Stream Alicia Keys Performing an Update to the Now Ubiquitous Jay Z Blueprint 3 Jam “Empire State of Mind,” Which, If Not Already Cliched Enough, Actually Includes the Line “If You Can Make It Here, You Can Make It Anywhere;” Still Lacks Proper Vaudevillian Accent [Idolator]
Beck, Never One to Turn Away From a Fight (I’m Not Sure This is Accurate, But Let’s Run With It) Posts a Song About Harry Partch After Fiery Furnaces Matt Friedberger Made a Crack About Him – Learn More “In the News” Later Tonight at JM.com [NME]
Interpol Announce Fourth Album, and Claim it Will Be Better Than 2007’s Our Love to Admire, Which In Itself, Really Needed to Be Better Than Antics…But I Have Faith Guys!…Maybe; Released Early 2010 [Paste]
Stream New Animal Collective, “Graze,” The Opener to the Upcoming Fall Be Kind EP; The Track Undoes a Lot of the “Brian-Wilson” Pop Steps Merriweather Pushed Forward, Moving Back To Sprawling Psychedelia ; Let’s Call It Animal Collective “Classic,” or Better Yet “Animal Classective” [Stereogum]
Watch Ray Davies, Former Kink, Perform “You Really Got Me” on Letterman; The Most Surprising Part: Features an Enormous Choir of Middle Aged Men and Women. Least Suprising: Is a Bastardized Version of the Original, Sounding More Like Van Halen’s Awful Update [Prefix]
Myspace Buys Popular Social Network/Music Streaming Service Imeem, Meaning That Rupert Murdoch Probably Owns Songs You Haven’t Yet Recorded; Beware, Young Songwriters, Beware (But Please, Still Write Songs…I’d Be Out of Work Without You) [Brooklyn Vegan]
Stream L.A.’s Garage (Lolli)Pop Band the Dum Dum Girls Covering The Misfits’ “Last Caress,” Which is Just Alright, In My Opinion (But Don’t Trust My Opinion) [Myspace]
The Decemberists’ Turn 2009 Flop The Hazards of Love Into a Full Length Animated Film, Seemingly Still Determined to Prove That Listening to the 80-Minute Operatic Monstrosity is Somehow Worthwhile (It’s Not, Guys…There’s Petticoats, Outdated Literary Tropes, and Prog Breakdowns…and Somehow It Wound Up Not Awesome. Lick Your Wounds, Move on); Watch the Trailer Here [Pitchfork]
Watch Vampire Weekend’s Video For Contra Cut “Cousins;” Contra, Which I’m Already Declaring Both the Best and Worst Album of 2010-2020, Released January 12 [Stereogum]
compiled by Max Sebela
Hardly Art Signs Brooklyn‘s Golden Triangle [Brooklyn Vegan]
Neutral Milk Hotel, Carousels, and Now a School Play [Idolator]
Daft Punk Forays Again into Film [The Tripwire]
Animal Collective Appears Live on Letterman [Prefix]
Van Halen the Video Game! [Billboard]
Flaming Lips Frontman Gets Back to the Books [The Tripwire]
Coldplay Comments on Copyright Case (and a Funny Video) [Idolator]
The Dodos Are Ready To Do It Again [Pitchfork]
compiled by Elana Jacobs
February 13, 2009
Van Halen | “Jump”
ART OF SONG
“Jump”
Van Halen
1984
1984 | Warner Bros.
When some rock bands flash skyward, their lucky fame shines briefly at an incredible velocity, then just as quickly drops out of view, disappearing underneath their place in the progression of generic pop music as silencing as stagnant water, like pennies tossed into a distancing well.
Then there are others like Van Halen.
Van Halen has been rocking out since I was a kid, and is justly considered one of the most influential bands of all time. Sick of the nondescript garbage that I keep coming across, I decided recently that I needed to revisit their music, which sounds like the product of people with guts and audacity, the way rock should, and not of anemic zombies. Though Van Halen has written a number of memorable hits, “Jump” remains their best. It engages the unapologetic rock electricity of the group. Eddie Van Halen’s virtuosity on guitar explodes. Also, I happen to have a special place in my heart for the fun obnoxiousness of original lead singer David Lee Roth, no offense to Sammy Hagar.
Van Halen is alive and well these days, with Roth back in the mix. He rejoined the band for a recent tour, taking a break from his other career as an EMT in New York City. (Yes, seriously.) Proud papa Eddie’s son Wolfgang has become a permanent fixture in the band, too, guaranteeing that the lineage will continue.
Pretty cool family business.
by Alicia Dreilinger
ART OF SONG
“Jump”
Van Halen
1984
1984 | Warner Bros.
When some rock bands flash skyward, their lucky fame shines briefly at an incredible velocity, then just as quickly drops out of view, disappearing underneath their place in the progression of generic pop music as silencing as stagnant water, like pennies tossed into a distancing well.
Then there are others like Van Halen.
Van Halen has been rocking out since I was a kid, and is justly considered one of the most influential bands of all time. Sick of the nondescript garbage that I keep coming across, I decided recently that I needed to revisit their music, which sounds like the product of people with guts and audacity, the way rock should, and not of anemic zombies. Though Van Halen has written a number of memorable hits, “Jump” remains their best. It engages the unapologetic rock electricity of the group. Eddie Van Halen’s virtuosity on guitar explodes. Also, I happen to have a special place in my heart for the fun obnoxiousness of original lead singer David Lee Roth, no offense to Sammy Hagar.
Van Halen is alive and well these days, with Roth back in the mix. He rejoined the band for a recent tour, taking a break from his other career as an EMT in New York City. (Yes, seriously.) Proud papa Eddie’s son Wolfgang has become a permanent fixture in the band, too, guaranteeing that the lineage will continue.
Pretty cool family business.
by Alicia Dreilinger
