Download ATL RMX, a New Compilation From Cartoon Purveyors/Obvious Psychedelic Drug Users Adult Swim Featuring Atlanta Hip-Hop Remixed by HEALTH, SALEM, and Other All Capitalized Hipster Electronica Projects [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Stream New Smashing Pumpkins, “A Song for a Son,” the first of 44 Songs that Will Make Up the Predestined Tragedy that is Teargarden by Kaleidyscope; Elsewhere, What the Hell Happened to the Smashing Pumpkins’ Website? It Looks Like it Was Taken Over By Grateful Dead Groupies, Circa 1978 [Spinner]
Rivers Cuomo Injured in Tour Bus Accident (Don’t Worry, He’s Okay); Weezer Cancels Remainder of their U.S Tour; Rivers Heard to Shout “God Damn You Half Visible Black Ice…You Do It to Me Every Time” [Spin]
Sigur Ros Frontman Jonsi Birgisson Has Fronted a Band, a Duo, and Now a Solo Project – Announces Solo Debut Go; Stream the First Available Track “Boy Lilikoi,” Which is Maybe the Most Orchestral Thing Jonsi Has Ever Done…Which is Confusing, Considering Sigur Ros is a Orchestral Rock Band…; Released March 21 [Pitchfork]
Chan Marshall, Better Known as Cat Power, Announces Her Next Album, Her First Collection of Original Songs Since 2006’s The Greatest. She’ll Be Recording It Without Her Backing Band, And Claims the Songs are “Sad,” and That Makes Her “Nervous,” So Let’s Hope its “Good” So She Has Nothing to Worry “About” [NME]
Postal Service Attempting to Drain Shellac’s Steve Albini, and the Children of Chicago of Any/All Christmas Spirit, Demanding the Letters to Santa Program Send All Their Charitable Gifts Through the Mail…No, Not that Postal Service. THAT Postal Service [Pitchfork]
Stream New Vampire Weekend, “California English Pt. 2,” and Hear as Vampire Weekend Continues to Convince Me That They are Emotively and Musically Not Only Important, But Necessary…Watch My Brain Meltdown as I Become Paradoxical to Everything I Initially Believed About Myself, Doubt Existence as It Currently Stands [Prefix]
Frightened Rabbit, the Second Nervous-Animals to Be Featured in Today’s Daily News Picks (See Above), Announce Their Next Album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, to be Released on March 1, Following an Allegedly Drunken, Jager-Bomb Fuelled Winter [NME]
compiled by Max Sebela
Stream Shoegaze-y New Panda Bear Track, Performed Live This Weekend At All Tomorrow’s Parties NY (Warning: Recording Is Incredibly Janky, For Lack of a Better Word) [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Watch Kanye West Completely Ruin Taylor Swift’s “Best Female Video” VMA Win, Believes “Single Ladies” Best Video of Decade; Elsewhere, Kanye Apologizes (Sort Of: “I AM VERY HAPPY FOR TAYLOR” Followed By: “I GAVE MY AWARDS TO OUTKAST WHEN THEY DESERVED IT OVER ME”) [Entertainment Weekly]
Stream Death Cab for Cutie Song For Twilight Sequel New Moon, “Meet Me on the Equinox” (MTV Calls It “Perfect” Accompaniment For the Upcoming Film; MTV Correct: It Sucks) [MTV]
Watch Trailer For Documentary On Michael Jackson’s Last Planned Tour, This Is It (From The Look of It, Film Features Less Emotive Footage of Jackson’s Last Days; More Dancing and Pyrotechnics) [Prefix]
Former Rolling Stones Guitarist Mick Taylor Broke As Hell; Meanwhile, Keith Richards Sleeps On Seemingly Bottomless Pile of Gold, Cocaine, and Mickey Mantle Rookie Cards [Prefix]
Jim Carroll, “Basketball Diaries” Author, Punk Frontman of The Jim Carroll Band, Passes Away at 60 [New York Times]
Atlanta Psych-Artists Deerhunter Announce Hiatus “For A Long Time”(Boo-Hiss); Frontman Bradford Cox Releases Atlas Sound LP Logos October 20 [Spinner]
Stream Dutch DJ Tiësto Track “Kaleidoscope” Featuring Sigur Rós Frontman Jónsi Birgisson, Kaleidoscope Released October 20 [Pitchfork]
Stream Toro y Moi Remix of Blog-Loved Washed Out Single “Feel it All Around;” – Not For Those With General Propensity To Feel Sadness/Regularly Tear Up At Brand New’s “Soco Amaretto Lime” [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Ohio Blues Duo The Black Keys Announce Hip-Hop Sideproject Blakroc; Blakroc Released November 27 (And Features Raekwon, Q-Tip, and Mos Def…Stream First Track [NME]
compiled by Max Sebela
Stream Austin Garage Rockers White Denim’s New Album Fits From NME [NME]
Leonard Cohen, Wolf Parade, Japandroids, and Fucked Up (?!) Long-Listed For Polaris Prize [Idolator]
Sigur Rós Wins Icelandic Game Show “Poppunktur;” Are Now Returning Champs [Pitchfork]
The Boss’s Blue Collar Looks a Little White, Withholding the Best Tickets From His Shows [NJ.Com]
Virgin Megastores Across the Country Officially Closed [Idolator]
Hip-Hop May Not Be Dead: Beastie Boys Duet With Nas at Bonnaroo [Pitchfork]
Lil Wayne Announces “Young Money Presents: America’s Most Wanted Music Festival” [SPIN]
Trent Reznor Retires From Live Music in the U.S. [NME]
Blur Finally Return to Live Stage [Pitchfork]
Michael Jackson Hires Lou Ferrigno, the 70s Incredible Hulk, as Trainer [Prefix]
compiled by Max Sebela
(Yet Another) Phoenix Remix [The Tripwire]
Seattle Considering Tax Breaks for Small Music Venues [Tiny Mix Tapes]
Creed Will Perform With Fire (Literally, That’s Not the Name of a Band) [Billboard]
Green Day’s New Album Won’t Be Sold at Wal-Mart [Idolator]
Win Tickets to See PJ Harvey and John Parish! [Prefix]
Okkervil River Will Open for Wilco [Tiny Mix Tapes]
New Brent Knopf (of Menomena) Side Project [Pitchfork]
Flu (Though Unclear What Kind) Still Cancelling Shows [NME]
Apparently Paste Has Some Magnanimous Readers [Prefix]
Guess Dan Deacon Won’t Be Playing at the Old Folk’s Home [Stereogum]
Sigur Ros’s Jon Þor “Jónsi” Birgisson Set to Record Solo Album [Pitchfork]
compiled by Elana Jacobs
September 13, 2008
Sigur Ros Perform as Four Members for First Time in a Decade
Etherealist, minimalist post-rock darlings Sigur Ros have not toured with only their four core members in almost a decade. Until now. The Icelandic quad will be hitting the pavement (and/or sky) for a dozen shows at high profile venues in the U.S. and Canada. Read a review of their latest record, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. Read more to see the dates…
More on Sigur Ros Perform as Four Members for First Time in a Decade
August 17, 2008
Record Review: Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust
Fresh Baked:
Sigur Ros
Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust
2008 | XL
A+
On Sigur Ros’ fifth album, Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust (which translates to: With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly) what’s most palpable in the first few seconds of listening is that inside Sigur Ros there is a new Sigur Ros crawling its way to the surface; where once the band was writing achingly beautiful melancholic songs here we see Sigur Ros composing achingly beautiful songs of joy (joy being captured perfectly by Ryan McGinley’s photograph of four naked adults running across the highway). Presented here is a looser and more, dare I say “stripped down” (groans from the crowd) Sigur Ros.
Inspired by the minimal approach taken while filming Heima where the band toured their native land of Iceland, Sigur Ros pulls little elements away from prior albums replacing what’s been taken away by a new element. The most strikingly obvious replacement on Med Sud…being acoustic guitar which is the backbone of “Godan Daginn” and practically the sole instrument on “Illgresi.” From the very first strum leading into ping-pong of two acoustics and a loop of Jonsi Birgisson singing “dadadadada” on “Gobbledigook” to the major keys, hand claps and brass section on “Inni Mer Syngur Vitlesyngur” we see the band reinventing themselves, evolving with each release, eager to put a smile on the listener’s face and succeeding. And although this is a bit of a stretch (ok, quite a stretch) if you were to place the album art side-by-side (excluding ( ) and their EPs) you can easily see the progression from embryo to full grown adult.
Of course there are still traces of bow strings on electric guitar so fear not avid fan. And no Sigur Ros album would be complete without its epic composition; “Ara Batur” is a nine minute masterpiece sure to please old and new admirers of Sigur Ros’ signature sound. Beginning solely with piano and Birgisson’s vocal, “Ara Batur” climaxes into an eruption of strings provided by the London Sinfonietta and heavenly vocals of the London Oratory Boy’s Choir. What’s most admirable about “Ara Batur” is that it was supposedly recorded in one live take.
From ( ) to Med sud… we see the band climbing the steps from sadness to contentment and one can only look forward to what Sigur Ros will give birth to next.
by Justin Weingartner
