Filed under: Movie Music | Tags: Queens of the Stone Age, the Raconteurs, Deerhunter, The Dead Weather, Karen O, Where the Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Services, New Folk Implosion
The Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack dropped from DCG/Interscope on September 9th.
When Spike Jonze set out to recreate Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, he enlisted the help of ex-girlfriend Karen O, vocalist for the Brooklyn-based garage punk group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. To put the record together, she recruited the likes of bandmates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, Tristan Bechet from Services, Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age, Bradford Cox from Deerhunter, Jack Lawrence from The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs, and Imaad Wasif from New Folk Implosion. The supergroup was then born under the namesake Karen O and the Kids.
Along with her troupe of contributors, Karen O managed to translate Jonze’s vision of escape from adulthood exquisitely well into the film’s soundtrack. The product is an auditory masterpiece that features a depth that perfectly supports and complements Jonze’s creative vision. (more…)
Filed under: Issue 19, Issue 19 Reviews | Tags: Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, Bradford Cox, Deerhunter, Laetitia Sadiera, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel, Logos, Mediafire, Microcastle, Noah Lennox, Panda Bear, Stereolab, The Dovers, Weird Era Cont.
Atlas Sound's Logos
WE GIVE IT: 15/20 Watts
MEDIA: Check out our Atlas Sound PODCAST
Last August, Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound, Deerhunter) accidentally released an unfinished version of Logos on his Mediafire account. He debated scrapping the project altogether after the unintentional leak, cursing the interwebs with “fuck this shit. I can just make another album. It’s not finished and now it never will be.”
It’s safe to assume that Cox has since forgiven us — he did, after all, complete this album. Now the question becomes whether diehard fans will forgive him for the major style changes on this LP. (more…)
Filed under: Issue 19, Issue 19 Reviews | Tags: Atlas Sound, Bradford Cox, Deerhunter, Logos
WE GIVE IT: 17/20
REVIEW: Read our full review HERE
Atlas Sound’s Bradford Cox (Deerhunter) decided to release Logos a year after its premature, accidental leak. In this podcast, 20 Watts’ Ryan McManus discusses the album and how it diverges from Cox’s previous work. Read Ryan’s full review here.
– Ryan McManus and Irina Dvalidze
Filed under: Features | Tags: Times New Viking, No Age, Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Yo La Tengo, The Velvet Underground, Vivian Girls, My Bloody Valentine, Wavves, Dinosaur Jr., Japandroids, a place to bury strangers, Flipper, The Shop Assistants, Daydream Nation, Archers of Loaf, Helium, Mercury Rev
PREVIEW: Download 20 Watts’ NOISE POP MIX on Mediafire
The “noise pop” label was essentially created by music journalists who couldn’t describe what The Jesus and Mary Chain were getting at in the 1980s. With their pristine pop song structures and messy punk rock aesthetic, the Scottish four-piece took rock in a direction it hadn’t gone before. And as the current popularity of noisy, feedback-heavy bands like No Age, Japandroids and Vivian Girls suggests, neither fans nor musicians have looked back since.
So what’s the very best in noise pop? 20 Watts’ ERIC VILAS-BOAS has the answer in our fourth 20 installment. Watch for new 20s each Thursday, only on 20 Watts, and check out our previous 20s below!
Filed under: News of Note | Tags: All Tomorrow's Parties, Animal Collective, ATP, Beyonce, Bradford Cox, Cosmic Egg, Deerhunter, hiatus, Jim Carroll, Jim Carroll Band, John Cale, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Lou Reed, MGMT, MTV, Panda Bear, Pearl Jam, Ratatat, Sigur Ros, Stephen Colbert, Taylor Swift, The Flaming Lips, Tiesto, VMAs, Wolfmother, you belong to me
Kanye's drama queen antics rained on Taylor's parade
PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Taylor Swift’s “You Belong to Me” MP3
When Taylor Swift won Female Video of the Year at last night’s VMAs for “You Belong to Me,” egomaniac Kanye West just had to have the last word. Interrupting her special moment, the rapper hopped on stage, grabbed the mic, and announced that Beyonce better deserved the award for “Single Ladies.” Cameras cut to Beyonce, who could be seen mouthing “Kaannyee” in as much surprise and disgust as the audience. Taylor was left speechless and was escorted off the stage. When Beyonce won Video of the Year later in the night, she invited Taylor back onstage. Kanye later insincerely apologized via his blog. His outburst has already led to parodies like this one. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: To Celebrate Kanye West's New Book, A Compilation of Genius Kanye-isms]
SPIN gives readers the best and worst of New York’s All Tomorrow’s Parties this past weekend. Participants included The Flaming Lips, Panda Bear, Animal Collective and Deerhunter, amongst many others. One of the most notable moments however, was not of the musical variety. Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox announced mid-set that the band will be going on hiatus, effective immediately, to work on other projects. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: 20 Watts Reviews The Flaming Lips' "Silver Trembling Hands"]
Wolfmother paid a visit to SPIN’s NYC office to chat with the magazine, and play a few songs, which were captured on video here. Among them were two older tracks, one off of the upcoming Cosmic Egg and a Neil Young cover. Some may recognize the band from the (500) Days of Summer and Spider-man 3 soundtracks, respectively. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: 20 Watts Reviews (500) Days of Summer OST]
Pitchfork and The New York Times reports that Jim Carroll died of a heart attack in his apartment on Friday. Carroll is most renowned for penning 1978 Basketball Diaries, but he was also a poet and musician as the frontman of the influential punk rock band, the Jim Carroll Band. He has worked with artists such as Lou Reed, Pearl Jam, and John Cale. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: Beck Covers The Velvet Underground]
The Flaming Lips will appear on “The Colbert Report” this Wednesday, September 16, Pitchfork reports. The band will likely perform a song from their latest album, Embryonic, as well as chat with Stephen. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: 20 Watts Reviews The Flaming Lips' "Silver Trembling Hands"]
In a new interview with Eyeweekly.com, Andy Rourke, former bassist of The Smiths, stated that he was fired from the band by a note left on his car by Morrissey. Denying the claims, Morrissey said this wasn’t the first time Rourke has perpetuated this story. “It is a recurring comment whereby Andy confirms that his dismissal from The Smiths was made via a handwritten postcard from me telling Andy, ‘You have left The Smiths’,” Morrissey said. “If such a postcard ever existed, it is likely that an unfunny stunt was played on Andy by someone attempting Morrissey-scrawl — easily done.” Morrissey will kick off a fall European tour in October. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: 20 Watts Reviews (500) Days of Summer OST]
Pitchfork premieres the latest Tiesto track, which features Sigur Ros’ Jonsi Birgisson. The seven-and-a-half minute “Kaleidoscope” is off his forthcoming full-length album due to hit stores October 20. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: 20 Watts Reviews Jonsi and Alex's Riceboy Sleeps (Sigur Ros Side Project)]
According to Stereogum, Kid Cudi performed “Pursuit of Happiness” on the Late Show with David Letterman this past Friday night. Backed by snappily dressed backup singers, a string section and Ratatat, who appear on the album version of the song along with MGMT, the performance was a great success. Letterman praised it as having “a lot going on there” and endorsed the album. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: News of Note: Pitchfork Posts New Kid Cudi Song]
– 20 Watts Staff
Filed under: Editor Picks | Tags: All Tomorrow's Parties New York, Animal Collective, Asthmatic Kitty, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Cryptacize, Deerhunter, Music Hall of Williamsburg, sufjan stevens, The Bowery Ballroom, The Flaming Lips
A Sufjan tour coming to a coffee shop near you
PREVIEW: Download Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago” MP3
Indie-folk god Sufjan Stevens announced today that he would be embarking on an exceptionally intimate fall tour in parts of Canada and the Eastern United States. The tour kicks off at All Tomorrow’s Parties New York, in Monticello, NY, and while that, admittedly isn’t too tiny a venue (also showcasing The Flaming Lips, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Deerhunter, and Animal Collective, among others), the rest of them on the itinerary, like the Music Hall of Williamsburg or the Bowery Ballroom in NYC and Castaways in Ithaca, are.
At these smaller shows, Sufjan will be supported by Asthmatic Kitty labelmates Cryptacize, whose latest album dropped earlier this year. Here’s a full list of the venues they’ll be hitting:
09/12 Monticello, NY @ ATP New York
09/21 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
09/22 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
09/23 Ithaca, NY @ Castaways
09/24 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
09/25 Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
09/26 Champaign, IL @ The High Dive
09/27 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
09/28 Madison, WI @ The Majestic
09/29 Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk Chumley
10/01 Toronto, Ontario @ Lee’s Place
10/02 Montreal, Quebec @ Cabaret
10/03 Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
10/04 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/05 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/06 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/07 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
– Eric Vilas-Boas, Production Editor
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple Inc., Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Bradford Cox, Comic-Con, Dave Eggers, Deerhunter, Karen O, Maurice Sendak, new moon, Spike Jonze, Squeak-E Clean, The Playlist, Wake Up, Where the Wild Things Are, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Karen O scores Where the Wild Things Are
PREVIEW: Download Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” on Mediafire
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: EDITORS PICK 146: Thom Yorke And Bon Iver Soundtrack New Moon, (500) Days of Summer OST, Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack, Top 10 Movie Soundtracks, Editors Pick Soundtracks 1 and 2
It’s been a pretty intense week for indie music fans. News of today’s most respected artists lending their talents to the big screen has been popping up all over the place. The bombshell that Bon Iver may be contributing to the New Moon soundtrack sent shockwaves through the crowds, and left most of his fans surprised, to say the least.
More importantly, though, reports emerged this weekend from the most unexpected venue. During Comic-Con in San Diego, the crowd was given a taste of what’s speculated to be the soundtrack to the much-awaited Spike Jonze masterpiece Where The Wild Things Are. (more…)
Filed under: Releases of the Week | Tags: Atlas Sound, Bradford Cox, Deerhunter, Noah Lennox, Panda Bear, Pitchfork
Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound) and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) combine forces to create gold
PREVIEW: “Walkabout” – Atlas Sound ft. Noah Lennox at Pitchfork
Normally, I’m understandably jaded when it comes to blogging hype regarding new tracks/leaked tracks from any artist, but this morning, after giving a second listen to the new collaboration between indie/experimental heavy-hitters Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox of Deerhunter fame) and Noah Lennox (i.e. Panda Bear), I’m blown away. I think we can all assume that the combined brand power of these two is probably enough to make it a huge single anyways, but there’s definitely something to be said for the songcraft at work here.
Using a broken up sample of swirling guitars and keys, the two launch into a slab of awesome garage pop that also manages to thread in Lennox’s softly floating vocals and Cox’s penchant for ambient soundscapes. Pitchfork just named it a “Best New Track,” so check it out, but be warned: it’s pretty dang catchy.
–Dan Creahan
Filed under: Editor Picks, Scene Around Town | Tags: Beach House, Cake, Dan Deacon, Deerhunter, Dirty Projectors, Girl Talk, Grizzly Bear, HEALTH, Max Tundra, No Age, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I swear this is my last mentioning of Dirty Projectors. I apologize for the cluster of posts about them, but this is important. This will be the last one for a while.
The Dirty Projectors show at the Williamsburg Waterfront on July 19th in Brooklyn is FREE!! The opening act is a band called Magnolia Electric Co.
I was going to go to this anyway, but hey, all the more reasons to go now.
This venue is apparently new this summer and has a stacked schedule full of free concerts:
-HEALTH, July 26th
-Dan Deacon, No Age + Deerhunter, Aug. 2
-Girl Talk + Max Tundra, Aug. 23rd
-Grizzly Bear + Beach House, Aug. 30th
The venue is the East River Park between North Eighth and North Ninth Streets.
If you’re in the city for the summer, these shows have to be a must. This is blowing my mind! Read up!
The best free shows I’ve ever seen are: Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Cake.
–Jett Wells
I’m a huge Deerhunter fan. I’ve seen them 5 times now, and every single time has been amazing. Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs once claimed that their live show was a “spiritual experience.” I’d agree. Nothing can really compare to their live performance, but here’s a taste of what it’s like from Noise Pop 2009. Turn it up.
- Tuan Le, Co-Reviews Editor
