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30 August 2010
Die Antwoord + Aphex Twin = Next Next Level Shit
I tried ’splaining to you back in February why Die Antwoord were onto some next level shit.
In that blog post, my proposed RIYL (recommended if you like) list of comparative artists included Vanilla Ice, Kool Keith, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Zomby, Aphex Twin. At the time, even I found that list of comparisons a bit much. But here we are, a few months later, and “Weird Al” has been added to an ATP Festival curated by the dramatic post-rock sad sacks in Godspeed! You Black Emperor. And now Aphex Twin has officially collaborated with Die Antwoord.
The evidence (via Pitchfork):
No there’s nothing groundbreaking about Die Antwoord’s contribution to the track — but still, one begins to wonder, what is the artistic world coming to. Or rather, one begins to take great joy in the open-mindedness with which visionaries of different emotional tenors are joining hands. Just goes to proove it takes some next level shit to recognize next level shit.
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: Aphex Twin, Die Antwoord, Great New Music, Next Level Shit, South African, The Problem With the Avant Garde
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3 May 2010
Givers from Louisiana
Earlier this year, I discovered the band Givers via a handful of opening slots they happened into with Dirty Projectors. What did I like so much about them? This should give you a sense:
Kids like it — the way the band’s music conveys an unique variety of joy. You can’t really argue with that. Listen to the only music they’ve released to date — a short EP on a small regional label — via this Bandcamp embed:
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: Bandcamp, Dirty Projectors Givers, Great New Music, Louisiana, Unique Form of Joy
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28 April 2010
Mountain Man & a thought on the depth & length of one’s connection to music
I skipped this year’s SXSW music conference in Austin, TX, preferring the saner pleasures of Big Ears in Knoxville, TN. Many of my friends went to Austin, however, and they came away talking about this band, Mountain Man, most of all. These live videos of the band I found online certainly make them seem intriguing — both inside:
And out:
My suspicion is that this is a band that might evoke more depth (a real emotional connection) than they do length (a long term interest). But that makes them almost perfect for a post like this.
Buy some of their music here and decide for yourself. Or just listen in with the embeddable player down below:
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: A Capella, Antifolk, Great New Music, Human Voice, Mountain Man, SXSW, The Problem With Nostalgia, Video
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18 September 2009
Bon Iver covering Sarah Siskind’s “Lovin’s for Fools”
Tickets go on sale today for The New Yorker festival, the annual roundelay of uber-cultured readings, panels, concerts & events which — much like The New Yorker itself — are perhaps a bit too self-consciously about Culture with a capital C rather than about the culture (lower case c) that they are presenting.
Apologies for editorializing. I mean they did manage to managed to get Liturgy and my management client, Dirty Projectors, on the same bill, which is a pretty special thing. And they were also able to book this guy:
Beyond the weird & wonderful convergence that will be Dirty Projectors’ concert, the performance by Bon Iver (aka Justin Vernon) is the festival entrant I am most looking forward to catching. Wish me luck snagging tickets!
(And yes, I’ll be honest this post is mostly a lame excuse to show you the heart-arresting wonder that is that video clip. Note that it’s not an original but a cover of a song by Nashville songwriter Sarah Siskind which he used to close out most of his 2008 tour dates.)
After the jump comes another performance of the same song — this one with Siskind herself on guest vocals.
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: Bon Iver, Great New Music, Sarah Siskind, The New Yorker, Video
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10 September 2009
Gone to All Tomorrow’s Parties for the weekend
UPDATED NOVEMBER 2, 2009: The full-length clips about ATP/NY that I posted via Pitchfork.tv were limited-time-only affairs. Now that they’ve been removed, I have posted, in their stead, a proper trailer to the new documentary about the festival, Our True Intent.
As well this sweet ass picture of Pitchfork’s founder Ryan Schreiber performing cover tunes with Bradford Cox of Deerhunter & Atlas Sound (via The Daily Swarm).
I’ll spare you their rendition of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Tiny Dancer.” That’s between you & YouTube.
***
ORIGINAL POST:: Tomorrow morning I am off to the ATP/NY a music festival in upstate New York — more specifically to the town of Monticello, home to Kutsher’s Country Club which Wikipedia refers to as “the last of the Borscht Belt grand resorts.” They play host to ATP, my favorite music festival. For an idea of what to expect think: the iconic setting of the film Dirty Dancing; the place where my Jewish ancestors had sketchy involvements with horse racing tracks; and a place which every 20 to 40something New Yorker with even a trace of Hebraic origins seems to have some connection to. (“My parents used to go there…”; “I used to go to Jewish sports camp there…” Et. al.)
Or you could just check out this clip from a film my friend Vincent Moon made at ATP/NY in 2008. I will start from the middle of the movie rather than from the beginning with this nice moment with long time operator of the hotel Helen Kutsher:
Part II
Film clip redacted
I will be working this weekend in my vague yet somehow all encompassing role as ATP’s “man on the ground” in America. There will, however, also be a great deal of pleasure mixed in. Generally speaking, I have a great distaste for music festivals. They are the concert equivalent of a warmed-over buffet meal (and I won’t bother to extend that metaphor). ATP though, is something else…
There’s more videos after the jump.
Read more »
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: All Tomorrow's Parties, Great New Music, Jewish Mafia, Kutsher's, Monticello, The Problem With Glamour, The Problem With Nostalgia, Video, Vincent Moon