Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A review of "The BQE"


Sufjan Stevens has outdone himself once again with his latest release. Though the inception of The BQE may have been a simple project commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, it has snowballed into something more. This is a masterpiece that surpasses all notions and boundaries of what one would expect from a current artist. Perhaps that’s the magic of Sufjan Stevens; we know his sound, but with each release he does something new. One can never know what to fully expect from this man.


As I sit hear listening to the album, I can’t help but envision Sufjan on stage surrounded by a symphony in a beautiful concert hall. The explosions of sound, the arrangement of each instrument—it is all too brilliant. Some pieces are dark and brooding (Interlude I: Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation), while others are lighthearted and playful- calling to mind paintings from the Rococo era (“Movement III: Linear Tableau with Intersecting Surprise”). However, Stevens does not end the musical journey in the 1700s. There is a sense of modernity when electronic elements are showcased in the appropriately titled “Movement IV: Traffic Shock”, with all the samples and sounds creating a mental image of frenzy and confusion, truly mirroring “the BQE’s inexplicable twists and turns,” as Stevens goes on to explain in the accompanying comic book. (Yes, a comic book!)


The ending track, “Prelude: Critical Mass” is a delicate and moving piece. There is a sense of serenity; a stillness and sadness that stirs the soul. It is the most perfect and calm way to end a tumultuous journey through the BQE (and when I say tumultuous, do not think of the negative dictionary definition, for the tumult presented on this album is nothing but the best kind of uproar and loudness. The sounds shift from heavy to light, from calm to bellicose, and that is what I am trying to capture). The BQE is a road that begs to be traveled down again and again.


This album is easily one of the best that I have had the pleasure of listening to in 2009.


You can purchase the album in various forms through Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Posted by Gabrielle Costa

From Dub to Dubstep

This is a fascinating video I encountered online. I'm a huge Lee "Scratch" Perry fan. He revolutionized the dub concept with his recording and mixing techniques with Reggae music. Incredible.

Only lately have I been dabbling into the world of Dubstep, which is considerably different with it's electronic influences. Obviously, though, there is a link in between the two styles.

This video does a great job of relating the origins of the two styles and includes performances and music from Lee Perry, a brief interview with Dubstep monster Rusko, as well as Jahdan performing with Major Lazer (Diplo and Switch's electronic dub/reggae inspired club collaboration.)

Here is Lee Perry's "Blackboard Jungle:" From Dub to Dubstep mini documentary.

Group to Watch: Chauffeur


Chauffeur is the new supergroup made up of eclectic members Theophilus London, Mark Ronson and Sam Sparro.

The group came together and released one track to date. The song, "Soles on Fire," was written by Ronson for Gucci's pop-up Icon-Temporary stores that feature boat-shoe inspired sneakers designed by Ronson.

The track is a spacey, chilled out lounge and dark R&B  fighting it's inner electro/hip hop demons. Dark synths, repetetive Cool Kids inspired vocal hooks and a spacey beat are paired with London's classic breezy, cool and collected flow and Sparro's soaring high-pitched melodies.

Truly an interesting song, but it's got me skeptical. There's room for improvement. London, Ronson and Sparro are distinguished musician's in their own right, but something about this collaboration isn't hooking me. Yet. Hopefully there's more to come from this group. London's style is truly unique in the hip hop world. He embraces electronic music, afro beats and hip hop as inspiration. I think I was expecting a bit more of this group because of London's involvement.  I'd hate to think this song was just a selling gimick for Ronson's shoe.


Photo courtesy of thefader.com

Here is a video of Chauffeur's debut as a group at the Levi's®/Fader Fort at the CMJ festival in New York.

Chauffeur live at CMJ Fader Fort.


Click here to download Chauffeur - Soles on Fire. DOWNLOAD HERE

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Flosstradamus Speaks with The Music Pirate, Planning New Album


Flosstradamus and Kid Sister are coming to Southern California! They will rock Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar tomorrow and The Echoplex in Echo Park on Saturday, Oct. 24.


After the tour, Flosstradamus plan to take a month off in their hometown Chicago to wind down and produce a debut album.


We caught up with a jet-lagged and exhausted Flosstradamus before their soundcheck in Portland, Oregon yesterday. Curtis was gracious enough to stay awake and give The Music Pirate a call while Josh was sleeping to talk about their work-in-progress debut album, Yo Gabba Gabba, dental hygiene and more.


Read the full interview after the jump! Also coming soon: video interview with Flosstradamus (and POSSIBLY Kid Sister) for their Saturday Echoplex show. Be sure to check back on TheMusicPirateTV on YouTube!


Lucas: Whats up? Where are you guys?


Curtis: We are in Portland right now supporting this leg of Kid Sister's tour that she’s doing. Josh and I were in the studio and she wanted help on this first part of her tour so we just said ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it.” So we’re out here doing that. We’re playing a few shows as Flosstradamus and playing a few as just Kid Sister shows as well.


Lucas: What do you mean?


Curtis: We’re doing a few Flosstradamus AND Kid Sister shows as well as just a few Kid Sister shows without our set in there as well, as the supporting act.


Lucas: Oh awesome. So I have to ask about her name.


Curtis: Yeah she’s Josh’s sister. She’s actually Josh’s older sister.


Lucas: That’s funny, her name is almost a bit misleading.


Curtis: [laughs] In a sense. I don’t know if BIg Sister sounds really good. It doesn’t flow off the tongue as well as Kid Sister


Lucas: Yeah, haha. So you guys have proven you have amazing production skills with quite a few remixes and you’ve even released an original song with Caroline from Chairlift. Are you guys considering making more music? What’s next for Flosstradamus?


Curtis: That’s what we’re doing right now man. DJ shows and club events are getting kind of over saturated in the scene, or they have been since 2008 to now. Josh and I have been touring around forever. We’ve been touring since 2005. We’ve done a lot of it and we’re just like ‘We need to take a break now. We need to release some stuff’ and it feels good. It feels natural now just to like be in the studio. Before we would have a couple weeks or a few days to work on a remix or an original song, and now we’ve got like a month. We’re taking our first month off since 2005 in December. We’re starting to put out stuff. We’ve just been in the studio right now trying to find our sound because we don’t want to copy anything that’s hot right now. We just want to find our own sound because we haven’t really done that yet. With remixes we can put a sound out on the track but for original songs we want to have something different. We want something unique and fun that reflects Chicago and reflects us. We’re grinding in the studio now and I’m pretty stoked on that.


Lucas: Awesome. I have noticed a few of your remixes having different sounds and vibes. The Matt and Kim - Yeah Yeah remix has a different vibe than the Act A Fool song or Overnight Star.


Curtis: The Act A Fool one was more of a mashup thing we did. We were playing a lot of old school trance at the time and we were also playing a lot of Lil Jon so we put them together. But yeah, with the Matt & Kim remix, I was playing some keys in the key of their song and it just came out like that. Then we remixed Mates of State as well and that remix has a different sound to it too. With a remix, it’s pretty cool because we can apply a sound that’s hot at the time on it and give our own take on what’s going on in the current music game, but for the album we want something that’s a bit more listenable and more timeless than just like a remix that can played in the club for a few months.


Lucas: So with you guys in the studio, what are you guys influenced by? Even outside of a specific style of music, are you guys looking outside of electronic music? What are are you guys really into right now?


Curtis: Even looking outside of music. Josh and I are going into this with lot of free time now at home so we’re reading a lot of pop culture books and movies and things that we’ve missed out on over the years. Cult classics and stuff. We’re just brushing up on everything that’s influencing us in many ways just even artistically like getting different aesthetics from things out there. Things that have happened in the past that have inspired culture, that’s kind of what we’re doing. We’re listening to a lot of new stuff, theres a lot of new music that’s coming out that’s really cool.


Lucas: Yeah, this year has been really great in music. What are your favorite musical acts this year?


Curtis: This year? Hm. The xx are super good. Diplo. The Major Lazer thing is killing. I guess this wasn’t this year, but Friendly Fires are in constant rotation and the M83 album. Those are both from last year but they made it into this year and they’re still killing it. Pretty timeless. Theres a lot of singles I’ve been feeling this year too. The new Chromeo single is good.


Lucas: So back to the original song you released, ‘Big Bills,’ with Caroline from Chairlift, how did that come about?


Curtis: Man, that was a crazy process and it happened super fast. Josh and I can do remixes and stuff, but we haven’t really done an original track and Green Label Sound did a song with Matt and Kim and they did one with The Cool Kids, which are both our friends. They hit us up next and it just kind of worked out. They were like “Hey we have a few artists we’d like you guys to work with. We want you to produce an original song for them” and gave us a list of names. Caroline and us gave the thumbs up and a couple days later we’re in LA in a studio, for three days only and we came up with that song. Just whipped it together in those three days and then two days later we’re filming a video and having a photo shoot. So that whole entire project happened within less than 7 days 


Lucas: Wow.


Curtis: It’s pretty rushed for a single, so that whole process was different and it was fun too. I like being pushed. I’m a huge procrastinator so if they gave us 3 months it probably wouldn’t have happened in 3 days… but it was good. She brought her sound to the table. She brought more of an indie vibe, more of a melodic vibe and we brought a bit of the dance vibe and put it all together in the studio and made this weird little indie-dance cross over thing you can just listen to instead of just another club banger which was a trend for DJs at the time.


Lucas: Yeah when I heard that song, I thought “I don’t think I’ll hear this at a club but I’ll definitely be playing this on my iPod.”


Curtis: Yeah that was kind of the whole point that Josh and I took with it too, because at the time when we made it, the whole the idea everyone was about was ‘Banger banger banger banger!’ It was just like ‘Yo man thats kind of played out. Kinda over it.’ We just took another stance on it and just tried to make something different, that’s one thing a lot of artists are afraid to do. Do something weird and different and we did it. 


Lucas: Yeah, its definitely different and great. With your new album in the works and based off of that experience are you planning on collaborating with outside people or is it more gonna be like a Curt and Josh thing?


Curtis: We are collaborating. We’ve got a lot of friends we’ve made. We’ve been touring for like 3 year straight so we’ve been meeting a lot of people on the road and a lot of people are down to work with us. What Josh and I are doing right now is getting a huge catalog of songs together. We’ve been making different things. We’ll get an idea and we’ll bang it out. Some of them are really rough and some of the tracks are pretty polished up, so we’re going to take the album in progress and send them out to all the people in our family, like Chromeo and Fool’s Gold and Mad Decent and be like “Yo which ones do you like?” We’re gonna send those out and then polish those up then we’ll start sending them out to the artists we’d like to have featured on them. Then yeah, it goes from there.


Lucas: Nice, yeah that’ll be really exciting. 


Curtis: I’m stoked. It’s a good feeling to be doing something different again. I’m super stoked to be working in the studio,



Lucas: For sure. Did DJing somehow get old for you, from touring for so long nonstop?


Curtis: [laughs] Uhhh…. Im going to say yes in a way. All the new music that came out as we were touring kept us inspired. We were like “Oh cool we can fit this crazy song in our sets ina certain way” and still play a lot of the old songs we always play. That was inspiring and that was fun. But having to travel and do it all the time it got taxing man. Josh and I got tired. You can just tell by looking at press photos we’ve taken just how much this has aged us. It’s good to take a breather and it’s good to just be back home, just relaxing. This is an amazing job. I’m not mad that we have this job and this is what I do to make a living. I get to enjoy what I do and I get to do something creative for a living. This is all of the things I would want so I’m not mad at it. I just think it’s time to switch gears for just a little bit and let everyone else do their thing so we can work on our album and work on a whole new way to tour. That’s another thing Josh and I are doing right now. Instead of just having a DJ set we’re trying to flip up everything do more live performances as well as DJing in our new sets when we come back out.


Lucas: Awesome. I’m sure you guys know the Twelves. They do that too, they perform live more than they DJ.


Curtis: They do it really really well. We’re gonna take our influence from that a little bit cause they’re not really like DJing as much as they are playing tracks and playing live to it but doing their own version of it. Like what Chromeo does, they bring live percussion in. They don’t have a drummer or anything. It’s just two dudes. They’ve got P Thug on keys and Dave 1 on guitar and singing and then they have a backing track that they’ll add to. They’ll add a little bit of drums and some cowbells and stuff. We wanna take that as well as a little bit of a musician performance and hopefully, once we established with our album, we can bring a couple of them out on the road with us. If you’ve ever seen Basement Jaxx they do it really well. They’ve got singers and dancers and people on stage with them. They heighten up their tracks. Hopefully we could do that when the albums released. Eventually that’s what we want to do for sure 


Lucas: Sweet. This next question is from one of my writers Eszter.


Curtis: Hey Eszter.


Eszter: Hey whats up? How important is the visual aspect of a live show?


Curtis: It’s huge. We have these people we’re going to bring out too. They’re called Thunder Horse and they help us curate all of our shows in Chicago. They do visuals, videos and effects as well as help us design and build stages. We do theme shows in Chicago and that’s what we want to bring out on the road. For a 4:20 party we built a giant UFO a stage built out of these giant smoking joints that would smoke. I dunno, it was crazy. And I think that’s a huge thing, especially in the DJ game because at the end of the day we’re just playing other people’s music. If you have visual stuff there to entertain the crowd its better than sitting there watching some dudes behind their laptops. Girl Talk kills it with the things he does. He’s killing it musically but he has all these kids around him dancing. He has a balloon drop and beach balls, you name it. Fireworks now. He’s doing all sorts of crazy shit and that just adds to all that element and adds to the night. If you were to go to a show and be like “He was there doing his thing,” it’s not as epic as fireworks and a show. 


Lucas: For sure, it definitely keeps you ahead of the game.


Curtis: Yeah totally 


Eszter: Have you ever had a fan come up to you with a weird interpretation of what Flosstradamus means? The actual word? 


Curtis: No actually. That’s the thing, though. Everyone asks us about that; everyone thinks it some super deep thing. But, no I haven’t had that. I actually want a fan to do that. Maybe we could have like a T-shirt contest or something and have fans illustrate what they think it means. What do you think it means?


Eszter: I kind of thought it was like the future of flossing. Cause you know Nostradamus was making predictions about the future, so I was thinking maybe it’s the future of dental hygiene.


Curtis: [laughs] See there you go! That’s awesome. Uh, I mean, my interpretation isn’t that but it is kind of a play on both those words. Yeah, Nostradamus predicted the future and also if you’re flossin’ you’ve got the best stuff on you. We’re foreseeing that’s hot I guess [laughs] in a weird way. But I like the dental floss idea. the future of dental hygiene. 


Lucas: [laughs] You’ll always be fresh. In both senses of the word .


Curtis: [laughs] Exactly, yeah.


Eszter: They should put you on Yo Gabba Gabba and then you can do a whole thing about brushing teeth. It would be perfect.


Curtis: Dude. That is actually a really good idea. They had Chromeo on there and our friend Louisa from that DJ group Staccato in LA. Her mom works for Nickelodeon so that would be awesome.


Lucas: Actually Curtis, I have a friend that interns there. Maybe I can say something.


Curtis; Dude, put in a word. That would be so awesome.


Lucas; Definitely, I’ll hit him up right after this interview [laughs] I saw that Chromeo clip of the Wash Your Hands song and it was so great.


Curtis [laughs] Yeah, amazing


Lucas: It’s incredible. It’s weird and awesome.


Curtis: Yeah dude, it’s just cool that they involve people in our culture and age group. Like the stuff that we’re fans of are in this little kids show. It’s so cool. They’ve got Biz Markie. Ah, awesome.


Lucas: I’m definitely jealous that I didn’t have that when I was a kid.


Curtis: Exactly. Exactly. 


Lucas: If they’re growing up with all this cool stuff on the show like Chromeo and MGMT, how cool are they gonna be when they’re our age?


Curtis: Exactly. I’m actually really stoked on what kids are gonna be like. I think things are switching gears, and being a creative kid is actually a good thing now. Before it seemed like it was a weird thing, like we were outcasted or something but now I feel like being creative and different is more acceptable in our society now. I’m stoked to see what these kids are gonna do.




Flosstradamus is a not a show you want to miss. Four turntables, two mixers two incredibly creative DJ's are the perfect equation to a buck wild dance floor. 





Detroit Bar is located at 843 W. 19th St. Costa Mesa. The Echoplex is located at 1154 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles. 


Interview conducted by Lucas Vocos and Eszter Zimanyi.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Interview with The Growlers








Last week The Music Pirate blog spent the afternoon with The Growlers in their Costa Mesa studio/warehouse/party-house. The Growlers are vocalist Brooks Nielson,  guitarist Matt Taylor, bassist Scott Montoya, drummer Brian Stewart, and guitarist/keyboardist Kyle.


Welcomed into the studio by their dog Jonsey and a plate full of carrots, we spent the evening talking about Chubacabras, alter egos, which animal has the best growl and the illogical plotline for Zombieland, though Scott will admit Bill Murray's cameo was the best moment in cinema ever.


When we weren't discussing these heavy topics, we got around talking about The Growlers and their latest album release, 'Are You In or Out?' on Oct. 6.


Here is our exclusive interview with these Costa Mesa surf bums. Check it out after the jump! Also, check out a video of The Growlers performing exclusively for us in their practice space.


Gogol Bordello 10/18 Show Review



Gogol Bordello came to The Grove in Anaheim on Oct. 18 and our writer Taylor Hamby was there to experience the awesome gypsy punk ruckus caused by frontman Eugene Hutz and his crew of ragtag Eastern Europeans.

Read Taylor's review of Gogol Bordello live at The Grove in Anaheim after the jump.

Flosstradamus and Kid Sister come to Southern California! (Interview coming soon!)






Chicago's favorite DJ duo Flosstradamus will be coming to lay waste to dancefloors all over Southern California and they are bringing along Kid Sister (who, funny enough, really is the sister of Josh from Flosstradamus) for the ride.

Flosstradamus are not your average DJ's. Whereas most DJ's use two turntables and a mixer, they've got four turntables and 2 mixers for absolutely unique sets. From small clubs to the main stage at Coachella, Flosstradamus do, quite literally, bring the party.

Kid Sister has been blowing up as of late. From having Kanye West collaborations and redoing The Jungle Brother's house classic "I'll House You," Kid Sister is a force to be reckoned with.

Go go go go go go go. You will not be disappointed. I guarantee it.
They are playing Friday Oct. 23 at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa and Saturday Oct. 24 at the Echoplex in Echo Park.

Also, be sure to check back soon for an exclusive interview with my buddy Curtis from Flosstradamus. Video coming soon as well.


Check out Flosstradamus on their MySpace.
Check out Kid Sister on her MySpace.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Wolf In A Spacesuit: "Most of our songs are based on antler appreciation."



Wolf in a Spacesuit is a three-piece band from Chicago. The project first gained attention through the support of psych-pop darlings MGMT, who placed Wolf in a Spacesuit in their coveted top friends list on MySpace. Originally, Wolf in a Spacesuit consisted of only one person who posted short, mostly instrumental, songs onto his MySpace page. Since then, Wolf in a Spacesuit has added two members to the line-up and released a 5 song EP entitled Pomegranate Stationary (available for free through their websites). Two of Wolf in a Spacesuit's members, who identified themselves only as "Algebra" and "Commander Mark", took the time to call The Music Pirate's Eszter Zimanyi to talk about how the project started, where they hope to take it, and why they insist on keeping their names a secret. Check it out after the jump! 


Side note: This is the first Wolf in a Spacesuit interview ever!!!


Acoustache, Volume One Out Now!



Huntington Beach's poster boys have graced us, yet again, with a new collection of their pop infused roots rock. Moostache's recent release, Acoustache, Volume One, strays slightly from the distorted string section listeners are used to, hence the title. This six song, no wires attached EP is no let down. The release still seaps with the gritty yet delicate harmonies that have accentuated the style of the Stache in the past and even incorporates new elements such as the southern pluckin' banjo in tracks like "Hold On" and "Basics."

Acoustchache, Volume One is available to download on the band's website, but here's the twist. They've given potential listeners three options to download the EP: Pay $5, "Steal It" or name your own price. Whichever you choose, you won't be disappointed.


Also check out the band's other sites:




http://twitter.com/moostachemusic

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Mr. Oizo at Avalon Hollywood 10/16


In a world where DJing has become more common through electronic advances, it takes talent and creativity to stand out.

Mr. Oizo's "Lambs Anger" displays a variety of songs both fast and slow. A play on words of Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock's "It Takes Two" turns into a vulgar sex account. There is no doubt that this man loves to mix his French influence with fast-paced sweat dripping beats.

Mr. White performed the opening set at Avalon mixing chart toppers such as Kid Cudi's "Day N' Nite" into bass pumping house tracks which began to get the crowd's heart pulsing.

The dancefloor was full when Oizo took the stage somewhere around 12:30 a.m. This man played hours of fast paced tracks never leaving the audience a chance to breath. The tone was almost similar to a rave. Continous fast paced bass kept hitting the speakers, but the beaded bracelets and ridiculous outfits were absent (thank god). Unfortunately, I did not stay until 3 a.m. to see Oizo's whole set, but when I emerged on Vine Street sweaty and exhausted my ears were still ringing.

Overall I enjoyed this show and it panned out to be what I had expected: a night of sweaty kids jumping to one long electronic song. It definitely wasn't one of the best but it was fun and worth the $10. My only advice to Oizo for his next U.S. show; cut some of the repetitive, flashy tracks and add more vocals. If he slowed down his set just a tad the audience would have had a chance to appreciate the artistic approach to DJing.

Here's a clip of Mr. Oizo's set at Avalon 10/16:


 

Friday, October 16, 2009

Booty Shakin Bodega Girls



Bodega Girls is a dance rock group from Boston, MA.
They've released a few original tracks, and have remixed Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come, Port O'Brien - My Will is Good, and a few others. Really great, danceworthy remixes.

These songs just drip with lust and sex, as that is what Bodega Girls is all about. Here is a snippet of their About Me section on their Myspace Page:


BODEGA GIRLS Only an audience so bloodthirsty and sex starved as they could take pleasure in the world of bra-busting, pants-dropping debauchery they have to offer.

BODEGA GIRLS A musical troupe performing acts of sexuality and persuasion with their own God-given instruments, turning on the already depraved, as well as the naive. ..

BODEGA GIRLS A sick cinematic slew of sweaty skimp and callous kink. An unadulterated penetration into the gaping hole of the sicko's soul...

BODEGA GIRLS The human id - illustrated in flesh and guitar strings. Hourglass figures and experienced fingers prance and wriggle their way across the stage, screen and into your psyche. An orgy of sleaze, desire, and rock and roll music - brought to life in bouncy, jiggly technicolor...

BODEGA GIRLS Hedonistic purveyors of Soul, too well endowed and too world renowned to be confined to lo rent clubs and white bred soundstages – look for their sonic ebony to explode at a party near you. 


Honestly, I couldn't say it better myself. I can definitely picture these tracks playing to an oversexed and sweaty dancefloor in any Hollywood or Brooklyn dance parties.

Bodega Girls - She's Into Black Guys



This track is incredible. It's a blend of funk, soul, and dance music. I hear traces of Rick James in the melody and bassline. The bottom line is, you can't stop dancing to this.

I wish I was in New York this weekend to catch them at the CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival in addition to seeing Midnight Juggernauts, The Rhodes, Theophilus London, The Golden Filter, Cold Cave, Lovvers and more. Blah, what an incredible weekend for music, and I'm here in Costa Mesa.

Be on the lookout for more coverage of Bodega Girls as they release more material here at The Music Pirate!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Artist to Watch: The Golden Filter




Although on the surface this duo may somewhat resemble the Ting Tings, with their stylish platinum blonde lead singer and analog/synth player behind black rimmed spectacles their sound is would be anything but.

Lead singer Penelope grew up near Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia while Stephen, their analog programmer is from Ohio. Although these two have become the face for the Golden Filter, they have a drummer, Lisa, whom joins them onstage live.

I first heard this band's single "Solid Gold" in A-Trak's "Infinity +1" mixtape and the 30 second sample jumped out to me. Even though the lyrics are somewhat repetitive and simple, Penelope's light voice is entrancing and perfect for the warped disco beat. The band 's second single "Thunderbird" was scheduled to be released on November 16th, but was leaked onto the internet in early October. This single almost takes on more of a funk feel, more heavy on drums with echoing vocals. Based on these two singles I believe this band could really emerge onto the music scene.

They performed in the 2009 SXSW and toured in the U.S. with the Presets up until April 2009. Besides their own music, the Golden Filter have also released remixes of Empire of the Sun's "We Are the People", Cut Copy's "Far Away", and Little Boot's "New in Town".


Here is their video for "Solid Gold:



You can pre-order the "Thunderbird" single on a 12" record, which will also include a cover of the White Stripes' "Hardest Button to Button". http://shop.dummymag.com/product/the-golden-filter-thunderbird

Posted by Kirstie Mauro

Monday, October 12, 2009

Photos of The Growlers

Here are some photos from our interview with The Growlers. Video and interview to be posted soon. More photos after the jump.


Sunday, October 11, 2009

Fever Ray Mesmerizes in Pomona

Fever Ray wowed the crowd at The Glasshouse in Pomona last week. Our writer Eszter was there to experience the majesty. Read her review after the jump.

Five creepy music videos to get you in the mood for Halloween

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be cool to share my top 5 favorite music videos that not only rock, but also creep me out!

5. Coming in at number five is the alternate music video for Amazing Baby's "Headdress". The abandoned house, strange naked women, and abundance of mice all make my stomach squirm. 



4. Bat For Lashes steals the number 4 spot with her music video for "What's A Girl To Do". Follow Natasha Khan and her peculiar friends on a strange night-time bike ride, if you dare.



3. Fever Ray is my number 3 pick. Their music video for "If I Had A Heart" uses innocent children, tribal masks and costumes, and the implication of something supernatural to spook viewers. Enjoy. 


2. I don't know about you, but I am terrified of large groups of identical people. Supplying me with this exact scenario is the video for Aphex Twin's "Come To Daddy". I still haven't fully recovered.



















1. Finally, Radiohead's "There There" is my pick for creepiest music video. I find the scenery in this video fascinating, and the fact that Thom Yorke becomes trapped in the forest for eternity never ceases to give me the chills. Plus the song is awesome. If only I could have found a higher quality version to embed...



Posted by Eszter Zimanyi

Friday, October 9, 2009

Questions Answered: The Films



From the big city hustle in Brooklyn, New York down to Charleston, South Carolina, where the only hustle is in the chicken coop, The Films have not let listeners down with their folk infused sophomore release, Oh, Scorpio. Our writer Mike was able to chat with front man Michael Trent (also of Shovels & Rope) via email. Check it out!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Mr. Oizo in Hollywood

Mr. Oizo, the genius DJ and producer on Ed Banger Records, will perform a DJ set at Control on Oct. 16 at the Avalon in Hollywood.



For more info check out Control's website. The Avalon is located at 1735 Vine St. Hollywood.

Posted by Lucas Vocos

New Radiohead album to be released in 2010





Earlier this year, it was reported that Radiohead would no longer be making albums. Thom Yorke was misquoted when he said that making another record would "kill the band". According to guitarist Ed O'Brien, Radiohead is set to release a follow-up to In Rainbows in 2010!

Read what Ed O'Brien had to say here.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Fever Ray rocks The Glasshouse

So, here is a bit of a video post for you. Our writer/photographer/videographer extraordinaire Eszter caught Fever Ray last night at The Glasshouse in Pomona for an inspired and lively set.

 Here is Fever Ray with 'When I Grow Up'


Check out more videos of Fever Ray's performance on our YouTube channel, TheMusicPirateTV!

Posted by Lucas Vocos, videos by Eszter Zimanyi

The Growlers Album Release

Yesterday was the release of The Growlers' "Are You In or Out?"
Tonight, you can catch them live at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. They are playing with Crooked Cowboy and the Freshwater Indians.






Pick up The Growlers - "Are You In or Out?" tonight at the show or download it from iTunes.

Posted by Lucas Vocos

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Some fun with Fun!


Out of the rubble of the tragic announcement of The Format's hiatus, emerges a new gleam of light. It may be slightly different from what some Format die-hards are used to, but it is definitely more... fun! Straight of out New York, New York is the melodic pop trio, Fun, coming to infect listeners with their catchy choruses. The lineup includes former frontman of The Format Nate Ruess, ex-member of Anathallo, Andrew Dost, and Steel Train's Jack Antonoff.

Our writer Mike had an opportunity to speak with Fun's multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Dost. Take a look!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Amazing Baby Rock Los Angeles

Amazing Baby have been touring non-stop for more than 6 months now. They have traveled across the globe in promotion of their debut full length album, Rewild, and after a few weeks off this October, they'll be heading back on the road again. So, when I interviewed Amazing Baby frontman Will Roan two weeks prior to the band's September 23rd Los Angeles tour date and heard him divulge how overwhelming endless traveling can be, I began to wonder if my show date would bring me five exhausted musicians and a lackluster at best performance. Boy was I wrong. 


Video by Eszter Zimanyi





To read more of Eszter's review of the performance, click the link below!