the temper trap

a few short weeks ago in march, i was lucky enough to catch the temper trap (darker my love as their opener) at a sold-out show at the henry fonda/music box. i'm still trying to figure out how to explain their sound (mostly because i am limited to references to music of the late 90's and early 2000's), but their live show was really chill and superb.

after a little internet sleuthing, i think i've got it figured out.  i can't help but compare the temper trap's sound to possibly a better version of switchfoot (the epic, sweeping-ness of it all) and new radicals (specifically "you get what you give"). thanks, a walk to remember soundtrack.  please note that any and all comparisons are not based on scientific observation or experimentation. sometimes these things are inexplicable.



you can see a few photos from the show here (credit: jaime's flickr).  jaime has started a new blog: http://ampersandblues.blogspot.com/ so i'd like to formally welcome her to the blogosphere and urge you to follow her posts!

watch two of their songs "sweet disposition" and "fader" performed stripped down @ this year's SXSW (via tripwire).

[the temper trap - sweet disposition]


[the temper trap - fader]


andddd... a few remaining tour dates for april:
April
8 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Club
9 Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
10 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
12 Dallas, TX @ Pontiac Garage at HOB
13 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
15 Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse
17 Indio, CA @ Coachella
19 Solana Beach, CA @ The Belly Up

i only want one night

both videos severely confuse me. only one makes me laugh, though. in the battle of WTFery, which would you choose?

Hot Chip - I Feel Better (click-through for the actual vid which is un-embeddable)

an short interview w/ the director of the "i feel better" video, peter serafinowicz, can be found here @ pitchfork.

MGMT - Flash Delirium

MGMT | MySpace Music Videos

idolator, you, me, and everyone else agree: this vid is bananas.

via @angusjuliastone - album preview & us tour dates

you can still stream angus and julia stone's album down the way on their KCRW's album preview page here.  they're a brother-sister duo from sydney, australia. the preview will be up until april 20th (a few more weeks), so listen up while you can.

and from their blog:

TICKET LINKS WILL GO UP ON MONDAY..!

Wed, May 26 Hollywood, CA @ Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Sun, May 30 Montreal, QC @ L’Astral

Wed, June 2 Toronto, ON @ Revival

Tues, June 8 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall

(so far, i haven't seen anything about ticket links. give me a holler/comment if you know something i don't!)
eta 4/6/10: found the link for the hollywood show!

[angus and julia stone - big jet plane]

we're half awake in a fake empire

good morning, y'all! even though i'm not stoked about the fact that i JUST washed my car on saturday after months of build-up and grime (because i'm lazy and keeping my car clean is not really a pastime of mine), i've been waiting for it to rain for about a week. pretty refreshing... except i think it is officially storming now. yikes. stay safe on the roads, angelinos.

so, a long time ago, my bff marg told me i would love the national and obviously, she was right. so MY BAD for not listening earlier.  i've heard a few songs, but this is my favorite.  appreciate!

[the national - fake empire on letterman july 24, 2007]


as you can see... i am attempting to update more often.

RCRD LBL track - help i'm alive (the twelves remix)

ok, so i don't love EVERYTHING that's ever posted on rcrdlbl.com, but i do love being able to sample and d/l a lot of their stuff, whether it be remixes or original songs. woo!

freelance whales @ the echo tonight

very very excited to check out freelance whales tonight. my friend jaime posted a video of them playing in the NY subway stations awhile back, and i was smitten. they remind me of a dreamy postal service + owl city/hellogoodbye (done proper) + folk (arcade fire-esque). and i kid you not, sometimes they remind me of the sounds that whales make. in a good way. not killer whales though (too soon?). try not to visualize dory from finding nemo doing her impression of a whale, b/c that's NOT what i meant.

eta: after hearing their live show, i think the whale sounds were purposeful. so all is good and/or i just stated a lot of obvious things.

i've been a better tumblr-er than a blogger lately. you can follow me here for daily absurdities, inanities, and amusements... courtesy of moi.

i have a few updates from a couple of shows i attended in march (the early strike showcase @ swinghouse studios & darker my love/the temper trap @ the fonda), but that'll have to wait. i also took some photos @ the jack's mannequin show @ the viper room in feb, but am not sure how i feel about them (the photos, not the band). that's neither here nor there.. this weekend, i've got something corporate @ bamboozle left (squee) with angie comin' in to visit! my first scheduled show for april is LIGHTS who is opening for owl city at a SOLD OUT club nokia show on april 9th. major thanks to mad cao for getting me a ticket!

and with that, i need to outro b/c my hair needs to be flat-ironed. xo

RCRD LBL Track - Dog Days Are Over (Breakage Remix)

dining room domination

[vampire weekend "en el comedor de mi casa!!!"]


barcelona, spain. source

we are the pretty, petty thieves

i'm not too knowledgeable about the moz, but i adore "first of the gang." i heard a cover of the song on the radio and HAD to know who sang it: ZEE AVI.

how lovely is this:
[Zee Avi performs "First Of The Gang To Die" @ Fingerprints Music]

Morrissey's original is a catchy tune propelled along with the traditional mix of electric guitars, drums, and that unmistakable croon. Avi took the song and stripped it down with just her voice and a lone acoustic guitar in a rendition that--dare I say--is even more sweet and tender (no hooligan here) than the original. (source)

you can check out her morning becomes eclectic session from last may here, see footage of her performing the song in singapore here, and listen to the album version of her cover (along with a few other covers by noah & the whale, nouvelle vague, etc.) here. the MBE session is definitely worth checking out-- the cover of morrissey (or interpol for that matter) isn't the only amazing thing she does; she has plenty of original material where she draws from a medley of different influences. def worth your time.

when i walk, i touch the sky

[lucy schwartz - gravity music vid]

ABOUT THE VIDEO:
Gravity, is a colorful fantasy told through interpretive dance and filmed under the light of an old carousel slide projector. Directed by Cooper Roberts.

rpattz is bothered

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

weekend edition

thursday: invited to an event @ the w called the modern mai tai experience. a genuine hawaii/o'ahu mixologist was flown out to the event where he (joey) served some very fancy schmancy drinks, including "the world's first smoked mai tai/drink." yes... literally, smoke comes out of this tube into the martini shaker, and the whole drink is shaken (not stirred, ucwidt).

yes, that is caramelized/brulee'd pineapple you see on the drink. it was incredible, as were a few of the other drinks i tasted - a chi (similar to a pina colada with basil leaves) and a drink which shall remain nameless, because i don't remember it (a sake martini, which was fondly referred to as "like fruity gatorade, but better."). snacked on some appetizers, ran into some work ppl & sneakily (or not so sneakily) tweeted about seeing DJ Skeet Skeet there (who, incidentally, is a prolific tweeter, non-drinker, and nice dude, at least from what i gather).

friday: the last day of my internship. in-n-out lunches. coincidentally, the hawaiian girls DJing last night's event, hot muffins, made an office visit, so i got to meet them-- super sweet. total dawson's creek-esque soundtrack moment with this as my goodbye song:

[james blunt - goodbye my lover music vid]

i know, ~dramatic. i loled too.

saturday - sunday: i avoid weekends like the plague. 'nuff said.

all in all, this whole chillaxed hawaii thing makes me wonder how lawyers even function over there. like... the atty culture so COUNTER to the hawaiian culture. thoughts for another day.

HELLO, MARCH.

the runaways

so, don't kill me, but i find kstew & dakota more convincing as joan jett & cherie currie of the runaways than rpattz playing a new yorker in remember me. though it may just be the case that i'm easily influenced by the epic wardrobe in the runaways... does that make me a bad rpattz fan?? I HOPE NOT.

[the runaways movie - tv spot]

unhappy hipsters

Alligator

Tegan and Sara | MySpace Music Videos

[vampire weekend - giving up the gun music vid]

oic what VW did thar, with the japanese in the beginning. i watched it again, and i still don't get it. great song, though.

and last but not least: unhappy hipsters.

scavenger hunt for sxsw badges!

the band midlake is treating their Austin (TX) fans to a unique scavenger hunt opportunity to win SXSW badges to catch the band at their showcase at the 2010 SXSW Music, Interactive, and Film Conference. for more info, check back with FILTER's original post.

The details are simple, Austinites. Follow FILTER on Twitter. Throughout the next few days, promotion details will come rolling through. Each day, a new landmark will be revealed. Get yourself to it, @reply to FILTER with a photo of you at the locale with #midlakesxsw, and that's it! The first person or team with all 10 landmarks correctly identified will win an awesome local prize pack containing a year's worth of free haircuts from Bird's Barbershop, $25 in gift certificates from P. Terrys Burger Stand, free movies from Alamo Drafthouse, a prize pack from Sweet Leaf Tea, a Midlake prize pack, AND two ever-so-coveted SXSW music badges.

three clues have already been released since last tuesday, the 16th, so get on it. may the best fan win.

i promised i'd never sing of love if it does not exist

i actually like the video more than the song... hayley's makeup in the valentines shot is v. pretty.

[paramore - the only exception music vid]

get back loretta @theviperroom

freebie time: RSVP & post your full name on the wall of the FB event page (or fan + message them, i'm not sure which is more effective) for get back loretta @ the viper room this thursday, jan. 28th.

MAYBE DAVE GROHL WILL BE THERE.

on an unrelated note-- though related in the sense that it is moar awesome music-- here's a video treat (via jaime)!
[freelance whales - generator 1st floor]

lucy schwartz - gravity

tomorrow night, i'll be checking out this lovely lady, lucy schwartz, who is having her record release show @ hotel café. her EP help me! help me! just came out on iTunes today.

this might be my first show of 2010 (is it? can anyone confirm?), so i'm excited to dip my toes back into the scene with a smaller show. lucy's only 20 years old (in the meantime, i'm turning 27 -- OH THE HORROR -- at the end of the week; presents are of course welcome; and yes, everything in this blog is always about me) and she's got an impressive resumé already: she's crafting original songs, opening and closing credits to films, and having her music synced to various tv shows. she's also been featured on KCRW (where i first heard her, actually) & has been dubbed an "emerging artist to watch."

you can d/l a track for FREE here. free is my favorite number, y'all. speaking of free... what are you guys doing on thursday night? stay tuned.

hot chip will break your legs, snap off your head

hello all... MLK weekend is upon us. hopefully y'all have some fun and/or restful plans in store.

lately, i've been a homebody. a lot of job applying, buffy s2 watching (i'm on the last 2 episodes!), reading (outliers by malcolm gladwell), clearly -not- blogging, working, getting my 8+ hours of sleep. I'M BORING. it's the dangers of turning 27.

[miike snow - silvia music vid]

hate to say this, but "silvia" totes should've been on the New Moon soundtrack (which was given to me for the law school edition of secret santa). please don't kill me.

also: saw the vid for "feel it in my bones" by tiesto feat. tegan & sara. holy cow, that song was amazing. but the internetz gods were angry and took it down.... boo. but in other news of videos-that-haven't-been-taken-down (but are un-embeddable): hot chip's "one life stand." what a jaunty and excellent song!

finally, please sign up to volunteer for KCRW’s Winter Subscription Drive 2010. it's pretty much the only radio station worth listening to.

so everybody put your best suit or dress on

what's up, people of the partying variety? first post of 2010. i know you're as excited as i am...

inquiring minds (read: me) need to know: is this ryan ross @ cinespace tuesdays? please to confirm or deny. if it is him (i mean, the choice of wardrobe seems fairly dead-on), then i can't believe i missed it (read: him)!