VIDEO: Sébastien Tellier – Cochon Ville (NSFW)
The many-worlds theory (created by Hugh Everett III, father of Eels genius Mark Everett) states that every possible outcome from every possible event takes place simultaneously, creating new universes in which those possible outcomes came true. It follows then, that in some parallel universe, Sébastien Tellier is not a cool man. He lives above a chip shop, alternating his time between upkeep of his extensive bus ticket collection and working up the courage to look people in the eyes when he speaks to them. Cheerfully,that is not the universe we live in, ol’ Tellier is, as always, the coolest fucker to ever grace the face of the planet. This is a man who survived the Eurovision Song Contest in style and then didn’t even blink an eye when Joaquin Phoenix went around being him for a couple of years. Expecting anything but the height of wonderful from him is time spent poorly, as is proven by Cochon Ville, the first cut from his 5th studio album My God is Blue. It’s a delirious slice of Parisian space-funk, with a hilariously brilliant video involving extensive nudity, Klu Klux Klan members and roller blades. It’s rather NSFW, I might add, so, you know, be careful or something.
Alec
VIDEO: Perfume Genius – “Dark Parts”
QUESTION OF THE DAY: If I keep telling you to listen to Perfume Genius’ sophomore long player “Put Your Back N 2 It”, will you eventually relent and take a listen?
ANSWER OF THE DAY: No, probably not. But keep going, your tears of frustration fuel me.
Sigh.
Alec
MISC: Nick Cave wrote another film (or, an open letter to Hollywood)
Dear faceless collection of individuals (for the purpose of this letter, I will imagine Kurt Russell)
Please stop putting Shia LaBeouf in motion pictures. He is not a talented actor, nor is he a likable personality. The inclusion of him in a film does not guarantee the success (either critically or commercially) of a motion picture. Nobody saw The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to see his impersonation of an oak furniture store, they went to see an elderly man fumble his way around a room filled of former glories with nothing but a bad script and George Lucas’ throbbing ego pressing into his side. The less we see of him, the better. You hear me? Good. In other news, this doesn’t look too excellent (sorry, Nick. You know I love you <3)
Alec
MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC. Are you happy now?
SEE: Conor Oberst’s reunited Desaparecidos play new song
Don’t lie, you were worried back there. I was too, after last years final and wildly disappointing Bright Eyes LP The People’s Key, your boy and mine, Conor Oberst, could well have dropped off the face of the planet. He didn’t though, because he, like many, obeys the laws of physics perhaps a little too closely. Still, few saw this coming, as Conor has returned to his deeply underrated post-hardcore outlet Desaparecidos and at their first gig since a charity affair in 2010, performed an entirely new song entitled ‘Left is Right‘. Now, consider this a warning: what you can see and hear in the video below appears to have been shot via a contraption built from disappointment and wet cardboard, so it’s not the best quality you’ll ever encounter, but it’s something more than nothing. So in between squinting, straining and complaining you can hear the muffled, yet properly exciting thrash-about below. Try to control yourself.
Alec
FREE STUFF: Kool A.D. – 51 Mixtape
Kool A.D. is one half of Das Racist, though which half is an argument best had between philosophers or people who believe their entire being can be summarized with a lactose based metaphor. 2012 has been kind to him so far, what with his mostly excellent THE PALM WINE DRINKARD (caps lock because that’s how he tagged it, the bastard) mixtape dropping way back in January (download) and now this, the 22 track 51 mixtape. It’s a typically stylistic scatter shot, so if you like your flow lazy and your pop culture references constant, prepare for a bloody good time with 51.
It’s free over here via Мишка.
WARNING: As predicted, Kool A.D will never top FUN.
Alec
HEAR: Purity Ring – Obedear
Oh, to be a cool kid. One long music video in which nobody smiles and everyone is slightly better than everyone else. Everything is greener over at their side, everything, including music, holmes. So I assume you know what the coo’ kids are vibing off these days? Ha! What? You don’t know? Psshcht. It’s Purity Ring, by the way, a Canadian outfit whose first three attempts at mega-blog fame (roughly equivalent to coming second in your primary school’s egg & spoon race) have been met with the kind of rapturous applause one can only assume happens in the basements of people with nothing better to do. Horrible sarcasm aside, Obedear is just the right shade of faultlessly catchy, and you could do much worse than listen to it over and over and over again. In other news, we’ve now got ourselves on a official track listing for their forthcoming debut Shrines, one which proves once and for all you can’t be cool unless all your songs have incredibly short, abstract titles.
01 Crawlersout
02 Fineshrine
03 Ungirthed
04 Amenamy
05 Grandloves
06 Cartographist
07 Belispeak
08 Saltkin
09 Obedear
10 Lofticries
11 Shuck
Shrines drops on the 27th of July via 4AD.
Alec
NEWS: Blur announce “21″, Adele not available for comment
So you’re Blur, right. Hello. You’re sat around, trying to think of a name for your gigantic retrospective collection whilst idly scrolling through the UK album charts, hoping for the right bit of inspiration to jump out at you. You’ve already passed on “Nothing but the Beat” and “Sorry for Party Rocking” until it suddenly hits you, 21. It makes perfect sense, you say loudly so that people can tell you’ve had an idea. It’s been 21 years since your debut album Leasure hit the shelves AND people might mistake your hulking box set for Adele’s latest warble marathon! Excellent, you proclaim. You’re no longer Blur, by the way, I just needed you to be for a while, sorry. Here’s whats in the box set, anonymous reader.
All seven studio albums are collected with over 5½ hours of unreleased material including 65 previously unreleased tracks and more than twice as many rarities, 3 DVDs, a collector’s edition book featuring rare and unseen photos and a new and exclusive interview with the band, and a special limited edition Seymour 7-inch vinyl.
Are you excited? You bet your tits you are. Pricing is as of yet unknown and there’s nary a clue of its release date, but i’ll keep you updated. I promise.
Alec
HEAR: Vampire Weekend’s Chris Baio goes solo, streams “Tanto”
It’s a sad fact in the life of Vampire Weekend that each and every member is a superior solo artist than they are a mediocre collective. Hell, we’ve had Rostam Batmanglij’s exemplary efforts and even Ezra didn’t wind me up during The Very Best’s ultra-jam Warm Heart of Africa. Now, i’m not necessarily suggesting they up sticks and go their separate ways (no matter how much I wish they would), but based on the sounds they produce independently, it seems like the only sensible option. Here to back up that offer yet more evidence is bassist Chris Baio, flying solo under his last name with this, the first cut from his debut EP Sunburn. The meandering synth and misplaced instrumentation that open Tanto quickly fade away into the haze of a relentless balearic beat before again morphing gently into the kind of unashamedly summery garden party classic we always knew it could be, it’s pretty excellent. Not only that either, it’s got Matias Aguayo back on top form after his cameo as Really Annoying Vocalist #1 in Battles “Ice Cream“, which is obviously brilliant news for fans of vocal ticks set to music.
Baio’s Sunburn EP will drop on Greco-Roman at May 21st, if you’re that way inclined.
Alec
NEWS: UK record store chart launches, makes you hate life less
Oh, the charts, a weekly tradition which sees your slowly restored faith in humanity routinely smashed into the ground until it stops breathing anymore (here’s the UK singles chart). What a fine, glowing tradition is it. Of course, they’ve always been a coloured by the soulless establishments which have peddled music to teenage masses for ever such a long time. Well, no more. With a little help from the smashing kids at Record Store Day, there’s now a chart which takes into account we, the mouth breathing, overcoat wearing, record buying populace. Every Sunday henceforth will bring the gift of record sales information directly to your life, freeing you from the shackles of sad desperation that the Top 40 has taught you to accept. Too excited to wait? I bet you are, so here’s this; the top selling albums at independent stores so far in 2012, a list which unfortunately has Lana Del Rey’s turgid debut album in at #1. I suppose you really can’t win them all.
1. Lana Del Rey – ‘Born To Die’
2. Leonard Cohen – ‘Old Ideas’
3. Adele – ’21′
4. Bruce Springsteen – ‘Wrecking Ball’
5. The Black Keys – ‘El Camino’
6. Enter Shikari – ‘A Flash Flood Of Colour’
7. First Aid Kit – ‘The Lion’s Roar’
8. Mark Lanegan Band – ‘Blues Funeral’
9. Emeli Sande – ‘Our Version Of Events’
10. The Maccabees – ‘Given To The Wild’
FUN FACT: The above picture is of the counter at my local, deeply excellent record store.
Alec
FREE STUFF: The Pixies Coachella ’04 EP
Hey! How was Coachella? Did you spend it in the company of a hundred thousand perspiring music fans or simply in the company of yourself? Even if you did manage to claw a some semblance of a social life out over the weekend, you’ve more than likely heard a few choice highlights from the festival so far. That’s cool, but 2012 is so, like, 2011. You know what’s cool now? 2004. Oh yeah. That’s why omnipresent trend-setters and not professional old rope salesmen The Pixies are reminding you once again that they did a Coachella set back in the year of our lord, two thousand and the fours. Entitled Coachella’04, here’s the track-listing
1. U-Mass
2. Monkey Gone To Heaven
3. Hey
4. Caribou
Want it? You got it. Just throw your email address into that little machine above and you’re ready to go.
Alec
