The Oedipus Project
Crystal Castles, the Toronto duo of producer Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass, have teamed up with Robert Smith of the Cure for a remake of the Platinum Blonde’s (a Canadian new wave band from the 80’s) “Not in Love”. This marvelous combination is free here and is the Song of the Day.
“Not In Love” by Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith
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Mark Ronson, is the highly acclaimed English DJ, producer (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Kaiser Chiefs) and musician whose 2008 album, Version, garnered numerous British awards. He has just released his third album, Record Collection, billed as Mark Ronson & the Business Intl. While we’re absorbing this new offering, he has recorded a live version of Arcade Fire’s “We Used To Wait” which is available as a free download and is the Song of the Day.
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“We Used to Wait” by Mark Ronson and the Business Intl.
Lykke Li is a compelling Swedish singer who has one album and a number of EPs under her name, and has performed with the likes of Röykscopp, Kings of Leon, Drake, Kanye West and Amanda Blank. Her new song “Get Some” has an irresistible “I Want Candy”/Bo Diddley backbeat combined with overt sexual lyrical imagery. She is giving the single away for free here as well as the B-side “Paris Blue”. Dance to this Song of the Day.
As we have discussed here in the past, Brooklyn has become the new Seattle, the new Athens, the new Orange County, the new Montreal—an area of the world where musicians are releasing music of import. Although dissimilar in sound and style, there are simply too many bands from Brooklyn influencing the current state of alternative music not to acknowledge this geographical incubator.
Frankie Rose is Brooklyn-based and a former member of both Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts. Her current band is Frankie Rose & the Outs and has recently released an album under the same title. Last year Frankie released the song “Thee Only One” as a solo project. This wonderful rave-up is a free download is the Song of the Day.
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“Thee Only One” by Frankie Rose & the Outs
It has become increasing popular for various companies to associate themselves with music in the alternative world, particularly apparel retailers; i.e. Converse, Levi’s and Doc Martens to name a few, the latter which we featured the other day. These corporations support new artists and offer free music downloads. Urban Outfitters proffers five free songs every Monday and also offers free playlist downloads from iTunes. Currently a number of artists that we have presented here in the past–Arcade Fire, Best Coast, Deerhunter, Neon Indian, Ra Ra Riot, Magic Kids, of Montreal, Les Savy Fav, and !!!–are free until the end of the year (24 in all). Click here to download. Yeasayer, the experimental rock band from Brooklyn, is part of this compilation with the song “Madder Red” which is the Song of the Day.
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“Madder Red” by Yeasayer
Doc Martens, the boot forever associated with punk rock, has turned 50 years old. In celebration the company has commissioned 10 artists to cover one of their favorite songs as well as 10 directors to create videos for each of the tracks. Included are The Raveonettes performing the Stone Roses song “I Wanna Be Adored”, “If the Kids are United” by Sham 69 from The Duke Spirit, The Cinematic Orchestra covering “Lilac Tree” inspired by Jeff Buckley, and a version of “Dirty Old Town” known to most of us by the Pogues and recorded here by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. All ten are available here as a free download from Dr. Martens. Here is the Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen in Love with Someone You Shouldn’t’ve” interpreted by the Noisettes.
Swanlights is the fourth studio album from Antony & the Johnsons. Another former Mercury Music Prize winner, Antony has one of the most distinctive voices in all of music. His plaintive operatic timbre is instantly recognizable with a melancholy forlorn that is painfully alone but evocatively engaging. “The Spirit Was Gone” is a free download from the album and is the Song of the Day.
(The video can be seen in the YouTube tab in the upper right. Antony pays tribute to Kazuo Ohno, a pioneer of butoh, a Japanese dance form.)
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“The Spirit Was Gone” by Antony & the Johnsons
Former Mercury Music Prize winner, singer/songwriter Badly Drawn Boy, has just released It’s What I’m Thinking Pt.1 – Photographing Snowflakes, his seventh studio album. On his website he is offering a free download of a four song EP – demos of some of the songs on the new album. Here is “In Safe Hands”, one such demo, where you can hear a raw stripped version of what eventually became a beautifully produced song.
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“In Safe Hands (Demo)” by Badly Drawn Boy
British Sea Power, the indie rock band from the UK (with brothers Yan and Hamilton), are known for their outlandish stage performances. They have just released the seven-song EP, Zeus. The title track is available for streaming, and a free download of “Living Is So Easy” is available with the simple addition of your email address below. Hear and add to your collection the Song of the Day.
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“Zeus” by British Sea Power
The film The Social Network opens tomorrow to general release. It’s the dramatic story of the early years in the development of Facebook that has forever changed the way that we interact.
I had the opportunity to explore Facebook in its nascent incarnation. In 2004 a neighbor who was attending Harvard University asked if he could produce a short documentary about me for his film class. During the course of the filming, he and his partner told me about this new website that had become overwhelming popular at their school and that was spreading to other college campuses. Membership was restricted to students but they gave me their login information and password. The website revealed many risqué and revealing photographs and much of the content was of a student body unleashed. Facebook then was the wild west that has since been settled and has conquered the world.
The movie has received rave advance reviews. The soundtrack was scored by Trent Reznor and his frequent collaborator, the English composer, Atticus Ross. The soundtrack will be available in later October. Here is a free download of a five song sampler from the album.
“Pieces Form the Whole”
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Quoting from the band’s website, “Warpaint is an all-girl quartet from Los Angeles. They weave intricate guitar lines, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between the soundscapes of psychedelia and intimacy.” Their debut album, The Fool, is due in later October. The lovely song “Undertow” is available as a free download and is the Song of the Day.
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There’s a new supergroup on the block and they are Fistful of Mercy. Consisting of Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison, the group recorded an album earlier this year and enlisted drummer Jim Keltner to overdub percussion. (Of the three, I only know Ben Harper personally and besides being a phenomenal guitarist, he is one of the true gentlemen of rock.) The album As I Call You Down is due later this month. The band is offering a free download of their namesake track from their website. Here though is another track from the album entitled “Father’s Son” and is the Song of the Day.
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“Father’s Son” by Fistful of Mercy
Earlier this summer we featured “Let’s Go Surfing” from the debut album by the Brooklyn-based band The Drums. The album was originally released in the UK and online. Today the physical release of the disc is available in the U.S. The bonus track on the album “When I Come Home” is now a free download and is the Song of the Day.
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“When I Come Home” by The Drums
The always fascinating David Byrne has been featured here in the past with his music and various thoughts. (Just use the Search button in the upper right.) He continues to embrace the latest technologies to create new worlds for us to explore. Now he has created his own unique audiobook of his travelogue Bicycle Diaries which was published last year. Here is the letter that I recently received from him and this link will give you a free download for the Introduction to his Audiobook.
“After Bicycle Diaries came out in hardback about a year ago, I wondered to myself, what if the audiobook for this project was more like a cross between a podcast and a radio show instead of the usual author or actor reading in silence? I was thinking about the kind of radio show that NPR stations do from time to time, with background music, street sounds and other ambiences that help put the listener in the picture. So, I did one chapter (“New York”) as a test, with me reading, and though it took a lot longer to assemble than I expected, I felt it did indeed do what I imagined it could; when you heard the tinkle of glasses and silverware during a restaurant “scene,” boom!-you immediately felt you were there. Your mind fills in the details and these little sound cues help paint a fuller picture. If only I could have added smell! When the text went off on one of many tangents, and I began ruminating about a subject off the beaten path, a little bit of music I happened to have available helped tell you, the listener, that, yes, we’ve left the “story” temporarily, but will return soon. It started as an experiment and then turned into a complete DIY project, with the Hendler Brothers keeping the ball rolling.
I also realized that this particular book could be consumed in any order, and it didn’t matter which chapter you started with. So one could download and listen to the chapters as individual podcasts, in any sequence. I could even make the chapters available to download separately-you wouldn’t need to buy the whole audiobook to see if you liked the experience. This all would have been impossible if these were made available only via CD (or cassette!)…or with many other types of books.
Technology had, it seemed, created an opportunity for a whole new format to come into being. I’m not sure anything exactly like this has ever been done before. Sure, there are NPR radio shows with sound effects (Joe Frank comes to mind) as well as ye olde radio dramas (The Shadow was one), but if there’s anything similar out there I’m unaware of it. And yes, there are loads of downloadable audiobooks-but you have to listen to the chapters in the prescribed order, unless you are into self created meta fiction.
So, the first taste-the Introduction-is free. It’s shorter than a regular chapter too”.
!!! (generally pronounced Chk Chk Chk) have been together since 1996 when they formed in Sacramento, CA. They claim to have taken their name from the subtitles of the film The Gods Must be Crazy. The clicking sounds of the southern African Bushmen’s language was represented with an exclamation point (!). The 4th album by !!! has just been released with the title Strange Weather, Isn’t It? This dance/punk band is offering a free download of “AM/FM”, the Song of the Day.
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“AM/FM” by !!!
