Untitled Mix #3

Just a quick list I threw together when I was bored.

1. Atlas Sound, "Pilot Light" - 2:03
2. AlunaGeorge, "Double Sixes" - 2:43
3. Cloud Nothings, "Hey Cool Kid" - 3:14 *
4. Daniel Rossen, "Up On High" - 3:56
5. The Flaming Lips, "Waitin' for a Superman" - 4:17
6. The Hold Steady, "We Can Get Together" - 4:29
7. Hot Chip, "One Life Stand" - 5:24 *
8. Big Star, "I'm In Love With a Girl" - 1:47
9. Death Cab for Cutie, "Debate Exposes Doubt" - 4:37
10. Stephen Merrit, "Dream Again (Franz Ferdinand cover)" - 4:17 (the video for this is real cool)
11. The Arctic Monkeys, "Don't Sit Down 'cause I've Moved Your Chair" - 3:04 *
12. Little Dragon, "Ritual Union" - 3:31
13. Howler, "This One's Different" - 2:34 *
14. Department of Eagles, "What Can Be Done" - 1:54
15. Deer Tick, "Diamond Rings 2007" - 4:40
16. Broken Social Scene, "Superconnected" - 5:40
17. LCD Soundsystem, "I Can Change" - 5:56
18. Beach House, "D.A.R.L.I.N.G." - 3:18
19. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, "Breezy" - 5:22

Album Artwork: part III

Sascha Ring of German electro-ambient act Apparat has a flair for beautiful presentation. Here are some of the glorious woodcut covers from his 2011 release The Devil's Walk:

RIP LCD

I'm still mourning the loss of New York's finest techno-funk mavens LCD Soundsystem in the wake of their breakup. It hurts to not see singer James Murphy's adorable face as often as I used to; they'll always be the quintessential band of my city. Here are some choice pics of their last few shows:

Image: Phoebe Vickers

Image: Phoebe Vickers

Image: livinglifeonashoestring.com

Image: pitchfork.com

Daily Vid

Cousins Tom van Buskirk and George Langford are Brooklyn hipster duo Javelin. They churn out funky tunes, part hip hop mixtape, part techno, and a healthy pinch of retro old-people rock. They produced this killer song about STDs and hate musicians "who pronounce vowels like pirates". Guilty as charged. Here's a link to a lovely interview with them; they sound like charming people.

Completely lifelike photo from their facebook page

Space Oddity

Image credit: answers.com

Check out this uncomfortable interview between Jack White and aging astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The two don't have much in common, so their talk revolves around the number three, recently divorced Aldrin's "sweet young lady", and Karen Carpenter quotes. If this sounds weird and surreal, it's because it very much is.

The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends

1. "2012" (feat. Ke$ha and Biz Markie)
2. "Ashes In The Air" (feat. Bon Iver)
3. "Helping The Retarded To Know God" (feat. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)
4. "Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee" (feat. Prefuse 73)
5. "Children Of The Moon" (feat. Tame Impala)
6. "That Ain't My Trip" (feat. Jim James of My Morning Jacket)
7. "You, Man? Human???" (feat. Nick Cave)
8. "I'm Working At NASA On Acid" (feat. Lightning Bolt)
9. "Do It!" (feat. Yoko Ono)
10. "Is David Bowie Dying?" (feat. Neon Indian)
11. "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" (feat. Erykah Badu)
12. "Girl, You're So Weird" (feat. New Fumes)
13. "I Don't Want You To Die" (feat. Chris Martin of Coldplay) 

Quote credit: brainbandits.com

When awesome weirdos The Flaming Lips team up with Ke$ha, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Tame Impala, Nick Cave, Neon Indian, Erykah Badu, Yoko Ono, Bon Iver and Chris Martin, you can expect something strange to go down. But nothing could match the freak show that is The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, an album of collaborations released for Record Store Day.

By most accounts, the album is all right, but it's the buzz surrounding the release that'll stick with you. Wayne Coyne also released a set of 10 special double albums with the blood of his collaborators embedded in the vinyl. This is freaky even for the Flaming Lips, whose recent output includes two EPs on flash drives embedded in edible gelatin skulls and fetuses. I won't even get started on their videos - although if you watch "Girl, You're So Weird", be prepared for nudity, animal masks, clouds of colored smoke and peeing on the floor - or their concert performances, with giant foam hands, confetti cannons, et al. You can read a review of the album on Pitchfork here, or check out this awesome Flaming Lips-themed blog and this great post about their New Year's Eve antics.

Coyne describes the followup to 2009's Embryonic as "beat-less, synthesizer-like church hymns. Really triumphant, but very depressing at the same time. Lovely suicidal music." Some fans might yearn for the comparative pop-oriented simplicity of The Soft Bulletin or Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but the beauty of the Flaming Lips is their constant evolution, the way they oscillate from chaotic trance-rock to glittery, shimmering electronica, yet always manage to produce something new. Despite their age - founded in 1983, they're the same age as most indie buzz bands' fathers - they remain one of the best and most relevant groups around. Sounds promising.



"I’ve got blood from Ke$ha – she did it 20 minutes after I texted her. I said, 'Hey I need your blood,' and she said, 'Fuck, I’m there.' She sent me a little video and everything. It was awesome."

- Wayne Coyne, The Flaming Lips