Coachella!!!

Bummed that you missed this year?  The Coachella website announced this morning that they will be putting on two consecutive weekends with identical lineups and art.  This is intended to allow for more people to attend the festival without overcrowding.  Dates are online and tickets go on sale Friday.  Mark your calendars!
-cs
http://www.coachella.com/

Playlist of the Week #3

Sorry for the lack of posts.  End of quarter papers are getting to me.  Good luck on finals if you still have them, and if not, enjoy your summer!
-Cody
1.  Brandy - Looking Glass
2.  Sundown Syndrome - Tame Impala
3.  Coastin' - Zion I
4.  Popplagio - Sigur Ros
5.  Blues Run The Game - Simon & Garfunkel
6.  Rich Girls - Fitz & The Tantrums
7.  Excuses - The Morning Benders
8.  Brooklyn Sky - Digable Planets
9.  At Her Open Door - Dead Meadow
10.  Always For You - The Album Leaf

Mix of the Week #2

Hola todos,
 I hope these songs do the trick.
Have a great week,
Cody
1.  Harrowdown Hill - Thom Yorke
2.  RobertaFlack - Flying Lotus
3.  From Hank to Hendrix - Neil Young
4.  Chocolate - One Eskimo
5.  Kala - Yann Tiersen
6.  A Word Aptly Spoken - Ray Barbee
7.  New Age - Sleepy Sun
8.  Never My Love - The Association
9.  Mad Man Blues - The Rosewood Thieves
10. My Body's a Zombie For You - Dead Man's Bones

Rome Album Review

When many of us heard the unreal lineup consisting of Danger Mouse, Danielle Luppi, Jack White, and Norah Jones, we began shaking with excitement for May 17th.  With only one song released early, the hype was high for yesterday's release.    Last night, with high expectations and too much free time, i sat down to listen to the album "Rome".
               DJ Danger Mouse has produced with countless artists from the Gorillaz and Jay Z, to James Mercer and Beck.  As each song flowed by softly, i began hearing traces of each artists' influence.  Perhaps the most appropriate song title, "A Rose With a Broken Heart", ambiently captures the heavy bass and trip hop beats of the new Gorillaz album, "Plastic Beach", that Danger Mouse helped produce.  Then abruptly, the upbeat drums and synth guitar accompaniment fill in and seem to pay homage to James Mercer and their recent work together in the group, Broken Bells.  And although these few tracks are eloquent songs, with the unmistakable strings being provided by Italian composer Danielle Luppi, the sound was predictable and expected after any listen to Broken Bells or  the Dark Night of the Soul album.  The two tracks that took me by surprise, however, were, "Two Against One", and "Black".  This new sound perfectly captures a space age café vibe, serving as great coffeehouse/dinner party music, but much, much cooler than that faint praise would lead you to believe, since unlike so much likeminded ambient music, there’s soul and grit here.  All this in addition to the featured guest vocals of Jack White and Norah Jones, both of who sound incredibly cool in this context, culminate in a long awaited album which undoubtedly surpasses the high expectations.


Give your ears a treat with the hit song off the album, "Two Against One".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UibsjY5K-c

Get Excited!

Staying on pace with their album-a-year policy, Portugal. The Man has announced their new album "In a Mountain In a Cloud", to be released July 19th.  This is their first full length album being produced under Atlantic Records.  They have also released two full length songs from the album, along with multiple 30 second teasers.  These can all be found on their website, Portugaltheman.com . Here is a link to the closing song, "Sleep Forever".
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_aNKCcOOY0

Mix of the Week #1

It's Monday morning and, getting the idea from a friend, I thought I'd put together a short playlist.  My goal is to either spread the new music's popularity, or remind you of a band you forgot about.  Either way, grab your ipod, plug in, and have a great week!
1.  Two Against One- Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi (feat. Jack Black) (full album released tomorrow!)
2.  Baltimore Blues No. 1- Deer Tick
3.  El Toro- Bonobo
4.  Karma Police- The Bad Plus
5.  Say Something- Dr. Dog
6.  Skinny Love- Birdy
7.  Be Comfortable Creature- Explosions in the Sky (brand new album)
8.  Without You- Junip
9.  Eitheror- Little People
10.  Beats Ballet- Mochipet & Ray Barbee

King of Limbs

4 years since their album "In Rainbows", Radiohead unexpectedly released their 7th studio album King of Limbs.  This album offers enough diversity to keep the interest of fans and new listeners alike.  The album opens with "Bloom", "Morning Mr. Magpie", "Little by Little", and "Feral".  On first listen, you might think you picked up a Flying Lotus or Prefuse 73 cd.  Thom Yorke's new interest in techno and dub step shines through with intricate syncopations that layer over Phil Selway's trademark beats.  "Feral", which sounds more like an African tribal rave than an english rock band, fades out as the album takes a drastic turn for the second half.  The last four songs are "Lotus Flower", "Codex", "Give up the Ghost", and "Separator".  Radiohead begins to leave behind the heavy bass and intricate beats and make it's way to an optimistic end to the album.  Even if you are not a fan of Radiohead's experimental music, anyone can appreciate the beauty of "Codex" or "Give Up the Ghost".  Simple acoustic chord progressions, with a bass drum, and echoed vocals that ring out like a voice from above, begin to build up the trunk of a tree, reaching to the top of this album.  "Separator" ends with a feathery guitar riff, decorated with trills and accompanied by Yorke's soprano voice singing "and if you think it is over, then you're wrong".  And as though to complete the analogy, the album ends on the optimistic, sunlit note, not unlike the top of the tree.  By the time "Separator" fades out, one is left with a smile, encouraged by the last three songs' surprisingly uplifting tone.  This optimism is in high contrast to albums such as The Bends and Amnesiac, which leave you with a bittersweet taste of the most beautiful depression imaginable.  And although this album seems only a transitional album, not necessarily on par with masterpieces such as Kid A and Ok Computer, this band has surprised us over and over by developing and revolutionizing a new sound.  We should all be "Optimistic" in excitement for what is yet to come from this influential band.  And to put it in Yorke's own words, "if you think this is over, then you're wrong".