What I was doing this past April....

Someday I will get around to posting about my trip to Coachella 2009 (and, er, 2008) but I came across this great time-lapse of the three days of the festival:





The camera is set up stage right on the "Outdoor Theater", which is the second biggest venue at the festival. In the background, far right, behind the geodesic dome is where the Main Stage is.
Me and GothMom saw Public Enemy, Lykki Li, Leonard Cohen, and Silversun Pickups on this stage.

I'll post more about this later, but you know what you don't see in this video? No rain, mud or bugs... yay, Palm Springs!

Chemical Brothers- Let Forever Be

Man, I love this video.
Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) directed it and I love the way it uses old-school depth perception tricks instead of CGI to fool your eye and put you off balance. I can't even imagine how this got story boarded and figured out in advance.
It's also a song that I would not have guessed was the Chemical Brothers, based on other stuff of theirs that I have, not to mention seeing their live show at Coachella.
Enjoy!

The Chemical Brothers |MTV Music

Two music posts in a row!

The Roots' "How I Got Over" on Jimmy Fallon

Song I can't get out of my head #2 - "The Rip" by Portishead

So one of the songs that has been on repeat lately is "The Rip" by Portishead off their latest (and 10 years in the waiting) album "3".
I hate to use the word "haunting" when describing music or movies or any other artistic endeavor, because that word is used to death, but there it is- ghostly Theremin in the background, emotional vocals by Beth Gibbons, mid-song tempo change, it all works.
I saw Portishead at Coachella last April and they were definitely in the top 3 of the more then 20 bands I saw there. (maybe someday I will get around to writing about it) I have liked these guys for years, but I did not realize that is had been so long since their last album and tour.
"3" is a very different direction from their trip-hop/ lounge sound of their earlier albums, you do not put this CD on for a dinner party unless you have a lot of goth friends, too many minor keys and dissonant electronic sounds. Although this is not a hard album to listen to it's just not background music, as some of their earlier stuff could be.

• Album version off "3"
• Video for album version
• Live version from Jools Holland show, done the week before Coachella
• Lyrics for "The Rip"
• Excellent quality MP3s of their Coachella set, get them before the RIAA issues a cease and desist.

Another reason I like The Rip is the Radiohead cover version that got posted up on YouTube a couple of months ago. Thom Yorke's vocals really work for this song,

I am not one of the "Radiohead are our Gods" army, but I have been listening to their stuff a lot more lately. One of the things that has made me like them more is that I have been watching this and other videos where they perform covers, and you can see they just really like playing their favorite songs with their buddies, which is probably not something you can say about many of the world's biggest musical acts.


And in yet another link in the musical web in my brain:

Special Bonus Sooper Radiohead Covers!


Did you know that there are 43 ukulele versions of Radiohead's "Creep" on YouTube? Yes, there are. Here's a good one.

Song I can't get out of my head #1 - "Computer Camp Love" by Datarock

Don't know where I stumbled across this song. I don't remember hearing about the group Datarock anyplace in particular, I think it may have been a random YouTube link or something. In any case, this song



was released in 2005, so I am not exactly on the musical bleeding edge with this one.

In any case, once I heard this song, I couldn't get the little electric piano riff out of my head. I think this is because the first act I saw at Coachella this year, Adam Freeland, was playing this song as we walked in as part of a dance set (with the amps turned up to 11). (Someday I will post about Coachella)
As it turns out, Datarock was playing there too, but I don't remember seeing them, unless I was passing by their tent as they were playing.

So it's a cool little song about taking your Commodore 64 to computer camp and meeting your geek love interest. The lyrics even steal from Grease (or maybe homage is the right word):

-Tell me more was it love at first sight?
That’s right this was god giving grace with a face you could praise
-Tell me more did you put up a fight?
I ran into her on computer camp...


The singer's accent is a little funny, but since he's Norwegian and singing in english, I will cut him some slack.

YouTube video can be seen here, but you've been warned, soon you will be humming "duh duhhh, duh duhhh, duh duhhhhh..... duh duhhh, duh duhhh, duh duhhhhh....."

Violent Femmes back in the game....

Evidently Gnarls Barkley and The Violent Femmes are big fans of each other, as heard on Gnarls Barkley's version of Gone Daddy Gone previously.

Now the Femmes, one of my favorite bands from my college years, has returned the favor with their version of GB's "Crazy". For now it can only be listened to on their mySpace page (does anyone still go there?) but will be available on iTunes on 6/24. You will also be able to get it on blue vinyl, just in case you are part of the whole "vinyl purist" crowd.



I don't know if there will be a full album coming eventually or what. I don't think Gordon Gano's voice will ever change, it's still as distinctive as ever.


PS- here's my favorite VF song, and probably the first one I ever heard. You NEVER hear this on the radio.

Q: How do you know you're a good parent?

A: When your 4-year old asks you "Daddy, how do you spell "rock and roll"?

YEAH!

This reminds me of when the first kid was about three and we're cruising around in the car with The Beastie Boys "Sabotage" on the stereo and she says "Daddy, turn it up louder!"

YEAH!

What Big Boi is doing these days...

What Big Boi of Outkast is doing these days.

"An adventuresome, exhilarating evening featuring the world-renowned musical artistry of Grammy Award-winning Antwan 'Big Boi', Patton as well as artists of Purple Ribbon Entertainment. Daring, progressive, and soulful, these very talented artists perform a stunning collaborative piece, LIVE on stage with Atlanta Ballet's exquisite dancers. Pure Innovation.

Preliminary song list for big include such tracks as “Morris Brown” from the Idlewild soundtrack, “The Way You Move” from Speakerboxx , and possibly, one of OutKast's defining songs “Bombs Over Baghdad”."

Contains adult langage. [gee, no shit]

Will there be a number called "Dance of the Sugar-plum Pitbulls"?

Music of the day: Project Jenny, Project Jan

So, goofing around the other day and stumbled over these guys on the internets. Don't know why two guys from Brooklyn would call their band "Project Jenny, Project Jan", but you have to figure we have to be getting close to running out of new band names at this point, kind of like .com domains.

Very funny electro dance stuff, sort of like Devo meets Junior Senior meets Justin Timberlake for cocktails in DUMBO, or maybe Williamsburg. Lots of drum machine and Casio-tone.
I've always liked the pop short-form (2:30 and under) and these guys must be able to fit 30 songs on a CD. My Favorites so far: "320" which you can listen to on their myspace page, and HJIH, the video for which you can see here. Their album xoxoxoxoxocomes out this week and maybe they'll even tour down this way.