03 Oct
Remix City sifts through mountains of remix trash so you don't have to, in an attempt to find those that contribute something original to their originals. Australian psych-rockers Tame Impala get some love from labelmate Canyons, and German producer Wankelmut creates the weirdest dance track out of a folk song by Asaf Avidan & The Mojos.
++ SEE ALL: REMIX CITY POSTS - MUSIC COLUMNS - FULL POST

 

Tame Impala

In the same way that Thee Oh Sees can work their mastery of garage rock over the unassuming masses and make it look ridiculously simple, Tame Impala can twork it out '60s-style in the indie rock arena, like laid-back experts drowsily saying, "We've got this, dudes." Canyons' Wooly Mammoth remix-interpretation of Tame Impala's "Elephant" pays homage to the modern beast's ancient ancestor and taps along like tesselated rows of the hairy beasts, propelling a rhythm forward with their marching bodies. Todd Rungren's remix spaces things out a bit by weaving sound experiments into important points of the track. See and hear more about Tame Impala's upcoming release, Lonerism, on Modular Recordings. The music video for the original can be seen after the jump. Tame Impala - "Elephant" (Canyons' Wooly Mammoth Remix) Tame Impala - "Elephant" (Todd Rundgren Remix)

 

01 Oct
"Pop music shouldn't always get a bad rap," says Top Pops!, a recurring selection of pop music highlights across a selection of styles. Brooklyn sister duo Prince Rama return with one of their boldest and most well-formulated conceptual spins on their own music yet with their latest record, Top Ten Hits Of The End Of The World. This post samples some tracks and goes into details about the bands and backstories they've invented, their Kickstarter-funded DIY film, their "So Destroyed" dance contest, and a shared recording with Sun Araw. SEE: FULL POST + ALL TOP POP COLUMNS + ALL MUSIC COLUMNS

 

Top Ten Hits For The End Of The World Tracks & Backstories

Prince Rama have long been about chasing the conceptual with their multimedia-encompassing theatrics, but their latest idea, Top Ten Hits For The End Of The World, takes our collective 2012 fascination with the apocalypse and turns it into a most playful collection of pop hits. In my opinion, this record, which is comprised of ten tracks from ten fictional bands -- all of which have extensive back stories crafted by the girls themselves -- is the duo's strongest to date. With Ariel Pink lo-fi vibes but with collation of genres both fictional and invented ("cosmic disco", "motorcycle rock", and "ghost-modern glam", to name a few), the model of Top Ten Hits... frees the girls from the binds of expectation and allows the to run free on all fronts. Rage Peace - "So Destroyed" (as channeled by Prince Rama) For the album's first single, Prince Rama took on the nihilistic protest band Rage Peace's violent-turned-pop songs. According to the press release, "Rage Peace formed as a small protest band in the early 90s and before they knew it they were the Bob Dylans of a whole generation of angry youth. They became founding members of the Rage Peace movement, based on the principle of nihilism as the only true order, and wrote songs with violent messages placed in seemingly saccharine pop structures. The band was notorious for staging organized acts of violence and destruction, burning cars and sometimes buildings in the name of chaos. When the end came, their bodies were found locked inside a limousine they had set on fire. The license plate read 'HEY U'."

 

08 Aug
Liars further the weirdness of their new record, WIXIW, with this insanely bizarre -- even for them -- music video for "Brats". Animated by Ian Cheng, this is 3-D animation at some of its most crass; Elmer Fudd (?), Bugs Bunny (?), and a dumb dog rave to Liars' house beats while humping one another and bumping into Liars themselves. My favorite parts come towards the end, when Bugs (?) seems to be humping just about everything in sight and does backwards and forwards somersaults atop Elmer (?) like a gymnast on crack (!)! Equally good is when Liars start getting down themselves. Spasms and rag doll effects galore! This is disturbing genius! Below the jump, you will find further WIXIW news, album trailers, and the dark music video for "No.1 Against The Rush", directed by Todd Cole.

 

See Our Interview With Liars About WIXIW
01 Feb
MADNESS! A recurring series of audio WTFs and head-twitching, spine-tingling experimental fun (tr)icks.

YVETTE

We've known YVETTE for a while, and dudes have been grinding harrrrrd, playing DIY shows galore throughout Brooklyn and New York like they don't need to sleep or eat. The duo -- consisting of Noah Kardos-Fein and Rick Daniel -- make noise rock with mad percussive chops. This new track, "Cold Sweat," is definitely the most acessible material from them so far, and the decision certainly bodes well for their future. For starters -- love from Pitchfork and Stereogum, which seems a bit unlikely -- but really what's important here is that this new track has a bit more polish on it and a better recording job, giving those who wouldn't normally be into this type of dirtiness something to actually "get." Below, "Cold Sweat" from their upcoming Erosion/Cold Sweat 7" (out physically March 27th on God Mode and digitaly February 14th) along with the older "With Fangs," from their self-titled EP from way back in 2009. Listen to YVETTE's "Cold Sweat" – DOWNLOAD MP3
Listen to YVETTE's "With Fangs" – DOWNLOAD MP3

13 Nov

This black and white for Reigns' "The Diagram" is a classy one. For the single from their upcoming album, The Widow Blades, they expertly bathe the entire video in blacks using minimalistic compositions and heavy strobing. Given the careful planning that no doubt went into every shot, the appeal...

22 Oct

The legendary KATE BUSH releases a brand new studio album 50 Words For Snow on Anti-Records on November 21. The album features 7 new tracks set against a background of falling snow, with a total running time of 65 minutes; through a highly evocative musical and lyrical landscape this haunting...

17 Sep

Ambiguity is one of the most powerful tools performers are using to draw us into their work. In the case of Japan's Offsite Dance Project, uncertainty dictated everything the audience did, starting with when we gathered into the Olympic Mills Commerce Center and were unsure of where to look or...

17 Sep

As of Day 9 of TBA, I'm tentatively awarding Michael Reinsch's Gallery Walk "Best in Show." Reinsch's performance involves him lumbering about the city in a big white box, embodying the construct of the modern white cube gallery. His monstrance, supported by an elaborate harness system and including pockets...

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