Damon Albarn-fronted Blur are back with two new songs for the 2012 Summer Olympics, despite the fact that Albarn has repeatedly hinted that he won’t be making any new music with the band. The pair of songs, “Under The Westway” and “The Puritan”, will be released as a single on August 6th. Today, we get the official video of “Under The Westway”, which features footage of the band recording the song in the studio. Watch below.
One of this year’s most anticipated short films (I say one because I’m hoping that Kanye‘s 7-screen short film for Cruel Summer will somehow leave Cannes and see a public release) was just released onto the internet. Directed by Anthony Mandler, the video for Lana Del Rey‘s “National Anthem” clocks in at just under 8 minutes and features the singer masquerading as both Marilyn Manson and Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Playing the part of JFK? None other than Harlem upstart A$AP Rocky, who does his best impression of the charismatic President, complete with suits, snapbacks, blunts, and more. It’s all rather surreal and, well, it has to be seen to be believed. It’s also probably going to spark quite a bit of controversy… but that’s another topic entirely.
Pussy Wizard is a relatively new band with their latest content being released in February 2012. They currently have two EP’s: F.J.V. 1 and ABRACOOLDADBRO. I downloaded their second album a long time ago and couldn’t stop listening to the song “West Coast Ghosts”. After recently hearing two of their songs on some playlists (Fork and Spoon’s Free Love Free Download playlist, for instance), I have fallen into an obsession with the band and downloaded their first EP. Both EP’s are incredible, with such an original sound that keeps the smooth vibes flowing from song to song. They are currently available for free on Pussy Wizard’s Bandcamp. You can listen to F.J.V. 1 below.
For Gossamer second single “I’ll Be Alright”, Passion Pit goes absolutely all out with maximalistic production and high-tempo, high-pitch vocals from Michael Angelakos. Like some of the main standouts from Manners, Angelakos’s falsetto is on full blast with his melodies anchoring the track and then his lyrics playing second fiddle. But the beauty of “I’ll Be Alright” is that while the song sounds extremely happy and summery, Angelakos discusses his personal and emotional troubles; his first line says it all: “Can you remember ever having any fun?/ Cause when it’s all said and done I always believed we were/ But now I’m not so sure.” What sounds bubbly on the surface has a whole lot more bubbling underneath. Give it a listen below and Gossamer will be available on July 24th through Columbia Records.
Siebe de Boer’s video for Space Siren‘s melancholic and introspective “Who Makes Me Try?” is a beautifully crafted piece of work that explores space and color, or perhaps, the lack of it. I don’t know much about the Dutch foursome and their label, Subroutine Records, but you can listen to their second studio album (from which this song is taken) here.
And as the label put it on our Facebook page, “Get lost in this video.”
