Category: Music

Yes, I know that 2009 isn’t over yet. But it’s getting late in the year, and I’ve already fallen in love with five great bands this year:

Au Revoir Simone (Brooklyn, New York) – Three chicks and a bunch of synthesizers, Au Revior Simone sounds like the illustrations in a child’s book of fairy tales come to life… and I mean that in the best way. David Lynch loves them, and once you hear them you’ll understand why (if Twin Peaks were to be remade today, he’d probably use Au Revior Simone instead of Juliee Cruise for those scenes). This is my favorite song by them by far, and here’s a live version of the same song in HD.

Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, New York) – There are so many good bands from Brooklyn these days! This band is two people – Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna, with some friends helping out on occasion. I am completely blown away by this song, which combines the drums and bass from early U2, guitars inspired by the Cocteau Twins, synths from OMD and the kind of breathless female singing made famous by The Sundays and Sixpence None The Richer to create something that not only doesn’t suck, but is actually kind of awesome.

Continue reading “My Favorite Bands of 2009”

Here’s some Detroit Techo from my old friend Oliver Dodd! Enjoy!

Sad news:

Acclaimed guitar player Les Paul died on Wednesday from complications of severe pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in New York. He was 94.

Born Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 9, 1915, Paul was already performing publicly as a honky-tonk guitarist by the age of 13. He dropped out of high school at 17 to play in Sunny Joe Wolverton’s Radio Band in St. Louis. His first recordings were done in 1936, and in 1938, he moved to New York to begin his tenure on national radio with Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians.

Paul began constructing his own electric guitar in the late 1930s, and eventually created his own guitar in the 1940s, which would become the template for Gibson’s best-selling electric, the Les Paul model, which was introduced in 1952.

via Guitartist Les Paul Dies at 94.

Don’t tell me
It’s another likely story
Could’ve pinned it on you from the start
Well I’m new here
Doesn’t mean I have to answer
Silly questions or a shot in the dark

You know I’m a child
I keep this alive

It gets harder
I remember to remember
Waking up again all over again
If there’s an echo
Repeat days I’d likely let go
And be the changes we are noticing

When we’re running wild
We keep this alive

Still I wonder
Sights around us fade and underneath
The ground shakes, things fall apart
And no other than the voice of one another
Keeps us safely moving on in the dark

You know I’m a child
I keep this alive

Ohmygosh! This video is from Duran Duran’s very first television appearance!  It was from a show called Look Hear! on BBC Midlands. The show aired on March 10, 1981… the day before my 10th birthday!

Squeeeeeeeee!

La Roux is a British electropop synth duo consisting of writer and producer Ben Langmaid and singer and synth player Elly Jackson (daughter of Trudie Goodwin, the actress who played “Sergeant June Ackland” on the illustrious and long-running British police drama The Bill).

After struggling for a time, La Roux have suddenly become one of the hottest bands in the UK; their last two singles, “In For The Kill” and “Bulletproof” hit #2 and #1 on the British charts respectively.

If you liked Blancmange, Human League, Yazoo or Heaven 17, you’ll love La Roux! And for a limited time (jeez – do I sound like a shill or what?) you can download two free tracks from their website!

Just go to their site and look for the “free download” link at the bottom of the page. You’ll need to sign up for their email newsletter to get the tracks; it’s probably best to use a throwaway address for this, but be aware that the link to the free tracks will be sent to that address. Also, I dunno if it matters, but when the signup form asked for my country, I put “United Kingdom” (I was worried about possible “sorry, you can’t download this” licensing issues).

Give La Roux a try… they’re one of the best new bands out there!