Life is crazy busy right now for me, and as SXSW approaches, it only gets busier. Needless to say, this is my favorite time of year: March in Austin is the real New Year’s for me – springtime, warmer weather, and live music galore! I’m starting my SXSW prep tonight at Lambert’s, a venue I’ve never been to, with Pitchfork darlings Grimes and one of my favorite new groups of last year, Born Gold. The show is sold out, so na na na na boo boo. Unless you have tickets. Then, um, see you there!
Azealia Banks has announced her new album, which won’t see release until September, called Broke With Expensive Taste. In the meantime, this spring she’s releasing a 212 EP, which will likely feature this super-hyped up song. Look for her at Coachella and the rest of the festival circuit.
Every Saturday, I post a 15-20 minute podcast featuring some tracks I’ve been jamming the previous week, as well as some commentary and random musings from yours truly. Enjoy!
Tracklist:
Gorillaz – DoYaThing (feat. James Murphy and Andre 3000)
Ben Browning – I Can’t Stay
Colleen Green – Goldmine
Kendrick Lamar – Cartoon and Cereal
Hard to believe, but the greatest week-and-a-half of your year, SXSW, is rapidly approaching. And so, as a fellow Austinite, music blogger, and total South-By fanboy, I feel inclined to prepare those of you stepping into the fray for the first, or maybe even twentieth, time. There’s already so much to RSVP for, and new info is leaked every day. And so, every Friday, from now until party time, I’ll be giving my picks for new announced events and providing much-needed RSVP information.
To keep up with the hooplah, I advise you pay close attention to this Google spreadsheet, which is updated regularly. You can also look at my personal Google spreadsheet, which is by no means comprehensive, but might help you with your party planning. Also, this public Twitter list I created is always great to find up-to-the-minute info on just-announced showcases and parties, official or otherwise.
Available for download now at the Converse blog, Gorillaz’ highly anticipated collaborative track with James Murphy (formerly of LCD Soundsystem, of course) and Andre 3000 (sort-of formerly of Outkast, obviously) is an upbeat dance fest featuring a rapid-fire verse from Andre Benjamin near the end. Listen loudly, download quickly, and repeat incessantly.
John Lydon’s other awesome band, PiL are back! The band recently announced a Record Store Day EP release titled One Drop (RSD is April 21st this year). They also gave news of the band’s first LP in two decades, dropping May 28, titled This Is PiL. Take a listen to the new track “One Drop” below, and, in case you’re not familiar with the Sex Pistols offshoot in their heyday, take a gander at “Rise” after that.
Today I continue a series of posts dedicated to the best albums of the last decade, posting analysis of one album at a time.
28. Deftones – White Pony
I wrote about this album almost two years ago in great detail, and you can read that here. The previous writing serves as an in-depth review, so today, instead of retreading what I’ve already stated, I’ll give you my personal reflections of the album and why it ranks so high on this list. Granted, that has a lot to do with the fact that it’s the Deftones’ most successful album, a mega-selling, Grammy-winning high point in the band’s illustrious career, released during the nu-metal mainstream peak. But, as with most Deftones material, to compare it to its assumed peers is myopic and just flat-out wrong.
I was anticipating exactly what I got from White Pony, a metal band reveling in the fact that the sound they had helped pioneer was now the toast of the town. It’s always a thrill for me to see a bold, genre-bending band achieve much-deserved success. The Deftones were one of the first I can remember: I witnessed a band I had loved for years prior finally earn major accolades, and it felt (and sounded) oh so good. And though the band has never made a bad album before or after White Pony (especially recently with the excellent Diamond Eyes), this album is considered the mark of Deftones’ glory days, when FM radio airplay still mattered and Ozzfest and Family Values Tours still existed.
Funny that the sound they honed was everywhere in 2000, because by the time the public caught on, the Deftones had moved away. Â There’s less screaming, less rapping, more crooning, and more textured ballads here. Â The raw sound of previous outings is polished and expertly executed. Â These guys, even though they were just now receiving attention, had become elder statesmen at this point. Â The precise White Pony only serves to support that argument.
I’m proud to announce the recent launch of a new site dedicated to all things dork: The Daily Dork Times. From technology to movies to jpegs to music to comics to television…well, almost anything, our small group of bloggers and nerd experts hope to keep you up to date on all that is happening in the world of geekery. Check us out, bookmark us, check back daily, and may the force be with you.
