Category Archives: animal collective

I Just Got Out From A Minor Operation

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Yuck.

Yuck is what you get when you take two dudes from London band Cajun Dance Party, add your sister for supporting female vocals, and then throw in a Japanese female bassist and a drummer from New Jersey.

Daniel Blumberg and Max Bloom, the aforementioned two dudes, met in Israel although both are from London. They connected over an Animal Collective t-shirt. They later found their drummer in Israel, as well, although at the time he was still a college student in New Jersey. They all decided to give up any other plans they may have had to join the London music scene. And they were soon labeled “Revival Grunge.”

“It’s weird that there’s a certain label of bands called ‘grunge revival’ when there’s been guitar bands consistently making amazing music. There hasn’t been a stop or start or anything. There’s just been more attention given to it” explained Max Bloom.

I wanna be well designed
I wanna be well designed
Cause you talk and I just feel so
Cause you talk and I just feel so

Revival grunge? Meaning this is what grunge is now? Hmm. Paul Lester from the Guardian calls it more like a “shoegazey Sonic Youth.” YES. That’s it. Shoegazey Sonic Youth. Or Dinosaur Jr. Or Teenage Fanclub. There you go.

I try to think but I just don’t fuckin’ know

Quite honestly, I think their best track is “Rubber”, which closes out the album and lasts 7 minutes and 14 seconds. Mogwai remixed it and managed to stretch it out to 8 minutes. The self-titled album is interspersed with slow and brooding tracks like “Rubber”, a few faster but oddball love songs, and a few good ones that mix the two, like “The Wall” and “Operation.”

Click to Enjoy Yuck – The Wall

Click to Enjoy Yuck – Operation

Slottsfjel Festival in Norway today, can I get a shout out?! 😉 OK, how about Pitchfork in Chicago on Sunday. Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Seattle, check your venues, because Yuck will be there soon. Full tour list on their MySpace – and yes, they update it!

Back!

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So this is just a short post to share what I experienced in my time away. I visited Egypt, and the two highlights for me were the trips to the White Desert and Mt. Sinai. Watching the sun set in the desert and sleeping under the stars is no less than amazing. As for Mt. Sinai, that was a workout and a half. My Bedouin guide and I were the first to reach the top, actually! The four plus mile hike, with a close to half-mile change in altitude made it one hell of an experience. I could have cheated and ridden a camel, but what’s the point? Seeing the sun come up from over 7,000 feet above sea level at a place so revered by so many was worth the chilly weather and strain on my muscles.

That said, what I saw overseas made me also understand how destructive we are. Not to the planet. The planet will survive long after we’re gone. It’s the destructive nature that will wipe out our ability to stay here which is bothersome. Think of the movie “Wall-E”. The amount of trash everywhere was incredibly sad. Regardless of our level of thought and ability to change, there will always be a species here that undergoes this fight to survive. It’s how I feel about our own fight which is what I worry about. It magnified to me our problems here in the US. We wantonly create pollution and ills that we – with all of our technical know-how – can work to eradicate. Using that rare trait of conscious thought to help each other by taking care of our surroundings.

I don’t want to be a total downer, though. I purposely recorded some video and took plenty of pictures because I honestly felt the need to share with others what I saw. Almost make them feel like they were also there. Here are two videos I made with songs I felt fit the mood. The songs are then posted below.

Click to Play Mogwai – Auto Rock

Click to Play Animal Collective – Daily Routine

It’s an Animal Collective sort of day

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I honestly am at a loss for what to post today. So why not post remixes of everybody’s favorite indie-rock darlings – Animal Collective? There was the ever popular remix that was done by Dave Wrangler of “My Girls”, which admittedly gets played quite often by myself, still. We also had the flip of that, where Animal Collective were on the remix tip. They did justice to French band Phoenix’s “Love Like a Sunset”.

Well, now I feel like bringing you a little more of the awesomeness. These aren’t necessarily new remixes I’m bringing you. However, this is what I’ve been listening to as of late.

The first two are remixes of “My Girls”. It is off of their almost two year old album Merriweather Post Pavilion, which became an unexpected landmark of an album for these guys. With that sort of success in hand, it should be expected that people would start wanting to remix your work. Well, with the success of “My Girls” came just that. As I mentioned, Dave Wrangler took a stab at it and did a great job, in my opinion. Well, now we have a couple more remixes. These were done by Mexicans With Guns and HATCHMATIK. I have to be quite honest. The name Mexicans With Guns might be, right now, one of the most unfortunate names in music. Considering everything going on in Mexico, and all. But I have to admit that I love the name. So here are the remixes done by HATCHMATIK and Mexicans With Guns.


Download Animal Collective – My Girls (Mexicans With Guns remix)


Download Animal Collective – My Girls (HATCHMATIK remix)

The last of the remixes is a chilled out one of Animal Collective’s “Daily Routine” by St. Louis’ Phaseone, also off of the same album. This one is a bit of a re-working, as it adds more fullness to the original, with an electro feel to it. It’s also well over two minutes shorter than the original, which is odd for a remix, too. So enjoy this one!


Download Animal Collective – Daily Routine (Phaseone remix)

Go buy stuff.

Bring on the summer!!!

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If you also live up here in New England, you know we’ve been getting shafted royally by Mother Nature. Seriously, is that bitch on a perma-period? We here in Massachusetts set a record for the month of March with 14 inches of rain. To put that in perspective, the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico gets 14 inches all year long. Not the best example, maybe, since that’s in a pretty dry climate, but who cares. I tried. I’m nerdy.

Anyhow, I am like so many others up here that are truly sick of rainy, cold weather. I want the summer to come! So I figured I would give you all a little bit of summer in my music post! These are all songs that have to do with summer in some way, shape, or form. A couple are newer. And probably are songs you know pretty well. The other? Is a favorite of mine that I actually have on wax. Actually, now that I think of it? I have another nice little mint piece on wax that will get the posting happiness today, also.

The first two are the newer releases. The first is by Texas band Neon Indian. They started to make a bit of noise late last year, and it turned into an album by the name up Psychic Chasms on the Lefse label. The tour he has going even starts off with a bang! Two tour dates with Massive Attack? Yes, please! Well, this track is summer related, and honestly my favorite from this 21 year old wunderkind. It’s “Deadbeat Summer”.

Download Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer

Next up is from a band I’ve posted about before. YACHT is now on the DFA label (no surprise there) and they’ve made a full length album entitled See Mystery Lights. I’m still pretty iffy on these guys, but I admit I dig this song, so I think considering the theme of this post today? We can let it all slide. This one’s “Summer Song”.

Download YACHT – Summer Song

Now come the real treats. Well, they are to me. So whatever. And such. Donna Summer? Anyone? And no, not that person calling themselves DJ Donna Summer. This is the legend from the days of disco and excess. Well, this song has been sampled and remixed to death, but nothing really beats the original. It’s her classic track “I Feel Love”. It’s one I picked up dirt cheap and played fairly often. How can you really diss Giorgio Moroder? Well, I’ve got the album version here, as well as the now underground legend of a remix by Glenn Underground. Well, because of some probably obvious issues with releasing a remix and getting rights to samples? This became a white label. It heavily relies on Moroder’s track “The Chase” from the film Midnight Express. This is a brilliant piece of work – remix or not!

Download Donna Summer – I Feel Love

Download Donna Summer – I Feel Love (Glenn Underground remix)

And lastly, just to trip you folks out? How about the video for “Summertime Clothes” by Animal Collective? Yes. Fun times.

Now, go buy some stuff. These guys are bringing you warm vibes. Buying something is the least you could do!

Year end? Not quite.

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So I guess Mookie will be giving you your snazzy year in review. I can still give you a few awesome tracks from this year, though. Some? Are definitely repeats of what’s already been posted, but I won’t assume you’ve been reading this all year. That would be pretty stupid of me.

Before all that? I do want to share another song – not from this year – with you all. As you know, I have been posting a little of the stuff Deerhunter has made. “Disappearing Ink” is definitely amongst my top songs for this year, by the way. Well, from last year’s album Microcastle, Deerhunter released one stellar tune in “Nothing Ever Happened”. The real highlight of the tune is the guitars and then the keyboards within the last minute to minute and a half. Epic shit. Don’t believe me? Take a listen for yourself.

Download Deerhunter – Nothing Ever Happened

So how about those top songs? Well, these aren’t really going to be much different than most of the lists you’d see out there, I’d imagine. First off, I have to say that the best video this year? We Have Band’s “You Came Out” is the clear winner here. In case you haven’t seen it yet? Here it is.

Now, on to what I deem the best tracks of the year. There really isn’t a challenge on the best cut of the year. For real. Now, I’m not the biggest Animal Collective fan. They’re a little hit or miss at times for me, which is probably a good thing. It keeps my mind clear to how I view all the tracks. Now, “My Girls” is just stellar in about every regard. So It’s an easy choice as the top track of the year.

Download Animal Collective – My Girls

As for the rest of my top tunes? Well, I have to say it’s a huge drop from #1 to #2. That doesn’t mean these aren’t good tracks, but Animal Collective I honestly think did something very unique and special in creating “My Girls”. Since I don’t really like making a list in order, I just want to put it out there that the next few tracks are among my favorites for this year.

The Horrors – Sea Within A Sea
Sunset Rubdown – You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)
Micachu – Golden Phone
Deerhunter – Disappearing Ink
YACHT – Waste of Time
White Denim – Regina Holding Hands
Atlas Sound ft. Panda Bear – Walkabout
Phoenix – Girlfriend
Shout Out Out Out Out – Bad Choices
Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros – 40 Day Dream
We Have Band – You Came Out
Animal Collective – What Would I Want? Sky

And now the normal bullshit thing to say – BUY STUFF! Seriously! And hell, if not? Donate some money to Mookie, who runs this site. He busts his ass for you guys to bring you some awesome music, and I feel quite honored that he asked me to help him out. So yeah…..do that.


What Would I Want? BAND!

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This week features a new-ish track by indie sensation Animal Collective, as well as a fun little track by We Have Band.

Animal Collective have just released another EP, Fall Be Kind. Five more tracks appear here, and the track I’m talking about is easily the standout of the five. Another highlight is “I Think I Can”, but I’m here to bring everyone “What Would I Want? Sky”.

So considering the ruckus over Merriweather Post Pavilion, this little EP adds some fuel to the fire for the heralding that will no doubt come about when end of the year lists start trickling out this month. Man, that was a long sentence. So here’s What Would I Want? Sky”.

Download Animal Collective- What Would I Want? Sky

Next up is a fun one by London trio We Have Band. Really, the highlight of this track is more the video than the song. Think Michel Gondry done exponentially. Stop motion madness! Close to 5,000 photos were taken for this video, which had to be quite a pain to do at points. This track can best be described as some updated disco, and it’s simply a track that you just have to kick back and enjoy. The video? Best of the year. No doubt about it.

Download We Have Band – You Came Out

Go buy stuff. Tis the season and all that seasonal pine smelling bullshit.

Phoenix….not Arizona

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So we have yet more! They seem to be possibly the most remixed guys this year, and it’s quite a mixed bag of remixes that have come out. So today has me writing about two more remixes from the Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album that will most likely win just about every indie award that is out there (with apologies to Animal Collective).

In order to sort of find out where the remixers – in this case Passion Pit’s drummer Nate Donmoyer as Shuttle and also by Animal Collective – you would need to hear both parts one and two of the song remixed. In this case? It’s “Love Like a Sunset”. To keep some space on our own webspace, I’ve gotten a youtube vid that combines both parts here for you.

Pretty epic, eh? So now imagine how the powers that be in remixers are going to handle this one. What you end up hearing are two vastly different ways to go about it, and that’s what I personally love about music. Everyone hears something different in songs, and that difference is also what helps to bring people together. So after hearing the aforementioned original, and after listening to these two remixes, tell us which of the two you prefer! What would you do differently? What elements of the original would you use and leave out? Enjoy!

Download Phoenix – Love Like A Sunset (Shuttle Remix)

Download Phoenix – Love Like A Sunset (Animal Collective Remix)

Two Brand New Songs!

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Well, some of the indie snobs out there will go, “I heard these six months ago.” Well, good for you. How are the drapes in your parents’ basement? Still tacky? Most likely. This isn’t about being the first to post stuff, anyways. Some readers may not know of these new gems, let alone about the artists I’m featuring. Yay innerwebs!!!

Anyways, the first is by Atlas Sound, which is a solo project by Deerhunter‘s Bradford James Cox. This tune features Noah Lennox, which some may know as Panda Bear from Animal Collective. Lots of names there. Names are fun! Anyhow, this is the track “Walkabout”, which right now is a cut I am deeply in love with. Happy vibes spreading around!

[Download Atlas Sound feat. Noah Lennox – Walkabout]

Next up is the first track off of Modest Mouse‘s newest EP, entitled No One’s First, and You’re Next. This is supposedly cuts that didn’t quite cut it for the band’s last two albums. The track “Satellite Skin”, I am hunkering a guess that this didn’t make their last album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. The guitars sort of give that vibe, and to be honest? I like this track more than anything off of that album. Hey, diff’rent strokes and such. Enjoy the track!

[Download Modest Mouse – Satellite Skin]

ALSO! Below is the video for Modest Mouse’s “King Rat”, which was conceived by the late Heath Ledger. I don’t know how long this will last online, so watch it while you can!

If you don’t buy this stuff, Isaac Brock is going to come to your house. That scares me. So it should terrify you. BUY! BUY! BUY!

Animals Collecting Album totals…..

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So Animal Collective recently released a new album! Yes, these weird folksy guys are releasing some more strange tunes. I have yet to take a good, long listen to their new album Merriweather Post Pavillion, but I am sure it will be sort of an extension of their last album, Strawberry Jam. I say that meaning there should be an obvious directional difference with some of the tracks, and from the little I’ve heard, it’s adding more of the spacey kitsch that made Panda Bear‘s Person Pitch such a fantastic album. And yes, the album cover is very trippy.

Well, this post is a departure from the recent long-winded stuff I’ve written lately. I’m simply giving you the first single – “My Girls” – off of the album, but also a nicely done remix that Dave Wrangler submitted my way (as well as practically every blog out there!). If I had a gig now? I’d have no qualms droppin’ this track in a house set, and have every reason to believe practically any sort of crowd would like it. This is a super DJ-friendly remix that sounds very clean and crisp. It’s one I highly suggest you guys grab from here.

The original is very spacey, and brings thoughts of the Beach Boys, circa Pet Sounds, when Brian Wilson was trying practically any drug shoved in front of him. The only complaint I have with this song is that it builds to a point, and just sort of hangs there before ending rather abruptly. Otherwise, this is a great tune. So enjoy, boys and girls!

[Download Animal Collective – My Girls]

[Download Animal Collective – My Girls (Dave Wrangler remix)]

And yes, I expect you to buy the album! With groups like this that are lesser known, it’s that much more important to help them out with a purchase. If not through us, then buy something while at their shows! That’s even more kickass. I’d probably even give you a hug. A boney, pale, Irish, drunken hug. Which really just means either I’d pass out on your lawn or start a fight with a barstool. Either way, you’re entertained.

Fuzzy animals make fun music

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Okay, so this is not going to seem “new” to a lot of people. Who cares! I’m here to share music I love. So for this one I’ll be posting up a couple of songs from a man who goes by the artist name of Panda Bear. Many of you probably know who this guy is, already. For those who don’t? Click here for his Wikipedia page. The album Person Pitch is what initially got my attention. Better late than never, one might say. I was listening to Sirius’ Left of Center, and heard what I initially thought to be something in the mold of the Beach Boys or at the very least inspired by their frontman Brian Wilson.

Well, after a little digging, I found out what the song was, and went bonkers when I bought the album and took a listen. The song I’m posting is what gave me an utterly euphoric feeling I hadn’t had from music since listening to the other cut I’ll be posting. See what I did there? I made you have to scroll through to find out what the other song was! I’m tricky like that. So here you have the track “Bros”.

And here is a video of a live performance by Panda Bear doing the aforementioned “Bros”. I had a chance to check him out live in New York City last year during the summer. First off, the band opening for him? Atrocious. Good lord, people that tag their band “experimental”? Stop it. It’s meant to be played to torture terrorists in Gitmo. Not for performing live. Anyways, he doesn’t really “perform”, per se, but in a way DJs. Now, coming from a DJ background, I’ll sort it out. He uses a mixer and instead of turntables, he has samplers that are loaded with presets that he triggers. All the while, he is singing.

Once samples are triggered, he “mixes” the tracks. It makes for a continuous hour of music all while trippy videos and images are shown on a screen behind him. The show was great in a very odd way, but I just have to reiterate my disdain for the uber-hipster crowd. You’re not cool. Stop dressing like Marty McFly and waxing pretentious when it comes to any number of artsy topics. The crowd at these sorts of shows are usually lame and uninspiring, and this crowd was no different. No movement, no sound, no FUN! Seriously, this music was awesome, as was the show. That’s really besides the point. Here you’ll see what I mean about the “live” show.

Now, earlier I mentioned the euphoria I felt through song. This next track had me dancing on yet another trip down to New York City while watching the legendary Francois K DJing. He hopped around from ultra deep house to ragga, but this track had me going insane. I rarely dance. That says something. This is Global Communication’s “The Way” (The Secret Ingredients Mix) from 1996. I first heard it while in a club in Boston when it was brand spankin’ new, and it’s one of those tracks that led me down the path of house music. Utterly phenomenal song! Enjoy!

And please do make a purchase or two! That would just be splendiferous. And neat. And other words that sound just plain silly.