It may start out a little like R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ but that’s where the similarity ends for ‘Come On Over’ is an immensely propulsive thing once it locates its afterburners. It comes courtesy of London act Veronica Falls who’ve had previous with the Royal We and have cocked the ears of some clued-in folks at [...]

"Baby's Arms" MP3 from the album Smoke Ring for My Halo 2011 iTunes Kurt Vile's Smoke Ring for My Halo is, for lack of a better phrase, obsession-worthy : a piece of work so lyrical and self-contained it not only fails to ever grow old, it radiates clarity and ease with such effortless intensity it can't help but come off as a whole, as a complete, well-rounded musical experience. It's also pretty rare in that respect; the last record to make the cut for me was Girls' Album back in 2009. Perhaps I just have a thing ...

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Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose, the debut full-length from perfectly vivacious Geordie lass Beth Jeans Houghton ( & The Hooves of Destiny ) has been so impatiently awaited that to at long last be able to ferociously tear record from shrink-wrapped viscose must, for Houghton, be comparable to a childhood Christmas in which some inconceivably gargantuan Lego vessel is unfurled from gaudy wrapping paper. When our paths crossed and voices conversed back in September Beth Jeans was, visibly, deeply affected by the arrival of a clutch of Liliputt seven inches thus to clasp an LP for the very first time must have, I may presuppose, truly enlightened an already wonderfully enlivening character. Realistically, Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose is hardly an effort to validate the long in long-player, its ten tracks scarcely clocking in at half an hour. However if it may dispel one abbreviation, it convincingly typifies one particular well-worn-to-the-point-of-threadbare phrase. For while it's unquestionably short (and, subjectively, saddeningly so), it's also unerringly sweet. Bugle-buffeted opener Sweet Tooth Bird is as buoyant as the most blustery whistle of wind, the symphonic sound of The Polyphonic Spree's horn section polished and spruced up to contribute exuberant fanfare to the Nyman-like orchestral whirring of the track, while Atlas proves ebulliently Wild Bestial with afrobeat guitars, hooting, howling, and the like offset by aboriginal chanting set several fathoms below paradoxically joyous lyrics of the detrimental nature of "red wine and whisky". Irrespective of the purported damage of said intoxicants, they've evidently had no impact on Houghton's vocal ability as she performs a variety of viva voce acrobatics. She coos; cackles; comforts as lines roly-poly helplessly on into those which follow as on the lightly jovial Humble Digs, during which soldierly snares and tumbledown banjos perpetuate a jaunty, chantey-ish effect. Night Swimmer (mercifully akin to R.E.M. dirge in name only) sees Houghton & her Hooves veer off in a somewhat kitsch baroque pop direction beneath which swims incongruous arpeggiation. She here demonstrates minimal progression, and consequently merely treads waters in which she's perhaps ill at ease. The eerie and ethereal, bemusingly entitled The ...

Die dänische Experimental-Pop-Band Alcoholic Faith Mission meldet sich Ende des Monats mit einem Album zurück. Am 24. Februar soll der vierte Langspieler "Ask Me This" via Pony Rec/Rough Trade in die Plattenläden eures Vertrauens gelangen. Die Platte wurde gemeinsam mit Tom McFall eingespielt, der bereits Indie-Größen wie R.E.M. und Weezer produzierte. Hier könnt ihr bereits vorab bereits in das Video zu "Into Pieces" sehen, bei dem die Skandinavier ihren gewohnten Sound spielen, der die motor.de-Redaktion schon einmal mit sakralen Synthies und Gesangsflächen bezauberte . Außerdem könnt ihr euch hier das Albumcover sowie das Video zum ersten Song ...

The premier episode of Andy & Reggie’s Songs About Stuff & Things Radio Hour. 14 songs have been hand selected centered on the end of the world as we know. NOTE: R.E.M.’s “It’s the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” was not selected. Sock Monkey Sound

«Ακόμα με τις λίστες ασχολείστε; Φεβρουάριος έφτασε!» Αφού τα είπαμε, στο some beans το αγαπημένο μας σύνθημα είναι το «φέεεετααα»! Έτσι και αλλιώς τελείωσε ένας Ιανουάριος με λίγες ειδήσεις και ακόμα λιγότερες σημαντικές κυκλοφορίες οπότε δεν χάσατε πάρα πολλά. Και γιατί να βιαστούμε άλλωστε; Ας αφήσουμε στην άκρη τα αυτιστικά μας που μας επιβάλλουν να είμαστε πάντα στην ώρα μας (αλήθεια από πότε καθιερώθηκε αυτή η ώρα;) και επίκαιροι και ας απολαύσουμε 40 από εμένα και 40 από την uptight (σύντομα κοντά σας) επιλογές από υπέροχους δίσκους. Η καλή μουσική άλλωστε είναι πάντα επίκαιρη. 40. Micachu & the Shapes/ London Sinfonietta - Chopped & Screwed Ο δεύτερος δίσκος των Micachu είναι μια ζωντανή ηχογράφηση της μπάντας μαζί με την μικρή ορχήστρα του Λονδίνου. Μοιάζει με soundtrack τέλους του κόσμου, φοβερά ατμοσφαιρικό, μυστήριο, δυσοίωνο και περίεργο. Η μπάντα ακούγεται σα να έχει παγιδευτεί μέσα στο μάτι μιας μύγας, έχοντας μια ευρυγωνική, κάπως διεστραμμένη και σατανική άποψη για τον κόσμο. Δεν είναι άκουσμα για καλοκαιρινές βόλτες στην παραλία αλλά μια ιδιαίτερη ακρόαση που άλλοτε διαλύεται μπροστά στα μάτια σου, άλλοτε σέρνεται ακρωτηριασμένο λερώνοντας το πάτωμα και άλλοτε προσπαθεί ανεπιτυχώς να ανοίξει τα φτερά του να πετάξει μέχρι να προσγειωθεί με τα μούτρα. Αυτό το ανίερο πάντρεμα κλασσικής μουσικής και απροσάρμοστης pop επιβάλλεται να ακούστει με προσοχή και ενδιαφέρον. Για παράδειγμα: Micachu And The Shapes/ London Sinfonietta- "Not So Sure" 39. Ensemble - Excerpts Γαλλική noire pop μουσική για όλα τα εκλεπτυσμένα γούστα σύντομα σε ένα σινεμά κοντά σας. Ο ενεργός από το 1998 Olivier Alary έφτιαξε κινηματογραφική μουσική για σκοτεινά ρομάντζα, απατεώνες και προδοσίες. Ο Serge Gainsbourg είναι μία επιρροή που αναγνωρίζεται άμεσα από τον ακροατή αν και η προσέγγιση του Olivier δεν προσπαθεί να σοκάρει με την πρωτοτυπία της και την τόλμη της παρά μόνο μοιάζει με πολύ προσεγμένη αναβίωση της συγκεκριμένης μουσικής, με λιγότερα new wave στοιχεία, περισσότερα jazz και πιο ορχηστρική. Επίσης o Alary μαζί με τον Anthony Gonzalez αποδεικνύουν στους Nouvelle Vague πως υπάρχουν Γάλλοι παραγωγοί που πασχίζουν να φτιάξουν καινούργια μουσική. Για παράδειγμα: Ensemble - Excerpts 38. The Field - Looping State Of Mind Πραγματικά πολύ πετυχημένος τίτλος για δίσκο. Ο Σουηδός, τέσσερα χρόνια μετά την αναγνώριση του ντεμπούτου του που εμφανίστηκε σε αρκετές λίστες της δεκαετίας (εμένα η αγαπημένη μου ήταν αυτή που ήταν καλύτερος δίσκος της δεκαετίας μαζί με τους Abbie Gale ;-D), επιστρέφει με συνεκτικά ...

Patterson Hood, frontman of the Drive-By Truckers , and Mike Mills, longtime bassist for the recently deflated ... Read the full article at http://www.prefixmag.com/news/members-of-rem-drive-by-truckers-protest-athens-ga/61432/

:: Members of R.E.M., The Drive-By Truckers and others are squaring off against Walmart in their hometown of Athens, Ga. :: Lamb of God’s new album No Resolution debuted at number 3 on the Top 200 Billboard Chart. :: Sri Lankan siren M.I.A. released a new song from her upcoming album called Bad Girls. :: [...]

An Atlanta-based developer is planning to build “a mixed-use development anchored by a Walmart” in downtown Athens, Georgia, and a community opposition website has received a big dose of support from... Click on the headline to read the rest of the story.

R.E.M: FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Overture

Patterson Hood and the Downtown 13 are set to release “After it’s Gone,” a single to try to keep a Walmart from being built in Athens, Ga. Hood, who also fronts Drive-By Truckers, started the group to make a stand against America’s biggest retailer. The development that’s being protested is a proposed “building of a massive mixed use development in downtown Athens, anchored by a 94,000 square foot Walmart.”

Just when Colbert Report fans thought it was going to be tough for Stephen to top the a cappella performance of "Lean on Me" with Michael Stipe (R.E.M.), Brian Eno (Roxy Music), and Stephen Colbert himself, eccentric Icelander Bjork made an appearance on the show. Performing "Cosmogony" from her last album, Biophilia, Bjork still has that same ethereal and almost unworldly quality to her voice that has made her such an enigma for the last 15 years. We also got a simply hilarious interview where

The city of Athens, Georgia has always been known for its beauty and vibrant musical heritage. A plan by an Atlanta-based developer to build a massive mixed-use development anchored by a Wal-Mart has threatened to cut into the beauty and vibe that makes the city special. Patterson Hood has fought back by writing a song about the threat of a Walmart in the heart of the downtown that nurtured the band’s career and assembled the Downtown 13, a musical collective made up of some of Athens’ finest musicians to record and film a video for the tune, named After ...

Drive-By Truckers ' honcho Patterson Hood is behind a new effort to protect the downtown of Athens, GA.  Currently, there is a development being planned that would bring a Walmart to the downtown.  Read more about the effort here . He's assembled some of the town's famous musicians to release the track "After It's Gone", credited to Patterson Hood & the Downtown 13. Aside from some of Hood's DBT compatriots, Sugar 's David Barbe, R.E.M. 's Mike Mills, and members of Widespread Panic are among the thirteen. Check out the video here: