Shy Child is a 2 piece from Brooklyn, NY. I know what you're thinking, another 2 piece guitar and drum combo. WRONG! It's a keytar and drum combo. They play a blend of dance-punk, electro, funk, and prog. They recently wrapped a tour opening for Hot Chip. Listen to these guys, kinda crazy to imagine it's just the two of them. But it is. and a lot of fun at that. Give "Noise Won't Stop" some time. The song develops...
Shy Child - Noise Won't Stop
Shy Child - Summer
Shy Child official site
Shy Child on MySpace
PS. Don't forget to enter the Annuals/Pleaseeasaur/Goblin Cock ticket giveaway by emailing letssexyfighting [at] gmail dot com!
As I mentioned yesterday, Goblin Cock is Rob Crow from Pinback's "metal" side project. I've seen these guys live, and they are a lot of fun. They also dress like this. Just think of a more ironic, chunkier Pinback.
Just a reminder here, email me at letssexyfighting [AT] gmail dot com to enter a drawing to win 2 tickets to the Annuals/Pleaseeasaur/Goblin Cock show on 12/7 at Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco! Entries will be accepted until 12/5.
Goblin Cock - Stumped
Goblin Cock at Absolutely Kosher
Labels: ANNUALS, CONTEST, GOBLIN COCK, INDIE ROCK, PLEASEEASAUR
Thanks to the promo folks, I have a couple of tickets to give away to the Annuals/Pleaseeasaur/Goblin Cock show in San Francisco on December 7 at Bottom of the Hill! To enter, all you have to do is send me an email at letssexyfighting [AT] gmail dot com. I'll randomly select a winner and contact you for details if you win. I'll leave the contest running until the end of the day (PST) on Tuesday, 12/5.
Pinky swear promise not to spam you.
Just in case you needed a reminder of why you should see these guys live...
Annuals - Brother
Annuals - Dry Clothes
Annuals official site
Annuals on MySpace
PS. Also, as a bonus, Goblin Cock is Rob Crow from Pinback's "metal" side project.
Labels: ANNUALS, BOTTOM OF THE HILL, CONTEST, GOBLIN COCK, INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK, PLEASEEASAUR
This is a little tack from my usual music journalism, but I think it's applicable to us, purveyors of the digital era - I can tell you guys I had a hands on with the much hyped Zune, the latest and greatest iPod killer. Let me first hedge a bit to say that it's not as bad as I would have expected from a first attempt from Microsoft. That being said, onto the critique!
The feel and texture of the Zune is rather plastic-y with a chalky texture. Feels kind of cheap. Of the 3 color combinations, white looks the best. Is this because it looks like an iPod? Not necessarily. On the white model they shoot a clear plastic over the opaque white. However, on the black model, they shoot a poorly chosen blue over the black, and on the oft-griped brown model, they shoot an ill advised light green over brown. As Engadget put it, "My Zune looks like swamp water Jello".
The UI of the Zune looks good at first. Animated transitions, some interesting menu ideas. However, after about 30 seconds you realize it is way too busy and distracting. On top of that, there is a slight delay before the transition begins, where the menu actually blanks out. This delay is also from the button press. Speaking of buttons, they feel kinda cheap, and loose. The UI itself is a cross between the Xbox 360 interface (which is decent) and the Windows Media Center interface (which is horrible). Way too many clicks just to play one song.
To make concessions, the wireless feature is an interesting idea, but will need to mature a bit. I don't like the fact that it wraps all songs, even ones by your band or originally DRM free tracks, with a 3 play/3 day DRM. I don't understand why Microsoft disabled use of it as an external HD. Why is it also 60% bigger than the 30GB iPod? And still bigger than the 60GB iPod? Also, giving Universal Music a royalty for each player sold is simply retarded. Should every DVD player manufacturer give the movie studios a cut of each player sold? Maybe the baseball bat companies should pay the ball companies for every bat they sell.
In any case, Microsoft has put their foot in the arena, and we all know they have the resources to throw at it until it becomes viable. They did decently with the Xbox. I expect the 2nd generation Zune to be much more competitive. Probably still retain the microsoft wonkyness, though. For now, pass.
Happy Belated Thanksgiving, folks. Some rarities:
Animal Collective - Polly (Nirvana Cover)
The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health (Ratatat Remix)
Animal Collective on MySpace
Ratatat on MySpace
Labels: ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, RATATAT, REVIEW, THE KNIFE, ZUNE
Since it's close to Thanksgiving, let's have a utensil face-off. Knife vs. Spoon! In this corner, from Sweden, we have The Knife, with their hit song, "Heartbeats"...and in the other corner we have Spoon, from Austin, with their new song from the Stranger Than Fiction movie soundtrack, "The Book I Write". FIGHT!
The Knife - Heartbeats
Spoon - The Book I Write
The Knife official site
The Knife on MySpace
Spoon official site
Spoon on Myspace
Labels: DANCE, ELECTRONIC, INDIE ROCK, SPOON, THE KNIFE
Film School isn't a new band to anyone who lives in the bay area, having been around since 2001 or so. However, I feel like they are constantly overlooked. Majestic, epic songs with textured layers of guitar and keyboard swirl and mix with jagged basslines and muscular drums. Fans of the shoegazer genre, Sparklehorse, Grandaddy, and Interpol will find a place in their musical collections for these guys. Listen to the build and song development on "On & On". It's tight. I wouldn't be surprised if these guys are bigger in the UK than they are here...
Film School - On & On
Film School - Pitfalls
Film School official site
Film School on MySpace
Labels: FILM SCHOOL, INDIE ROCK, SHOEGAZER
Hey guys, in honor of the Hot Chip show tonight at Mezzanine SF, here's a couple rarities. It's sold out, but I bet you can get in with some persistence. The cover of Sexual Healing is expectedly cold, but smooth, and Diplo's remix is a hell of a lot of fun. Maybe even more energetic than the original. Hope you have a tolerance for rapping though. Cause if you don't, then me and yous gonna have words, see?
Hot Chip - Sexual Healing
Hot Chip - Over And Over (Shake It Over And Over Diplo Remix)
Hot Chip official site
Hot Chip on MySpace
Labels: ELECTRONIC, HOT CHIP, INDIE ROCK, SHOW
Guess it's New York week here over at Let's Sexy Fighting. Rahim hails from (yeah, yeah) NYC. But unlike their city brethren, they take their cues more from the DC dischord scene. You know, such bands as Fugazi, Q and Not U, Jawbox...In fact, J Robbins produced their more recent EP. One important thing to clarify: it sounds like the DC scene bands with maturity, and less of a need for raw agression. Not that agression is bad. But sometimes less is more. Just think, early 90's post-punk with more control. I'm fairly partial to "10,000 Horses" down there.
Rahim - 10,000 Horses
Rahim - Forever Love
Rahim - One At A Time
Rahim official site
Rahim on MySpace
Labels: INDIE ROCK, RAHIM
Professor Murder hails from NYC. They play ambitious art dance rock. Listen to a track like "Free Stress Test" and you'll hear a depth unheralded by my general description. Fun polyrhythms, squiggly synths, and memorable vocals make for a good time. Their live show frequently consists of multiple percussionists and multiple synths. "Champion" reveals more of a Liars-ish side with call and response vocals, jerky beats, and punky bass lines. These guys got rhythm, that's for sure. If you like Klaxons or Liars, check these guys out.
Professor Murder - Free Stress Test
Professor Murder - Champion
Professor Murder official site
Professor Murder on MySpace
Labels: DANCE, INDIE ROCK, PROFESSOR MURDER
Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek (Ciaran Hamilton Strings Remix)
Imogen Heap official site
Imogen Heap on MySpace
UPDATE: This caters to a specific subset, and is super nerdy. But still funny.
Labels: IMOGEN HEAP, INDIE POP, POLITICS, REMIX
Get out there and vote, my peoples...here's a few songs to put you in the mood - 2 about Hurricane Katrina, and a classic Radiohead track. Only you can prevent forest fires.
TV On The Radio - Dry Drunk Emperor
Forget Cassettes - The Catch
Radiohead - Electioneering
TV On The Radio on MySpace
Forget Cassettes on MySpace
UPDATE: Yes, Election Day is today, regardless of anyone that tries to convince you otherwise.
Labels: FORGET CASSETTES, INDIE ROCK, POLITICS, RADIOHEAD, TV ON THE RADIO
The Twilight Sad recently played at CMJ, bringing their brand of anthemic shoegazer rock stateside. Originally from Glasgow, they've been picking up steam as of late. The songs themselves are dense and sprawling; while seemingly repetitious, new layers of sound join and weave in and out of existing parts until the song climaxes with a thunderous crescendo. Brutal drums + driving bass = sexytime. Plus, the singer is really bitter. Gotta love that!
Thanks to Stereogum for pointing these guys out.
The Twilight Sad - 3 Seconds Of Dead Air
The Twilight Sad - And She Would Darken The Memory
The Twilight Sad official site
The Twilight Sad on MySpace
Labels: INDIE ROCK, SHOEGAZER, THE TWILIGHT SAD
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
0 Comments Saturday, November 04, 2006 at 5:19 PM.
Wow, just got back from seeing this movie last night. All I gotta say, is that you owe it to yourself to watch it! There's some question to how much of it was staged, or how many people in some of the scenes were in on the joke, but it doesn't make it any less funny. Some truly gut-busting moments, and some funny-because-it's-scary-it's-real moments. I will not spoil anything, but they did a really nice job of keeping the movie tight and moving along briskly. I think I missed some follow up comments to obvious jokes due to the fact that either I or the audience around me was laughing so hard.
Pretty telling on the state of America. It's funny to people like us cause we can understand how ridiculous some people and parts of the country are. Unfortunately, is this what the rest of the world thinks of us? Probably. I wonder how that planned "Bruno" movie is going to do? I always liked him the least of the characters, but we'll have to see what tack Sasha Baron Cohen takes with it.
Borat - In My Country There Is Problem
Borat - You Be My Wife
Borat official site
Borat on MySpace
Hit the Bonnie "Prince" Billy at Great American Music Hall on Halloween. Didn't have a ticket at first, but was able to scalp one outside quite easily.
The show was tight - BPB rocked the stage with style. Will Oldham's voice sounded good as ever, and the strength of the compositions and dynamics really shone for me, especially. Can't really see it from this photo, but they were in the Halloween spirit.
Bonnie Prince Billy has a huge back catalog...there were a lot of songs I didn't recognize!
Ran into Dr. Tobias Funke at the show...
Bonnie Prince Billy, Great American Music Hall - this is a great almost acappella encore song...
Labels: BONNIE PRINCE BILLY, GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, REVIEW, SHOW
