Dan Smith and Chris Nelson are Listener, a talk-music band where Dan does the talking and Chris plays the music. The first time I stumbled upon their music, I was quite confused to what was actually happening. Once I discovered that Dan talking was in fact the music I was greatly intrigued.
Listener is something that will be forever unique and a refreshing take on the power of music in society. The enchanting words of Dan Smith can be soul crushing through both the depth of the lyrics and the passion in his voice. Whether it’s through the soft melody of “Wooden Heart” or the heavy guitar and presence of a trumpet in “These Hands Weren’t Meant For Us”, Listener crafts their music beautifully. Be sure to check out their website, along with my favorite song by them “You have never lived because you have never died”.
First, could you state your name(s) and your band name?
Listener: Dan Smith & Chris Nelson… the band is called Listener.
Is there any meaning behind your band name?
Listener: It’s a word that we all can share in, I guess. (more…)
Stephin Meritt and The Magnetic Fields will make their return to Merge Records with their tenth LP, Love At The Bottom Of The Sea, on March 6th. After concluding their “no-synth” album trilogy (i, Distortion, and Realism) in 2010, The Magnetic Fields have promised that their new album will return to their familiar synth and acoustic roots, as well as keeping every song on the album under three minutes long. You can listen to the new single, “Andrew In Drag”, below.
Love At The Bottom Of The Sea Tracklist:
01 “Your Girlfriend’s Face”
02 “Andrew In Drag”
03 “God Wants Us To Wait”
04 “Born For Love”
05 “I’d Go Anywhere With Hugh”
06 “Infatuation (With Your Gyration)”
07 “The Only Boy In Town”
08 “The Machine In Your Hand”
09 “Goin’ Back To The Country”
10 “I’ve Run Away To Join The Fairies”
11 “The Horrible Party”
12 “My Husband’s Pied-a-Terre”
13 “I Don’t Like Your Tone”
14 “Quick!”
15 “All She Cares About Is Mariachi”
As previously reported, this year’s Sundance Film Festival will contain a documentary revolving around dance punk band LCD Soundsystem called Shut Up and Play the Hits (taken from a line shouted by Arcade Fire‘s Win Butler during the band’s final concert). The documentary, which is directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, details the band’s last few days before the final show last year in April, and will premiere January 22nd at the festival. Check out the trailer below:
This February, noise pop duo Sleigh Bells will be embarking on a fourteen date tour with the likes of Liturgy and Diplo to support them. The tour, which is in support of the band’s new album, Reign of Terror, will mostly be held in the band’s native state of Florida, but also contains shows in New York, Toronto, Seattle, Washington, and California. Check out a teaser trailer for their new album here, and view the dates after the break.
January 24th will mark The War On Drugs‘ release of the “Come to the City” 7″ via Secretly Canadian. “Come to the City” is the centerpiece and standout track from the Philly rockers’ excellent 2011 release, Slave Ambient. Featured on the B-side is the yet-to-be-released piece entitled “Don’t Fear The Ghost”. Stream the muffled, almost faint B-side track below:
It has been around 5 years since we last saw new material from indie rock/pop band The Shins. As The Shins get ready to release their long-awaited new album Port of Marrow in March, we can get a quick preview through a new featured track entitled “Simple Song”.
“Simple Song” introduces a heavier pace to their music as opposed to the much softer melodies that we experienced through songs like “Saint Simon” and “Australia”. Either way, I am psyched that The Shins are back to it and am loving the new twist to their content.
Check their new single and stand by until their album is released in March.
In commemoration of his and Beyoncé‘s new-born baby daughter, Jay-Z headed to the studio and recorded a touching new song titled “Glory” featuring production from The Neptunes and some soundclips of B.I.C. aka Blue Ivy Carter, the baby’s name.
If you can’t tell, Hov is an extremely proud father, calling Blue his “greatest creation” and “a younger, smarter, faster me.” It’s a beautiful tribute and to make things just a bit sweeter, Baby Blue already has her first feature credit! Our best wishes go out to Jay-Z and Beyonce.
It wasn’t a secret that Harlem’s ASAP Rocky was working with the extremely talented AraabMuzik, but thank to Twitter, we now know that the MC-producer pair are pairing up for an entire project titled A$VPMUZIK. After spending the weekend together in the studio, AraabMuzik took to his Twitter account and announced, “Session wit my nigga @asvpxrocky waz crazy! A$VPMUZIK Comin soon! #TrillShit.” AraabMuzik’s beats, as you may know, are highly favored by Dipset and should fit Rocky’s unique, hazy-sounding flow.
It’s always interesting to see someone else’s playlist, even more so when that person is actually involved in the music industry themselves. To take a look into the New York electronic scene, we’ve partnered with DJ Cameron K. to present to you The Steady Seventeen Set, seventeen minutes of smooth electronic tunes that Cameron has been enjoying recently. For more on Cameron, you can check out his full Soundcloud page here.
Tracklist:
El Lobo Loco (Koen Groeneveld Remix)
Half Naked (Art Department’s Shades Of Gothica Remix)
Is This Something (Jones Fly Edit)
Rose Of Jericho (Original Mix)
Forward Motion (Feat. Ali Love)
Equilibrium (Original Mix)
Wilco has released the music video for “Whole Love”. Jeff Tweedy’s son, Spencer Tweedy, directed the video that also stars Spencer’s younger brother Sammy and best friend Joey. Be sure to check out their album, The Whole Love, which is in our top 25 albums of 2011 list. Check out the music video below:
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