BAND RADAR: LIGHT FOR FIRE
“The Huckster”, is the opening track off Light for Fire’s eponymous alcohol and depression fueled release. It’s an immediate, folk-influenced tune with nods to Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, and M. Ward that finds singer Nicholas Allard confessing, “I drank myself to bed last night. Licked my many wounds as I was getting high.” Shouldn’t every record start off this way?
Light for Fire’s first single from the album “NY (By The Hand)” is still available for download at the link below.
WILFRED VS. WILFRED
Wilfred is a half-hour, dark comedy on FX about a pet “behaving badly”, based on the critically acclaimed Australian series, about a typical Aussie bloke who sees his girlfriend’s dog Wilfred as a bong-smoking man in a cheap dog costume. The US version stars Elijah Wood as “Ryan”, a suicidal young man who is asked to look after the dog by his neighbor and their unique friendship. The US version maintains the same odd charm of the original due in large part to the title role of Wilfred, re-prised by co-creator and Toowoomba native Jason Gann. “Wilfred the dog is the ultimate flawed character. Like David Brent in “The Office,” we are charmed by his arrogance and self-righteousness, his falsehoods and misguided passions. Insecure and manipulative, he will stop at nothing to win the love and affection he desires. Although his methods may sometimes be underhand, his innocence and purity of heart can never be questioned. Or can it?”
So which version is better? Let us know if the original beats the US version or vice versa.
HOW TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME TOO
Directed by Tristan Patterson and executive produced by indie-maverick Christine Vachon, DRAGONSLAYER is the Grand Jury Prize winner for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW 2011, and is the second feature to be released theatrically by Drag City following Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers. The film documents the transgressions of a lost skate punk falling in love in the stagnant suburbs of Fullerton, California in the aftermath of America’s economic collapse. Taking the viewer through a golden SoCal haze of broken homes, abandoned swimming pools and stray glimpses of unusual beauty, DRAGONSLAYER captures the life and times of Josh “Skreech” Sandoval, a local skate legend and new father, as his endless summer finally collides with the future. Set to the alternately roaring and dreamy soundtrack of bands from the indie label Mexican Summer and Kemado Records—including Best Coast, Bipolar Bear, Children, Dungen, Eddy Current and the Suppression Ring, Golden Triangle, Jacuzzi Boys, Little Girls, Real Estate, The Soft Pack, Saviours, as well as DEATH and Thee Oh Sees—DRAGONSLAYER is a punk-rock manifesto to youth, love and learning to survive after the decline of western civilization.
Impenetrable Boundaries of Steel, Glass and Concrete
Before immigrating to Europe and studying at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf, Algerian Driss Ouadahi studied architecture. His paintings of the ubiquitous high-rise, the legacy of Modern Architecture’s failed promise to improve the human condition, are renderings of impenetrable boundaries of steel, glass and concrete.
Ouadahi’s exploration begins with images of the enormous public housing developments in Algiers that had been modeled on France’s habitation à loyer modéré (housing at moderated rents). In North Africa, these monoliths accommodate displaced rural populations; in Europe, they house immigrants from former colonies. They are symbols of the politics of class, religion and ethnicity. Reminders of otherness.
In addition to the permutations of cityscape which Ouadahi has been exploring in the last few years, his work consists of two new types of paintings. The first are rigorously formal renderings of chain-link fencing that are both minimalist abstractions and a signifier of separation. The second are depictions of tiled passageways, akin to subway systems like the Paris Métro. Fluorescent-lit and grimy, they are labyrinthian and claustrophobic. Ostensibly their purpose is movement from one place to another. But they feel more like blocked escape routes or morgues. They speak to restricted mobility in a supposedly global culture.
IS INDIE POP FORMULAIC? 6 KEYS TO CLASSIC SUMMER SOUND
Is indie pop formulaic?
Last summer, discosalt writer Casey Bowers pinned down 6 Keys to a Classic Summer Sound:
1. 60’s girl group pop melodies
2. Big, bright surf guitars
3. Vocals drenched (or drowned) in reverb
4. Any sound resembling The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean
5. Lyrics with the words: beach, summer, sun or waves
6. 80’s dream pop influence
This year, with the onslaught of 90s indie rock influence, garage rock leanings and psychedelic or chill vibes, 2011 has been about deviation. Here are some tracks that stayed true and got stuck in our heads and a few others that broke away, blurred the lines and just flat out floored us.
1. Bedroom Eyes - Dum Dum Girls
2. Summer Hits Or J Plus J Don't Like - Mazes
3. Hold On - Yellow Ostrich
4. Speaking In Tongues (featuring David Byrne) - Arcade Fire
5. Bone Orchard - Turrks
6. Where I'm Going - Cut Copy
7. Come to the City - The War on Drugs
8. Georgia - Yuck
You can check out Casey's article " Radiohead: Echoes of the Past, Glimpses of the Future" in the REMIX ISSUE of DISCOSALT Magazine, on sale now.
GIRLS: VOMIT
Promo video for Girls – ‘Vomit’ taken from the forthcoming album ‘Father, Son, Holy Ghost’ released September 12th in the UK on Turnstile and September 13th in the US on True Panther.
DON’T MISS THE FINAL SCENE OF CHROMEO’S NEW VIDEO
Careful, Chromeo’s latest video might impregnate you- or so the directors, Daniels, want you to think. Featuring Solange Knowles, “When The Night Falls,” is entertaining until the way end, (seriously, you don’t want to miss the final scene).
THE HORRORS: SKYING
[rating: 4.5]
THE HORRORS: SKYING
LABEL: XL Recordings
RELEASE DATE: August 9, 2011
Most bands wontedly mature with mileage, but rarely are they able to thrive with the same level of success as The Horrors. In 2007, the band released Strange House; an underrated debut album that has slipped into indie rock obscurity, sounding today, like it was written and recorded by a different group altogether. Two years later, The Horrors released Primary Colours, rightfully shuttling the group into musical notoriety andsetting the pace for their newest record, Skying.
As with most Horrors’ albums this is not necessarily an innovative or unique sounding album, but rather a loud one. This new batch of material leans heavy on an older rock n’ roll and garage rock aesthetic that the band has comfortably visited throughout their career. But on Skying, The Horrors magnify the familiar, and along the way, throw in a range ofother musical influences from shoe-gazeto dream pop, to psychedelia mixed withsome of today’s more prevalent synth jams.
There is a lot of sound on Skying, loud fuzzy guitars, big riffs, free-flowing percussion, waving strings, electronics, organic effects and Faris Badwan’s commanding vocals (which have also grown considerable dimensions); but it’s all glued together to complete one masterful puzzle that evades sensory overload. Between the powerful bookends, “Changing the Rain” and “You Said”, two of the band’s most addictive songs to date and“Oceans Burning”, a sprawling 8-minute epic there are no tracks on Skying that lull the album’s progression. Skying is so uniformly composed and tightly arranged that no one song is greater than the next. And because of the albums consistentcy, differentiating the lush atmospherics from song to song, while initally challenging, is one of the most rewarding virtues of the record.
Skying is an album where the parts not only beget the whole, but where the whole synthesizes the parts. It is a collection of songs that succeed individually but absolutely soar when heard as a group. Where, in order to truly unravel just how fantastic a track like “Still Life”is, requires familiarization with the entire album. As you acclimate your ears to thestrata of noise, you’ll find that while Skying follows a cohesive blueprint, it never recycles a singular idea. This is a very fine line, which The Horrors have walked beautifully. In a matter of just four years,The Horrors have recorded a definitive album; mature, focused, and proof that some bands really are better at growing up than others.
-Andrew Bailey
ROOFTOP FILMS CLOSING WEEKEND: WORLD’S BEST DAD + ROOFTOP SHOTS
This weekend is, sadly, the final two nights of Rooftop Films this summer. Closing Weekend features the World Premiere of World’s Best Dad, and “Rooftop Shots,” a selection of the year’s best short films.
Friday, August 19, 2011:
World Premiere of World’s Best Dad
8:00 PM Doors Open
8:30 PM Live Music by Sport of Kings
9:00 PM Film Begins
10:30 PM Q&A with Filmmaker Joshua Gross
11:00 PM After Party in the Courtyard
Saturday, August 20, 2011:
“Rooftop Shots” Short Film Program and
Rooftop Films Closing Night Party
8:00PM Doors Open
8:30PM Live Music by Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
9:00PM Films Begin
11:00PM After Party in the Courtyard
WHERE: The Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd St. (at 3rd Ave.), Brooklyn, NY 11215
THE FILMS:
Friday, August 19, 2011
WORLD’S BEST DAD – WORLD PREMIERE
(Joshua Gross | New York, NY | 84 min.)
Miles hasn’t seen Matt since their father passed away. Now, they’re going to blast him into space. Once they steal his ashes. And figure out how to launch the rocket. And get him to Nevada. We all have different ways of mourning. In some cultures, you don’t leave the house for a week. In others, you drink and have a big party. There might be praying, rending of garments, fire rituals. And that’s what you get here. Sort of. If you’re an aimless young man who’s life has been traumatized by a domineering father, you start by chucking some rocks at your little brother’s window in the middle of the night so you can show off the new stars and strips paint job on the van and the bright yellow t-shirts you hand-printed. Because for Miles (Charlie Ochs), the lead in this charming indie comedy, the adventure is always on the verge of beginning.
More information at: http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/worlds-best-dad/
Saturday, August 20, 2011
ROOFTOP SHOTS – CLOSING NIGHT
Short films so sharp we call them shots, fired from the roof one last time. Includes a haunting piece by the late celebrated documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington.
THE EAGLEMAN STAG (Mikey Please | United Kingdom | 9 min.)
CRAZY BEATS STRONG EVERY TIME (Moon Molson | New Jersey | 26 min.)
DIARY (Tim Hetherington | Brookly, NY | 19 min.)
IT’S ME. HELMUT. (Nicolas Steiner | Ludwigsburg, Germany | 12 min.)
A PIECE OF SUMMER (Marta Minorowicz | Poland | 23 min.)
SCHLAF (SLEEP) (Claudius Gentinetta, Frank Braun | Zurich, Switzerland | 4 min.)
More information at: http://rooftopfilms.com/2011/schedule/rooftop-shots-1/
SNEAK PEAK: TOP SECRET SARA BLAKE PROJECT + 100 GIRLS
Before she heads over to Auckland, NZ to speak at the amazing We Can Create conference series, a 2 day conference for creatives, discosalt artist Sara Blake is sharing some new work. Not only can you can see more of Sara in the new issue of DISCOSALT Magazine, but she has been busy preparing new work for a side event exhibition with several incredible local artists as well. The exhibition will be the first installment of a year long project called 100 Girls—a personal exercise and exploration in creating a large body of work of one of her favorite subjects—pretty ladies. And Sara also has very hush hush top secret collaborations coming up as well, which you can sneak a peak at.
Below are some process images and sneak peaks of the 100 Girls series.
Here are some sneak peaks at Sara’s top secret project…shhhhh:
LISTEN NOW: NEW ALBUM FROM TEAM GENIUS
Our favorite Halloween party house band, Team Genius have a new EP, of pop songs, aptly titled, well, “Pop Songs” coming out on the 23rd. You can give it a listen right here, then come out and support the band this Friday (8/19) at Mercury Lounge for their record release show with opening band Quiet Loudly.GET THE REMIX: HEART SHAPED ROCK (PAPERCUTZ REMIX)
We have a new remix for you from Papercutz: This song is a remix of the title track from Jason Grier’s and Ramona Gonzalez’s (aka Nite Jewel) “Heart Shaped E.P.” Jason Grier is also sharing the first proper release from his (anti)love duets series. The new Heart Shaped EP collects five songs Grier penned for Ramona Gonzalez of Nite Jewel, including studio versions of much blogged-about tracks “Heart Shaped Rock” and “Nothing Nothing”, plus four previously unheard jams. The 35 minute EP zeros in on “smash hit” grooves of the high broadcast age. Post-freestyle, slam jam, and daytime drama soundscapes wash over alien musings on love.
LISTEN NOW: DANNY BROWN’S NEW XXX MIXTAPE
I think the Fader put it best this morning re: Danny Brown’s new XXX mixtape: “It’s like if Louis CK was younger and slightly, slightly less cynical and rapped”.
Get it at Fools Gold Records now.
DAS RACIST IMPREGNATE EAST VILLAGE RADIO
Das Racist have a new residency on East Village Radio- “Chillin’ Island”, on EVR every Friday from 2pm – 4pm EST starting August 12th until the release of their debut LP, “Relax”, on September 13th. The guys will be holding it down, playing favorite tracks, kicking it with drop-in guests and (best of all) premiering cuts from the new record dropping on Heems’ own label, Greedhead Music.
Tune in at the link below.
http://www.eastvillageradio.com/
JUSTICE RELEASING LONG AWAITED SOPHOMORE LP
Emerging from the creative cocoon that has enveloped them since wrapping up promotional efforts for their 2007 Grammy-nominated debut, Xavier de Rosnay & Gaspard Augé, the influential Parisian duo known as Justice, have announced the impending release of their second album Audio, Video, Disco. Straying even further from their dance music roots, the new effort is at once looser and heavier than previous releases, using the combined musical vocabulary of rock and electronic to conjure a laidback, agricultural effort existing on the outer fringes of pop.
Audio, Video, Disco was created in the duo’s home studio, with all instrumentation performed by the group themselves. Seeking to create an album that would evoke the feel of progressive rock, the duo labored meticulously to learn instruments they had not previously conqueredto craft an epic masterpiece that exchanges the “night in the city” setting of their debut with an “afternoon in the country” atmosphere. Also notable is the presence of a range of guest vocalists, including a spot by Morgan Phalen of NY rockers Diamond Nights on “On’n’On” and “Newlands”, Vincenzi Vendetta of Australian band Midnight Juggernauts on “Ohio”, and UK pop singer Ali Love on the album’s first single “Civilization”, the graphically captivating video for which was iTunes “Video of the Week” in June and featured prominently on Pitchfork, Stereogum, Prefix, and countless other sites.
Their debut established the group as an international force and the duo have responded with a huge album that panders to no one, equally at home blaring from a dance club soundsystem or performed in an arena. Don’t be surprised when it finds its home in the latter.
Support Photography and Skateboarding when you buy 43 Magazine
Magazines play an essential role in skateboarding’s heritage, documenting the culture. 43 is a free, independent, non profit, bimonthly skateboard magazine, with a clean art book feel, dedicated to quality, photography and arts devoted to the unfiltered portrait of real skateboarding. The magazine has been in development for well over a year now with New York City skateboard photographer Allen Ying carefully building it thoughtfully from the ground up, questioning every detail to result in a magazine that is as inspiring as the skateboarding featured in it.
If you like this project, head over to kickstarter to give some support. Funding is still needed to cover the paper, printing, distribution, and contributors. with your support, this will be a special 1st issue with minimal or no advertising. moving forward, we will fund future issues with advertisements on no more than 38% of the magazine’s pages.
2 DAYS OF FREE BEER + BANDS IN BUSHWICK
The second annual Out In The Streets fest is two-day party at Brooklyn Fireproof in Bushwick Saturday + Sunday August 27th and 28th, following up last month’s Bushwick Walkabout Festival. Free beer will be provided by Brooklyn Brewery, lots of give-a-ways and more than a dozen awesome bands.
DATE: August 27th & 28th, 2011
VENUE: Brooklyn Fireproof Outdoors
VENUE ADDRESS: 119 Ingraham Street, Brooklyn, NY
PRICE: 2-day pass: $15 // single-day pass: $10
TICKETS/MORE INFO: http://outinthestreets.com/
FREE BROOKLYN BREWERY BEER
(while supplies last)
INSIDE TRAILBLAZER’S PRACTICE SPACE
TRAILBLAZER aka Coleman Guyon gives our friends at Sick Of The Radio an exclusive peek inside his practice space. Go HERE for an Immediate download of his 7-track album in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
NEW VHS YANKED VIDEO FROM MAYER HAWTHORNE
Check out the VHS-yanked clips for “A Long Time,” Mayer Hawthorne’s first video for his upcoming album “How Do You Do” on Universal. Taken from an old 80’s Detroit public access dance show- I can guarantee some of these people really regret their wardrobe choices…
Reminds us of Jimmy Fallon’s Dance Avenue. Click HERE to peep the video!
DINOSAUR JR.’S FIRST THREE ALBUMS BACK ON VINYL
