"I never claim to be an artist. I can't even sing, you know?"
Uffie can't sing, and she can't really rap. One could say she has an exclusive record deal because of who she knows, and she knows people because of who she was Ed Bangin' (sorry, bad pun). But damn, she's honest about it.
"I'm a lost child, don't you see? I look good, you want me, buy my CD, and Google me. You work hard, I live sweet."
"If I get popular, I know it ain't fair."
Her first LP, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, was released today. The best track is Difficult, produced by SebastiAn and with a VERY catchy hook. The rest of the album is a lovable mess.
Being a fan of mashups, I'm sick of the Jay-Z acapella being put to just about goddamn everything. Seriously! There are thousands of acapellas out there -- and dozens of Jay-Z ones -- so why this same old acapella? Earlier I posted a mashup with The Dap Kings that was pretty sweet.
But this ain't an acapella, it's a cover. And it's damn good. It's barroom country, with banjo and big drums.
Punchy guitar chords, a drum machine, lyrics about heartbreak, DNA, and outerspace, and a quirky but loveable indie pop-rock voice that reminds me of Built to Spill's Doug Martsch, Midlake's Tim Smith, and Grandaddy's Jason Lytle are what make up Darwin Deez's awesome self-titled release.
Self-described as "happy music for sad people," "white music for black people," and "indie rock with a side of calisthenics." Listen below. So far, this is one of my favorite albums of 2010.
I love, love, love this song. Alan Wilkis, who's previously done fantastic remixes of The Temper Trap and Swayze, turns this kind-of-melancholy Phantogram track into bubblegum indie pop for sunny days and lazy afternoons. Watch out for Alan Wilkis, he is a top-rate producer who doesn't deserve to be lumped together with the majority of Web 2.0 bedroom remixers and mash up "artists" clogging up Hype Machine. I would love to hear a full album produced by Wilkis.
Talent may not always make money, but on the Internet it is almost always recognized by somebody. I love the fact that independent bands with an original sound are out there, people like me can find them, and then people like us can enjoy them.
The Powder Kegs is from Philly. Their latest EP is considerably better than their first LP, maybe because it's produced by Brian McTear, who worked with the awesome neo-folk band Espers.
There's a lot that's awkward about the above photo, a lot that's good about La Mariposa, and a lot Vampire-Weekend-esque about Window On Your Wall.
Not too often do I post indie rock. When I first attended college, I was obsessed with the genre. I read Pitchfork religiously. I was downloading at least 4 albums a day. I can't even remember the names of half the bands I listened to during that period, which really says something.
When young people want to dance nowadays, they listen to hip-hop or house. And now many of them, when they want to relax, listen to rock! Rock used to be the raucous party music, but now it seems sedate, and pleasantly so.
Remember that remix competition for Radiohead's "Nude"?
There were a few gems ... and a lot of flops.
This remix is my favorite. It sounds enough like the original and enough like it's own song. Understated, groovy, a little dark. It sounds like Radiohead for the 2010s -- or what Thom Yorke's next solo album -- if he was making one -- could sound like.
Highly anticipated, the sophomore LP from The Tallest Man On Earth is just as wonderful as expected.
At its best, The Wild Huntis more beautiful, more robustly sung, than its predecessor. And there's something new. Kristian Matsson's roots in indie rock are displayed in "You're Going Back,"which sounds like what was good about The Strokes.
The album comes out April 13. The leak is available now.
This Toronto duo sounds like Camera Obscura with an element of electronica. Artsy, melancholy, and great for those introspective afternoons with a joint, a cup of coffee, a book of poetry, and your favorite metaphor for ennui.
I have evidence to support my theory that this is a band for literature nerds. One of their singles is called "To The Lighthouse."
The Middle East, like other brilliant but tortured indie folk acts, only managed to record a single album (The Recordings of The Middle East) before splitting up and fortunately a new album is supposedly coming out this year! (thanks Michael!)
Their sound is an interesting mixture of folk, pop, and post-rock. At times their instrumentation is folksy, like the band Espers, other times it sounds like Explosions in the Sky, and they have one song, Beleriand, which is pretty damn close to a clone of Sigur Ros' ().
The Kickdrums are two dudes from Cleveland who make funky, piano-heavy hip hop.
In their original tracks they sing and get out the guitars, which is a little weird. Reminds me of 90s alt-rock, but a little blunted.
They are also known to fuck around with mashups, electro/rap, and all that good stuff on their mixtape with League Crew. (Example: they have a MGMT vs. Justice vs. Kanye mashup.)
Anyways, their remixes are really stellar. Check them out.
The Clientele are based in London, and their 2009 release, Bonfires on the Heath, is fantastic.
Their work is pretty, slightly melancholy, reverb heavy, and with a 60's influence. Think The Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd mixed with Band of Horses.
I should have put this on my Best of 2009 list, but I was too late in discovering it. Oh well.
