Music

Funky UK garage producer SBTRKT will spend a couple of weeks stateside and play a string of shows, starting in late October. The producer’s eponymous album, SBTRKT is out now and features one of our favorite songs of the year, “Wildfire”.

10-26 Seattle, WA – Neptune
10-27 San Francisco, CA – 103 Harriet
10-28 Los Angeles, CA – Hard Fest
10-29 Asheville, NC – Moogfest
10-30 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
10-31 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
11-01 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall Of Williamsburg
11-02 Boston, MA – Royale
11-03 Toronto, Ontario – The Hoxton
11-04 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
11-05 Denver, CO – Bluebird

SBTRKT – “Wildfire”

by Luis Tovar on August 5, 2011 ‡ 16 reactions

UPDATED with free mp3 download. Enjoy.

This is not exactly what you would expect from a Neon Indian track. As fellow chillwaver Chazwick Bundick a.k.a. Toro Y Moi took a different approach on his sophomore album this year, it now seems that Alan Palomo is following suit, releasing a full on synth-pop, disco meets Nintendo (listen intently for the coin sample from Mario) sounding dance song. 

“Polish Girl” is the second full track we’ve heard from Palomo’s forthcoming Era Extraña, and while it does not share the hazy bedroom pop textures of first single “Fallout,” it finds him being more confident in his vocals and experimenting with different brands of song construction.

It might also be the most upbeat jam Neon Indian has ever come out with. Check it below; Era Extraña drops September 13th via Palomo’s own Static Tongues.

Neon Indian – “Polish Girl” (MP3)

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MP3: Neon Indian – “Fallout”

by Daniel Koren on August 5, 2011 ‡ 88 reactions

When Kanye and Jay-Z, now touring under the moniker The Throne, released the first proper single from their forthcoming Watch The Throne project, “Otis” (in place of the previously released, disappointing “H.A.M.”), it started a chain reaction of rappers using the backdrop for their own game, as so often happens in hip hop.

The latest to sample the beat, after Jadakiss & Styles P, and also The Game, is the duo of two legendary MCs, DMX and Busta Rhymes, brought courtesy of Funkmaster Flex. The rappers partake in a frivolous and aggressive freestyle over “Otis,” passing the mic back to one another as they get more and more heated. Listen to it below; Watch The Throne is out on Monday on iTunes.

DMX & Busta Rhymes – “Otis” (MP3)

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by Daniel Koren on August 5, 2011 ‡ 44 reactions

Houston based rapper Mike G is one of the lesser known artists in the increasingly popular Los Angeles collective known as Odd Future, though it’s understandably hard to compete with attention grabbers like Tyler The Creator and Hodgy Beats, “missing” rappers like Earl Sweatshirt, or gifted singer/songwriters like Frank Ocean. 

Amidst the slew of mixtapes OFWGKTA has put out this year stands Ali, Mike G’s solo record which introduces his brand of lethargic, witty, Southern influenced hip hop. The Odd Future crew has just posted a new track from G on Twitter, another country anthem called “Chevron,” which was produced by Hodgy Beats. It comes from his forthcoming Award Tour EP (no confirmed release date yet); download “Chevron” below:

Mike G – “Chevron” (prod by Hodgy Beats) (MP3)

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by Luis Tovar on August 5, 2011 ‡ 53 reactions

Earlier this week we were graced with a new video from California stoner surfers Best Coast for a song called “Our Deal.” The song is taken from last year’s stellar Crazy For You, directed by Drew Barrymore. We didn’t have to wait long to get our Best Coast fix satisfied, as the band has just released a previously unreleased cut with “How They Want Me To Be.” 

Frontwoman Bethany Cosentino took to her blog when posting the track, offering it as a thank you to all her fans who have been with her since day one. “It’s just a small taste of what’s to come, and I wanted to give you guys something to get excited about since you’ve been the best fans in the whole world!” Thanks Bethany. The message also said we should expect the tune to appear on Best Coast’s second record, though we shouldn’t expect it anytime soon. Check out “How They Want Me To Be” below:

Best Coast – “How They Want Me To Be” (MP3)

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by Daniel Koren on August 5, 2011 ‡ 38 reactions

The Daily 5: a feature in which we provide at least five absolutely guilt-free MP3s every day (more or less). Check out today’s goods.

Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”
We heard this new Neon Indian cut yesterday, but we just got word that the mp3 was made available for download. Check it. Era Extraña is out September 13.

Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Heart in Your Heartbreak” (Twin Shadow Remix)
Twin Shadow injects some New Wave goodness into the Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s best song, “Heart in Your Heartbreak”, from this year’s iffy Belong.

Best Coast – “How They Want Me To Be”
Best Coast share this new demo, which will eventually make it onto their Crazy For You follow-up, whenever that may come. Best Coast has always been a hard sell when looking for something beyond summer fun in music, but this song makes you want to think twice about the band.

Odd Future’s Mike G – “Chevron” (prod by Hodgy Beats)
Here’s a new tune from one of Odd Future’s more quiet cohorts, Mike G, beat courtesy of the improving Hodgy Beats.

DMX & Busta Rhymes – “Otis” (Jay-Z & Kanye West Overdub)
Veteran MCs DMX and Busta Rhymes take over Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ”Otis” and make it a bit frightening.

Artwork by Topher Edwards.

by Luis Tovar on August 5, 2011 ‡ 20 reactions

Earlier this year, New York indie darlings The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart released their sophomore outing with Belong, mixed and produced by studio geniuses Flood and Alan Moulder, incorporating 90s style loudness and big guitar riffs to their brand of 80s dream pop. Album highlight “Heart In Your Heartbreak” has now been re-envisioned by disco/new wave enthusiast George Lewis Jr. a.k.a. Twin Shadow.

Lewis removes all of the instrumentals from the tune, keeping only Kip Berman’s vocals intact, inserting a new wave, hand clap fronted electro beat to the mix, making “Heart In Your Heartbreak” an indie dance jam that sounds like it belongs in the soundtrack for Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist, or really just any movie with Michael Cera. Download the remix below:

Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Heart In Your Heartbreak” (Twin Shadow Remix) (MP3)

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by Daniel Koren on August 5, 2011 ‡ 50 reactions

Lollapalooza coverage is brought to you by Best Buy.

Chicago’s Grant Park is jam packed full of music fans for this weekend’s Lollapalooza festivities. The annual music festival kicks off today and runs through Sunday. This years’ headliners include Eminem, Coldplay, My Morning Jacket and Muse. Not going? Don’t worry, YouTube has got your back.

Like they did so well with this year’s Coachella, the video site will be streaming Lollapalooza all weekend long. The internet is a magical place sometimes, wouldn’t you agree? Take a peep at the schedule below (our recommendations in bold):

Lollapalooza Webcast Schedule (all times are CDT)

Friday August 5th
1:30 PM The Vaccines
1:45 PM TAB the Band
2:15 PM Delta Spirit
2:30 PM Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
3:00 PM Foster The People
3:30 PM Smith Westerns
4:00 PM White Lies
5:00 PM Two Door Cinema Club
5:30 PM Mountain Goats
6:00 PM The Naked and Famous
6:30 PM Bright Eyes
7:00 PM The Kills
8:15 PM Coldplay

Saturday August 6th
1:30 PM Grouplove
1:45 PM J. Roddy Walston
2:15 PM Walk the Mooncalendar
2:30 PM Fitz & The Tantrums
3:00 PM Black Lipscalendar
3:30 PM Mayer Hawthorne
4:00 PM Death From Above 1979
4:30 PM Big Audio Dynamite
5:30 PM Local Natives
6:00 PM Ween
7:00 PM Beats Antique
8:00 PM My Morning Jacket

Sunday August 7th
1:30 PM Imelda May
1:45 PM The Joy Formidable
2:15 PM Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
2:30 PM Noah and The Whale
3:00 PM The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
4:00 PM The Cars
4:15 PM Flogging Molly
5:00 PM Portugal. The Man
5:15 PM Cage The Elephant
6:00 PM Arctic Monkeys
6:15 PM Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
7:00 PM Explosions In The Sky
8:00 PM Foo Fighters

The Vaccines – “If You Wanna”

by Luis Tovar on August 5, 2011 ‡ 36 reactions

Neon Indian is releasing his sophomore LP, Era Extraña, on September 13th. To support the release, the chillwave whiz will hit the pavement for a few weeks and will bring along some friends: Com Truise & Purity Ring.

Neon Indian 2011 Tour Dates:
09/03 Chicago, IL @ North Coast Music Festival
09/15 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
09/16 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
09/17 Carrboro, NC @ Local 506
09/19 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
09/20 Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree *
09/21 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks *
09/23 Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
09/24 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
09/26 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
09/27 San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern *
09/30 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour *
10/01 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Shop *^
10/03 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge *
10/04 Vancouver, BC @ Venue *
10/05 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe *
10/07 Boise, ID @ Reef *^
10/08 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *^
10/10 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
10/12 Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar *^
10/13 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry *^
10/14 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *^
10/15 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *^
10/16 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick *^
10/18 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace *^
10/19 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa *^
10/20 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall ^
10/21 New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^
11/05 Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
* = w/ Com Truise
^ = w/ Purity Ring

Neon Indian – “Fallout” (MP3)

Find more free, legal MP3 downloads at our MP3 Archive.

by Luis Tovar on August 8, 2011 ‡ 17 reactions

At this year’s Orange County Fair, local talent Weezer took to the stage and performed a cover of recent Top 10 hit, “Pumped Up Kicks”, made famous by Foster The People. A fan caught it all on video and shared it to the world. Check it out below:

Weezer – “Pumped Up Kicks” (Foster The People Cover)

by Luis Tovar on August 8, 2011 ‡ 48 reactions