Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Throughout this new tune from big beatmaster Astro Raw, he rap-sings with sincere irony–a sweeping aesthetic that sees no reason why musical allusions to hip-hop and Bob Dylan can’t coexist in the same song. Sheep Sheep Beat’s rich collage of sound may very well prove a prediction of Astro’s future. Once he perfects the art of telling a story, he could take over the world.
Astro Raw – Sheep Sheep Beat
So last Tuesday marked the release of Akron/Family’s much anticipated new album, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. Their first album as a trio; the band still create melodies that happily swirl together folk, classic earthy rock, pop, baroque and a whole lot of psychedelia. You can’t deny that Akron/Family are alive and well after one listen of the song, River.
Akron/Family will be back in San Francisco on the 28th of August at this year’s Outside Lands Music Festival.
Akron/Family – River
Tags: Akron/Family, Astro Raw, Set ‘Em Free, Set ‘Em Wild, Sheep Sheep Beat
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Friday, December 26th, 2008
Best EPs of 2008:
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One Day As A Lion - One Day As A Lion: The Rage isn’t back, but the passion of Zach is.
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Cool Kids – The Bake Sale: Hip-hop is not dead, it’s alive and well with The Cool Kids.
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The Decemberists – Always a Bridesmaid: One song bugs me, but the rest is lovely.
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Animal Collective – Water Curses: An exciting view into what’s in store for 2009.
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Air France – No Way Down: I don’t need a new Avalanches record, all I need is this EP…and this lamp.
Best Gadget I Couldn’t Live Without:
Best Music Blogs of 2008 (aside from Gorilla vs. Bear and Brooklyn Vegan):
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Motel De Moka: Stunning artwork mixed with the best minimalistic, experimental, and ambient music I’ve never heard of.
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ipickmynose: His weekly song obsessions quickly become my song obsessions. Plus his view into the Bay Area indie scene helps me understand this strange new land I’ve found myself in.
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Captain Obvious: His library of covers is unrivaled as well as his detailed and spot-on album reviews.
Best Books I Read This Year:
Biggest Musical Disappointments:
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The Ben Folds album…blows
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Kanye West experiements…fails
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No Portishead US tour
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Foo Fighters just can’t rock like they used to
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Scarlett Johansson covers Tom Waits, nuff said
Most Anticipated in 2009:
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Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
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Dan Deacon – Bromst
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Mastodon – Crack The Skye
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dredg – tba
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M. Ward – Hold Time
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Division Day – tba
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Jeremy Enigk – Ok Bear
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Cage – Depart From Me
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Weatherman Album?
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The One AM Radio – tba
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The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
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Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
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Rival Schools – tba
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Kiss Kiss – The Meek Shall Inherit What’s Left
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The Arcade Fire – tba
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Battles – tba
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Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing
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mewithoutyou – tba
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Cursive – tba
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Burial – tba
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Wilco – tba
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Menomena – tba
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The Album Leaf – tba
Other Songs That I Loved This Year
Astro Raw – I’m The One With A Smile
Beach House – Gila
Bill O’Reilly – Bill O’Reilly Flips Out (Dance Remix)
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – So Everyone
Chairlift – Evident Utensil
Cloud Cult – Everybody here is a Cloud
The Cool Kids – A Party (For Everyone) (Logarhythmik remix)
The Dear Hunter – Battesimo del Fuoco
Delta Spirit – Trashcan
Department Of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
The Dodos – Fools
Entire Cities – Talkers
Facing New York – Cops On Bikes (WP PM5K RMX)
Frightened Rabbit – Fast Blood
God Is An Astronaut – Remaining Light
Grizzly Bear – While You Wait For The Others
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Jolie Holland – Mexico City
The Limousines – Very Busy People
Little Joy – Brand New Start
Lykke Li – I’m Good, I’m Gone
Mason Proper – Friendship
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Jesus Of The Moon
Port O’Brien – Fisherman’s Son
Portugal. The Man – Lay Me Back Down
R.E.M. – Supernatural Superserious
Rye Rye – Tic Toc (ft. M.I.A.)
Sennen – Your Hand In Mine
The Sound Of Animals Fighting – The Ocean And The Sun
Vampire Weekend – Ottoman
White Denim – Sitting
Tags: Astro Raw, beach house, Bill O'Reilly, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, chairlift, Cloud Cult, Delta Spirit, department of eagles, Entire Cities, facing new york, Favorites of 2008, Frightened Rabbit, God Is An Astronaut, Grizzly Bear, Jolie Holland, Little Joy, Lykke Li, Mason Proper, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Port O'Brien, Portugal. The Man, R.E.M., Rye Rye, Sennen, The Cool Kids, The Dear Hunter, The Dodos, The Hold Steady, The Limousines, The Sound of Animals Fighting, Vampire Weekend, White Denim
Posted in Favorites of 2008, Music, News | 9 Comments »
