Filed under: Issue 21 | Tags: Best Coast, Diplo, Elkland, Fleet Foxes, Goat Explosion, HEALTH, Horse Shoes, Joy Division, Kanye West, Local Natives, Mark Ronson, Morrissey, My Morning, No Age, PJ Harvey, Sam Sparro, The Drums, The Fader, The Ruby Suns, The Wake, Theophilus London, Toro Y Moi, Whitney Houston, Wilco
20 Watts show you the five bands you need to know now: Best Coast, Toro y Moi, Theophilus London, The Drums and Local Natives
Part of 20 Watts’ Issue 21 Coverage!
PREVIEWS: CLICK on the links to check the bands’ MySpaces!
Best Coast [photo above]
Bethany Cosentino, a.k.a. Best Coast, began recording demos in her bedroom after spending time in Brooklyn, N.Y, and pining for the laid-back southern California life she once knew. Soon after leaving Brooklyn, Cosentino recruited fellow Californian Bobb Bruno, who had opened for indie veterans Wilco and PJ Harvey, to help with the project.
While Best Coast were gaining attention and praise from indie music blogs and topping the list of Hype Machine’s “Most Blogged Artists,” many were skeptical as to how long Best Coast could stick around. With hipster beach pop on the rise, most assumed Best Coast was just another (more…)
Filed under: 20 Watts Radio | Tags: a place to bury strangers, Bearplane, Daft Punk, Devendra Banhart, Dirty Projectors, Discovery, DJ Consequence, El Perro del Mar, Magnet ft Gemma Hayes, Matt and Kim, Neon Indian, Neutral Milk Hotel, Nouvelle Vague, Phoenix, Portugal. The Man, Ra Ra Riot, Radiohead, Rilo Kiley, School of Seven Bells, Starfucker, Stephen Babcock, The Album Leaf, The Flaming Lips, The Magnetic Fields, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Temper Trap, Tiny Vipers, Vampire Weekend, Wilco
20 WATTS RADIO: THURSDAY Feb 18th ON AUDIOCANDY
Listen: Download the full show right here
Preview: Make sure you check out Audiocandyradio.com
It is Thursday night and 20 Watts Radio is on Audiocandy. Make sure you tune in and don’t miss out on our great selection of awesome tunes. We have some cool news happening at 20 Watts you simply cant miss. We are gonna give you a run down on some local shows that will be happening this weekend. Also, today most of the 20 Watts staff is sitting in on a massive production meeting, making our lovely blog impeccably ready for the transition to our forthcoming official web page. So to make their night of hard work a little more fun, we will be playing some of staff favorites on top of the best local music here in Cuse. Not to mention if you wanna request a song, all you need to do it tweet at you host here. So make sure to join 20 Watts on Auodiocandy 10 pm sharp. To tune in Click Here.
Filed under: Genre Columns, Indie Rock, Music Theory | Tags: Alex Turner, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Bob Dylan, cousins, Crown of Love, EP, Fleet Foxes, Funeral, humbug, Led Zeppelin, MySpace, Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Neon Bible, Pete Doherty, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Rubblebucket, Sun Giant, The Beatles, The Libertines, Up The Bracket, Vampire Weekend, Wake Up, Whatever People Say I Am That Is What I Am Not, Wilco, YouTube
With bands like Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys making mediocre follow-up albums, will the same happen to Fleet Foxes?
Vampire Weekend just came out with a new single “Cousins” — and what a disappointing pile of shit! You’d figure that after making their debut album with so many great tunes, they’d be bound to make a more brilliant follow-up album. Unfortunately, with “Cousins” it sounds like the sun just rose on a Monday morning for this skeleton crew. To be fair, Vampire Weekend are not the only band that seem to be facing this problem. Throughout the decade a whole lot of new Indie bands with brilliant debut albums have been popping up—where they have barely been able to create a worthy-enough follow up.
The list goes on and on with bands and artists that got their big break this decade on both sides of the pond. In Britain, bands like The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys each released debut albums that were universally adored by critics and new fans alike: Up The Bracket and Whatever People Say I Am, That Is What I Am Not—the latter of which is currently the UK’s fastest-selling debut album (note: Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle recently topped this accolade with her I Dreamed a Dream album). Nevertheless, these two bands–led by the apparent songwriting genius’ Pete Doherty and Alex Turner – never seem to have been able to top their debuts with their later works. (more…)
Filed under: News of Note | Tags: Annie, Arthur Russell, Blue Rodeo, Broken Social Scene, Carly Simon, Corb Lund, David Boies, Grizzly Bear, Iron & Wine, Joan As Policewoman, Joel Plaskett, K'naan, Laurie Anderson, Lil Wayne, Martha Wainwright, News of Note, Raditude, Ron Sexsmith, Smalltown Supersound, Starbucks, stars, Steve Earle, Sun Kil Moon, Weezer, Wilco
Carly Simon sues Starbucks
Not only will Canada be hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic Games to show off their pristine, snow covered hills and universal healthcare, but they’ll also be throwing some of Canada’s most famous indie acts on stage during the games, reports Stereogum. From February 12-28, expect to see Broken Social Scene, K’Naan, Stars, Joel Plaskett, Steve Earle, Laurie Anderson, Martha Wainwright, Blue Rodeo, Iron & Wine, Corb Lund, Ron Sexsmith, Joan As Policewoman, and Sun Kil Moon featured. Wilco has also been confirmed to play at an Olympic event at Vancouver’s David Lam Park. Apparently, the Olympics will also be taking place at some point between all of the performances.
Carly Simon will be teaming up with high-profile attorney David Boies in a suit that she will be filing against coffee empire Starbucks, reports RS. Simon claims that Starbucks is to blame for the disappointing sales of her new album, This Kind of Love. Sales of the record numbered about 124,000, which Simon claims is due in part to mismanagement and poor promotion of the record on Starbucks’ end. Simon was looking to have this record support an early retirement, but due to the monetary concerns presented by the album’s flop, it seems like retirement may be out of the question at the moment. Looks as though she may have to remain for the time being as a “working girl”.
Fear not, Weezer fans. The long-anticipated release of Weez’s Raditude, which is scheduled for October 27th, is fast approaching. If you can’t wait that long, though, we’ve got good news. The album is now available for preview on iTunes in 30-second clips, which may not seem like much to some. Don’t worry. It gets the job done. RS reminds fans to check out “Can’t Stop Partying”, their collaboration with rap giant Lil Wayne. Weezy and Weezer? Sounds like a match made in promotional heaven.
Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor has been hard at work with his solo project, CANT. Not only did he appear on Monday’s episode of the Tonight Show, but also released his project’s first single, entitled Ghosts. The track is backed up by the unreleased “Come to Life” from minimalist Arthur Russell, as reported by Pitchfork. Check it out here.
Scandinavian pop icon Annie has been met with nothing but trouble regarding the release of her second album, entitled Don’t Stop. After braving a gauntlet of blown release dates and a deluge of leaks of the album, she’ll finally be releasing the album with Smalltown Supersound on November 17, says Pitchfork. Check out her latest single, “I Don’t Like Your Band”.
– John Luposello
Filed under: Releases of the Week | Tags: 7 Worlds Collide, album reviews, Jeff Tweedy, Johnny Marr, Neil Finn, Radiohead, Releases of the Week, Wilco
7 Worlds Collide delivers a quality two-disc effort for charity
PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD 7 Worlds Collide’s “Too Blue” MP3
WE GIVE IT: 15/20 Watts
When news began trickling out about Neil Finn‘s latest iteration of 7 Worlds Collide, fans were excited, to the say the least. Working alongside Finn were some of today’s most prolific names in alternative rock, most notably Radiohead members Phil Selway and Ed O’Brien, almost every member of Wilco and Johnny Marr. It is a supergroup of epic proportions, creating tons of buzz in a year seemingly full of star-studded collaborations.
Amidst all that noise, The Sun Came Out, which will use its proceeds to benefit Oxfam, delivers– mostly. The two-disc collection functions as a cohesive thought unlike most efforts its size. Though constructed by countless artists, it still manages to maintain a central theme, and sound. This can be attributed to Finn playing the role of maestro brilliantly, putting all the pieces together whenever necessary, and giving us a steady stream of consciousness throughout. (more…)
Filed under: News of Note, Uncategorized | Tags: Jay Leno, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lady GaGa, News of Note, Phil Selway, Pitchfork, Radiohad, Rihanna, Thom Yorke, Vampire Weekend, VMAs, Wilco
Kanye talks to Jay Leno the day after the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
PREVIEW: Watch Kanye’s interview with Jay Leno and Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye’s performance of “Run This Town.”
After the Kanye West publicity stunt/VMA debacle Sunday night, the rapper sat down with Jay Leno on Monday and publicly apologized, Pitchfork reports. After giving a heartfelt apology, and shedding some tears when Leno asked West what his late mother would have thought of his disrespectful act, he performed “Run This Town” with Jay-Z and Rihanna. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage:20 Watts Reviews Jay-Z's "Run This Town"]
In other Kanye news, SPIN.COM reported that he and Lady Gaga would join forces and hit the road together this winter. The entire tour will comprise of 34 stops and it starts November 11 in Pheonix, AZ and will end on January 24 in Dallas, TX. The nearest Syracuse date is Buffalo, NY on December 20. If you saw Gaga’s VMA performance you know that this will literally be the craziest winter tour. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: Lady Gaga's New Music Video/Short Film]
According to Pitchfork, Vampire Weekend has announced details regarding their second full-length album. The album entitled Contra, will be released January 12, 2010 and the tracklist is currently available on the band’s website. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: 20 Watts Reviews Discovery's The LP]
NME.COM reports that Radiohead drummer Phil Selway will release a solo album. Selway will sing on the album and be joined by Wilco members Glenn Kotche and Pat Sanzone, solo-artist Lisa Germano and bass player Sebastian Steinberg. The albums release date is unknown at this point.
NME.COM also reports that Radiohead’s frontman, Thom Yorke, is set to perform “The Reckoner” after a showing of the new climate change film “The Age of Stupid.” The performance will occur via satellite transmission from a mysterious undisclosed location. [Previous 20 Watts Coverage: Radiohead Leak Track? "These Are My Twisted Words", Radiohead Wrote A Song That Would Suit A Funeral? No Way!!]
- 20 Watts Staff
Filed under: Releases of the Week | Tags: album reviews, Black River Killer, Blitzen Trapper, Chuck, Eric Earley, Fleet Foxes, Releases of the Week, Sub Pop, Wilco
Blitzen Trapper release new album Black River Killer
PREVIEW: Download Blitzen Trapper’s “Silver Moon” MP3
WE GIVE IT: 17/20 Watts
Whether you love them for their music, heard of them because you are addicted to Chuck re-runs, or just stumbled across them opening for Fleet Foxes or Wilco, Blitzen Trapper has a few new songs for you to hum along to. The Oregon-based sextet, after self-releasing albums for years before signing with Sub Pop, is going public with their second collection under the label.
Black River Killer is a seven song EP showcasing work from the band’s entire career. Combining songs, which used to be available only on CD-R, into a solid assembly, Blitzen Trapper produce a mini-album that will be hard to overlook. Ranging from melancholy folk influences to cosmic jailhouse rock, this album has it all. Each song emulates perfection, making it impossible to pick your favorite.
Opening track “Black River Killer” defines the album’s sound. Subtle guitar chords paired with understated, airy synth in the background serve as a perfect accompaniment to singer Eric Earley’s tranquil country vocals. Blitzen Trapper offer a wide selection that displays both songs with commercial appeal as well as examinations of very personal emotions. (more…)
