Set your DVRs: Arcade Fire on Austin City Limits 1/14

ACL preview

After a huge 2010, the band is finally back on Austin City Limits this Saturday 1/14.  It looks like they'll play a bunch of songs off The Suburbs, the amazing, Grammy award-winning album of 2010.  This band has rapidly ascended to stardom after being an indie favorite for years.  I've seen them live three times, where they truly excel.  So set those DVRs...

Anticipated Releases in 2012

Here's a list of the albums I'm looking forward to/hoping for in 2012.  With 2011 a pretty good year of music, 2012 looks to be another solid year of music.  Can the xx and Sleigh Bells follow up their debuts with something as good or better?  Will the Shins find their form again?  Will Animal Collective, Phoenix, Sigur Ros, and Vampire Weekend continue releasing great albums?  And Modest Mouse and Outkast, where are you? We've been patient enough...


Confirmed Releases
Sleigh Bells  - Reign of Terror  (2/14/12)
Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (1/31/12)
The Shins - Port of Morrow (March 2012)
Air - Le Voyage Dans La Lune (2/7/12)
Andrew Bird - Break it Yourself (3/6/12)
Dr. Dog - Be The Void (2/7/12)


TBAs 
Sigur Ros
Phoenix
Cat Power
Frank Ocean
The xx
Animal Collective
Grizzly Bear
The Walkmen
Yeasayer
Vampire Weekend
Local Natives


Crossing Fingers
Modest Mouse
Outkast
Kanye West

Lana Del Rey

Look out for Lana Del Rey in early 2012.  Her debut album Born to Die will be released at the end of January, and if the singles she released in 2011 are any indicator, it'll be one of the first great records of the year.  Del Rey, born Elizabeth Grant, is from Lake Placid, NY and the daughter of a millionaire investor.  She has a Cat Power-ish voice and the look to be a big star going forward.

"Video Games"

"Blue Jeans"

Born to Die - out 1/31/2012, Interscope Records

Album Review: Real Estate - Days

The great thing about year-end lists is finding albums that you didn't get around to listening to.  Here's Days, a fantastic second album by the band based in Brooklyn, NY.  This city is the new hot bed of indie talent which includes The National, MGMT, Yeasayer, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, TV on the Radio, LCD Soundsystem, Interpol, et al.  Real Estate creates simplistic, soothing indie pop in a Shins-like way.  It's definitely a laid back, chill record for nights hanging around the house or on a lazy drive.

"It's Real"

"Out of Tune"

"Easy"

LCD Soundsystem - You Wanted a Hit

Here's the track that inspired the title of this blog.  LCD Soundsystem is the brainchild of James Murphy, a long time DJ, musician, producer, and co-owner of DFA records.  The band released 3 fantastic albums beginning in 2005 before officially calling it quits in 2011.  "You Wanted a Hit" is part of the critically acclaimed third album, This is Happening.  It's a song about being authentic and not letting popularity/others sway you in decisions and creativity.


Boom.

Artists We Lost Too Soon: Jeff Buckley

To honor my new chocolate lab Buckley, I thought I'd write about an musician that we didn't get to hear enough of.

Jeff Buckley, a California native, was a gift to the music world even though he only recorded one proper album. Blessed with an angelic voice and great guitar playing ability, he was a combination of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Yes, he was that good. Buckley's sole album, Grace, is considered one of the best of all time. He died in 1997 by accidental drowning in Memphis, TN while recording his follow-up to the debut record. I don't need to say much more, so I'll quote some of the best musicians on their opinions of the man.

"Both songs are beautiful (Lilac Wine, James Shelton, and Corpus Christi Carol by Benjamin Britten). It's my tribute to Jeff. The record he has left is very emotional, very beautiful. An intriguing work, challenging. Using only his voice, he reaches regions (of) unimaginable feeling. But, while recording the songs he chose for himself, I am not stealing it because they are two very different visions. I think he would approve. I have the impression that Jeff Buckley, although he had a very brief passage through life, has become something like Jimi Hendrix, whose presence remains forever."

- Jeff Beck (legendary guitarist and musician)


"Technically he was the best singer that appeared, that had appeared, probably, I'm not being too liberal about this if I say in two decades. I started to play Grace constantly, constantly and the more, the more I listened to the album, the more, the more I heard -- the more I appreciated of Jeff and Jeff's talents and Jeff's total ability to which he was just a wizard and it was close to being my favorite album of the decade. We actually made a point of going to hear him play and seeing and it was absolutely scary. One of the things is a little frightening was that I was convinced that he probably did things in tunings and he didn't. He was doing things in standard tuning. I thought, oh gee he really is clever isn't he ? He quite clearly had his feet on the ground and he said his imagination was flying, flying way, way out there, beyond, beyond. Jeff Buckley was one of the greatest losses of all."

- Jimmy Page (lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin)

"You mentioned two spectacular vocalists there (Jeff Buckley and Freddie Mercury) I mean, both of whom had much better chops than me. I mean real great, great singers. Jeff Buckley's voice. I was playing with Jimmy in the mid 90s when we were working with an Egyptian ensemble and we played a festival in Switzerland and Jeff Buckley was playing and we went to see him and it was mind altering, his voice. Spectacular singing and so much conviction."

- Robert Plant (lead singer of Led Zeppelin)

"Kurt was fairly quiet and introverted most of the time. Jeff was the opposite. He was very much full of life and had a lot to say. He was somebody in love with experiencing everything. Within a very short time, he had all these famous old rock stars coming to his shows, which put a lot of pressure on him. People talked about his concerts the way they used to talk about Hendrix. They'd sit there, wide-eyed, telling you stories about him. He definitely had an aura. It's impossible to say what it is exactly a guy like that has, that is so attractive to other people. But he had more of it than anyone I had ever met."

- Chris Cornell (lead singer of Soundgarden)

"I had this really interesting whispering vibrato. It sounded so intimate and spiritual and ethereal, and it reminded me of Jeff a bit. I think I can sing with just about anybody, but he's one of the few singers who truly intimidates me. He's one of the best I've ever heard."

- John Legend (R&B Artist)

"The last few records that I bought that I really enjoyed... Jeff Buckley. It wailed me. I was, like, walking around in tears, just so grateful that I discovered this record."
- Steve Vai (legendary guitarist and musician)

"Jeff Buckley was a pure drop in an ocean of noise."

- Bono (lead singer of U2)

"Grace"

"Mojo Pin" - Live from Glastonbury

"Satisfied Mind" - Johnny Cash Cover

Mini-documentary on Jeff Buckley feat. Chris Cornell of Soundgarden

Happy New Year - Hendrix-style

Here's a festive track by the late, great Jimi Hendrix.  A legendary 12/31/69 Band of Gypsys performance at the Fillmore East in New York City.  Have a safe and happy new year everyone.

"Auld Lang Syne" - Live at the Fillmore East 12/31/69


Purchase:

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Fillmore-East-Jimi-Hendrix/dp/B00000I5JT