Well, it’s another rainy day in the northeast. It seems that we’ve been cursed with a sopping wet summer, but things could be worse. Waking up to the sound of pouring rain, I thought I’d put together a small mix of songs for a rainy day. Admittedly, these specific songs are pretty introverted and moody, for quiet mornings when you don’t want to be bothered. I hope there’s a few you like, and keep an eye out for more mini-mixes ’cause making this one was too much fun.
Day 3 kicked off for me with Women, who turned in a wonderfully noisy and enjoyable set. The Walkmen continued the streak of great bands, and were much better than the last time I saw them. Hamilton’s mic was at the perfect volume where it wasn’t too loud, but was loud enough at the right times. Grizzly Bear was apparently what everyone came to see, because the crowd waiting for them was the largest that I saw other than Flaming Lips. Anyway, they were fantastic, with the exception of a couple sound hiccups. The Flaming Lips closed the fest with balloons, giant plastic balls, and even bigger sonic vaginas. It was quite a show, but not really for me. All in all I had a blast, and strongly suggest it for y’all next year, depending on the lineup.
-Chandler
Late night performances tend to be lackluster and awkward. Not this one. Holy smokes. Here’s Grizzly Bear on Letterman, playing “Ready, Able” from their fantastic album, Veckatimest. Enjoy.
There are a few sites out their known for taking in indie bands for a few hours and shooting some smashing videos or recording some ravishing audio. The most popular of these sites are Daytrotter and La Blogotheque, but one lesser known websites is the Black Cab Sessions. Their mission statement is “One song. One take. One cab.” and I think that sums it up.
One of their latest videos featured blog-favorite Grizzly Bear performing “All We Ask” off their latest album Veckatimest. Enjoy and be sure to check out Black Cab Sessions’ website to view their videos of other bands such as My Morning Jacket, Spoon, and Fleet Foxes.
Keeping with the Grizzly Bear theme, I thought I’d quickly post this relatively new music video for their song “Two Weeks” for those who haven’t seen it. I really like this video for some reason, but I’ll let you guys be the judge.
-Chandler
This will actually be song o’ the week for last week, and I’ll give you a new one this Friday. Like we previously stated, there are some changes a-comin’ for the blog, so stick with us for a little while longer while we work it all out. The real song o’ the week for me is off Sunset Rubdown’s upcoming album Dragonslayer, but because it’s not out yet, it’s rather frowned upon to post a song from it. But when the release date comes, expect a glowing review. Anyway, on to this week. Which is actually last week.
Last Tuesday we saw some great releases, including the new Grizzly Bear album Veckatimest, Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and Mandy Moore’s Amanda Leigh. Okay, the only one I really enjoy/care about is Veckatimest, and it seems like the rest of the world tends to agree. After its ridiculously early leak, we got a low quality feel for this masterpiece, along with those increasingly annoying “>” comparisons with Animal Collective. It took a few listens to win me over, but Veckatimest eventually turned into a beautiful mosaic of harmonies, and is really worth picking up if you haven’t already. To win you over, here’s possibly my favorite song from the album, which was debuted before the leak on late night talk shows. Which reminds me: make sure you watch the debut of Conan on the Tonight Show tonight, as it’s sure to be gold.
Grizzly Bear- While You Wait For The Others
iTunes / amazon
Grizzly Bear MySpace
-Chandler
There’s no denying that in today’s world, people are all about instant gratification and getting stuff done as quickly and efficiently as possible. For this reason, I wasn’t surprised when Grizzly Bear’s new record, Veckatimest, leaked through the interwebs two weeks ago. With an album as highly-anticipated as Veckatimest, it’s almost assumed by everyone that it will leak before the release date. The album is set to be released May 26th. That’s months away!
Department of Eagles is a band that formed as a side project for the singer of the renowned indie band, Grizzly Bear. While Grizzly Bear is fantastic, and personally one of my favorite bands at the moment, Department of Eagles is a special band. To me, they sound spacey, genuine, woodsy, and crisp all at once. They’ve got great harmonies, a deep sound, and catchy melodies. No song exemplifies all these great qualities as well as the track “No One Does It Like You.” And hey! Guess what! It’s right here for you to listen to. Enjoy.
Department of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
Buy Album: iTunes
Department of Eagles MySpace Page
-Chris
