Guilty conscience…
Hello boys and girls…so I haven’t updated this in a while (I blame FAKE BLOOD…quite rightedly I partied pretty hard as summer was running out. Why not? I had BESTIVAL, which was possibly one of the best experiences of my life so far. I visited Oxford for the first time (twice!) and love it there. I started a new college art course, and am busy with that as well as looking at universities. And it’s my birthday next week!
But I’m sure nobody reads this, so therefore doesn’t particularly care, and just wants me to get to the music and film…well I have quite a bit to update! But I’ll cut out a lot of it and jump to the strongest stuff…
First of all, there are new trailers for Wes Anderson’s FANTASTIC MR. FOX as well as Scorsese’s SHUTTER ISLAND that are vast improvements on the original trailers. You can see these here and here. Also, I saw DISTRICT 9 and it was incredible. Go. And. See. It. Now. And. Maybe. Again…or just get it on DVD like I will! Also there are films like WHERE THE WILDS THINGS ARE and THE ROAD to still look forward to.
Anyway, I’ll cut to the music, ’cause I don’t have much time on my hands right now!
New track from VAMPIRE WEEKEND, quite surprisingly. I think it came out today actually. It’s pretty upbeat, a lot more ‘tribal’. I like the playful percussion at more wistful points in the track. It’s looking hopeful for their new album, CONTRA, out JANUARY 11TH!
“Horchata” – Vampire Weekend (zshare)
Also, there’s an incredibly chilled out and incredibly catchy track I found the other day on another blog. I heard it, and immediately knew what it was. I’d heard Gilles Peterson play it at the beginning of his set at Bestival, and it didn’t really occur to me to find out what it was. Turns out it’s this talented young bloke under the guise of JOY ORBISON. I think it’s somewhere between dubstep, breaks, garage and techno…it’s interesting…a little along the same lines as Gold Panda, but less electronica/experimental…it’s HUGE with the dubstep producers/DJs at the moment, and it snapping off the shelves like hotcakes (two expressions in one? Why not?) – CHECK THIS OUT:
“Hyph Mngo” – Joy Orbison (zshare)
Third up is a combination of two bands I have a lot of gripes with. One is FLORENCE & THE MACHINE, who I find really really average, and don’t really ‘get’ them. In fact, their cover of The Source’s mid-90′s dance hit is really really bland. I remember hearing them do a cover of Beirut a while back and thinking how uninteresting it was as a cover, they brought nothing creative to it really. The second band involved are THE XX, who I still haven’t quite got into. When I first heard them, I described them, quite Pitchfork-like (shudder) matter-of-factly, as ‘shandy shoegaze’, due to their timid style, and use of petty laptop indie beats…but their treatment of the formerly mentioned cover is spectacular, really really catchy, and something The xx should look towards in terms of style. I heard they were gonna work with Diplo for their album but turned him down. Maybe they shouldn’t have. Try:
“You’ve Got The Love” (The xx Remix) – Florence & The Machine (zshare)
PICTUREPLANE is surprisingly brilliant. I thought he’d be a little too much like this average weird US indie stuff getting all the hype as of late (I’m looking at you Gang Gang Dance), but he’s not. I think he’s friends with the also brilliant HEALTH (correct me if I’m wrong). This particular track is a little like something else…but I can’t put my finger on it…help me out in the comments? Please?
“Day Glowwed” – Pictureplane (zshare)
Last up I thought I’d post a track I loved towards the end of the summer. The first one is very very chilled out, and really quite lovely (check out the video below!), the second is brand new and quite heavy electro, but in a way quite minimal. The last one is a massive laugh, and my friend reminded me of them…awful farmyard rave anyone?
“Gumball Machine Weekend” – Yppah (zshare)
“Flashmob” – Vitalic (zshare)
“Melvin’s Palace” – Lewisham Born, Lewisham Bred (zshare)
ALSO, a quick note! Don’t forget to buy MAYER HAWTHORNE‘s debut album A STRANGE ARRANGEMENT – it’s really really nice. Girls will dig it too. Also, new albums from PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS and THE ROOTS out soon which fingers crossed will be excellent. And the newest DJ YODA Cut & Paste mixes are absolutely brillaint, I might add. Plus he was one of the best at Bestival, alongside Buraka Som Sistema, Diplo, The Bloody Beetroots, Soulwax…jealous?
