I was greatly saddened to discover that legendary Beastie Boy and all round nice guy Adam Yauch, aka MCA, lost his fight to cancer yesterday.
As a youngster I experienced a musical eureka moment when, on the back of that legendary ‘Sabotage‘ video, I spent all my saved pocket money to buy not just on the recently released ‘Ill Communication‘ album but also the three albums that preceded it.
For the first few listens I had to double-check that this was the same band performing these differing songs but soon enough I began to cherish the trio and all their genius idiosyncrasies. Ultimately those albums earned pride of place in my collection.
In 2007 I fulfilled a lifelong dream when I caught the Brooklyn legends perform a lengthy set at Brixton Academy in London. It was everything I expected and then some. MCA struck a fine pose both with his underrated bass playing and his gravely delivery.
The line from ‘Sure Shot‘ “I’ve Got More Rhymes Than I’ve Got Grey Hairs, And That’s A Lot Because I’ve Got My Share” was particularly inspired now that he boasted a full head of greys.
When news of MCA‘s illness first broke out I was charmed by how positively he seemed to be handling the situation and I was convinced he’d pull through. Sadly I was wrong and the music world lost one of its greats.
Looking back through the Beastie Boys‘ considerable discography there are so many stellar moments and not a single dud album. Though I didn’t know at the time that ‘Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2‘ would represent his last recorded output I’m glad we chose it in amongst our best albums of 2011 because it proved yet again that the Beastie Boys were lightyears ahead of the competition.
my sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends and most of al to Ad-Rock and Mike D who lost someone they shared everything with for over 30 years.
I am in love with this new Beach House track ‘Myth’, which is the first single from their 4th and upcoming album entitled ‘Bloom’ .
Alongside Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Victoria Legrand is possibly one of my biggest girl crushes at the moment. I consider her as one of the great female voices, a hybrid between Cat Power, Marianne Faithfull and Nico. if you haven’t had the chance to see Beach House live yet, I greatly recommend it : her charisma is breathtaking and her voice so sublime that it is near indescribable.
After the success and critical acclaim of their previous album ‘ Teen Dream‘ ( which was definitely in my top 5 albums of 2010 ), I am sure that Brooklyn-based duo Legrand and Alex Scally are aware that this album is much anticipated by fans such as myself.
Legrand describes the record as being about “death, loss of innocence…as we’ve got older and evolved, it’s normal that there would be darker themes. But there’s lightness. It’s not all dark.”
Indeed, ‘Myth‘ is definitely a continuation of ‘Teen Dream‘ with an added darker twist. Whereas ‘Zebra‘, ‘Norway‘ or ‘Walk in the park‘ were particularly eery ( and embodied perfectly their dream-pop musical philosophy), ”Myth‘ has a much deeper, mature dimension to it.
The rumoured release date for ‘Bloom‘ is May 15 on Sub Pop, and just to warn you…Scally stated that this record will be their “own ‘Pet Sounds‘ or ‘Disintegration‘, not in sound, but as something which feels like a definitive statement.”
Tv On The Radio didn’t take too long to follow up 2009′s brilliant ‘Dear Science,‘ and as usual didn’t disappoint. This time the Brooklyn outfit set up camp on the West Coast and the sunnier climate appears to have seeped through to these tracks.
With another mild change of direction the tracks on ’Nine Types Of Light‘ have borrowed some of the horns from its predecessor but definitely comes across as a more laid back affair.
Lyrically frontman Tunde Adebimpe and singer-guitarist Kyp Malone seem less preoccupied with tales of apocalypse and the end of the world and more focussed on making sure you tell the ones you love exactly how you feel for them. That this would be the last album Gerard Smith would appear on before his untimely death makes this all the more poignant.
Meanwhile, special praise should go to guitarist and producer extraordinaire Dave Sitek for realizing that the band’s sound needed a tweak and for incorporating some of the ideas he has been involved with in his “other” projects recently. TVOTR haven’t lost the electricity that initially made us fall in love with them, they have just refined the way they administer it to us.
Das Racist‘s free 2010 mixtapes had critics and fans scratching their heads over whether the trio were for real. The release of their official album ‘Relax‘, while simultaneously resembling a series of elaborate in-jokes, suggests the trio are genuine enough.
The Brooklyn band spit over a series of jagged beats produced by the likes of Anand Wilder (Yeasayer), Blood Diamonds, Diplo, El-P and Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend) and still maintain that unique Das Racist charm.
Check the track ‘Michael Jackson‘ for example. They are in top form both when linking up seemingly nonsensical one-liners into genial verses or when reeling off on social/racial issues. This latter point is one that shouldn’t be underestimated as the Brooklynites challenge preconceptions on color and creed as well as what a rapper should behave/look like.
On your list of things to do for 2012 should be buying a copy of ‘Relax‘. It represents the moment Das Racist prove their underground success wasn’t merely a fluke.
Last month I was asked for some tracks to play for the BBC‘s Now Playing @6Music program. I went about picking all the Cougar favorites from the past year and as such Alana Stewart was a perfect fit.
The singer-songwriter, originally from the West Coast but now residing in NYC, wowed me during her live London performances and her album ‘Birth And The Atomic Bomb‘ has deservedly recieved multiple plays. I had always felt the track ‘Boy Next Door‘ was one of it’s strongest moments which is why it was a natural selection for radioplay.
Having already interviewed and reviewed her I’m excited to be able to premier the fantastic new video for the track directed by Brooklyn director Alice Millar with help from artist Heidi Howard. The duo built and hand crafted the entire concept from scratch bringing in a frosty element (the video was shot on a freezing day where Alana‘s limbs were turning blue) perfectly reflecting the protagonists lust for a man who is out of reach both literally and figuratively.
She goes on to explain that the video “plays with the idea that when we are lust-struck, we are manipulated by our object of desire. When it’s mutual, we can manipulate them just as much as they can manipulate us. So I appear to be “real” in the video, and he appears to be the puppet- but nevertheless he is manipulating my thoughts, moves and desires“.
Alana Stewart is an artist we will be keenly following and definitely one for you all to watch in 2012.
Here is the new video for Friends‘ infectious ‘I’m His Girl’ track co-directed by by Aurora Halal and lead singer Samantha Urbani.
It’s the perfect companion piece boasting a good dose of retro flair thanks to some lo-fi camera work and 80′s transitions and coming across equally as sassy, cool and confident as the track itself.
If you were at CMJ this week then you may have caught Brooklyn band at one of their numerous performances over the week. If you missed that there’s a bunch of upcoming US and UK dates for you to get your posterior shaking at.
I’ve had this on repeat for a bit and it never gets old. There is a possibility that next time you ask someone ‘hey, have your heard that Friends track?‘ they won’t think you are referring to the sitcom’s theme tune.
Here is the video for Joan As Police Woman‘s new single ‘Chemmie‘ taken from her latest album ‘The Deep Field’. By all accounts this is her best output yet and this video is further proof of her genius.
The Brooklyn gal has been touring all over the world justifiably winning new fans everywhere she goes. She heads to Europe for an extensive run of shows interjected with some US dates. UK fans can expect a whole range of headline performances including a date at Shepherds Bush Empire on September 9th.
Brooklyn‘s Matt & Kim bring their catchy-as-ebola attitude to the video for new single ‘Block After Block‘. The track was taken off of their “mature” third studio album ‘Sidewalks‘ and sees more of the band’s trademark synth and drums fun sound.
Having seen the duo rip it up on stage in London it’s great to see that their live energy translates here too. This looks like it was a lot of fun filming.
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