A Baltimore Based Indie Music Blog
The Walkmen recently put out a video for one of my favorite tracks off of one of last year’s best albums You & Me. “Four Provinces” is made up of a massive series of still photographs that director Bruno Levy shot while in Nepal. It follows a young girl as she travels between the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas’ Annapurna peaks. Pretty grand for an inspiring song. Take a look/listen (via P4Ktv):
mp3: The Walkmen – Four Provinces
Hopefully 2009 will bring you all much peace, love, and happiness. Cheers!
mp3: The Walkmen – In The New Year
mp3: Thrushes – New Years Kiss
mp3: Michael Zapruder – Happy New Year
mp3: Kadman – New Years Day
mp3: Death Cab For Cutie – The New Year
mp3: Audrye Sessions – New Years Day
Before I start this thing off let me just say that I hate making lists. I’m more of a pile person. So you won’t see any numbers in the list of albums, rather my top five followed by my other favorites. So here it goes.
Nada Surf has been a favorite band of mine since their first album (that was a ways back). It’s amazing how much their sound has matured since then, and Lucky truly shows that they’re on top of their game. It’s indie pop rock at it’s best. And they’re killer live!
mp3: Nada Surf – The Fox
Buy Lucky (bonus track version)
For a while there Department Of Eagles’ In Ear Park was all I was listening to. Daniel Rossen and friends put together a gem of an album that took elements of Grizzly Bear and mashed them up with some McCartney-like pop.
mp3: Department Of Eagles – Herring Bone
The Walkmen’s You & Me took them from a band that I casually enjoyed from time to time, to a full on wonder that I try to set aside time to listen to when ever I can. The Walkmen have always had an interesting sound that travels from a dark alleyway to an extravagant cathedral, but You & Me magnifies it even more and leaves me in awe. It’s powerful.
mp3: The Walkmen – On The Water
It’s rare that an album or person lives up to the hype. Lykke Li and her album Youth Novels does just that. I fell in love with her sound quickly then pushed over the edge with her amazing energy that she puts into her live performances. Despite the insane amount of remixes and radio plays, Youth Novels still hasn’t grown old to me and that’s also rare.
mp3: Lykke Li – Little Bit
I can’t quite explain why I took to Glasvegas’ debut S/T album his year. Perhaps it was the Beach Boys/Earth Angel/Smiths halo surrounding their black and white sound that enamored me. It might not have a struck others the same way, but for me this album made an lasting impression.
mp3: Glasvegas – Daddy’s Gone
Those were the main highlights for me, but these albums also brought much joy to me throughout the year:
mp3: Eureka Birds – The Still Life
mp3: Beck – Walls
mp3: Mates Of State – My Only Offer
mp3: The War On Drugs – Taking The Farm
mp3: Ratatat – Mirando
mp3: Wye Oak – Family Glue
mp3: Cadence Weapon – real estate
mp3: Arizona – Ghost
mp3: The Uglysuit – Happy Yellow Rainbow
mp3: TV On The Radio – Golden Age
mp3: Fredrik – 1986
mp3: El Guincho – Palmitos Park
mp3: Friendly Fires – In The Hospital
mp3: Takka Takka – Lion In The Waves
mp3: The Little Ones – Like A Spoke On A Wheel
mp3: Mason Proper – Lock And Key
mp3: Tobacco – Tape Eater
mp3: Arms – Kids Aflame
mp3: Ra Ra Riot – Ghost Under Rocks
mp3: MGMT – Time To Pretend
Of course there was so much good music flowing out this year it was hard to narrow it down. What were your faves?
I’m taking a break from the blog for a few days to concentrate on life, love, family, and food. I hope everyone out there has a holiday full of happiness. I leave you with a small playlist of songs that might not make it into the standard radio station’s wintertime set. Enjoy!
mp3: Bishop Allen – Winter Coat
mp3: Blitzen Trapper – Christmas Is Coming Soon
mp3: Pas/Cal – I Wanna Take you Out In Your Holiday Sweater
mp3: Ugly Cassanova – So Long To The Holidays
mp3: The Pixies – Holiday Song
mp3: The Octopus Project – Exploding Snowhorse
mp3: Mobius Band – Snow on Snow
mp3: School Of Language – Extended Holiday
mp3: The Tough Alliance – Holiday
mp3: The Walkmen – Seven Years Of Holidays (for Stretch)
mp3: Sea Wolf – Winter Windows
Tonight in DC there’s a load of solid shows for you to check out. Darker My Love is at the Rock and Roll Hotel with Strange Boys and Love Is All while Loretta Lynn and Justin Jones play a recently announced show at the 9:30 Club. Across the way in Arlington, VA Iota has a super one with The Modern Skirts and The Old Ceremony. Up north in Philadelphia there’s also a plethora of great shows to see. The Fire has National Eye, The Armchairs, Toy Soldiers, and Tavo Carbone while the Trocadero has Mercury Rev and Dean & Britta. Also the Fillmore at the TLA has an amazing event with The Walkmen, Beach House, and The Subjects while Bang Camaro and Hooray For Earth play the North Star Bar. Finally don’t forget that there’s a stellar show at Johnny Brenda’s with Jukebox the Ghost, Papertrigger, and Exit Clov. Enjoy!
mp3: Love Is All – Felt Tip (Hot Chip Remix)
mp3: National Eye – The Switch
mp3: Toy Soldiers – Wrecking Ball
mp3: The Walkmen – Wake Up
mp3: Beach House – Childhood
mp3: Jukebox The Ghost – Under My Skin
mp3: Exit Clov – MK Ultra
mp3: Hooray For Earth – Party
Photo by Lippe.
Beach House have just released their new video (p4ktv) for “Used To Be” off of their 7″ single they put out this past October. The video, directed by Matt Amato, is a beautifully shot desolate western traveler that feels so distant from the chill in the air right now. Quite amazing though. Check it:
mp3: Beach House – Used To Be
Beach House has also announced a string of dates through December and January, some of which include The Walkmen on the bill. Now that’s an awesome line up!
Dec. 06 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts*
Dec. 09 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Dec. 10 Providence, RI Club Hell #
Dec. 11 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Music Hall #
Dec. 12 Boston, MA Museum of Fine Arts #
Jan. 19 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern*
Jan. 20 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda*
Jan. 21 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
Jan. 23 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom*
Jan. 24 Seattle, WA Neumos*
* = w/ The Walkmen
# = w/ Tickley Feather
Tonight in DC the 9:30 club has the show of the night with The Walkmen and Golem. Also in DC are Liam Finn and The Veils who play the Rock and Roll Hotel. In Philly the Mann Center for the Performing Arts has Ben Folds while the North Star Bar has Cheers Elephant, The New Connection, and Reno Subject. Photo by Rob Levin
mp3: The Walkmen – In The New Year
mp3: Liam Finn – Second Chance
mp3: The Veils – Advice For Young Mothers To Be
mp3: Cheers Elephant – Here We Are
mp3: Ben Folds – The Luckiest
After the Walkmen’s debut, Everyone Who Pretends To Like Me Is Gone (2002), many, including myself, became fans of a band who didn’t have a sound that came straight at you — rather it surrounded you with an ambush of soaring indie rock goodness. Since then I’ve sort of lost track of them. I know I have Bows & Arrows (2004), A Hundred Miles Off (2006), and even Pussy Cats (2006), and I remember enjoying each one…but they’ve all faded into the depths of my musical mind…seemingly lost forever. Now there’s their new album You and Me, which was put up for sale at Amie Street for a mere $5 with all the proceeds going towards the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. It’s always nice to see a socially conscious band, but it’s even better when the music is great. More like fantastic…or phenomenal. Remember when Iron & Wine put out The Shepherd’s Dog last year, and you really felt they pushed themselves to make a complex and rewarding album. It succeeded and as a result it was atop many best of lists at the end of the year. That’s where You and Me is headed…the top. Everything comes together for the Walkmen on You and Me. The production (love the bass heavy strings and echoing vocals on On The Water), the vocals of Hamilton Leithauser (that have Dylan lurking somewhere in their shadows), and the overall fervent performance throughout the album meld together into a world of pain and passion – the lifeblood of powerful music.
mp3: The Walkmen – On The Water
mp3: The Walkmen – Four Provinces
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