Hypeful has a post about the top 20 Super Hero songs. Some good songs, but the only real reason that I am posting it here is because “Ninja Rap” made it. So if your itunes playlist doesn’t quite have enough Vanilla Ice, get a the mp3 from there. Via Pop Candy. Word to yo mothas.
Its hard to tell if a band is extremely popular or just the latest “indie darlings” of the interweb. Take My Morning Jacket. They are one of the major bands to play Lollapalooza this year and last year, their last album was on top of many critic’s “best of the year” lists, and they just played Saturday Night Live. But at the same time, with the exception of a few people, no one I know has heard of the band let alone knows that they have a new album coming out.
Well if you haven’t heard of them before, hear them. Their previous album ,”Z,” is a great album start to finish and the new album, “Evil Urges,” is good too. “Evil Urges” comes out early June, but you can find leaked songs over the net. Check out their myspace or Hype Machine. And if you go to HypeMachine, listen to their cover of Tyrone by Ericka Badu they did at Coachella. And if you haven’t heard the song Tyrone before, check out the video after the jump. (more…)
M.I.A. is an artist had a unique sound for American popular music. Despite that (or because of that), she got huge last year. I thought she was awful at Lollapalooza last year, but she did have a lot more people than the band she drowned out, Electric Six, playing on the stage next to her. Anyways, it seems that the major labels are trying to repeat that success with Santogold.
Santogold sounds like M.I.A., dancey music thats heavy on the beats. The music has a 80’s pop and a world music feel to it. She is is getting a lot of affection from the “blogosphere”, so you better get a listen in before the backlash starts. Give it a listen at HypeMachine or at Lollapalooza this summer.
Many music blogs tend to only focus on new music, ones that mainly focus on older music stand out. Doctor Mooney is one of those. It does have posts about newer bands like the Raconteurs or the Rosewood Theives, but the majority of posts are about older music like Velvet Underground, Led Zepplin, or Desmond Dekker.
The one that really caught my ear was about Townes Van Zandt. He is a great folk singer/songwriter with a great dry sense of humor. You might heard a song of his in The Big Leboski, his cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers” is played during the credits. I’m not a talker, so learn more about him from Doctor Mooney and enjoy a whole live performance from 1973. Some songs are serious, some are funny; but if you listen to any, definitely check out “Talking Thunderbird Blues.”
If that doesn’t sassify you, there is a documentary about him called Be Here To Love Me: A Story About Townes Van Zandt. I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks like it has some great cameos. The trailer is after the jump. (more…)
With Amy Winehouse going bat-shit crazy, the record companies seem to be trying to capitalize on this retro sound that is getting attention. Sharon Jones did it, but it the cd did not sell that well. XRT have been playing this new song called “Mercy”, that has this retro sound to it. The singer sounds a lot like Beth Ditto from the Gossip, a great band well worth a listen. Still not sure why they are not being played in the US, but oh well.
Anyways, “Mercy” is not The Gossip, its a singer from England called Duffy. She is getting a lot of attention lately, and rightly so, because she has got a great voice. The songs are ok, but I think the reason that I enjoy “Mercy” so much is because it reminds me of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie. The bass in the background of the song reminds of some part in the movie where either Danny is talking to Splinter or the Foot are sneaking up on April. I just can’t figure it out.
Hopefully I am not crazy and making this up. But if I don’t figure this out by the end of the day I am going to have to steal the Travers Family VHS copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Check out Beth Ditto and her band, The Gossip, at Hype Machine or their myspace.
Check out Duffy at Hypemachine or at her myspace.
If you only read this for the TMNT content, check out this video of mistakes made in the movie.