Kevin Miao
Stream LCD Soundsystem’s Final Show
LCD Soundsystem will play their last farewell show at Madison Square Garden on April 2. It sold out pretty quickly, but people will not have to worry about seeing the show. There will be a live stream on Pitchfork. It’s going to be a one-time broadcast, so make sure not to miss it.
New Bon Iver LP
Singer-songwriter Bon Iver has recently kept himself busy, but he has finally put out some news about his new album, which is scheduled to come out sometime in June. In an article with Rolling Stone, he talked about how he forgot how to write songs and had to relearn everything he knew for the new, yet-to-be-titled album. However, he feels he has adapted, and things will be much different than his first LP, For Emma, Forever Ago. You can read the article from Rolling Stone here.
Odd Future Interview
Read an interesting interview that Pitchfork recently conducted with Odd Future here. Tyler, the Creator, Hodgy Beats, Syd tha Kyd, Domo Genesis, Left Brain, and Mike G from OFWGKTA discuss SXSW, Tyler’s upcoming album, Goblin, working with The Neptunes, and more.
Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines Tour
The Vaccines will be supporting Arctic Monkeys in a North American tour starting on May 17. The Vaccines have recently just released their first studio album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, on March 14. Arctic Monkeys will be releasing their fourth studio album, Suck It And See, on June 6. Read more for the tour dates.
5/17 Washington, DC 930 Club
5/18 Philadelphia, PA Knitting Factory
5/19 Boston, MA House Of Blues
5/21 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
5/22 Montreal, QC L’Olympia
5/24 New York, NY Summer Stage
5/26 Detroit, MI Clutch Cargoes
5/27 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
5/28 Minneapolis, MN First Ave
5/30 Denver, CO The Ogden Theatre
5/31 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
6/3 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
Interview: Surrogate
I just recently had an interview with Daniel, from the band Surrogate. They talked about releasing the new Diamonds and Pearls EP, fun concert stories, the band’s future, and more. Check out the interview below.
LitS: How did you guys all meet?
Surrogate: We all live in Chico, which is a small college town in Northern California, and we basically knew each other from just being in bands and playing shows together over the years. Chris Keene and Jordan used to play in a band called Number One Gun, and when that band parted ways, they started working on some music together and started playing around Chico with Daniel Martin on keys and a couple of our other friends, Trevor, who was also in Number One Gun on bass, and Chris Armstrong who was in a band called Sherwood on guitar. This was 2006 or so. When Trevor had to split to go out on tour with another band, I took over on bass, in the early part of 2007, a couple months before Love is For the Rich came out. Michael took over for Chris A. right before the next record, Popular Mechanics came out in 2009 and we’ve all been playing together ever since.
LitS: What genre would you guys consider yourselves to be and what bands influences your music?
Surrogate: I tend to tell people that Surrogate is a melodic indie pop band, which is something of a cop out, the usual platitudes. But it gets the point across. You can’t really say that youre an “indie” band anymore, because that really doesn’t mean anything. And “indie rock” at least to old folks like me sort of recalls bands like Fugazi or The Dismemberment Plan or bands that were more on the loud side. So melodic indie pop seems to work, at least in so far as it lets people know that we’re definitely not yelling, or playing crazy riffs, but we’re not Ke$ha or some overly tuned radio garbage.
We all have pretty disparate tastes in music, but the Surrogate sound, at least as much as you can call it a general “sound” would definitely seem to fit pretty squarely in that pantheon of post-shoegaze bands like Pedro the Lion, Starflyer 59, Rogue Wave or even Death Cab for Cutie. We’re all constantly trying to dig new music, though, so it’s sort of a constant evolution. (more…)
Foo Fighters Garage Tour Contest
Foo Fighters will be playing songs from their new album, Wasting Light, in the garages of eight fans in eight North American cities. If you want to enter the contest, one must explain in 25 words or less why they (and 50 of their friends) deserve to win. You can enter the contest and see the detailed instructions here. Wasting Light, Foo Fighters’ seventh studio album, is coming out on April 12.
I Can Make A Mess Album Art and Pre-Order
I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business has officially released the album art for Gold Rush and put up the new album up for pre-order. Gold Rush is coming out on May 5 and you can pre-order a digital or physical copy of the album here.
Single: Explosions in the Sky – “Trembling Hands”
Track: Trembling Hands
Artist: Explosions in the Sky
Release Date: March 8, 2011
Label: Temporary Residence Limited
Four years after the Texas-based post-rock band Explosions in the Sky released All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, they have finally released a new song. “Trembling Hands” is the first official single off of Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, the band’s sixth official studio album. If you’re already familiar with the band’s old music, you will know that this song is much different from their past work. First off, this song is no more than four minutes long, which is fitting for a single, but odd for an Explosions in the Sky song. Also, instead of having a long, monumental build-up, the song immediately starts out upbeat, with the drums kicking in from the beginning. Another thing to note is that this song has very faint, but distinguishable vocals. However, this song still has what Explosions in the Sky fans have been craving for for years: vibrant guitar riffs and ornate soundscapes. “Trembling Hands” is an energetic song which shows that the band has definitely changed their overall sound over the years. This song could be a good example of what the new album will sound like, but is it for the better? That’s for you to decide.
If you haven’t heard the song yet, you can download it here for free or below.
Rating: 8.5/10
Explosions in the Sky Pre-Order and Single
Explosions in the Sky‘s sixth studio album, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care is officially available for pre-order on their website. They have also released their first official single, “Trembling Hands”. Pre-order or download “Trembling Hands” at Explosion in the Sky’s website here.
Interview: ZAK!
We recently sat down with NYU student and up-and-coming rapper ZAK!, who recently released his new Stuck To The Sidewalk mixtape (download here). He talked about his tour with Hoodie Allen, his sound, his friendship with Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, and more. Check out the interview below.
ZAK!: I don’t really have a “favorite” rapper. There’s some I listen to more than others. I also really don’t like making my own comparisons. People can make them themselves. Even though I definitly grab influences from other rappers I like to think at the end of the day I’m doing sometime unique to myself.
ZAK!: Right now I’ve been working with my DJ / Engineer / Producer DJ Fresh Direct. He basicially does it all. And on this next project were really going to sit down and create some serious stuff. Its good for me to able to help him create the music, and vice versa when it comes to the song lyrically.
Also my good friend Astro Raw has produced multiple of my tracks and really has a solid New York vibe.
ZAK!: Those were my first two real shows. And I got to say the crowd at U of Mich was pretty nuts. Honestly wasn’t expecting it. Otherwise the whole weekend was kind of a blur I unfortunately had thew flu. Pretty sure I vomited a few times. (more…)
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