Showing posts with label Jon Pareles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jon Pareles. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Astro "Ciervos"
[mp3] Astro "Ciervos"
We had been hearing a lot bubbling up about Chilean electro-pop outfit Astro, but hadn't checked them out until we caught Pareles' write up about them Sunday in the NYT playlist. Their self-titled album (out now) is a delectable sampling of modern synth sounds and South American melodies that call to mind a more straight edge El Guincho. Here's the video for "Ciervos" above.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tonight: Wild Beasts and Roman Candle
[mp3] Roman Candle: "They Say"
Headliners (8:30 p.m.), the Wild Beasts just received a positive review from Jon Pareles in today's New York Times to go along with their Best New Music tag from Pitchfork. The best part about this English group is that they pretty much deserve all of the accolades they've been receiving. Pareles drew out all the accurate references the 'Beasts draw from, most notably Dirty Projectors, New Order and, of course, the Talking Heads. The Wild Beasts' new record Two Dancers runs the gamut from dark, brooding, English melodies, to more sharp and pointed dance-rock. Two Dancers came out on Tuesday via Domino. Wild Beasts played Joe's Pub on Tuesday, Mercury tonight and Union Pool tomorrow.
Rounding out tonight’s oddly pared bill is openers Roman Candle (7:30 p.m), the smart Nashville-based pop-infused indie rockers who come equipped with more than a tinge of southern roots. Their extremly well-crafted songs are light and generally quite plesant. Exhibiting all the latter in fine form, Roman Candle's recent release, Oh Tall Tree in the Ear, is a crisp and entertaining record reflecting the true genuine qualities of this hardworking and simply put, extremely nice band -- they are great guys (and gal) that put out a good record and are bound to put on a great performance.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Secrets of "Graceland" Revealed
Much has been made of, and many have debated the ideas behind what Jon Pareles famously coined as "cultural imperialism" in his Rolling Stone review of David Byrne and Brian Eno's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. "Does this global village have two way traffic?" Pareles asked. Paul Simon's famous 1986 album Graceland has fallen under the same attacks from many critical circles. Where does musical idea sharing end, and straight up stylistic plagiarism begin? Is there even a line at all? It's a complicated issue, with no real answers. Of course, musicians have lifted ideas and styles from each other from the beginning of time. It happens. Yet, it's wrong for anyone to believe that Paul Simon invented the styles of music at play on Graceland. Conversely, Paul Simon never claimed to have done so. Hm. See? Complicated. See what all this has to do with the above album after the jump.
So, what can we do to combat the idea and practice of "cultural imperialism" if it even exists?The answer, is to simply shine light upon, and promote the artists who helped develop the styles popularized in the West by artists such as Byrne and Simon. To show readers that artists had been playing stylized African-pop long before Graceland came out. Never have the styles embodied on Graceland been so apparent than on this collection called The Indestructible Beat of Soweto. It's an amazing amalgamation of the genres, songs and beats popularized in the 70s and 80s in the Soweto region of Africa. Oh yeah, and it sounds EXACTLY like Graceland. Get it today, before summer's over. A big thanks to Aquarium Drunkard for posting on this yesterday.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Monday Morning Aggregation
We're still processing a big weekend of music and sun including an amazing Crocodiles show at Pianos on Saturday night... so for now, enjoy some work that other folks have done.
Jon Pareles gives a nice take on the fantastic new Felice Brothers record in the New York Times today. Yonder Is the Clock comes out this Tuesday... certainly should be on the top of any 4/7 shopping list. Read the review HERE.
Our new friend at the fantastic Microphone Memory Emotion has a review of Brooklyn's Tanlines and the cumbia explosion that was the Zizek show on Saturday at Santos Party House. Check it out HERE.
The beleagured myspace music is featuring the much buzzed about new record from the Doves that comes out tomorrow. Stream the whole album HERE.
Phoenix played SNL. Phoenix's new record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix comes out May 26th. For what it's worth, the record has been far from impressing us of late. Check out "Lisztomania" HERE and "1901" HERE. They also played their most popular tune (ok, also maybe one of their best) "Too Young" during the credits.
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted has a effusive review of the new St. Vincent record Actor, which leaked this weekend. Certainly looking forward to hearing that. Read the review HERE.
Jon Pareles gives a nice take on the fantastic new Felice Brothers record in the New York Times today. Yonder Is the Clock comes out this Tuesday... certainly should be on the top of any 4/7 shopping list. Read the review HERE.
Our new friend at the fantastic Microphone Memory Emotion has a review of Brooklyn's Tanlines and the cumbia explosion that was the Zizek show on Saturday at Santos Party House. Check it out HERE.
The beleagured myspace music is featuring the much buzzed about new record from the Doves that comes out tomorrow. Stream the whole album HERE.
Phoenix played SNL. Phoenix's new record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix comes out May 26th. For what it's worth, the record has been far from impressing us of late. Check out "Lisztomania" HERE and "1901" HERE. They also played their most popular tune (ok, also maybe one of their best) "Too Young" during the credits.
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted has a effusive review of the new St. Vincent record Actor, which leaked this weekend. Certainly looking forward to hearing that. Read the review HERE.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
CMJ Hangover 2008: The Best
FRIENDLY FIRES
We caught the Friendly Fires twice during CMJ and they were clearly one of the best we saw all week. We have one Ms. Lucy Wood to thank for getting us out to the Annex on Wednesday to catch the UK quartet in action. They did not disappoint. Blending the best from bands such as Hot Chip and Radiohead (at their most rock and roll,) the Friendly Fires brought passion, great songs, great voices and excellent musicianship to the stage. With heavy use of cowbells, an alternate percussion set and various electronic keyboard elements, the Fires created pulsing-dance-rock; their sound was surprisingly much larger than one would expect from a quartet. We loved them so much we made sure to haul ass to get to Pianos by 3 pm to see them again at the Brooklyn Vegan day party. Although it took them a bit longer to get warmed up (I mean it was 3) they eventually brought the intensity to match the show the evening before. We ran into lead NY Times music writer Jon Parales during the show, and even Mr. Parales let on that the Friendly Fires, were one of, if not THE best thing he had seen at CMJ to date. Although it's hard to judge the buzz during the actual marathon, we received text messages and emails all telling us to make sure we caught them. Hopefully they can ride their CMJ successes to bigger things in the upcoming year. The Friendly Fires self titled record is out now on XL. LIVE VIDEO FROM LEVI'S/FADER FORT AFTER THE JUMP.
AUDRYE SESSIONS
The best thing about the week of shows during CMJ is accidentally stumbling upon a band on the brink of the big time, when no one else seems to be watching. We found ourselves at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday night to catch Shugo Tokumaru and Cory Chisel at the Sony showcase. After great sets from Chisel and Tokumaru, California new-comers Audrye Sessions took the stage. After a slow start, they brought on various guest musicians forming a small chamber ensemble (strings and wind) to complement their quartet. From there things took off. The results were a blend of sweeping U2- style arena-rock, mixed with an infusion of Oasis pop songwriting. While maybe not our personal favorites, Audrye Sessions is clearly a band with a skyward trajectory. Signed to the new Sony imprint Black Seal headed by trusted industry veteran Matt Shay, Audrye sessions are a market ready band with the image, money, and music to make a true push into the mainstream. They have an EP coming this fall and a full length planned for Januray 2009. It will be interesting to see what comes from a band with this much potential in a market-place still plagued with challenges.
We caught the Friendly Fires twice during CMJ and they were clearly one of the best we saw all week. We have one Ms. Lucy Wood to thank for getting us out to the Annex on Wednesday to catch the UK quartet in action. They did not disappoint. Blending the best from bands such as Hot Chip and Radiohead (at their most rock and roll,) the Friendly Fires brought passion, great songs, great voices and excellent musicianship to the stage. With heavy use of cowbells, an alternate percussion set and various electronic keyboard elements, the Fires created pulsing-dance-rock; their sound was surprisingly much larger than one would expect from a quartet. We loved them so much we made sure to haul ass to get to Pianos by 3 pm to see them again at the Brooklyn Vegan day party. Although it took them a bit longer to get warmed up (I mean it was 3) they eventually brought the intensity to match the show the evening before. We ran into lead NY Times music writer Jon Parales during the show, and even Mr. Parales let on that the Friendly Fires, were one of, if not THE best thing he had seen at CMJ to date. Although it's hard to judge the buzz during the actual marathon, we received text messages and emails all telling us to make sure we caught them. Hopefully they can ride their CMJ successes to bigger things in the upcoming year. The Friendly Fires self titled record is out now on XL. LIVE VIDEO FROM LEVI'S/FADER FORT AFTER THE JUMP.AUDRYE SESSIONS
The best thing about the week of shows during CMJ is accidentally stumbling upon a band on the brink of the big time, when no one else seems to be watching. We found ourselves at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday night to catch Shugo Tokumaru and Cory Chisel at the Sony showcase. After great sets from Chisel and Tokumaru, California new-comers Audrye Sessions took the stage. After a slow start, they brought on various guest musicians forming a small chamber ensemble (strings and wind) to complement their quartet. From there things took off. The results were a blend of sweeping U2- style arena-rock, mixed with an infusion of Oasis pop songwriting. While maybe not our personal favorites, Audrye Sessions is clearly a band with a skyward trajectory. Signed to the new Sony imprint Black Seal headed by trusted industry veteran Matt Shay, Audrye sessions are a market ready band with the image, money, and music to make a true push into the mainstream. They have an EP coming this fall and a full length planned for Januray 2009. It will be interesting to see what comes from a band with this much potential in a market-place still plagued with challenges.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Opposites Attract? Johansson and Waits
The computer keyboard seems foreign to me today, whereas I haven't posted in a fortnight or so. Since my last piece on the fizzled Hold Steady show, I have been to Florence and am now taking up residence in Nashville for the summer.
To the business at hand: Scarlett Johansson’s renditions of classic Tom Waits tunes on Anywhere I Lay My Head. I felt obligated to at least mention this unique release from Johansson because everyone else in the industry is doing so. Jon Pareles placed the album on his Times playlist, Stereogum covered it, and Paste Magazine put her on the cover.
Anywhere builds on contradictions. On one hand, you have the beautiful, young actress who starred in The Horse Whisper, then you have Waits -- does he really need explanation? Somehow, Johansson finds a middle ground on the record, making it not prophetically good, but not bad. Pareles praised producer David Steik (TV On The Radio) for the major success of the album.
Johansson finds a comfort zone on songs such as "Falling Down," but her vocal abilities ultimately lack the range needed to fulfill all the raspy, yet tonally-sound nuances of Waits. Give credit where credit is due; Johansson takes risks on this album, as would any artist attempting a Waits compilation. However, the low points on the record are over shadowed by the more fulfilling and developed tunes. It's hard to get Waits right, but any attempt is bold and should be commended.
Listen HERE
INDIANA JONES COUNTDOWN: 4 Days
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