Music Video: The Killers, The World We Live In

05.21.09

Song: The World We Live In
Artist: The Killers
Album: Day & Age
Label: Island Records
Notes: 3rd single from LP
Analysis: If you weren’t feeling the first two singles (‘Human’ and ‘Spaceman‘) from The Killers’ late 2008 release, you might enjoy ‘The World We Live In’ a little bit more. It’s less house music and more prog rock anthem. The video’s a little too icey for my springtime/summer mood, but it’s shot really nicely and Brandon’s wardrobe is only slightly less outrageous than previous videos. It’s as close to Hot Fuss as the album gets, which is the best compliment that I can give a Killers song lately.

New Music: Mr Hudson, Supernova [ft. Kanye West]

05.15.09

Song: Supernova [ft. Kanye West]
Artist: Mr Hudson
Album: Straight No Chaser
Label: GOOD Music
Producer: Mr Hudson
Notes: 2nd single from LP
Analysis: The industrial-sounding ‘Supernova’ is more like a Gary Numan song than something you would expect Kanye West to feature on.

Music Video: Little Joy, Next Time Around

05.14.09

Song: Next Time Around
Artist: Little Joy
Album: Little Joy
Label: Rough Trade Records
Notes: 2nd single from LP
Analysis: For those who don’t know, Little Joy is the side project of The Strokes’ drummer, Fabrizio Moretti. There’s more ukelele in this group though, which is never something to complain about. ‘Next Time Around’ is a saltwatery pop tune, the type that you’d have to either be crazy or lying about to not enjoy. The music video is exactly as I would describe what a music video for this song would be, and it makes me want to be where they are.

Music Video: Phoenix, 1901

05.14.09

Song: 1901
Artist: Phoenix
Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Label: V2 Records
Notes: 2nd single from LP
Analysis: Phoenix is arguably one of the hottest bands around right now, thanks to some Saturday Night Live exposure and a stellar new album. I love music videos that can play with lighting effects and come out looking better than an over-expensive cgi’ed video would. That’s pretty much what we have here for ‘1901′, Phoenix’ hyper second single. For those who haven’t heard Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix yet, ‘1901′ is a pretty good representation of everything about it; re: it’s really good.

Album Review Catch-Up, Part 1

05.14.09

There has been so much music coming out over the past few months that I’ve been neglecting a lot of album reviews for the simple fact that I don’t have a whole lot of time. By the time I finally sit down to do an album writeup, there’s 4 or 5 other albums that have my interest. It’s a blessing and a curse to live in this digital age, as we have so much great music right at our fingertips, but not enough time to digest and enjoy it before something new comes along. This especially a problem for someone like me, who loves collecting EVERYTHING. So for the sake of catching up with myself and saving myself time in the future (although a few of these reviews I have half-done already, but am scrapping in favor of this format), here is part one of all of the albums fit for coverage – now in bite size:

Music Video: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Young Adult Friction

04.30.09

Song: Young Adult Friction
Artist: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Album: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Label: Slumberland Records
Notes: 2nd single from LP
Analysis: Don’t let the band name fool you…alright well the music is just as wimpy as it sounds like it’d be. But it’s catchy and at least fun to listen to. It’s also probably the first song that I could ever classify as “library rock”. From the punny song title to the lyrics making reference to moldy pages and microfiche; the song also ends with a singalong chant of “don’t check me out“. Get it? It’s a dorky tune, but that’s the charm.

New Music: Passion Pit, Moth’s Wings

04.30.09

Song: Moth’s Wings
Artist: Passion Pit
Album: Manners
Label: Frenchkiss Records
Notes: none
Analysis: Wow, this Passion Pit album is actually shaping up to be pretty fucking great.

Music Video: Passion Pit, The Reeling

04.22.09

Song: The Reeling
Artist: Passion Pit
Album: Manners
Label: Frenchkiss Records
Notes: 2nd single from LP
Analysis: ‘Sleepyhead’ by Passion Pit was one of my favorite 2008 discoveries; a song that went from “what the fuck is this?” to “god damn I love this song” for me quicker than any song I can think of recently. I’m genuinely excited for their full-length debut this year, and ‘The Reeling’ is my first taste of the new material. It’s a little dancier, and poppier than Sleepyhead, but not in bad ways. It’s still obviously the same band, and I’m sure that much of the album will sound like this; midnight hipster dance party jams with potential crossover appeal. There’s been worse, less-fun formulas. The video has a great youthfulness to it (like you never pushed your friends around at full speed in a shopping cart…), and singer Michael Angelakos’ paperface is a sweet effect. I think that Passion Pit has a long, possibly commercial life ahead of them, more so than most of the groups in their genre, whatever you would call it. They make some damn fine music.

Music Video: Phoenix, Lisztomania

04.15.09

Song: Lisztomania
Artist: Phoenix
Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Label: V2 Records
Notes: 1st single from LP
Analysis: Listening to Lisztomania, you can tell that Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a lot of fun. Coming off of possibly their best complete album so far, Phoenix is actually starting to blow up a bit following an invite to Saturday Night Live recently as musical guests. This music video from their fourth record has the French quartet chilling in Germany, performing and flying a gigantic zeppelin kite with their names on it (one that looks a lot like the drawing on the album cover). It captures the energy of the track pretty nicely I’d say, especially towards the end in the crowd shots. You’ll be singing this song in your head and tapping your damn feet all day after watching, but you also aren’t going to mind.

Music Video: Mr Hudson, There Will Be Tears

04.11.09

Song: There Will Be Tears
Artist: Mr Hudson
Album: Straight No Chaser
Label: G.O.O.D. Music
Producer: unknown
Notes: 1st single from LP
Analysis: Mr Hudson may be unfamiliar to you, but you definitely know him from Kanye West’s song ‘Paranoid’ off of 808s and Heartbreak. It’s hard to tell who influenced who between Hudson & West, because ‘There Will Be Tears’ is very obviously styled close to 808s. Dream-pop and distorted vocals (although Hudson is a much better singer) make up this cut, and despite how close it sounds to his boss’ latest album, it is surprisingly good. The cosmic instrumental and laid back singing gives the song a huge chilling-out factor that is necessary for anyone’s playlists. The video is mostly closeups of the UK singer over some screwy analog video tape, but the tightness of the shots really shows Hudson putting his heart into the song. He’s already pegged to appear on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3, and has his first album under the G.O.O.D. Music imprint coming out this summer, which comes along with the magic touch from Kanye. Mr Hudson is going to have a huge year, and if ‘Tears’ is any indication, it’s what he deserves.