dust covers. Some sit in racks, some in bins. The smell of vinyl compliments the music pipped throughout the store. It's a homey sort of place, especially to the music lovers who have flocked the store since it opened in '82.

Sherbourne Queen Pedestrians Crossing

Three--direct quote

"Nirvana played here, too, over where the cash registers are. It was packed." Matt, a thirty-something-year-old music fanatic and manager of Waterloo Records, indicates a corner of the store with a wave. It's easy to see he loves his store as much as the music collection it contains. Rows upon rows of CDs and LPs sit arranged by genre, artist, employee preference and price, creating a maze of music punctuated with DVDs, hats, and kitchen utensils shaped like guitars. Music and the scent of vinyl fill the air, while music lovers are scattered across the floor. 

 

Adelaide Princess

So yeah. Comment or whatever.

'Kay thanks bye.

Literaturely yours,

IBI

What? New Radiohead album?

Maybe it's old news to some of you that Radiohead released a new album on February 18th. I'm not sure how this could have slipped by, but over a month after its release, I, OMO, finally discovered The King of Limbs. While I listen to the iTunes song previews for this album (because I just bought the new Strokes CD and have no money to spend on another album), I will fill everybody in on some random facts and other information, be it factual or otherwise, regarding Radiohead.

Album art for The King of Limbs

This eight-track album is Radiohead's eighth. Their career as a band was launched in 1992 with the release of the hit song, "Creep". It was recently featured in a movie about the creation of Facebook, called The Social Network. Radiohead has become known for their soul-wrenching, electronic-ish, spacey sound.

Here is a link to their most recent website, if you wish to learn more about them. They seem to make websites on an album to album basis, but this is their current site. And if you want to seem them live, good luck, because they have no tour dates posted, as of today.

As I listen to the previews, I am noticing that the songs sound very reminiscent of past releases. Even so, from the ninety second bits of each song iTunes allows me to access, it seems as though Radiohead has taken some of their best work and melded it together, like a conglomeration of the most stirring, riveting parts of each album. It takes me back to the times when I would constantly listen to this band. I'm not sure what happened and why I stopped following releases of Radiohead so closely, but this album sounds very promising and is pretty much guaranteed to reinstate my love of their music.

Also, for all the Radiohead fans out there, if you did not know, Thom Yorke, who sings for Radiohead, released a solo album (this was a while back) that you should definitely check out if you haven't already. And, another note on websites: Yorke's website for his album, The Eraser, has the most transfixing introductory video. 

Album art for The Eraser

Take a short break from the toils of daily life and expose yourself to the dreamy music of Radiohead. Here is a music video for "Lotus Flower," one of the tracks on the new album. I absolutely love the music video that was paired with it, although I understand why some people think it is silly. The absurdity is what draws me to this video, and to Radiohead in general.

"Lotus Flower"- Radiohead

~ OMO

IBI's Official Stance on "Friday"

Indie Music... From Sweden?

I love foreign music. Also, because I am SUCH a hipster (BAHAHAHAHAHAHA), I like indie music. And because I'm an even BIGGER hipster (teehee), I like indie music from foreign countries. My latest prey?

After being asked on this website that I read if I liked Swedish underground folk music (after claiming that I liked most genres, and I would like to be challenged so I can discover more music), I went to Wikipedia for musical suggestions. There, I learned of a Mr. José Gonzáles, a folk musician from Sweden that is of Argentinian decent. After wandering around wikipedia for a little while longer, I found "Taken By Tress," the solo project of Victoria Bergsman, former lead singer of The Concretes.

I was very surprised when I went and listened to Taken By Trees because she sings in English, as do most Swedish artists, apparently. Here are two of the songs that I like. They aren't the best lyrics, but I like the style of music and her voice that come from this wonderful country.

You may not like them all that much... but I'm a hipster so I do.

LOVE,

The Swedish Estonian Jumping Elephant

Torchwood

Two things I promise now:

1. Torchwood can be connected in a relevant manner to a music and art magazine.
2. Torchwood isn't entirely full of suck. It does have some redeeming factors. 
3. And a third, three for the price of two--This post is at a Doctor Who-appropriateness level, not a Torchwood level.

Alrighty then.

For those of you who don't know, Torchwood is a spinoff series of Doctor Who. If you don't know what Doctor Who is... Just... Just Google it... And don't tell me... It would be mean to ruin someone's day that way.

Also for those of you who don't know,

≠

Isn't that a lovely logo. The Torchwood one, I mean. Everybody knows the Doctor Who logo is beautiful.

The best explanation of the differences I've been able to formulate:
Doctor Who - The Doctor + more companions, sex and guns = Torchwood

It's lots of sex and aliens. And guns.

But. It also has had a surprisingly good response from critics!

Okay, so maybe that's a lie. Mostly it had a surprisingly good response from fans, who are really the only thing that is keeping the series going*. It's sort of amazing, the power of a fan base, especially one on the scale of the Doctor Who fandom.

I did find one particularly positive review, though! The... The Daily Record (I assume they're a British paper, though I've never heard of them--maybe they're something like the Telegraph) said of it, "the show is truly fabulous. John Barrowman is first-class as Jack, while the whole set up of characters should lend itself to some great adventures. A two thumbs up, five-star, 10 out of 10, gold-encrusted hit".

Isn't that lovely.

(It got better reviews as it bravely put-put-putted along.)

But but but it also some important themes and questions, such as making difficult choices and homosexuality; who deserves to live and who gets to choose; trust and death and everything in between. If you look hard enough, it's in there!

More importantly, it has some great music featured. (Told you I could make it connect.)

Credit goes to torchwoodguide.co.uk for lists of featured music for every episode (also, all of the times something logic fails and a series known as "Captain Jack's Large Weapon").

Anyway. Torchwood music, a splattering from across the series, including some that's actually on the soundtrack (thought not necessarily my favourites which I couldn't find on demand) and thus isn't nearly as fun to hear randomly in the middle of the show**. Have fun.

Scientifically yours,
IBI









We love you, Owen! And by "we" I mean mostly myself, as everyone else thinks you're an asshole and Jack's theme is a million times more badass!







*Seriously, not even kidding--it's the great ratings in a graveyard slot that have Torchwood running a fourth season. It's primarily set in Los Angeles. I'm not going to comment on that. Except to go cry in a corner about why they had to blow up the fabulous building in Cardiff, because even Cardiff, Wales is better than setting the show in Los Angeles. 
**Though not as distracting as suddenly realising, "I know this song!" when they're in a bar and pausing to make sure iTunes or Pandora or whatever isn't playing just to go, "Woah, it's MUSIC in a TV SHOW!" and I'll stop rambling now.

Free early shows rock

Like many other Austinites and touristy folks, I was very eager to listen to some music at SXSW this year. However, my mom is predisposed to hating SXSW purely because of the thousands of visitors that pour into Austin annually. Fortunately, my dad was willing to take me to see a few bands. 

We left the house at 8:00 in the morning, headed for the free KUT-sponsored shows at the fancy Hilton hotel in downtown Austin. When we arrived, we found a small stage surrounded by about thirty cushioned chairs. It was thirty minutes before the first band was scheduled to play, and only three chairs were occupied (Interestingly enough, I found my sixth grade English teacher seated in one of these chairs.) These early shows are obviously not for the people who like to stay out late partying and head-banging to the sound of grinding guitars and crashing drums.

The first performer, singer/songwriter Bobby Long, played at an eye-opening (or maybe eye-closing) 9:00 am. He just released his debut album in February, and is visiting Austin from his current location in NYC.  I really enjoyed Long's music and have been listening to it in various YouTube videos constantly since (I've yet to purchase the album, titled A Winter Tale.). Watching him perform was priceless. Long is very expressive while singing and his guitar-playing was absolutely amazing.

Bobby Long, performing "Dead and Done."

Also, about the videos: I'm a total amateur with video cameras. A) This was probably the first time I've used one. So, I apologize for shakiness and everything else, B) I did not have a tripod, and, being seated in the second row, had to hold my camera above the fat heads of the people in the first row and C) There was a very large speaker blocking part of the stage, so for the next two bands, I was unable to film both band members well. Again, sorry. But hey, at least you can hear the music!

The second band, The Old 97's, was extremely energetic. I enjoyed watching them because the fun they were having while performing traveled from their music to the audience (though we were all tamely seated). I recorded a video of their performance of "Time Bomb," which will hopefully be attached below.

The Old 97's performing "Time Bomb."

Tristen, the third band to perform at the Hilton, was a great finale for the morning music. Though more subdued than the Old 97's (who obviously don't understand the concept of apostrophes not making things plural), Tristen was just as enthralling as Bobby Long. The band recently released its debut album in February as well. It's titled Charlatans at the Garden Gate, and I'll provide a link to the band's website here. Below is a video of Tristen performing "Heart and Hope to Die."

Tristen performing "Heart and Hope to Die."

~ OMO      

SXSW and FREE MUSIC

South by is here. And with it, tens of thousands of extra people flooding downtown, and COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF MUSIC.

I cannot tell you how broke I want to be by the end of this week, mostly from spending all my money on busses, trailer food, music and possibly the occasional pedicap, if my feet are really killing me.

In hopes that not everyone will go broke, however (or may go broke all the faster), I have set out to compile some Free Music.

No promises on quality. I don't think I'd include anything that awful, but, well, some of it is just funny, and everyone has different tastes and all.

First up, some from Paper Garden Records. They've got seven and a half hours of free music the 17th and 18th with RSVP (can't find if it's all ages, but it is sort of a wine bar--bring an adult).

Pretty folky, chill stuff. Step above coffeehouse music. But it is also free.

The Lovely Hearts Club SXSW 2011 Mixtape by Paper Garden Records

Next, a step up on the scale. Intercept has a pretty freaking awesome website, which, more importantly, has a free download link for a song.

This song, in fact.



Also, it has a line about London in it. Which automatically means it wins just a bit more.

Get the free single here (might have to close the banner--congrats, Camilla Luddington, whoever you are!).

And last but certainly not least for this evening's post, a lovely little band I found which I will definitely need to stalk this coming weekend... The Bloody Irish Boys.






They, I think, rank as at least two steps above Intercept on the sliding scale of screaming.

Get some music here, I s'pose, if you want*.


Musically yours,
IBI




*Never play it in my presence or I will bloody kill you. This is a joke, ya'hear?

So what's happening March 22?

This is going to be my first weekly rambling. This week, it happens to be vaguely related to The Strokes. If I am able, I will attempt to connect the end of my rambling to the beginning, but I may or may not be successful. So, to begin, March 22 is the release date of ANGLES!

Many people believe that the Strokes will be hard-pressed to live up to the legacy left behind by Is This It and Room on Fire, but from various clips I've seen, it appears to possess the same sort of strokiness (The only reason this would be valuable information at all is if anyone doubts the consistency of the band members' identities).

I personally don't think albums should be judged by how much "better" they are compared to previous albums. New albums dabble in bits of the unknown because musicians can't be successful if they continue recycling the vibes of old albums. It would create a stagnant pool of music if musicians tried to make new albums as similar to previously released ones as possible. In an interview with the British magazine, Fashion Music Style, Simon Neil of the Scottish band Biffy Clyro, says "I would rather that [our fans] hated Only Revolutions or Puzzle than we try to re-make an old album," in reference to two of the band's albums.

Photo credit: ClashMusic

A lot of really great albums result from experimenting with new techniques without regard for how fans will react. To wrap up this rambling by talking about the Strokes again, I'll first tell you to check out Julian Casablancas' (the Strokes' vocalist) debut solo album, Phrazes for the Young, because it is ridiculously great.

And second, comment if you saw the Strokes at ACL last year, because though I was there, I'm not really sure what to think about Julian Casablancas, who was wearing sunglasses after the sun set and could not see past the front of the stage..

~ OMO

Also - Here's a video of the single they've already released from the album.

Sam Hart!

I really know very little about Sam Hart. He just isn't famous enough to have easily-found information about himself floating around on the internet. He puts videos of his songs on YouTube. He sings (without autotuning!), he plays guitar and he writes his own songs. It's amazing how that's so special today. Check him out here, playing "Still My Dream".

I first found out about Sam Hart with Clyde. A couple of guys were pressured into playing a song for a small crowd, of which we were a part. After finding a guitar in a closet or a car somewhere, they began playing "Still My Dream". I've been hooked to Sam Hart YouTube playlists ever since. I love all his songs, serious or not so much (You're A Zombie Now). Some seem superficially silly and innocent, but there are always threads of truth weaved throughout.

I'm not the best at explaining music in words, it just doesn't make much since. So, the only solution to this is for you to go to YouTube and search Sam Hart* (You won't be very successful if you look at iTunes; they've only released one of his songs).

~OMO

*Sam Hart posts his videos with the username blinktwice4y.

I can post on here? What? The EJE's first rant about life!

After reading other posts, I have discovered that WE CAN POST RANDOM BLOG POSTS ON HERE! Amazing, isn't it? So, I have decided that I will rant on here... I mean, fill the audience with musical information that will totally prove useful.

Have you ever attempted to write a song? It doesn't matter if it was serious or not. If you have, you'd know... IT'S REALLY HARD. I have been all angtsy and teenagerish recently because... well... I'm a teenage girl who is sad. And because I am so... awesome... I am filled with angry lyrics and I hate poetry with a passion. So what do I resort to? Banging on the piano trying to come out with something that doesn't sound like poop. And then I tried picking up my guitar to play sad songs that were already written to find that if I played a D chord, it would sound like crap. So I tuned my guitar to find it was pretty much perfect. SO I tried again, and once again, I failed. I kept thinking, "OMG how am I going to be angsty teen who puts her angry/sad/ohemgee-I-cannot-believe-you feelings into songs if I can't play a freaking D chord?!" I figured out that if I was trying to play whatever note the third fret on the B string is (which happens to be in the D chord), it would fail.

So I went back to the piano, pressed out some notes that I was able to sing, and wrote some angry lyrics. Then, I locked them away where no one can find them except for the one girl who knows my password. Now the world will never hear them, unless I become some internationally acclaimed superstar. Then I'll release my terrible song that was written because I didn't feel any angry song accurately described my sadness.

Thank you for possibly reading my rant before my group members take this down! (If they choose to.) Also, don't judge me because I can't play any instruments and I like to write crappy songs when I'm angry -.-

- The Estonian Jumping Elephant