ElephantWhale

Don't Miss: Yellow Ostrich

2011-01-03T11:46:00.003-05:00

Apparently Wisconsin is a really cool, creative place. I didn't particularly feel that way when I lived there, I mostly felt hung-over and cold. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that I have had the good fortune to stumble across Wisconsin's Alex Schaaf, a.k.a Yellow Ostrich. I first heard them live on KEXP while lying in bed listening to John in the morning. The thing that struck me about Yellow Ostrich was not the sound they are creating, but the sounds they are not creating. The minimalist, stripped down harmonies backed by a little drum and even less guitar sounds refreshing in the sea of lo-fi noisy garage rock that seems to be sweeping Brooklyn. The band consists of two people, Schaff building vocal harmonies with precise looping and a little bit of guitar and Michael Tapper of Bishop Allen and We Are Scientist on drums. So it's a new year, and i think we could all use some new music, and what better way to start than by checking Yellow Ostrich out at Mercury Lounge tomorrow, Tuesday January 4th. Check out the live KEXP show here and get your hands on some of Schaaf's many, many EP's at Bandcamp.

New Leland Sundries Video

2010-11-29T18:23:00.002-05:00

It's been a momentous year for Nick Loss-Eaton. His band, Leland Sundries, has had multiple US based tours, released the Apothecary EP, and now, a new music video. The video really captures the haunting-but-gruff theme that defines Leland Sundries sound. Shot in the Staten Island Tugboat Graveyard and directed by Scott Variano, the rusting metal and decaying ships remind us how quickly we forget once great things.

And for good measure, a video of "Giving Up Redheads" live in Brooklyn earlier this month.

Family Portrait is Playing Again

2010-11-24T18:12:00.003-05:00

Remember this post? It caused quite a stir, and I was very unpopular for my comments about the show. At any rate, Family Portrait is playing again, this time with Miracles of Modern Science and Tennis. Nice work boys! Come check them out at Mercury Lounge 12/1 for ten bucks. Tennis is awesome and you won't regret it even if you hate the other bands on the bill (which you won't).

See you there

xoxo
The Elephant

Emerging Music: Perfume Genius

2010-08-09T22:35:00.003-04:00

I was at work today, furiously sketching away and I got a text from a friend mentioning a band called Perfume Genius, whom he had heard on KEXP. I made a small mental note of it, and continued along in my fluorescent hell. A few hours later my most trusted source of music texted me telling me to listen to Perfume Genius. Her exact quote was "its like a quieter gayer Antlers". Ok kids, I get it. Perfume Genius, when I get home I'll look into it.

So I came home and got the album. I intended to work on editing the interview of another awesome band that I did on saturday, but instead I just kept listening to Perfume Genius. Its got some hymnaly undertones, some serious lyrics, some organs and some catchy piano melodies. I have a soft spot for soaring emotional music. This is soaring and emotional. 2010 has been a bit of a dead zone in terms of really new music, so I am pretty stoaked about it.

Seattle based Mike Hadreas released Learning with Matador, and you can buy it here.

Th Elephant

Concert Review: Leland Sundries

2010-07-23T19:33:00.001-04:00

Left: Dan Kaplan, Right: Nick Loss-Eaton

Leland Sundries is the mostly solo project of New York based Nick Loss-Eaton. He is re-branding Nashville’s original blues Americana with a touch of indie rock sarcasm.

Although he isn’t the first person to use a resonator guitar (see “Bon Iver”), it is a refreshing sound in a landscape of bands utilizing the same 3 piece set over and over. Leland Sundries has also been known to use a 2 string Cigar Box Guitar made in Memphis, giving his New York audiences the chance to experience something that few city kids even realize exists. Loss-Eaton also uses a megaphone-harmonica set up which captures the vintage-recording-scratchy echo that defines the original Americana sound for modern audiences.

For me, the cigar box was a sound that I had heard many times, but could never actually identify. Played with some hefty slide and nice backing guitars by Dan Kaplan, the Cigar Box was definitely my favorite surprise at the show. The stand out Leland Sundries song was “Giving Up Redheads” which according to insider,s might just be Loss-Eaton’s favorite kind of lady. Touching on the classical theme of love-lost man, Leland Sundries takes the twang-y Americana sound and infuses it with a little bit of classic rock styling and extra energy.

Leland Sundries plays both solo and with Dan Kaplan’s back up guitar. I liked a little bit of back up guitar and vocals to both support and define Loss-Eaton’s intended sound. I also saw some of Dan Kaplan’s solo set (with some nice backing by Mr. Nick Loss-Eaton) and was struck by the charming quality to Kaplan’s voice. His acoustic guitar and sweet vocals are certainly a crowd pleaser.

Although I only stayed for a few songs, I felt there was real potential for a bigger collaboration between Loss-Eaton and Kaplan. They have very different sounds and very different strengths. I want some banjo/cigar box twang with Kaplan’s soft strumming and delicate vocals. I want some deep spoken word growls from Loss-Eaton on top of the soft strumming and delicate voice of Kaplan. There is a juxtaposition there that I think could be explored.

Leland Sundries is playing in October, but there are whispers of shows upcoming in the next few weeks, if I hear anything I’ll post it.

Concert Review: Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms at The Bell House

2010-05-08T10:07:00.010-04:00

All Photos: Jeremy Bold

It was one of those beautiful spring evenings, where being indoors feels like a travesty. The only thing keeping me from the fading sunlight was the promise of an incredible live show. Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms delivered. The audience literally couldn't get enough of Watson and his circus act of musicians.

Watson is idiosyncratic to say the least. He seems to be receiving an outside energy at all times, struggling to contain it within his body and release it through his music. He rocks, sways and bobs his head, conducting the onstage musicians even when he is playing solo. His performance is visual as much as it is musical. Strobes and lighting from the floor of the stage emphasize the highs and lows of Watson's style. It felt like a depression era circus with a fun house and beautiful ladies riding plumed horses.

They opened in total darkness with "Fireweed", the strings and guitar solo drifting over the hushed audience. As the sound increased, so did the lighting, a sort of visual foreplay to the impending swell of the music. Watson's songwriting features a lot of slow build ups to cacophonous sounds, which cut back to delicate vocals. As a live audience member, watching these swells was a joy. Everyone on stage is building, adding layers and adjusting to each others sounds. It reminds me of the ocean, with calms between sets of waves.

He followed with "Beijing" which always feels like an opera, telling a story. In this case, the story was taking place under the graceful chandeliers of the Bell House. The sound was wonderfully complicated as it floated up to the wooden rafters. During "Traveling Salesman" Watson crooned into a megaphone as though he were a trumpeter, using a mute to create the "wah waaah waaaaaahhh" sound which we use in colloquial speech. For "Crickets" he made the entire audience hush because he swore he was hearing crickets. When we all stopped to silently listen, sure enough there were crickets (which turned out to be ventilation fans). It was an amusing lead into "Crickets" during which he sometimes chose not to use the mic, instead cupping his hands to his mouth. He also played a new song called "Sit Down Beside Me" which featured guitarist Simon Angell playing with a spoon.

When they played the last song, the audience was going wild, Watson came out and announced that they had a little something special and would be right back. He reemerged wearing a contraption sprouting stems topped with megaphones and bright LED lights like a crazy sea creature on his back. He and the band came to the middle of the audience and we all sang "Man Under The Sea". The drummer played the saw with a violin bow, and the guitarist stood on a folding chair. It felt like a summer camp sing-a-long on the last night before we all returned to our suburban homes, The Bell House's rafters and buffalo art emulating summer cabins in Maine and Vermont.

This did not quell the audience's desires to hear more, so the whole band returned to the stage and played a little improv piece from an audience suggestion entitled "Where are my Pyjamas?". It had a Radiohead-y sounding guitar line, and was truly a unique experience. Although Watson gets most of the attention, his band, Simon Angell, Robbie Kuster and Mishka Stein were wonderful. Watson introduced them and the strings many times throughout the night, in a self humbling and appreciative way. They were wonderful and deserve their own props for working with Watson to create his Time Burton-esque dreamland.

Doveman opened with delicate gentle indie-folk-jazz. I'm not quite sure how to categorize his music, but it was soft and fleeting, with lots of improv. I felt like I should have been in a speakeasy wearing a gown and holding a cigarette. It was completely lovely and set the tone for the Wooden Arms perfectly. Doveman front man Thomas Bartlett is a well known musician in his own right, playing with The National, Norah Jones and David Byrne.

Watson's Wooden Arms and Close to Paradise are available here. Doveman's The Conformist is available here.

xx The Elephant

Partick Watson is Coming!

2010-04-30T17:49:00.005-04:00

Thursday May 6th is a big concert night here in New York, there are 3 excellent show choices, including Local natives with Suckers , Beach House and Canadian indie folk band Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms. I myself will be at the Patrick Watson show at the Bell House. Watson is a known for his crazy instrument choices and his breathy vocals. Most bands get together with the intention of record deals and tours, but Watson's troupe came together to make music to go along with a book, and after a few live shows with enthusiastic responses decided to stick with it.

Here's Watson's Fireweed for you guys to prep for the show. Listen for the trademark percussive drumming and airy vocals. Also check out these awesome Take Away videos.

Hope to see you there!

xx The Elephant

Free Album Download!

2010-04-25T23:56:00.003-04:00

Brooklyn based The House Floor is giving away their wonderful album Warship for free! that's right folks, some things in life are free! It sounds like a fuzzy, rocked out Conor Oberst album without all of the overt political innuendo. What I'm really saying is that the lead singer's vocals remind me of Bright Eyes, but that the actual music sounds nothing like them. What I like about this album are the injections of gentle guitar riffs with lots of reverb and breathy vocals. It still qualifies in my book as garage rock, but there are some softer jammier moments.

Enjoy!

xx The elephant

Concert Review: The Morning Benders @ MHOW 4/24

2010-04-25T17:46:00.005-04:00

The Morning bender's Chris Chu, photo: Jeremy Bold

Saturday night's line-up at Music Hall of Williamsburg was a sunny pop-rock theme adventure. Featured headliners The Morning Benders are from lovely San Francisco and their music certainly reflects it. As much of today's west coast rock, they are breezy and infectious--ladies seem to be most susceptible to the beguiling charms of lead singer Chris Chu's charms. Big Echo has received tons of critical acclaim (a great 8.2 from LTH) throughout the blogosphere since day 1, so it was no surprise that they were able to completely sell out 2 shows here in New York. Their particular brand of 50's surf inspired indie pop is nice because it blends contemporary indie rock with obvious throwbacks and lots of charisma.

The first thing I noticed about the stage was the clean set up. The space was completely clear of extraneous objects (amps, cups, cords, instruments, etc.) with the bass, guitar and keyboard/guitar players all standing in a clean line across the front of the stage facing out toward the audience. The drummer was on a platform directly behind the lead singer. The simplicity of the set up felt fresh, there was no machinery, just people and instruments, making genuine music. Secondly, this open space allowed for lots of movement from Chu which he freely used for almost every song. The other endearing thing that Chu does is thank the audience between every song, and announce the song title. His unpretentious attitude was cute and very strongly targeted his large group of youthful female fans.

They opened with a fuzzy tune up that turned into a swelling song which I failed to write the title in my notes. I did write a note to myself that my photographer Jeremy confirmed: there are some really Grizzly Bear-ish elements to their music. Certainly more pop hooks and catchier tunes than GB. A little research confirms my suspicion: they toured in Fall 2009 supporting Grizzly Bear, and GB's Chris Taylor produced the album. The strong drum line and piercing guitar in songs like Hand Me Downs and Promises are where I was hearing the influence most. I think the California take on the GB sound is really working for them. Frankly, every song was solid, and more exciting live than in recording. We lucked out and they also played a new song called Go Grab a Stranger which featured a great interaction between the guitarists who happen to be brothers (its extremely apparent on stage).

As much as I enjoyed the performance, I did feel like the quantity of interaction between Chris Chu and the audience was a little bit extreme. This was certainly the closest I've ever come to being near a heartthrob. During their viral hit Excuses, he outright jumped off the stage and was roaming around in the audience. Interestingly, there is very little written literature about them. Stereogum did an interview, but I'm curious about the band itself, and looking for more history from them.

Holiday Shores guitarist wailing on a symbol, Photo: Jeremy Bold

I only heard one of the openers, but it was a band from Tallahassee FL called Holiday Shores. We happened to be positioned next to their super fans and record reps, so it seemed like everyone around us was really enthusiastic about their performance. I certainly liked them, and thought they were a great fit for The Morning Benders. Holiday Shores sounds like a jammy/psych pop explosion. There was lots of crazy onstage dancing, particularly from the lead guitarist wailing on a symbol. The lead Singer/Key Boardist reminded me of Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig. Also, I think I need to personally do some vintage shopping in Florida, because i was obsessed with both his floral printed shirt and his cardigan.

Concert Review: Harlem w/ Girls at Dawn at Mercury Lounge 4/22

2010-04-24T19:39:00.006-04:00

Image via Matador Records

Much hyped Texas trio Harlem graced New York with a quicky on Thursday. I can think of lots of adjectives to describe their show: silly, giddy, playful, unpretentious...the list goes on and on. They certainly don't take themselves too seriously lending to a signature stage presence.

A lot of bands attempt to play everything technically correctly in their live shows, but Harlem certainly isn't one of them. Not only did they restart songs several times, but at one point during the show, singer/guitarist/drummer Michael Coomers said "Its only been four minutes and I already fucked up". The great thing about this show was how much fun the band was having, they were on stage rocking out, talking to each other over the mics, and entertaining all of us. Instead of worrying about playing a flawless show, their wild on stage attitude lends itself to a true rock and roll vibe. Everything about them was, in a word, badass. The experience of seeing them interacting on stage was as important as the actual music.

The set was relatively short, as is the nature of their dizzying, all-out intensity songs. They covered a great deal of Hippies bringing the messy characteristic of their tracks to life. Every song felt impromptu, as though they had a loose set list and they certainly didn't feel any need to stick to it or even discuss the changes amongst themselves. They seemed to be constantly surprised at themselves, taking a moment to get into the groove of each song. I liked the unrehearsed nature of the show. Abandoning the shiny, pretty boy rock of most pop music seems to be their MO, and it works.

After all of this talk about sloppy performance, I should clarify that there was a great deal of musicianship displayed on stage. The show began with Coomers as lead singer/guitarist with Curtis O'Mara on drums and Jose Boyer on bass. About half way through the set, O'Mara and Coomers traded positions and assumed new roles. The transition was seamless, and I hadn't expected that from the recordings. If either Coomer or O'Mara prefer one role over another, it isn't apparent.

Image via The Girls at Dawn Myspace

Supporting Harlem were Brooklyn based The Girls at Dawn. As my concert buddy said, they were "total babes". As a chick myself I was certainly envious of their position opening up for three other sexy rock boys. They played punk inspired grunge/psych rock. The Girls aren't trying to float by on their looks: they played a tight set which felt well rehearsed and solid. They didn't have a strong stage presence though, it felt a little bit timid and shy. This could be the result of almost constant harmonic vocals, preventing any serious dancing and jumping around, but the show was static. As an opener for Harlem they seemed organized but reserved.

Harlem Hippies is out on Matador, The Girls at Dawn are out on Captured Tracks (who also have Woods, Ganglians, and Dum Dum Girls...I like this label!)

xxThe Elephant

Review: Real Estate and Family Portrait at Monster Island Basement 4/16

2010-04-19T16:03:00.004-04:00

Last time I saw real Estate they were opening for Woods at Market Hotel. I liked them well enough then to catch them at another Todd P show this weekend, featuring a total of 4 bands, although we only saw 3 of them.

Big Troubles was on stage when we got there, and they were going at it (EDIT: A very concerned commenter has brought it to my attention that this band was Big Troubles, not Liam the Younger as previously posted. When we walked in and asked at the door who was on stage we were told that it was Liam the Younger. My apologies to Liam the Younger for any trouble this may have caused.) They weren't bad, but they did need some help in the vocals department. Both of the singers were a little bit weak. Neither projected enough and there wasn't any balance, you could barely hear the poor kids. I am going to chalk it up to a little bit of inexperience and a little bit of nerves.

Family Portrait was up next, and in my opinion, they stole the show. Their music has a lot of variety and a lot of energy. Styles swing from 60's surfer songs to Nirvana inspired rock songs. Despite the range of influences, it was still a consistent sound, and enjoyable the whole way through. I look forward to hearing more from these boys (guys? we were guessing at their ages, and the results were inconclusive). Whatever they are doing, I hope playing Todd P basement shows is the springboard for a real record. Stay tuned, I'll be following up on them.

Real Estate headlined the show. Here's the thing about them: they are extremely consistent in their sound. They all sort of blend together a little bit. They put on a good show technically, despite a crowd of adoring fans, people weren't getting into it. On another note, they had some er...supporters there who were sort of shouting in between songs and it was rather unprofessional. I don't want to be that uptight person at a show...but I feel like these guys are probably going to do very well for themselves in the next couple of years and the time to establish themselves as professionals is now. As far as their musical performance was concerned they played like top notch gentleman, I think they just need to get their friends under control a little bit.

A few words about Monster Island Basement: I miss Market Hotel. It had such character (i think that character was old nicotine) and it was a good shape so that you were never in a bad sopt. MIB has lots of suppor beams, and a weird corner stage that makes it easy to be in a blind zone or stuck right next to a speaker. I'll take it over nothing for sure, but I amholding out hope that Todd P can get proper licensing in place for MH so that it will come back to life. Without the nicotine.

xx The Elephant

Fucking Amazing Patrick Watson Video

2010-04-19T15:57:00.000-04:00

Review: Liars at Bowery Ballroom 4/15

2010-04-16T11:08:00.004-04:00

Upon initial listen, Liars sound rather hardcore and angry, and you know me, I shy away from hardcore. Lately though I've been signing a different tune, I have started to get into lo-fi, which has led me closer to noise rock and hardcore.

So with a little nudging from the deeply trusted Nana, and some other music friends, I decided to go see them at Bowery Ballroom. If I don't like them at Bowery, then they just aren't for me. I really gave their 2007 ST album a few good listens before the show. At Jeremy's recommendation I started with the last track, Protection. It's the softest and most melodic track, and really demonstrates the depth of what Liars are doing. Before the show I was still not 100% on board, but hey, I love shows, so nothing to lose.

We got there just in time for Liars. To me they seem to be a great paradox: the sound doesn't match the act of the band. This can be either a good thing or a bad thing, in this case it's a wonderful thing. They clearly work really hard to build the sound they create, and do it with fervor and enthusiasm. Front man and lead singer Angus Andrew has incredibly long forearms, and when he dances he looks a bit like a transvestite orangoutang, very feminine and little awkward. I loved his dancing, it really defined the paradox: post punk meets Brittany Spears? Also, Andrew is totally raging on stage, and sweats like crazy. He would be still for a moment and then start head banging, and it was like a backlit shower. In the meantime, while Andrew is on stage rocking out, the crowd was essentially moshing in the front. Their music does have some violent undertones ("Blood, Blood, Blood" from the track "Broken Witch") but also some sweet moments. Part of me wonders if it is intended as sarcasm and humor, validating the fact that upon first listen they are merely a hardcore band, but in reality they have a serious musical background and strong theme.

They were having fun onstage, and being badass rocker pirates has nothing to do with the image, and everything to do with the music. They were incredible onstage, created such energy that I am considering seeing them again at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday. They make me want to run out and see Fuck Buttons and No Age and every other angry band that I previously thought I didn't want to see.

Have a nice weekend Lovies!

xxThe Elephant

La Blogotheque: Beach House

2010-03-31T22:44:00.000-04:00

xx The Elephant

The Notorious XX

2010-03-31T22:19:00.004-04:00

I think free music is a really beautiful thing. There are so few things in life that are free, and giving away one's work for the sake of everyone's enjoyment, thats good people. I also really admire wait what, because he works at a tech company in San Fran, but still finds time to do something he loves. Respect that. So give it a quick listen and let me know what you think. Its a pretty amazing release... It takes my favorite things about hip hop/rap and combines it with my favorite things about indie rock. It's melodic, and a little bit bittersweet. Download your FREE COPY here. Thanks wait what!!!

xx Th Elephant

Review: Ruby Suns w/ Toro y Moi at Brooklyn Bowl

2010-03-28T18:20:00.004-04:00

You know, I can't decide how I feel about Brooklyn Bowl. Its disarmingly big, and the crowd is odd...both times I've been there for shows there was a huge crowd for the opener and it diminished as the evening wore on. Its sort of like people wanted to stop in a get a beer before they really go out, so they watch the band, drink a couple of beers and go. It feels like only 20% of the people there have even heard of the bands.

As a result, there was a big crowd for Toro y Moi, the one man act from South Carolina. He came onstage wearing a pink zip up and some serious specs. At first I thought he was a DJ, but then he sort of stopped messing with the loops and started singing. Ah yes, I see the problem. He can't (yet) sing and do sound at the same time...This causes some of his transitions to be a bit choppy and with some awkward halting moments in his music. The desire to be a singer and a DJ at the same time is cool, and I can see where he's going with it, but it needs a little bit more time to get used to performing. I think that a lot of energy went into creating the loops and beats, which unfortunately caused him to be sort of unprepared to sing. He wasn't really able to divide his attention between singing and his sound board. I think he has solid underlying ideas and they will be able to shine a little bit when he doesn't have to focus so much on the technical aspects of creating the music.

After his set ended I guess the crowd lost interest in the venue, because the audience thinned out quite a bit. This was cool with me, I was pretty interested in seeing Ruby Suns, and didn't need to be in the armpit of a sweaty hipster whilst doing this. Right off the bat, my brother pointed out something that I wouldn't have ever been able to pinpoint on my own: the drummer should really play the synth, and the keyboardist should play the bass. How did we come to this crazy conclusion? There was almost no bass, at all. The keyboardist was playing beats on the synth, and the drummer was using an electronic kit, making essentially similar sounds as the keyboardist. This creates sort of an eerie sound, but it also sounded a little bit thin where we were standing.

The music is one part Cut Copy, one part Animal Collective. Since they are Kiwis, I'm going to let them off the hook for sounding almost too much like AC (like Dusty Fruit). There was a whole group of songs that had a really strong Caribbean influence (also, Like Dusty fruit). These felt like their strongest players: they had solid rhythms and good dance potential. They played a couple of songs off of their previous album, and I must admit, I was not impressed. They were jumpy and all over the place. Their newer work feels fairly cohesive, both on record and live. The old stuff was sort of out of left field. Don't play so much of that stuff guys, you are giving yourselves a bad name.

In short, I like the Ruby Suns. There are some great influences that need to be explored (dance-y Caribbean inspired tunes maybe?). The crowd wasn't going crazy and dancing, but I think the potential is there. Give them some time to get radio play, and I think the crowd will get into it.

x The Elephant

Where Fashion meets Music

2010-02-21T20:04:00.005-05:00

Image via Mister Mort

So I just stumbled across this post. Its our lovely friend, Joanna Newsom, wearing a badass Comme Des Garcone trench. I would kill for a trench like that for SS10. I know this doesn't appeal to a lot of my readers, but I deeply love fashion and would love to find a way to look at fashion on my blog without losing my music readers. depending on my upcoming free time, I think I'll probably start writing a bit more and maybe I'll just throw in some fashion tidbits as I see fit. You can just avoid them if you don't like them, right?

Also, I found this because I am "acquiring" the new album as I type this. I'd like to absorb it tonight and write a few tidbits about it.

<3 The Elephant

Avi Buffalo Plays a NY Show (w/ Final Fantasy!!!)

2010-01-09T23:59:00.004-05:00

Ahhh...I just read their myspace...they signed with Sub Pop. If you click the label below you'll see that I wrote about them in June of 2008, back when I wrote in my blog religiously, and had a passion for finding amazing new music. Remember that post? I said that they needed a couple of years to "marinate". They album drops this spring. Thats about 2 years. Sometimes I amaze myself. And I'm really modest. As a side note: my mom read that post and called me about "smoking bowls and stealing traffic cones". Thanks Mom.

Anyways, they are playing on January 16th at Pianos, and the 18th at Bowery Ballroom. I think I might try to stop in and check them out...They are very california sunny etc. Check them out here.

<3 The Elephant

New Animal Collective EP Streaming

2009-11-29T20:31:00.004-05:00

Here

I know you're shocked, Love to Hate gave it an 8.9....Are they going to run out revise their prematurely released best of '09 lists? I haven't listened to it yet so I have no comment, but just thought you'd like to know!

<3 The Elephant

Guilty Pleasure-New Moon OST

2009-11-29T17:10:00.003-05:00

This shouldn't be a Guilty Pleasure, the soundtrack contains Thom Yorke, Grizzly Bear, Lykke Li, and Bon Iver among many others. When the track list was released there was all of this fury and hubub around the blogosphere about selling out to something that so blatantly opposes indie culture. I couldn't disagree more about "selling out" as I have probably said many, many times. I saw New Moon, and honestly, enjoyed it. Aside from the obvious porn-y quality, the soundtrack is far above that average teen movie and the artist who participated were undoubtedly handsomely rewarded. This handsome reward allows these artist to take a break from touring and write new, progressive material.

That said, most of the album is a little too catchy. Lykke Li's track "Possibility" could have easily come off Youth Novels. It is perfect within the context of the film and will garner her a much larger audience of album purchasing teenage girls. The Grizzly Bear song sounds just like them, but its not going cause the shows to fill up with cougars looking for some action. It's not the catchiest track on the album and it's too simplified to sound like they wasted precious days working on it. It's stripped down backing up Victoria Legrands vocals for large sections of the track. No love lost there. Bon Iver's song sounds exactly like his work for Blood Bank, so it doesn't hint at what may be in the future for a new album (unless he plans to flush out that EP in this style).

On the whole the album is decent, and for the most part the artist wrote catchy songs, so in some cases it feels like a bit of a departure from the artists' natural instincts. That's fine with me though. I am not sure why indie artists are held to different standards than everyone else, they apparently are not supposed to be interested in supporting themselves and their families. By all means write a catchy song, get these teeny boppers to buy your album, and let them feel overwhelmed by your actual music. Maybe I'm trying to be too much of a soothsayer, but that is my hope for the future of these kinds of projects: more money for the artist, not overcrowded shows.

Happy Holidays friends...

<3 The Elephant

Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack Streaming

2009-10-26T12:12:00.004-04:00

If you have a pulse you know about Where the Wild Things Are. If you are even remotely into music, you know that Karen O did the soundtrack (even though the film was supposedly inspired by Arcade Fire?) Anyway, the soundtrack is streaming here.

Enjoy!

<3 The Elephant

Cymbals Eat Guitars Write Up

2009-10-22T23:51:00.001-04:00

NYTimes did a nice little write up of one of my new fav bands....you know, my current music love child.

<3 The Elephant

New MBAR album streaming free! And some other random stuff

2009-10-20T22:49:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been about a month since I last wrote anything for you all to enjoy (ha!). My awesome new friend N posted a link on my facebook wall to a stream of the new Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson album. I'm telling you folks, I think he's going to be something. I haven't listened to it fully yet, but I am sure that I will write a review of this one for you. Maybe around thanksgiving at the rate that I seem to be writing these days.

On that note, I'm going to throw in a few other things here, since I've been meaning to write about them for weeks, and I haven't...because I'm busy. And reading a really good book. And not going to many shows lately. Enough excuses, I hate excuses. So here are some new bands to check out. Well, I mean new to me in no particular order:

-The xx

-Fanfarlo

-Woods (maybe... haven't listened enough yet)

-Florence and the Machine (and the awesome xx remix of florence)

-The Antlers

-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

-Fool's Gold (which I think is a Luke Top band, who has some pretty cool solo stuff these days too)

-Foreign Born (also some members of Fool's Gold I think?)

-Horse Feathers

-Jack Penante

Did I tell you I saw Cymbals Eat Guitars? Maybe I did, in my last post? It was a while ago, so I can't remember, but they were killer. Seriously, they don't suffer from "new band, bad performance" syndrome. There's nothing wrong with a healthy case of NBBPS, Bon Iver was awful the first time I saw him, so hey, lets not be judgey.

Other thoughts: The newest Regina Spektor, which came out over the summer is incredible. Seriously, pitchfork gave it a 4, but they're asshats, so don't take anything they say for real. They criticized how cute and sweet the album is, but its Regina...thats partly who she is, and if you listen to it and all you get out of the whole thing are cute and sweet, then you didn't listen carefully enough to her words. She's pretty damn insightful. I guess they have higher standards for her than they do everyone else. Not cool folks, not cool at all.

Speaking of pitchfork, you should check out their top 200 albums of the last decade (which is also stupid, because it has nothing to do with the album rankings in each year...it seems to take into account how well the album aged. Music ages in very personal ways.) Anyway, I like the Stereogum summation and comments as always!

Anyway, I wanted to put myspace links up for each band, but i'm lazy. Talkto you soon!

<3>

Record/Concert Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars-Why There Are Mountains at Brooklyn Bowl

2009-09-22T23:26:00.003-04:00

After SXSW every year I look at round ups of everyone's favorite acts. A name that came up over and over was Cymbals Eat Guitars, but since I'm a total curmudgeon, I usually don't see the hovering stars that everyone else see after sxsw. That's irritating, I thought to myself, their name is hard to say...I'll never remember that. Well, after 6 months, and many live acts and new albums, I'm still listening to their self released recording. The first time I listened to Why There Are Mountains I was reminded of Modest Mouse, but not reminded as in "lacking originality". I just had an instant warm reaction. Perhaps it's the lingering sensation, or the constant growth and stillness in the album, but I think the opening track, And the Hazy Sea, describes the whole album. With its building crescendos, lofty vocals and orgasmic releases the opening track captured me. I am certainly not one whole easily grasps extended noisy guitars, but that is where the strength in this album lies. It's musically strong, both soaring and sinking. All over the place, in a neat and organized fashion.

I had been on a mini-indie music hiatus post-Bonarroo, but seeing that Cymbals Eat Guitars would be headlining in Brooklyn, I couldn't resist. I headed to Brooklyn Bowl for a beer and some live music. Sadly, I missed Real Estate (damn day job) but got there just in time for Suckers. I was having a hard time taking them seriously, because I was seriously curious about Cymbals Eat Guitars. Here is a group of young guys who recorded an album without a label, and somehow managed to become one of the most blogged about bands of 2009 (this fact is totally un-researched, but it feels that way to me). I guess I had an image of 4 awkward boys from Staten Island, with stage fright, and better recording skills than actual talent. I was wrong. So very, very wrong. I don't know why I insist on jumping to negative conclusions, maybe I like the pleasant surprise?? Anyway, lead singer Joseph "Ferocious" D'Agostino (of grocery fame?) absolutely killed it on stage. He was dripping sweat, swaying, bending and folding to his own incredible tunes. The band played a pretty tight act, without too much improv, just a solid group of songs. For a band that released it's debut 6 months ago, I was floored. They all focused on the music instead of trying to be good performers. The good performance flowed out of their obvious untiy. Without hesitation I would absolutely go see them again. I also look forward to the battle of the record labels...who is going to try to snatch them up? Will the take on a manager? Its almost an unheard of success story. These days gaining this level of popularity without a label is commendable, a true sign of talent and grace. Good luck boys. See you again soon.
<3 The Elephant.

P.S Did I mention that Mr. Ferocious is only 20...thats robbing the cradle for me....i'm just sayin....youthful talent is attractive....

PPS They are playing again with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson at Le Poisson Rouge on October 23rd...you'd bette bet that I'll be there.

Anthem Magazine Host Bone to Party

2009-05-06T18:19:00.004-04:00

Hello friends! It has been a good week here on the elephant front: Jasmina (my old boss's daughter) has found a good match to donate bone marrow!! (Well, she personally didn't find the match, y'know, she's 6...) This means that she will receive a life lengthening (and hopefully life saving!!) transplant some time in the next month. I am so pleased and relieved, and I know that many of my friends joined the registry as a result of my little cause (read: my incessant nagging).

I just read that Anthem Magazine is hosting a party at Santos Party House on Saturday night to register potential donors, and raise money for DKMS. DKMS is a wonderful organization that spearheaded the hunt for Jasmina's donor. They tirelessly worked with hundreds of volunteers over the last few months organizing events coast to coast.

Guess who's playing at this party? Real Estate! Remember them? Okay, well you should, because I think that they might get big...they have a lot of shows scheduled around the city this spring. I'm not sure if that means anything, but i like them, and I like that they are involved in a bone marrow event. And now I really like Anthem....So if you are in the city this weekend, you should go! I'm going to Boston so I'm going to totally miss out, which makes me sad. Open Bar from 7-8 PM, free give-aways (including tiffany's jewelry? jigga whaaa?)....

Ok friends, happy hump day, see you soon*

<3>

The Loom at Crash Mansion, 4/17

2009-04-21T22:39:00.006-04:00

I know what you are thinking: The Loom? I though you were going to see Emanuel and the Fear. A more dedicated, organized and aggressive girl would have seen Emanuel. I apparently lack any of those characteristics...I got really caught up in the beautiful weather, and then really, really caught up in traffic. By the time I got to Crash Mansion I was in a mood, to say the least...and have I mentioned how I feel about Crash Mansion? Let me reiterate: not good. I get it, its a small venue that sort of clean, has a good sound system, and isn't full of pretentious hipsters. I guess that's nice, except that I like all of those things about the other equal sized venues. Crash Mansion is an attempt to bring a little tiny dab of indie culture to people who absolutely couldn't find it on their own. The kind of people who think The Fray are indie. So needless to say, I don't like the venue. However, I was on an open tab, and this brightened up my mood considerably, allowing me to get to business with The Loom.

So the first song they played was AMAZING. It involved two drummers sharing one drum set, and the lead singer was playing a ukulele. He had sort of a gravelly, speaky way of singing. I think it may have been "Song for the Winter Sun" which is on their myspace page. I had HIGH hopes for them, as I couldn't really relate them to another band too closely, and they had their own sound. Very percussive, and very strong. Unfortunately, that was sort of the end of my awe. The rest of their songs were all significantly more main stream sounding: catchy, beatuiful and soulful. There is a heavy bluegrass influence, but also a lot of incontinuity. They are very clearly talented musicians, but they lack direction and cohesion. I would put "True Believers All" with "Song for the Winter Sun" together on an album, and "Of Vegas and Vanity" with "Patience for Books". This is not to say that the two sets of songs aren't strong and worth a good listen, because they are, but unfortunately I don't think they are attracting the same crowds. I genuinely felt like The Loom has a lot going for them, but they need to decide where they are taking it. I hope they take the path with all of those brambles, without the ease of the bluegrass carrying them through. I feel guilty being so judgey and harsh, since this isn't a band thats just trying to be cool or weird, they seem pretty genuinely like s group of people who derive joy from music. I would absolutely go see them again in a year. I want to know what they are doing, because I do believe that they have a lot of potential, and that they will follow through. They do have a lot of gigs scheduled in the New York area, so hopefully we will be seeing more of them in the better venue circuit (i.e Union Hall, Union Pool, Mercury Lounge). I actually wish these guys a lot of success, and hope that they prove me wrong, by becoming one of the break out acts of 2009.

Listen to them, tell me what you think.

<3 The Elephant

Emanuel and the Fear

2009-04-17T10:07:00.004-04:00

I'm going to Crash Mansion tonight to check these guys out. They are an 11 piece band, thats sort of Ben Folds Five with an orchestra-y? I'm not really sure what to expect, but its free, and honestly, as much as I LOVE Veckatimest, I think I need some freshness on the music front. I'll let you kids know what I think. Meanwhile, take a listen. It might be a little too mainstream and safe ultimately for my taste, but sometimes I just want easy music, okay?

P.S. Has anyone ever been to Crash Mansion for anything, ever? I saw it in Nick and Nora's Infinit Playlist but otherwise I have never had any reason to be there.

Updated Show Listings

2009-04-11T09:23:00.003-04:00

Hey Kids, I know I haven't written in forever! Sorry about that, I don't know wtf my problem is here lately. Anywhooooo, I am updating my "shows to see" list on the right there, with a bunch of bands that I think have some potential. I actually can't make it to a bunch of these shows, but I just wanted you to have the opportunity to go if you could....

In particular:
Real Estate
Red Cortez (a bit like Bon Iver)
Middle Distance Runner (they have been around for a while, but I never hear anything from them)
Cymbals Eat Guitars

Also, not listed is the TVOR/Dirty Projectors at Summerstage on Friday 6/6. Its been sold out forever, but I might still see about going, it seems like a completely killer lineup.

<3 R

Beirut with The Vassar Orchestra, and Kaki King

2009-02-08T15:37:00.006-05:00

At the Brooklyn Academy of Music last night, every hipster in the greater NY area gathered to act like responsible adults in an auditorium. Apparently Beirut wasn't feeling like being responsible. This was far and away the most dissappointing Beirut show I have ever seen. I have seen them in various settings in the last 3 years, and last night was in my head, supposed to be a transition from Beirut the band that plays mid size, dirty venues to the mature band that can actually hold court in a concert hall. This was not the case.

Kaki King opened, and despite a bit too much banter, she and her drummer are obviously musicians. They filled the space, her skill on the guitar, and his on the drums were litterally breathtaking. I was in awe. This is amusing because I saw her play when I was in college and remember her being crazy good then, but you know, time and beer rot the brain....

When Beirut took the stage, S and I were thrilled. Not only were were going to see Beirut orchestrated, we were going to get to sit! I stupidly believed this farce and wore cute little heels, assuming that standing in an opera house was sacreligious. As I said, I am stupid. The first thing young Zach did was ask that people stand, and come up to the stage. I was PISSED. I really wanted to sit. That was not to be. The thing was that we were seated in the orchestra, so we were on this ridiculous incline, the whole night. People around us were obviously pissed too, and we didn't even have that ood of seats, so I bet that those in the front weren't happy. To top it off, Beirut played weakly. They weren't filling the space, they weren't in tune, they weren't together, and I am pretty sure that ZC was stoned. He was mumble slurring into the microphone and it was underwhelming. Made worse by the fact that Kaki had really filled the space, their efforts were just cutting it. That one horn player who is amazing was there, and that kid who looks like Zach Effron, and the curly haired accordian player, and a new drummer? It seemed like the group was a bit smaller than usual, but that could have to do with the Vassar orchestra being there (its a little unclear to me) (and I think its a different group every time anyway).

As soon as the orchestra took the stage things improved drastically, although ZC was still very clearly making mistakes. The orchestra helped to fill out the sound a little bit, and really brought the music to life. I think one of the things that makes Beirut so wonderful is that the music really has a life of its own, often with lots of random instruments and voices. On the whole, it was still fun, and I am still glad I went ($50 glad? Birthday present glad? Not sure...) but nonetheless, it was better than a sharp kick, so I'll take it.

The other thing, is that I have really high expectations for this band in particular, because their music is smart, and their act is well maintained and put togehter. This show was none of those things. It felt like the cool guy at school was somehow messing everything up. Like everyone had such high expectations for him and he wasn't meeting them. That must be a tremendous amount of pressure. Pressure that I sure don't want. However, that is part of being a professional, its doing things correctlyunder pressure. I think at this point in his career people are no longer giving him a break for being young and inexperienced. I hope he isn't pulling a Lindsay or a Brittney, growing too big, too fast and cracking under the pressure. I am sure he isn't, but I was not impressed.

<3>

Dark Was the Night: An Album YOU Should Actually Buy

2009-02-06T07:48:00.003-05:00

Compilations are seemingly rare in indie music, I am not sure why. Or if that's true. In any case, The National has curated a 2 disc compilation to be released by 4AD on February 16th. Just in case you aren't aware of the internet and you haven't already heard every track, I'm here to tell you that should you buy, not illegally download, this album. Not because it's fantastic, but because profits from the venture will go to the Red Hot Organization, which raises funds and awareness for AIDs and HIV. Although true to form, anything the National touches is excellent. And if this isn't enough to get you to go buy the friggen album, maybe this all-star cast will:

Andrew Bird
Antony + Bryce Dessner
Arcade Fire
Beach House
Beirut
Blonde Redhead + Devastations
Bon Iver
Bon Iver & Aaron Dessner
The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
The Decemberists
Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
Kevin Drew
Feist + Ben Gibbard
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear + Feist
Iron & Wine
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Kronos Quartet
Stuart Murdoch
My Brightest Diamond
My Morning Jacket
The National
The New Pornographers
Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch
Riceboy Sleeps
Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio)
Spoon
Sufjan Stevens
Yeasayer
Yo La Tengo

<3>

Build Yourself Some Good Karma

2009-02-04T22:12:00.002-05:00

Ok so we just established that we all need some upbeat in our lives, but how about some good karma? If you are my friend on any sort of social media (e-mail, twitter, facebook etc) you are aware that I am currently campaigning for people to get their cheeks swabbed to check for the opportunity to donate bone marrow. So why would you donate bone marrow? We all know that it is pretty painful, but what about the outcome? For starters, that chances that you will be a DNA mach to a stranger are obscenely small, only 2 in 10 patients in need of bone marrow will ever get it (this includes from siblings I believe). So that means that your chances of getting called as a stranger are very, VERY small. And if you do get that call? Are you willing to have a needle stuck into your bone? Wouldn't you want a stranger to do that for your child, sibling, niece, nephew, friend, etc? I am both shocked and horrified that people are so unwilling to participate. So if you think that you are willing to do something selfless between now and yor 61st birthday, please follow this link:

Jasmina

<3 The Elephant

Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, where have you been all of my life?

2009-01-31T11:07:00.002-05:00

Typically I am on here gushing about some new ohmyfuckingod they are sohotamazingtalentedbrooklyn band. But for once, I found something that isn't from bk, and didn't get signed because of scruffy beards. These are people who have a cause, who are passionate about something. Somehow they really speak to me, in the most beautifully, dancing and upbeat way. We all need a little bit of upbeat in our lives, no? Read this very interesting article. And thanks to Ctang for the tip.

<3

Shugi Tokumaru on MTV

2009-01-26T20:14:00.003-05:00

Well kids, it has been over a month since my last post. I am sort of between a rock and a hard place these days. I am trying to update my books so I can be prepared for an inevitable and impending job hunt, but also working like a dog at my current post designing women's clothing. Needless to say, that leaves me with very little time to engage in non-fashion pursuits. D reminded me that I have totally falen off the wagon with my writing recently. Thanks man.

So just briefly, remember that I had a little stint of being obsessed with that Japanese pop artist Shugi Tokumaru? Hes on MTV Iggy (w.e.t.f that is) and you can watch him here. He is so cute.
<3 The Elephant

Via Stereogum

Best Albums of 2008

2008-12-22T11:02:00.004-05:00

There are always some great debates at the end of the year about who deserves to be on the "Best Of" lists that every magazine and blog posts. I am sure it is quite an honor to be on any of the lists, but there were a couple of conspicuously missing artists who I didn't see much on any of the lists. Perhaps I have bad taste (which I HIGHLY doubt, but can't rule out) or perhaps, people are putting too much weight in commercial popularity? Honestly, who knows.

Albums that didn't get enough credit from the lists:

- Sigur Ros - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
- Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
- Noah and the Whale - Peaceful the World Lays Me Down
- Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes
- Passion Pit- Chunk of Change
- The Dodos - Visiter
- Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling
- Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

Other Albums that I loved and everyone else did too:

- TV on the Radio - Dear Science
- Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
- Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
- Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
- Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
- Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
- Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
- Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (wasn't this a 2007?)
- Chairlift - Does You Inspire You?

Albums that I don't like but everyone else does:

- Fuck Buttons
- Fucked Up
- Marnie Stern
- Crystal Stilts
- Pony Tail

So there you go, a summation of albums that are worth listening to from 2008. Stereogum posted a nice little list of albums they are looking forward to in 2009 that you can check out here.

<3 The Elephant

A Return!

2008-12-17T22:25:00.005-05:00

Hi Bloggies!!

I missed you! Work got a little bit out of hand for a while there and I couldn't write. Fear not though, because while work sucks, my music listening time really gets maximized. I just wanted to direct you to the cover of Under the Radar Magazine this month. I <3 it....I have been supporters of Vampire Weekend (even as the critics get bitchy about their success), The Dodos and Fleet Foxes for what feels like a long time. The first time I saw Vampire Weekend was at Unoin Hall in April '07, I was in awe. They deserve every ounce of credit they have received. As for Fleet Foxes....I was a little behind on picking them up. I had Ragged Wood, which came from a friend, but it wasn't until Sun Giant that I really got into them. Ironically, the first time I saw them was at Union Hall also (I love that place!!!). They were fucken incredible. We were all blown away. The Dodos remain to be the just about the best live band I have ever seen, they have energy, skill and presence. I saw them at Union Pool in January 08, and loved them so much I started a blog about music. So there you go. Go buy Unde the Radar.

More musing on music in oh eight to come!!!

<3 The Elephant

Album Review: Lykke Li, Youth Novels

2008-11-09T10:43:00.004-05:00

I was initially put off by this album because I don't like the first track. I just don't feel that it showcases the her best, which I believe an opening track needs to do. As a result of this little snafu I was not getting into the album the way I could have months ago when I first started talking about her.

So if you can get past the first song, the second song is "Dance, Dance, Dance" which was my introduction to Lykke Li last winter. It typifies her sound of percussion and vocals, sung very evenly at the same dynamic and vocal range. I arbitrarily decided to listen to her album starting on the 3rd track at work the other day, and was so pleasantly surprised. Actually, every song after the first is pretty good! My favorite tracks include "Little Bit", "Breaking it Up" and "Time Flies". Her sound remains bare bones percussion accompanying her breathy vocals. I like to think of this album as relaxed pop, since it seems to always put me into a happy zen place. Music always has such a strong effect on me, and I think this might the first album that causes me to feel calm, even down to relaxing my shoulder muscles.

I know that I complained all summer about having nothing new to listn to, and no shows to go to, but that has really turned around this fall (as it always does....maybe I should stop acting like such a whiney little girl every summer, and instead focus on my excitement for the upcoming Fall releases. Doubtful.). Lykke Li sold out 3 NYC shows during CMJ, and was recieved very well. I couldn't make it to any of the shows, but I am now regretting that decision (I actually missed a lot in October).

So if you are feeling stressed out, put on some Lykke Li and feel the zen flowing through your veins.

<3 The Elephant

Album Review: TV on the Radio, Dear Science

2008-11-09T10:03:00.004-05:00

I love the simplicity of the felt board lettering.

For some reason, I never really got into Return to Cookie Mountain TVotR's first critically acclaimed album. When Dear Science was released several weeks ago I got it but then didn't listen to it. I had heard "Golden Age" on Stereogum and though I liked it, I was totally shocked. Admittedly, I can't remember at all what Cookie Mountain sounded like, but it must have been different from this. The glaring falsetto, the LCD Soundsystem-esque Glam Disco beats, the rush of harmonies....what is this new sound?

Needless to say, I finally listened to the album through, and I am more than impressed. Last night at a party we were talking about what makes an album worth listening all the way through, referencing Weezer's Blue Album, which largely defined the music of my high school years. Everyone knows all the words to the whole album because the album flows form song to song perfectly. Although the songs all sound similar, there are a few different styles represented, slow and lyric, upbeat and dancey etc. Weezer never looses sight of who they are on the Blue Album, they are never trying to be something that they aren't.

Dear Science is exactly that. There is a wonderful variety of musical style represented. From the etherial "Family Tree" to the intensity of "DLZ" which has almost rapped spoken word. I like that every song on the album is a comletely distinct entity but that the flow is still strong from song to song. One of the biggest criticisms I often give of an album is that I can't feel a big enough difference in the songs on an album. It is much harder to create a completely unique piece of art in each song than it is to find something that works and create variations on that formula.

I would absolutely go see them live in the near future (although thy seem to be in Europe starting tomorrow, and going straight into February). No matter what, go out and grab Dear Science to help you get through this transition into the dreary winter months. On that note, go ahead and revisit Return to Cookie Mountain too and be pleasantly surprised.

<3 The Elephant

Crystal Castles Remix the Little Ones

2008-10-27T22:23:00.001-04:00

Such different bands, such a happy combo!

Concert Review: Crystal Castles w/ Fujiya and Miyagi at Webster Hall

2008-10-26T18:26:00.005-04:00

Sold out show's are always interesting because you can really gauge how popular a band is. Is everyone here a die hard fan? Or are these all people who scan the blogosphere vapidly, waiting with trepidation to disagree with the various acclaimed music bloggers? If not disagree, then to drool in amazement, because this band is going to blow their socks off.

Crystal Castles sold out shortly after tickets went on sale. In the two weeks prior to the show, people were asking $150 a ticket on Craigslist. Thats a lot of hype for two kids from Canada. I was tired, so I didn't stand in the crowd for Fujiya and Miyagi, but I kept getting up to see if it was actually a live performance, because from my seated position, they sounded dead on like the recording. It was freakish. I was in the balcony lounging on the sofas, so I can't give them any sort of solid review, other than to say that I was really impressed with their set. It was intensely well rehearsed and clean. They had these awesome graphics involving dice that really blew me away too.

The crowd was really there to see Crystal Castles, and it was obvious. The band is made up of Ethan Kath who is the musical talent, and performer Alice Glass. Kath gets the audience warmed up with a bit of an intro. Searingly bright strobes come on. And then there is Alice. She basically gets on stage and starts wailing into the vocoder. She doesn't stand still for the whole show. She is just there for antics, and she knows what she is doing. From pouring booze onto the audience to crowd surfing, she doesn't stop from the minute the set starts.

Alice isn't contributing much musically to the act, but the audience loves her with a burning passion. Her wild on-stage voodoo creates a trance akin to tweens at a Backstreet Boys concert. Everyone is going wild merely because she is there. Crystal Castles doesn't create pleasing sounds either, so it is definitely the beats that draw the crowd.

If you get the chance to see them don't miss it. Wear your dancing shoes, and have a few drinks. Life is short, and this is something to write home about.

Shearwater is Secret Guest at BV CMJ Showcase

2008-10-21T07:58:00.003-04:00

SWEET. How lucky are we? Check out "Red Sea Black Sea" which isn't particularly quiet. For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, they are two members from Okkervil River Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff. They started a little side project because Okkervil River wasn't folk-y enough. Ok guys. Maybe we are listening to two different bands. Dunno. I think that Shearwater is a bit more rock-y than O. R., although the Wiki page for them claims that they wanted to play quiter songs. You be the judge.

<3> The Elephant

Midnight Dan Deacon Show Saturday

2008-10-15T09:23:00.003-04:00

Picture via Love to Hate? Maybe?

At le Poisson Rouge...Part of the Baltimore Round Robin. Its $8. We are going.

<3 The Elephant

Shugo Tokumaru is upbeat pop

2008-10-11T20:04:00.003-04:00

Japan pop music: Japop. Exit, Tokumaru's latest US release has flavors of The Dodos, Final Fantasy, The Little Ones and Sufjan Stevens. I could write a long description of the album, but I think PopMatters did a great job here which I originally saw here.

The one major downfall for me is that the lyrics are entirely in Japanese, despite some english titles. I am a girl who loves lyrics, particularly cheeky and winding lyrics. That said, I will never fall painfully in love with this album because I can't quite relate to it (read: sing along). Nonetheless, its an interesting departure from the american and european pop scene right now. Check it out.

The Little Ones: a few quick words

2008-10-08T22:37:00.003-04:00

They are totally this smiley on stage too. And they sound like a modern Partridge Family

I saw The Little Ones twice during the summer of 2006, the first time they opened for The Figurines, and the second time....I can't remember. All I can tell you is that they played Mercury lounge twice, and they were so good the first time, that I went again that week to see them.

Live they are smiling, boisterous and happy. It was such a pleasant departure from the sullen nyc bands that I had been seeing all summer (alone, I might add, I had only been in the city for a few weeks when I saw them). I just have a bunch of random songs by them on my iTunes, but they released "Morning Tide" yesterday. Its probably some really happy, calming pop. Check them out at Mercury Lounge 10/16.

<3 The Elephant

More Department of Eagles: In Ear Park

2008-10-08T22:20:00.004-04:00

The first time I heard (or more accurately, saw) department of eagles was probably about a year ago, when they had a Take Away Video of them walking through chinatown. I haven't ever been a die hard Grizzly Bear fan (read: I only like about 2 songs off of Yellow House) so I saw Department of Eagles, and was sort of underwhelmed by the video, and wrote them off as not for me. Very occasionally I am wrong. This is so clearly one of those occasions.

My first pass at the album revealed it to be a vintage Eliot Smith sound, with more complicated guitar and a tendency toward dissonance. The songs are eerie and haunting. I am going to assume that you saw the NYTimes article posted below, because lets face it, they are far better writers than I am. I don't want to say too much about it, other than saying that it going to be one of my obsessions this winter. What is the lesson to be learned here? Just because I don't necessarily like what i hear at first, doesn't mean that I should abandon said band. In fact, I like bands that have had some time to steep and marinade, bands that can put on a legit live show. Long story short, listen to "In Ear Park".

side note: department of Eagles played last night at the 826nyc benefit last night. I didn't make it (i went to a hysterical amateur singing night). Clearly, I should have considered supporting a Dave Eggers charity and seen DoE.

New York Times Hits up Daniel Rossen

2008-10-08T21:08:00.002-04:00

Here

Also, have you heard the Jojo "Too Little Too Late" Daniel Rossen Cover? Its hysterical!!!

Iceland Airwaves feels the Credit Crunch

2008-10-06T22:11:00.002-04:00

Some interesting stuff about the current situation in Iceland right now.

2008 Albums

2008-10-06T21:00:00.002-04:00

Cough, cough. You should check out this site. seriously, do it now. Preferably when you are going to be at your computer for a loooong time, with looooots of available bandwidth.

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: The Dodos w/Au

2008-09-30T20:48:00.002-04:00

There isn't to much to say about the Dodos, its always the same. They get on stage, and start playing, and I think, my god these guys are SO incredible. It just never gets old. They are so tight. Anyway, see all of my previous reviews, they are going to sum up last night's show. Also, I guess the lead singer Meric Long has mono, but I seriously would have NEVER guessed. They also played a new song or two, both of which left me with high hopes for their next album.

Au on the other hand wasn't really what I had anticipated. That's not to say they weren't good, just that I had expected a 5 piece band with an orchestrated approach to their craziness. In reality, it was a two piece set up with an experimental jam approach. This means that I could only vaguely identify about a third of their set. I did really enjoy the songs that I recognized, but it was a bit spacey for my taste. They def rocked out, but I value their studio recordings because they are so unique and admirably complex, which I didn't feel translated well in the live show.

My brother has a running list of "the best songs in non-standard meters" (assuming that 3 and 4 beats per measure are the basis for 99% of all non-classical music). So far it looks like Outkast is in first place with "Hey Ya" which is in 22 (according to him, not sure if I believe that) and Radiohead's "Everything in its Right Place" in 5. It should be noted that 5 is a tremendouly underused meter in rock music, it really lends itself to a unique sound. Just my opinion.

Lykke Li and Bon Iver....a surprisingly good combo

2008-09-30T20:42:00.004-04:00

So she looks much like an Olsen twin here, but thats not her fault. A solid showing.

via Music Slut
you like?

<3 The Elephant

Tonight: The Dodos w/ AU @ Spiegeltent

2008-09-29T07:59:00.004-04:00

I think I've said enough about the Dodos to skim over them in describing tonight's show's. I'm going to cut right to Au (get it? like the periodic symbol for gold!). I'm interested to see them tonight, as most experimental music is hard to really understand until you see it live. I'm not even sure what instruments they use, or how they could possibly create so many sounds with only 5 people.

The west coast has been sort of kicking ass this year in terms of releases. Fans of Animal Collective and other experimental outlets will be impressed by the circus-y, jazz influenced sounds of Au's Verbs. The whole album feels like one epic track, beginning with a crazy choral ensemble, slowly whittling down the sounds to a discordant mist in the album's final track "Sleep". This is not an album for listeners yearning for catchy, easy listening, however it will impress those yearning for something one step beyond indie pop.

Anyone else joining us tonight?

<3 The Elephant

Fall Albums

2008-09-25T22:27:00.004-04:00

Added Bonus: Who knew that Noah and the Whale were sexy mofos?

All summer long we whined about the lack of new music, and the lack of good shows in the city. My god we are SUCH whiners. Just because we didn't know what the impending joys of fall music were, doesn't mean that they don't exist. I have had some quality time to listen to music at work recently (when they lay off 20 out of 35 people on your team, suddenly things become very quiet, and very busy). In the last few days I can't get enough of the following albums:

-Noah & the Whale: Peaceful, the World Lays me Down (the new Bishop Allen, who will be famous in about 2 weeks)
-Land of Talk: Some are Lakes (doesn't sound at all like Bon Iver, but deliciously different)
-Passion Pit: Chunk of Change (like the Black Kids meets Cut Copy or something)

Listen, my friends, and appreciate what you waited all summer for!

<3 Elephant

OhMyRockness's Calendar Feature

2008-09-25T22:04:00.002-04:00

Perhaps I am just a little behind the times, but I just discovered ohmyrockness's calendar feature which allows you to click an icon next to a concert listing, and it will add it to a master calendar that each user can create. Here is the issue: I can't quite figure out how to automatically feed it into my google calendar. Instead, I can put it as a sidebar list on the blog. Obviously, this isn't ideal, and it doesn't look pretty. Ideally, I will figure out how to do this. In the mean time, check out the content to the right!

<3 the Elephant

Reckoner Remix

2008-09-25T09:19:00.002-04:00

It might be time ro learn how to make remixes. If you want me to forward you the e-mail so the links work, let me know. See text below:

To coincide with asking radio stations to think about playing Reckoner we are breaking up the tune into pieces for you to remix. After the insane response we got from the Nude remix stems and the site that was dedicated to your remixes...

Unique visitors: 6,193,776, Page Views: 29,090,134, Hits: 58,340,512, Bandwidth: 10.666 Terabytes, Number of mixes: 2,252, Number of votes: 461,090, Number of track listens: 1,745,304

...we thought it only fair to do the same with a tune that at least is in 4/4. You can get the stems (the different instruments/elements) from here

Sample, cut, take the sounds, whatever. Play it in a club. Or your room. Then if you want you can upload your finished mixes to http://www.radioheadremix.com and be judged by everyone else. You can create a widget allowing votes from your own site, Facebook or MySpace to be sent through too. To start things off we asked James Holden and Diplo to do their versions.

Oh, and by the way, if you weren’t lucky enough to get your hands on one of our recycled plastic bottle shirts at a show this summer, you’ll be glad to hear we’ve made some more and they are available at the w.a.s.t.e. shop here

All at w.a.s.t.e x

Passion Pit

2008-09-24T21:32:00.003-04:00

I didn't mention that we sort of saw Passion Pit open for Sunset Rubdown. They were fun. I bet they would be Cut Copy fun if the audience hadn't been such a downer. It is clearly dance music. In fact I was standing outside before the show waiting for my group and I heard them all talking and hanging out. I really liked them based on my eavesdropping. I swear its not just because they remind me of my high school boys from Boston (Passion Pit also hails from the great city). Although that doesn't hurt. I just got the impression that they are a bunch of cool, down to earth dudes. Maybe a bit dorky, but isn't that a good quality in a man these days? listen to them here. There is also a nice little tid bit about them here.

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: Sigur Ros at United Palace

2008-09-24T18:20:00.003-04:00

The whole time I was sitting there watching these guys, I was thinking that I needed to remember the three S's to describe them. So now, a week later I'm scratching my head...wtf are the three S's? My own little mnemonic device doesn't even work. Here is my best guess:

Syncopation: Have you ever noticed in Sigur Ros how often it sounds like there really isn't a beat? I think I have it figured out (I was trying way to hard before, and not surprisingly, I was wrong). They very rarely start on the first beat of a measure. So its not like they are writing their songs in seven or something bizarre and unnecessary. Really, they just always start on the second and fourth beats of the measures. I only realized this by watching one of the band members bob his head up and down and obviously, I could be completely wrong. This really lends to the ethereal quality of their sound.

Suspense: There is more suspense in Sigur Ros than anyone I have ever seen. At the show, there was a pause in one song that lasted so long that I seriously wasn't sure if the song was over. Granted, I am not that familiar with all of the albums, but it felt like the pause was well over a minute. And even with their more subtle suspense, they tend to hold their notes, and extend their passages for much longer than a normal band. I think they take a lot of roots in classical and traditional music. Suspense will always attract attention, and their suspense is usually not overt, but subtle, so you find yourself on the edge of the seat, digging your fingernails in. But why? Because they use tonal suspense and rhthmic suspense together. Very cool.

Symbolism: The song that really defined the performance for me is one that I hadn't heard, and couldn't describe. All of the musicians got up and sat together in a cluster and all of the lights in the house went off. As each player began to play his instrument, a single light bulb would light up. In other words, each instrument completed a circuit while it was actively producing sound and when the instrument wasn't being played, the light bulb was off because the circuit was broken. I know this sounds lame: 4 light bulbs turning on and off as the song progressed. But the light bulbs were such a visual representation of the energy of music. They symbolized the levels and depths, as the lights would flicker, the sound would grow and cease. It was beautiful. BTW, this is the song where I realized how heavily they rely on syncopation. Something about being able to see exactly which sound each artist was producing showed me. I was completely in awe of the simplicity, and how their music seems so complicated, but really, it amounts to many many layers of simple music.

At the end when everyone stood for the encore, I felt like they could have played something a little more active to leave us feeling high. But. It was still a very unique experience, completely unlike most of the shows that I see (i.e. sweaty, crowded, dark). They also employ such unique methods of creating sound. The whole thing was quite impressive.

Agreed?

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: Sunset Rubdown at Mercury Lounge

2008-09-24T18:04:00.003-04:00

Well folks, it's fall in New York, and we all know what that means: a new concert season. Typically starting at the beginning of September there are more shows than I have time to attend, but this season I wasn't up for it. Fortunately friends were on their game and got me tickets to shows that I would probably like to see.

I have seen Sunset only a few other times, and usually I really like them. They lack the professional polish of Wold Parade, and its completely charming and wacky (much like their music). But this time something was amiss. D and A blamed it on the audience, but I think that good audiences often reflect good acts. This is certainly not a hard fast rule, but its usually pretty safe. So I am going to divide the blame for this in half: 50% lame ass audience, 50% band fault.

Although the sound was good, I felt like there were a few too many unfamiliar songs (and I like to hear a new song or two, its a little hard to really enjoy entirely new music from an old favorite.) That said, the new songs did leave me with high hopes for the next release, which I think is as yet unscheduled. I also felt a general lack of enthusiasm from them, like they weren't really that excited to be hanging out with us. Possibly because they played the night before at Music Hall of Williamsburg?

Despite my usual harsh and critical review, I still will go see them at every opportunity, and I still think they have some of most interesting music out there right now. So you should go see them, and buy their CDs. For that matter, buy a tee shirt too. Lets support Canada.

<3 the Elephant

Last One...

2008-09-22T22:20:00.001-04:00

Download Land of Talk-Some are Lakes. I am not sure if it is going to be good, but I have a bit of a hunch, a suspicion if you will. Its Bon Iver's girlfriend, and I think they recorded the album together.

Also, Noah and the Whale

2008-09-22T21:21:00.003-04:00

musicsnobbery.com

I like it. I had a commitment on Friday night and thus had to skip the show, but I do plan to see them when they are next in town. Which doesn't look soon. This is what happens when I stop creating my own concert Calendar. I miss things that I shouldn't have missed. :(

Blitzen Trapper-Furr Out tomorrow...Finally!

2008-09-22T21:05:00.004-04:00

Blitzen Trapper-Furr is out on Sub Pop tomorrow. I have been semi-obsessed with the title track since I heard it a few days ago. I know it sounds like all other indie folk blah blah blah, but I still really like it. I also am willing to bet that they will finally get really big this year, even though they have a few albums out already. Signing to Sub Pop was obviously a good thing for them, but a bad thing for us pathetic New Yorkers, since it means that they aren't playing a New York show until November 17th. And then its at Terminal 5 (seriously?? Why not Bowery or something even remotely decent? Webster Hall or Irving would have even been better). Worst of all they are opening for Iron and Wine. Sigh. I know this is insanely ethnocentric but most major bands start their post release tour in NYC. I know they were here last spring, but they are playing a handful of shows on the west coast and then they are off to Europe. Oh well, I guess I will have to decide if I feel like going or not....

Ray LaMontagne-You are the Best Thing

2008-09-06T12:06:00.001-04:00

No Ray, YOU are the best thing. Seriously sweet love song.

via Jonk

Look What I found!!

2008-08-18T23:14:00.003-04:00

A really nice articel about Owen Pallette. Speaking of Owen, when are the Polaris prizes due? I know they announced the short list last month....Ok, Monday September 29th wait with baited breath. Also seems to me like its about f-ing time for Basia Bulat to get her day. I want her to win. Badly.

<3 the Elephant

Foals: Why Haven't I been listeneing to you?

2008-08-18T18:00:00.002-04:00

I have known about you for 6 months, yet I continue to ignore you. Such energy. Such dance. Such fun. Much better math rock than Battles.

<3 The Elephant

Blip.fm Might Change Your Life

2008-08-15T11:39:00.002-04:00

I'm not exactly sure how this works yet, but I'm hoping that someone with some free time can look into blip.fm and let me know if it really lives up to its hype. Once again, I stole this from PSFK, I can't take credit for it. Its like twitter...you post your songs, with blurbs about the songs, and then you network with DJs. So I'm going to give it a test run, but I'm interested in other people's take on it.

<3 the Elephant

CMJ 2008

2008-08-14T22:53:00.001-04:00

Check it out here. I. Can't. Wait.
via stereogum

<3 the Elephant

Dirty Projectors Friday @ South Street Seaport

2008-08-14T07:54:00.002-04:00

If you are willing to deal with outdoor shows, Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors are playing Friday evening in the financial district. They are quite experimental and interesting, so if anyone is interested, I'll be there "rocking" out. Or whatever you do to semi-orchestral rock.

<3 The Elephant

P.S It's free. You can drink outside too.

BandsinTown

2008-08-12T17:33:00.003-04:00

Dear PSFK, I love you. You alerted me to Bandsintown, which is such an excellent interface for finding shows. Sigh. Thanks man.

<3 The Elephant

My Weekend of Music

2008-08-10T14:36:00.001-04:00

When was the last time you had fun? No, I mean a lot of fun. The kind of fun that you can't stop talking about for days, the fun that lingers in your mouth, and blood. The kind that makes you drag your sorry ass out, and do spontaneous things just because you can. For me, it was Friday, followed by Saturday. I want to share my fun with you all (including Hercules, carbonated Mojitos, and of course, T. Yorke.) The longer I wait the more of a challenge it becomes (read: I can't remember why I liked it) and therefore I would like to write soon. So stick it out. Check back soon. Also, there are pictures from Saturday (thats right! I won't have to steal them!)

<3 The Elephant

Notable Albums from the First Half of 2008

2008-08-05T22:41:00.002-04:00

So I was looking at what has been released this year, and it is already going strong. Here is a list of the 5 most notable albums so far this year, in no particular order (except the first one):

*Sigur Ros-með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Do I need to comment on this? I could listen to this album in pretty much any mood. Feeling down? Listen to Sigur. Elated? Listen to Sigur. Seriously, tremendous job guys. I would be proud to be your mom.

*Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson-S/T
What would you do if you were a drug addict and homeless? Write some damn cheeky lyrics, thats what! Additionally, you might somewhat get your shit together, and record and release an awesome album.

*Fleet Foxes-Everything They have Released this Year-
I had some pretty strong feelings about these guys when I first wrote about them back in March. Then I saw them live. I have a whole new set of respect for them now.

*The Dodos-Visiter
I am a person who tends to looooove the first album I hear by an artist. Usually I don't like the second album as much. Not the case here. Superb sophomore effort.

*Hercules and Love Affair-S/T
Love all things 70's. Cannot wait to go dance it out with these guys on friday night (I am hoping that all of the cool kids and bros alike will be at APW, and that this will be a seriously excited croud).

Some other albums that are noteworthy, but probably won't make my top ten of 2008 list:
-Cut Copy
-Crystal Castles
-Basia Bulat
-Thao
-Cave Singers

Thoughts?

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: Wolf Parade at Terminal 5

2008-08-04T21:27:00.004-04:00

{Cough, cough} thanks BV

Dan Boekner and Spencer Krug played a show on Thursday. I was there....wait....so were you. And the rest of your dorm? And your buddy's frat? And their girlfriends? Needless to say, Wolf Parade, lured an amazing turnout at Terminal 5 last week. The venue is definitely a mega venue, with a capacity in the several-thousand-range, spread out over three levels. (Note: the ration of bros & hos to regular people, was about on par with the number of iPhone cameras to regular cameras.) We were on the floor, towards the back, but the sightlines were decent, the stage must be at least 5 or six feet high. I mean, I'm a really bad judge of space, but from where we were standing about a street block away from the stage, I could more or less see. The space is also quite nice, clean, big bars plenty of space, excellent air conditioning. But. The sound quality. What happened there? It seems that Bowery Presents went to all the trouble of creating a beautiful space, but didn't feel the need to install some audio architecture. Perhaps fans of bands big enough to draw those kinds of crowds tend not to notice bad sound? I'm not clear on what the deal is, but lets leave it at that.

So of course I'm a weak kneed little girl at any event involving Spence, and having never seen Wolf Parade (gasp) I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I had an odd little group of people with me, ranging from preppy Wolf Parade old-timers to ultra hip Wolf Parade newcomers.

Highlights: Kissing the Beehive, which I don't love in recording was crazy tight. Also, I <3'd Language City. I remain an Apologies fan to the core, reveling during Dear Sons and of course, I believe. The overall show was surprising for two reasons. First, Dan and Spencer's sounds mesh really well live, you can get a little taste of each flavor, but they worked beautifully live together that night. Second, the over-polished sound of the second album mixes with the rough-stone sound of the first album, to create a much more unified sound. I personally love the youthful sloppiness of the first album, but I have heard from that WP doesn't like that sound. Instead they prefer the cleaner sound of Mt Zoomer. As it turns out, live, they are able to pull off just enough zestiness to not sound sound too perfect. I can't really dive into something that sounds like it was recorded until each note was perfectly heard. I can however, float in the half-way ground that they achieved live.

That said, maybe I should have gone again on Friday. If you get a chance to catch these guys, you won't regret it.

<3 The Elephant

ps...this is my 101st post. And my blog has been viewed more than 700 times. Thanks Dave.

Concert Review: Chairlift at Knitting Factory

2008-08-02T11:37:00.004-04:00

Stolen from itsnothebandihateitstheirfans.blogspot.com

For a number of reasons, mostly involving bitchy firewalls, I didn't get a chance to listen to Brooklyn based Chairlift before I went to Knitting Factory on Wednesday. Turns out that it was for the better, because they were pretty awesome live. I was actually there to see LA crazy man Ariel Pink, but you all know how I feel about getting my beauty rest, and I wasn't about to hang around for hours waiting for his set to start. After Chairlift finished their set, I was satiated musically.

At work on Thursday, I listened to Chairlift on hypem, and was sort of disappointed. They didn't seem nearly as exciting in recording as they did live. It essentially sounded like Au Revoir Simone occasionally mixed with Stars.

In concert, it was surprisingly ethereal, there was something about the way that they performed, even their slower, spacier sounds made us want to dance. The lead singer was very powerful live, her voice sounded sweet and confidant, and not at all dependent upon her background music. The synthy sound wasn't overpowering either, it wasn't just some chick with a casio, there was solid music making happening.

Chairlift's album releases on Kanine sometime this summer....although I doubt that I will buy it, they are more of a live band anyway. We'll see if I'm eating my words in a few weeks, but for now, I'm holding off on home listening.

<3 The Elephant

Santos Party House Tonight!

2008-07-25T13:33:00.002-04:00

I know what you were thiking: I wish I could go to a party house tonight. Here it is: Black Kids with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (sort of an oddball line-up) but whatevs, we are there. And we are going to dance. Crazy dance that is. So be there or be square. don't frunt.

<3

Severely Postponed: Dr. Dog w/MBAR

2008-07-24T00:04:00.002-04:00

Yep. I was obvs pretty excited about this one. I realy couldn't wait. except now I will have to wait, until August 23rd. What if I were busy that night? I would be Screwed! Bitches! I'll chill out now, just wanted to rant a little bit about that.

On that note, I will write of full review of Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson after I have listened to it about 60 more times. So far, I am crying the driest, most heartwrenching immaginary tears from this album. Also feel that way about my book, so clearly they were designed to go together, my book and this album. At least they won't cheat on each other.

<3 the elephant

Blogalicious

2008-07-23T23:58:00.002-04:00

Dear faithful reader,
I apologize for my utter lack of writing recently. I find that summer, despite its recent unbearable humidity, has swept me off of my feet. I know it seemed like my relationship with the blog was really strong, but towards the end of June I started cheating. At first it was just a bit here and there. But then, in combination with a lack of local, good, worthy concerts and good CD releases, I have not had a lot to say. I don't want to write about random crap, I want to say meaningful things. So that said, I am going to try to reconcile with my blog, if it will have my dirty, cheating ass back. Also, my relationship with summer has been dwindling anyways, as I am getting bored with all of the events, and no longer can stand it. I just need the slow, steady life that my blog was providing.

<3 The Elephant

Friday Evening Music

2008-07-16T14:34:00.004-04:00

Summer Fridays are full of difficult decisions since every park, cafe and venue has some sort of thing planned. This week, the best option appears to be the bandshell at Prospect Park. They are hosting: DEERHOOF / METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE: THE RITE: REMIXED. It's Stravinsky's phenomenal work "The Rite of Spring" remixed (I'm not sure if they are just taking extreme liberties in their interpretation, or if they are actually playing something other than what Stravinsky originally penned). At any rate, Metropolis Ensemble sounds like an interesting group of young, quirky chamber musicians. I think this will be a culturally unusual experience, something just a little bit unlike anything else.

<3 The Elephant

Rogue Street Art

2008-07-16T12:08:00.002-04:00

I know that I primarily write about music, but occasionally I will write about other things...I don't have a completely one track mind. There is a great website called PSFK which covers trends in culture. They have all kinds of fascinating articles, but one thing they wrote about was D. Billy's unique foray into street art. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I am never in Times Square, but I wish I had seen this myself. I thinks it's remarkably sweet and refreshing. The installation feels celebratory and upbeat, which is not a common sentiment floating around these days. Hope it brightens your day....

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: Fleet Foxes at Union Hall, Midnight

2008-07-12T08:14:00.005-04:00

Flagrantly stolen from BV

Seattle quintet Fleet Foxes graced New York with their presence at two venues this week: Bowery Ballroom, capacity 498, Union Hall, capacity 100. The decision there was not a tough one. I, being high and mighty, didn't buy a UH ticket the second they went on sale because it's Union Hall. Then suddenly, they were all gone. As I just found out today, after the fact, Sub Pop bought themselves 40 of those tickets. Whether it was intentional or not, by selling out the Brooklyn show, they got a huge hype in a very short period of time and Bowery sold out too. I was pissed that I wasn't going, particularly since I had only myself to blame.

So on Thursday at 10 am when they announced an additional midnight show, Dave was right on his game, reading BV. He tried to get them, and of course they sold out. We got nothing. When I checked Craigslist later, people were offering $160 for two tickets. Sick. I had already realized that this show wasn't in my future. So when my boss asked me to go fabric sourcing in midtown at 8 or 8:30 the next morning I didn't sweat it. Until 2 seconds later when Dave texted me that he had gotten tickets. In the land of irresponsibility, I am queen.

Every ounce of doubt dissolved in the first 3 seconds after FF started playing. I had heard that they really rocked when they played Bowery in March, so I was reasonably confidant that they would be good. Good doesn't begin to do justice to they way that they performed. A lot of their music is dependent upon graceful harmonies and dissonance in their chorus. Whenever this is the case, I always fear that they are just working really hard for their studio takes, but in reality they will not be able to hit those notes live. Every pitch was executed, every rhythm was nailed, and every pause was suspenseful. They played a tight, ridiculously tight show. I was floored. I read a bunch of bitching on BV about the quality of the audiences, and a lot of criticism of the photogs, but that must have been for the first show of the night. At the second show everyone was respectful and the photographers were fine. People just look for a reason to complain about shit. Seriously, they should be so lucky to have been at that show. They have a flexibility on stage that allows them to push and pull throughout each song and they can remain in control. They are a band that is so much better live than in recording that I only hope to see them again, since listening to the record allows a faint nostalgia to linger.

The other thing that I really liked was the band's random on stage banter. I know it annoys some people, but they were funny and witty. They seemed to think that they were playing pretty well, and so did I. They were clearly enjoying themselves and the crowd. A band that is at ease with themselves and having fun always performs better. Anyway, if you know what's good for you, you will go see Fleet Foxes in any context possible. Also, buy their album and EP on insound.

<3 The Elephant

Sigur Ros and Bjork Duet at Nattura

2008-06-29T15:25:00.002-04:00

I picked up on this from the Music Slut but it sort of quasi-illustrates those light orbs...except this is daytime, so not nearly as dramatic. Also, sound and video quality could be a bit better. Nonetheless worth watching.

<3 The Elephant

Prospect Park Bandshell

2008-06-29T10:59:00.004-04:00

We went over to prospect park Friday evening to see Elvis Perkins in Dearland. Discovered something: no need to buy tickets to any show at the Bandshell, unless you are actually planning on getting seats and paying close attention. I find it very hard in those huge outdoor venues to pay attention, I would rather chat and have a beer with my friends. Given the setting, the sound quality is decent, and the space is clean and nice.

Feist is playing at the bandshell Wednesday, July 9th. I'm feeling a picnic outside the perimeter of the venue, listening to her crooning folk and drinking wine. Maybe eating cheese too? Since the tickets are $35, I don't plan to actually pay for it, so I think that this will be a nice little way to enjoy the summer.

<3 The Elephant

Fleet Foxes Already Sold Out, Am an Idiot

2008-06-29T10:52:00.002-04:00

I knew this would happen, it always does. I thought about buying tickets right away, like a month ago, and then didn't. Sigh. So I'm going to scrounge around on CL, see what I can come up with. There just aren't that many good shows this summer, so to let that one slip through the cracks.

Blood on the Wall? Again?

2008-06-21T00:39:00.004-04:00

Ok, back me up guys. You were there. Blood on the Wall sucked ass. They sucked so bad I started a crappy openers contest! And I wasn't the only one who thought that. Yet, despite this alarming truth, I keep reading about them. I always thought that The Deli wasn't for me. But seriously, they got a V. Hot chili pepper next to Blood on the Wall. And I have seen them on love to hate a few times too. I'm sorry, but I'm standing up against them, any band that is worthless live, is in essence worthless in the recording. I'm just saying.

<3 the Elephant

Concert Review: Sigur Ros at MoMA

2008-06-19T23:39:00.007-04:00

Pictures via BV

On Tuesday evening, myself and several friends joined the lucky swarm of hipsters invading the Museum of Modern art on 53rd st. I'm going to come right out and say it: MoMA isn't an ideal setting for a concert, as there was no stage, although there was free beer. The show was unusually long (maybe two hours?) but I had no sense of the length until I got outside and it was past 11. The concert was in conjunction with the exhibition Take your time: Olafur Eliasson, an exhibition which featured works of this Icelandic contemporary artist. Sigur Ros and Olafur Eliasson are an interesting parallel to draw in the art/music consortium. Sigur Ros' music creatures textures and landscapes primarily using instrumentation and rhythm, forcing the listeners to draw conclusions without verbal cues. Eliasson similarly creates environments and space using lights, spacial relations and mirrors. His compositions don't contain any symbolic or concrete imagery that the viewer can identify as scenery, rather he alters one's inner sense of space creating a fantasy environment of space and time.

One thing that really set this apart from a regular show (although having no history with SR, I can't compare to their usual sets) was an absolutely exceptional light show. I have virtually no idea how lighting design works, but I was very impressed. Without theatrical lighting, SR can create create suspense and longing, with the visual cues, it was an all encompassing experience. The lighting was primarily composed of several lantern like orbs that were behind a glass wall in an exterior courtyard. The orbs were a soft, warm light at their "home state" and as the mood of the music called for, the quality of the light would change. Ranging from a very yellow soft tone to an industrial, harsh blue. There were also gels that looked like moonlight through a summer forest, creating moving shadows that imitating the rustling leaves. They were absolutely beautiful. At one point, they employed a green back light that brought the whole courtyard to an emerald glow.

If I had a better position at the front, near the stairs, I would have had the pleasure of watching the marching band approach, in full white uniforms. There were four of them, that comprised the horn section and they entered with such theatrical grace, the whole audience was completely overtaken with thrill. It was a nice, ironic touch. Here is the BV link with lots of great pictures.

I am overwhelmingly excited to see them again in mid september at the church in Harlem. Yeah, you know, the ornate one, with no windows. On the corner.

<3 The Elephant

Todd P Rocks

2008-06-18T09:55:00.003-04:00

If you don't care about soccer at all, then you should come with me to this free show on Roosevelt Island. Here is Brooklyn Vegan's little write up. I stole the picture just to give you a sense of how cool this is going to be.

Record Review: Sigur Ros: með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

2008-06-16T22:05:00.004-04:00

As I have mentioned, I was never a huge Sigur Ros fan, I just never quite got it. I also did the same thing with Radiohead, it took me until In Rainbows to catch on. I know that this is embarrassing, so lets move away from this point. I heard Gobbledigook first on Stereogum, and was instantly enamored.

"With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly" is a perfect title for this album. Every beat, every second, every chord leads to emotional swells, cooing, and chiming. My initial reaction to this album was that it felt like a soundtrack. For me at least, a good soundtrack stands alone, telling a story through the drudging of feelings and expressions. Although that is the goal of most albums, I think with soundtracks the emotions are stronger because of the concrete narration. This album doesn't need the storyline. It tells us a tale much more powerfully than a simple soundtrack. I find myself soaringly at peace with this album. As it rolls forth, unfolding is magical streams of sound I have that happy little warmth in my chest that a really good album brings out. I forget sometimes what thats like, as I have only experienced it handful of times. The orchestration is especially laudable because it is done seamlessly with the choral layering. Some highlights (outside of Gobbledigook) include the second track Inni mer syngur vitleysingur, Su i eryum and Festival. These are all dynamic and heart wrenching in their own way. Needless to say, I am not describing the full body experience that you will get from lying in your bed listening to this album, cover to cover, so to speak. No interruptions, just absorbing the subtleties of organs and voices. Please buy this album, and enjoy every rich morsel of it.

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is out 6/24 in North America 6/24 via XL.

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: The Bellmer Dolls

2008-06-16T19:52:00.004-04:00

The Bellmer Dolls

With the bad comes the good, I guess. A few weeks ago I went to that church-y place on Delancy and Suffolk. Remember that place? Yeah, I went on that date there that one time. So this time, again I find myself slightly tipsy and far from home late at night. Going to see this band called the Bellmer Dolls with a good friend of mine and her sister. I love these girls, they are just darlings, and both of them have lovely boyfriends. So I trust them when they take me to a concert that I hadn't heard of. This is really rather exciting. Apparently the first band was excellent. Preacher and the Knife is unsigned, but word on the street is that they are really phenomenal live, so I am going to give them a little shout out. Based on myspace and their website, I sort of doubt that they are my taste, but who knows, maybe I will have a change of Heart. Needless to say, I missed them.

So this brings us to the Bellmer Dolls, who were unspeakably awful. They were a parody of themselves, shaking and grooving to their screechy melody-less crap. Dressed in all black, and breathing heavily into the microphone, I sort of felt bad for the lead singer. But sort of not, maybe this just isn't my bag, y'know? So I look over at my very polite, sweet friend Anna, and she is staring intently at them, sort of in the same way you'd watch a child's piano recital. So the first song passes, followed by the second, equally shitty "song". Meanwhile, I am casting furtive glances at my ladies and their men, waiting for someone else to identify this accurately: this is a graceful exit scenario. Unfortunately this is a seated show, and the seats are in a bit of a balcony, so we can't really get out subtlety. Meanwhile, my friends seem to think this is perfectly acceptable music. FUUUUUUCK. I can't escape. My ears are just burning with cruel irony. Suddenly Ashley (Anna's sister) leans over and breathes into my ear, "oh my god i'm sorry" They are horrible. I breathe a lighter, happier breath. Anna turns and agrees. So we do just that: escape to have another drink. Oh Anna and Ashley, you came through. Thank GOD. Lesson learned: don't go to a show w/o listening to the band first.

<3 The Elephant

Summer Concert Dichotomy

2008-06-12T21:07:00.004-04:00

Summer in the city means two things: virtually no good ticketed shows (only major bands seem to have summer shows, possibly because they tend to play fewer festivals?) but tons of free decent shows. Be sure to check out McCarren Park Pool Parties, Prospect Park Bandstand, Central Park Summerstage and River to River. In an average New York month there are between three and six hows I would seriously consider attending. In the summer I amhard pressed to find two. Also, since the weather is nice and the days are long, I have no desire to stay inside and read about music. In the winter, however, I can sit at my computer and delve deep into the world of music for hours. So as a compromise, in the summer I go to a random shows that I might not have considered seeing otherwise. In the past this has kindled excellent romances with bands (ex: Beirut) and also resulted in some pretty painful shows (ex: The Belmer Dolls more on this later).

So tomorrow, I am going to see Mark Kozelek (frontman of Sun Kil Moon), whom I hadn't planned to seeing until Monday, when my boss gave me a pair of tickets to see him (a sudden death in her family is preventing her from attending). I'll let you know how it goes, Jamie Lidell is opening for him at Highline Ballroom tomorrow. Wish me well!

New Sigur Ros Album

2008-06-10T09:38:00.005-04:00

From OneLastDrinkTonight

I'm planning to write a full review later, but my initial impression is that it sounds like a movie soundtrack...no? What do you all think?

Avi Buffalo Makes You Look Like an Untalented Wretch

2008-06-08T21:01:00.004-04:00

What did you do in High School? I played violin, drank Mike's Hard Lemonade, smoked an occasional bowl and stole orange street cones. Avi Buffalo, started a band, and a pretty decent one at that. Its orchestral soothing folk, reminiscent of Fleet Foxes and maybe a little bit of Thao. There is also a bit of Sufjan in there, but without the religious undertones. They have slightly childish voices and a strong sense of innocence, but perhaps I just sense that because I know they are so young. I think they need a couple more years to marinate, to grow and be grown up. To figure out what their lyrics should be. To become a truely great musician takes that. Listen to them, and try not to move, lest the heat kill you. The soothing music will help you meditate the heat away. Or whatever.

I'm Really Feeling Dr. Dog

2008-06-04T22:52:00.006-04:00

I'm really not feeling that name. In fact that was the main reason I have been disregarding them for so long. For about the last six months I have just been sort of ignoring the peeps around the blogosphere (I shudder to use that term, but it just sums everything up so well). So how would I describe Dr. Dog? Its one part blues, one part 60's rock, one part gospel. One part indie folk? I'm always reluctant to compare bands, so instead I will say this: lots of tambourine, unison singing, instrumentation (strings, percussion, horns?) So check em out....

Dr. Dog - The Old Days
Dr. Dog w. Elvis Perkins and Cold War Kids-St. John
<3 The Elephant

Record Review: Cut Copy-In Ghost Colours

2008-06-03T23:34:00.002-04:00

This album is the epitome of what I needed to start summer. Fully loaded with catchy dance hits, Cut Copy has really outdone themselves this time. Every track on this album is whipped lightly, and prepped perfectly for the French pop sound they are frequently accused of imitating. I disagree with comparison because it implies a simplicity and lack of depth to the music, which is simply not present in this album. The lyrics are catchy, and the beats are fresh. Although their sound is similar from song to song, each song has something different to offer, namely, emotion. This is the most emotive electro pop I can remember hearing, and it shows through in their dynamic live performances. There are some standout tracks from “Lights and Music” which recalls the glory days of the 80’s club era to “Hearts on Fire” which brings back memories of Madonna and slumber parties. If you are a person who even vaguely likes pop, the subdued fun in this album will speak to your inner dance-self. <3 The Elephant

Record Review: Crystal Castles Self Titled

2008-06-03T23:10:00.003-04:00

It is unusual that a band accidentally releases a single and then gets a record deal. Toronto duo Ethan Kath and Alice Glass managed to do just that. The MySpace leak, "Alice Practice", eventually became the second song on their eponymous first album. “Alice Practice” landed in the second slot on the album, encouraging listeners toward their melodic, syncopated opening track "Untrust Us". The first two tracks define the character of the album: divided into melodic, rhythmic pop beats and dark, noise-distortion heavy tracks. The weakness is the underlying lack of cohesion. Although variety is valuable, there isn’t a strong enough bond between the melodic tracks and the dark tracks. “Crimewave” and “Untrust Us” almost belong to one album, while “Alice Practice” and “xxzxcuzx me” might belong to another. Oddly, this disparity is also the strength of the album. There isn’t one second where the hooks try to hold you for too long, or where the next track is underwhelming. Like it or not, Crystal Castles has created a multi-lingual, looped, catchy-ass bunch of songs.

ElephantWhale meets DiscoSalt

2008-06-03T23:06:00.004-04:00

Well, despite the rumors that I am a total slacker who hasn't posted in a week, I have actually been doing something. I have been listening to music. Over and over and over. Just for you. And now for discosalt.com. What? Yes, it's true. I'm not sure exactly when my little insights will begin to appear in their album reviews, but fear not. They will be brief. Much shorter than here. So go over and check it out, and while you are at it, take a look at some of their fine artist and collaborators!

<3 The Elephant

Sunset does Black Cab

2008-05-28T21:43:00.002-04:00

Um, I'm pretty sure that Camilla cut her hair to be like mine. No? Um yeah, you were there, she totally did it after we met in Brooklyn.

I know the important thing here is the PHENOMENAL new song, You Go On Ahead.

<3 The Elephant

Songs to Download!

2008-05-28T21:26:00.005-04:00

Photo

So I'm not exactly erm...tech savy. I can learn, but lets be real here, it isn't my forte. Given this, I would like to announce that you will now be able to download songs from me! For example:

Kickball-Beards
Kickball is a Portland Oregon based band that is pretty flippin sweet. Listen to them for yourselves on myspace and by downloading this song :)

I am still not sure how to get it to stream, but some more time spent on google, and I will get it. I also want to try to use this new found feature to introduce bands that you aren't reading about (currently) on other blogs.

<3 The Elephant

Sasquatch! 2008

2008-05-28T20:51:00.004-04:00

Photo via Stereogum

Well friends, it's pretty safe to say that we fucking missed out. Spang, my darling, despite repeated invitations, I still didn't come. I'm sorry, but you are going to need to promise to stay out there for another year, so that we can go to Sas together next year. Scouts honor.

Stereogum did a lovely photo journal thing in 2 parts, so here they are.

Part 1
Part 2

<3 The Elephant

A Nice Song for Your Evening

2008-05-27T21:46:00.002-04:00

Via Good Weather for Airstrike s.

Nick Mulvey-I Didn't Have Time.

Sort of like a one man Vampire Weekend.

<3 The Elephant

Holy Shit, Sigur Ros

2008-05-27T19:53:00.004-04:00

Totally NSFW...seriously

I have never had the deep, heartfelt feelings for Sigur Ros that many other people seem to have. Those days are over, sista. Click here, and check out their new single. Its is AMAZING. Also, their album artwork is by Ryan McGinley, who recently had a show of nudes here in NY. Anyway, if anyone sends me a leak, I will happily write a full review. Sigur Ros plays 6/16 at the Grand Ballroom.

með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) is out 6/23 worldwide and 6/24 in North America via XL.

<3 The Elephant

P.S. Sort of reminds me of AU

Apes & Androids Friday at Bowery

2008-05-27T13:43:00.004-04:00

Image via Stereogum

Hi Kiddies.

Just in case you were wondering what you are doing friday night, the answer is that we are going to see A&A together. Who is going to volunteer to swing by the box office and pick up tickets? Why are we going to this show, because apparently it involves costume changes, crazy dancing, and a laser show (this last bit is semi-unconfirmed, but I'd like to believe that its going to be true).

The Forms are opening, although Icarus is a great album, they aren't the best live. I'm willing to give them another chance since they keep opening for other well known acts.

<3 The Elephant

Excellent Lyrics

2008-05-22T21:01:00.003-04:00

Lately I have been listening closely to song lyrics, even though I can't remember them to save my life, I still think that it can really make a mediocre song amazing. Some notable songs include:

Thao, Chivalry:
" i am through
when i love i will love so hard
harder than i could love with you"

Beirut, Scenic World:
"when i feel alive
i try to immagine [sic] a careless life
a scenic world where the sunsets are all
breathtaking"

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Buriedfed:
"Goddamn I'm tired of being black, go save somebody else instead"

Sparkle Horse, Don't Take My Sunshine Away:
" Your face is like the sun sinking into the ocean
Your face is like watching flowers growing in fast motion"

Sarah McLachlin, Ice Cream:
"Your love is better than ice cream...
Your love is better than chocolate"

Sunset Rubdown, Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings:
" He wants to send you drawings
Drawings of men with faithful hands
They will make such good boyfriends
He wants to tell you stories
Stories of boys who stomped their feet saying,
“Shut – shut up I am dreaming of places
Where lovers have wings...
I will say your name, before I sink.
Oceans never listen to us anyway."
Actually...every word in this song is great.

Post other suggestions in the comments...

<3 The Elephant

I'm cool...

2008-05-19T21:55:00.002-04:00

Well, cool enough to recognize how bad ass this song is. Shut up, it's fucking amazing.

Favourite by Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band via STG

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: Beirut at Music Hall of Williamsburg

2008-05-19T20:15:00.004-04:00

Pictures totally stolen off Flickr, thanks Brooklyn!

I love going to concerts, but I only want to go to shows where I can't stand still because the musical serum is pulsing through my veins. This week I was lucky enough to go to two of those shows.

I have seen Beirut twice before: first at a pool party at McCarren Park Pool, and second at Bowery Ballroom. The first time I was pretty underwhelmed, they had strong ideas, but their album wasn't released, and it just felt a little messy. They seemed like a scared group of marching band kids who got thrown into Williamsburg. Yet I still bought their album and loved and cherished every track on Gulag Orchestar. The second time was at Bowery about a year ago, meaning that I have seen them about once a year for the last few years. Sweet Jesus how they have grown. I felt like a proud Mama Bear watching my dweeby little marching band blow the audience away.

The energy that the audience expelled was very much reciprocated by the band. Every song was a pleasure to behold: crazy, off beat little gems of music. They played with the intimacy that only comes from time, confidence and hard work. I had just read the interview (see the previous post) and it helped me to understand Condon's song writing, which should more accurately be described as composing. You could see the glee in his eyes as he performed and conducted his new material, which is horn heavy and lyrically light. His appreciation for other languages also leads me to believe that his interests lie in the combination of sounds and beats rather than lyrics. Scenic World (particularly the Lon Gisland EP version) is on of my favorite of his songs because the lyrical beauty matches the tonal beauty.

Some highlights for me last night included the aforementioned Scenic World, After the Curtain and of course Postcards. I really felt Sunday Smiles too, even though it isn't my favorite in recording. Two new songs were My Wife and The Shrew...at least I think they are new. Both were seriously awesome. I must have been wrong about alleged impending break-up (although I still trust my source, he doesn't typically lead me astray). I have also read a lot of blog comments about last night's show, basically all of which are the same glowing mush that I am spewing. One thing that seems to have gone suspiciously uncommented is Condon's excellent connection with the audience, he is a superb performer in that I always feel like we are just hanging out in his living room making some music. I loved how he sang us that Portuguese poem (about blue eyes?? and beautiful meetings?) and then when he was through he knelt down and gave it to someone in the audience. I am not really interested in the whole story, since I prefer to think of it a warm and understanding gesture of how important a dedicated audience is.

I'm fairly non-religious, however if ever there were a sign from God for me not to leave New York, it has been this recent series of interesting cultural events I have experienced. Between cool art events (Guggenheim, Tokion Party, Armory Show) and great concerts (Black Kids, Cut Copy, Beirut) I am barely home enough to change my clothes. Well...there is always time for a new outfit, but you get the point. Until next time...

<3 The Elephant