I first heard St. Vincent while I was living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was driving to work and heard her song "Actor Out of Work" on 88Nine Milwaukee and immediately pulled the car over and wrote down the song title and artist's name. Annie Erin Clark, otherwise known as the artist St. Vincent, is a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist artist from Oklahoma, who currently resides in New York City. She has played with artists such as Sufjan Stevens, The New Pornographers and has recently begun working with The Polyphonic Spree.
The thing that struck me most about this artist, who seems so immensely talented she should be on a major record label, was her insistence on staying indie - even at the expense of having a proper mainstream career. She believes art is art and once you sign a contract, you sign away control and that was the only thing she valued as an artist.
Not only do I think she is a brilliant artist, but this video is fucking brilliant, too. The title has never resonated with me as much as it does now - especially if you let the intensity of the emotion in this video hit you. Or not. Either way, it's powerful stuff.
IloveStVincent.com
8.27.2010
8.26.2010
International Spotlight - "Parlez-Vous Francais?" by Art vs Science
Art vs Science in an electro-pop/rock group from Australia in early 2008. They gained popularity with their second single "Hollywood" and eventually made it on the charts in Australia with their song "Flippers".
After their self-titled debut EP, they released "Parlez-Vous Francais?", which has gotten an amazing response in the music world. Their August headlining Australian tour in 2009 completely sold out and they have been named by XFM as one of the bands to watch in 2010.
Sorry about the mimes. Again.
Art vs Science on MySpace.
After their self-titled debut EP, they released "Parlez-Vous Francais?", which has gotten an amazing response in the music world. Their August headlining Australian tour in 2009 completely sold out and they have been named by XFM as one of the bands to watch in 2010.
Sorry about the mimes. Again.
Art vs Science on MySpace.
8.25.2010
Shuffle Song - "I Don't Believe You" by the Thermals
The Thermals first caught my ear when I heard their catchy punk song "Here's Your Future" on an episode of Showtime's Weeds. It instantly became my summer time of 2009 anthem, for a good reason. They've got a punk/rock musical formula that you can either accept or reject for its simplicity - I choose acceptance.
This power trio from Portland, Oregon formed in 2002 and recorded their first album on a cassette recorder for around $10. The demo got passed through some channels and ended up in the hands of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie & The Postal Service, who immediately signed the band. They've been touring/recording/rocking ever since.
Love the vid. Cute concept and quite amusing, too.
The Thermals Online.
This power trio from Portland, Oregon formed in 2002 and recorded their first album on a cassette recorder for around $10. The demo got passed through some channels and ended up in the hands of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie & The Postal Service, who immediately signed the band. They've been touring/recording/rocking ever since.
Love the vid. Cute concept and quite amusing, too.
The Thermals Online.
8.24.2010
Covers - "La Vie En Rose" by Louis Amstrong
Original: "La Vie En Rose" by Edith Piaf
Who says covers have to be new in order to be ground breaking? There is nothing better than a musical legend covering another musical legend, in my humble opinion. Louis Amstrong covered "La Vie En Rose" by the amazing Edith Piaf, who popularized the song in 1946. This cover gained popularity in 2008 when it was used the soundtrack to the imensely successful animated film WALL-E.
This jazz classic has been covered dozens of times, but I maintain that Louis did it the best next to Edith herself.
Another interesting version is by none other than pop-princess Cyndi Lauper. I'm not a huge fan of hers, generally speaking, but every once and a great while I hear a song by her that really stuns me. This might be one of them.
Who says covers have to be new in order to be ground breaking? There is nothing better than a musical legend covering another musical legend, in my humble opinion. Louis Amstrong covered "La Vie En Rose" by the amazing Edith Piaf, who popularized the song in 1946. This cover gained popularity in 2008 when it was used the soundtrack to the imensely successful animated film WALL-E.
This jazz classic has been covered dozens of times, but I maintain that Louis did it the best next to Edith herself.
Another interesting version is by none other than pop-princess Cyndi Lauper. I'm not a huge fan of hers, generally speaking, but every once and a great while I hear a song by her that really stuns me. This might be one of them.
8.23.2010
New Favorites - "The Mama Papa" by Plants and Animals
Plants and Animals originally hail from Montreal, Canada and have recently been making a name for themselves in the US. With their newest album La La Land, they've expanded upon their familiar post-classic rock sound to a harder, more modern indie/rock feel that is able to showcase their artistic range a bit better than in previous years, apparently.
Having just discovered them, I appreciate their sound without having a basis for comparison to their 'old' sound. Whatever they've done to expand their sound, I think it's working. This video is a bit too theatrical and silly for my taste, but I enjoy it nonetheless. It's a great song - just ignore the mime.
Plants & Animals Online.
Watch their music video HERE.
Having just discovered them, I appreciate their sound without having a basis for comparison to their 'old' sound. Whatever they've done to expand their sound, I think it's working. This video is a bit too theatrical and silly for my taste, but I enjoy it nonetheless. It's a great song - just ignore the mime.
Plants & Animals Online.
Watch their music video HERE.
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