Kanye and Spike Jonze's "We Were Once a Fairytale"

"We Were Once A Fairytale" - Kanye West Dir: Spike Jonze on Vimeo.

expect more.

New P.O.S. Video

The fourth video from P.O.S.'s latest release, Never Better, premeared in mtvU. Love the Building Better Bombs cameo. Check it here:

http://www.mtvu.com/video/?vid=406317

New Eyedea & Abilities

One of the most talented duos in the history of independent hip-hop are releasing their first album in five years this July. Out on 7.21, By The Throat promises to be even better than 2004's incredible E&A.

Need a taste to believe me? Download "The Story" HERE. DJ Abilities has crafted one of the best beats I've heard in ages, it's worth the right-click.

Check Eyedea and Abilities at Soundset this Sunday (for those lucky enough to be in the Twin Cities), and look for info here on a fall tour.

Stophouse - Recession Music

Gringo shared this with me a few days ago and I thought it should be shared here.

Rappers St. Paul Slim and Prof have teamed up to create a record called Recession Music. It's good. Some of the cockier songs are a little too much, but that's just me. I'm not interested in hearing about how great a rapper thinks he or she is. Songs like "Fire", "A Month From Now" and "Motor" are really great though. Download it for free (because of the recession, see?) here.

Animal Collective Own

Animal Collective - "Summertime Clothes" (Live on Letterman)

Sweet Videos

Music is good, even in Thailand.

Check out the cool facial expressions of St. Vincent:
"Actor Out of Work"


The Thermals - "Now We Can See"


Dirty Projectors - "Knotty Pine" (with info on the Dark Was The Night comp)


F. Stokes - So Into U - (DIRTY)


Tegan and Sara - "Dancing In the Streets" (Bruce Springsteen Cover)


Dessa of Doomtree in MPR


P.O.S. "Optimist" Live at SXSW
SPIN - SXSW 2009 - P.O.S. Performs "Optimist"

gringo Done Made Some More Music...

...only, in music circles, he goes by My Own Monster.

Download The Asia Demos HERE

Download 2008's The Gringo Demos HERE

Add his MySpace HERE

He'd like to eat HERE

P.O.S. Releases 2nd of Six Videos From His New Album

Check:

"Optimist"

Internet Radjio vol. 2

Hello, Friends! Timmy Troubadour comin' atchya... I posted in October about my radio show, North Star Music. I host this show for an hour a week and it is now at a new time. 8PM, Sunday nights I will be hosting this show, devoted to exploring the music of the Midwest, especially Minnesota.

Here's the link: KSTO, St. Olaf College Radio.

New Record Store

Attention lovers of music, and especially lovers of vinyl! Despite the economic recession a new record store is opening up in Northeast Minneapolis. Shuga Records will open it's doors in late May or early June and will carry records and CDs, editioned art, and books among other things.

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Shuga-Records
www.shugarecords.com
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1187137228&ref=ts

I've heard some hatin' on the store, but I won't judge until I set foot inside.

New Mike Doughty Video

It's funny. Check it.

"Put It Down"

Unacceptable

I don't mean to use this blog as a place to wax political, especially after an unexplained month and a half hiatus, but I simply cannot remain silent about this issue.

In 2oo3 the Dixie Chicks critiqued the President of the United States saying, "We do not want this war, this violence...". As a result, piles of their CDs were crushed by a bulldozer, and threats against the lives of the band members were made.

In 2oo9, allegations were made against musician Chris Brown that he had abused his girlfriend, Rihanna. Teenagers in this country responded by calling it "justified".

It is absolutely unacceptable that in this nation we turn on, and even threaten with violence, artists, who fight stereotypes and promote peace, but support artists who abuse those close to them. A friend of mine pointed out that women in Iran are speaking up against domestic abuse while in our country we call abuse "funny". It's sick

New Atmosphere Videos

An alternate video for Atmosphere's second single off of 2008's When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold has surfaced. Check it below, then click this link to see a video for "Glass House" off the same album by the same director.

Atmosphere - "You"

Grammy Performance Recap

M.I.A., Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and T.I - "Swagga Like Us"


Radiohead (feat. the USC Marching Band) - "15 Step"


Coldplay (feat. Jay-Z) - "Lost"


Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl - "I Saw Her Standing There"


Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - "Rich Woman" and "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)


Lil Wayne (feat. Robin Thicke) - "Tie My Hands"


Neil Diamond - "Sweet Caroline"

Some Videos to Tide You Over

So I'm in Thailand right now, which I hope will help to explain my absence from this blog (keep up with my adventures here). As for the Troubadour's disappearance, well, you gotta talk to him about that. Anyway, watch these for now.

P.O.S. "Drumroll" (the first of 6 videos recorded in 6 days for his upcoming Never Better)


Animal Collective "My Girls"


Muja Messiah "Red Rover"


Bruce Springsteen and Melissa Etheridge "Thunder Road"


Preview of new Lil Wayne rock album Rebirth (which includes a preview of "Prom Queen," maybe the worst song in existence)

New Peter, Bjorn & John Song Leaked By Ye Himself

Download: Peter, Bjorn & John - "Nothing to Worry About"

Indie's 2007 sensation Peter, Bjorn & John have a new record coming out, called Living Thing, on March 31st. Now I'll admit, I found "Young Folks" pretty annoying (in my mind, Andrew Bird is one of very few people who can pull off whistling). But a new track has surfaced from the upcoming release, titled "Nothing to Worry About," and I kind of dig it. You can download it at the top of this post. The track was leaked by none other than genre-whore yet fairly talented dude Kanye West. Think that relationship is strange? Check the video below.

Talk! Talk! An open discussion about the business of music

(click to enlarge)

This coming Tuesday, January 13th, former Small Towns Burn A Little Slower guitarist and current head of Brontosaurus Forever Promoting Tommy Rehbein will be hosting a conversation on the music industry. The lineup features many talented musicians from the Twin Cities area, including Motion City Soundtrack frontman Justin Pierre, as well as other promoters and generally knowledged people. It goes down at The Beat Coffee Shop, which can be found at 1414 West 28th Street in Minneapolis. Admission is free with the purchase of a drink and questions are encouraged. If you've got the time, show up.

gringo's Top Ten Albums of 2008

It's that time of year again, so check it.

10) Bowerbirds - Hymns for a Dark Horse
With a voice eerily similar to Elvis Perkins accompanied by acoustic guitaring reminiscent to old roots style folk music, Raleigh’s Phil Moore and company love to infuse accordion and autoharp into their already gothic tinted music. Their debut full length, Hymns for a Dark Horse, is filled with spooky sounds and imagery sang by the trio of vocalists and multi-instrumentalists that make up the band.
Best Track: “In Our Talons”

9) The Dø - A Mouthful
Vocalist Olivia B.Merilahti breaks every rule on The Do’s (pronounced Doe, like the first note of the do-re-mi scale) debut album A Mouthful. She scats, misses notes, plays with scales that, according to the music making textbook should not work, yet in doing so manages to create one of the jazziest pop albums in ages. Hailing from France and Finland, B.Merilahti and collaborator Dan Levy infuse everything from New Orleans street jazz and African tribal drums to cabaret and mandolin to craft an album that truly sounds varied from track to track. Collectively, it works better than most.
Best Track: “Stay (just a little bit more)”

8) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
I may be winning the award for the lowest Fleet Foxes has appeared on any top albums list by placing them at 8, but that’s just how it’s going to be. The fact is, this is a phenomenal album, crafted with tons of attention to harmony and ambiance and honestly, I would have placed it higher had Bon Iver not broken the ground on the earthy-folk genre last year. It just isn’t as innovative of an album as it would have been last year. That doesn’t take away from how good it is, so if you haven’t jumped on their bandwagon yet, get a move on.
Best Track: “White Winter Hymnal”

7) Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornados)
Up until 2008, Cloud Cult’ innovative blend of indie, rock, folk, and electronica had been giving the gloomy tint of family tragedy within the band. However, as lead singer and songwriter Craig Minowa said this year, it was time to move on. Feel Good Ghosts is an album filled with hope, and though the darker moments still exist, it seems as though there is the ability to triumph. Though initially Minowa had announced that this could be the end of Cloud Cult, the national attention this album has gained has, according to him, rejuvenated the band. Let’s hope there’s more to come.
Best Track: “Everybody Here Is a Cloud”

6) Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
This girl can do her thing, and I don’t think anybody would argue that. After the success of her non-Rilo Kiley offering with the Watson Twins, Lewis stepped away from them to produce a true solo album. Sort of. Acid Tongue features guest appearances by a virtual Who’s Who of the indie scene. Both M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel (recent fiancé to Mr. Ben Gibbard) of She & Him make separate appearances, as does Vanessa Corbala and Morgan Nagler of Whispertown2000, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, and this guy named Elvis Costello. It’s bluesier than Rabbit Fur Coat, and more stripped down than anything Rilo Kiley’s done.
Best Track: “Pretty Bird”

5) Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
Atmosphere had one hell of a July 2007-April 2008. Releasing four EPs, and two full albums (one a free “party” record, one a proper release), all of new material and including no repeats, not to mention nation and international tours and festival dates, Slug and Ant certainly did their thing. With Lemons, they took things a little slower than on their last studio release, 2005’s You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having. It’s definitely noticeable here, and the craft is far more evident. Lemons was also recorded using a live band, which adds a depth to its sound. Slug’s storytelling is stronger, Ant’s beats a little finer tuned, and the music benefits.
Best Track: “Dreamer”

4) The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Let me preface this by saying, I was not a fan of Broken Boy Soldiers and have never been big on The White Stripes. However, Consolers of the Lonely is blues-rock at its absolute finest, channeling both The Black Crowes and The White Stripes. There’s crunching guitar riffs, catchy lyrics, and sprinkled in between are violins, organs, and group vocals that pull of what Soldiers never could: radio friendly, yet talent inspired blues-rock. Jack White and Brendan Benson share the vocals well, often times trading voices and joining in shout style harmonies. The musicianship is on display throughout the entire record.
Best Track: “Carolina Drama”

3) Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (in English: With Buzzing in Our Ears We Play Endlessly)
Over their last couple albums, Iceland’s Sigur Rós have departed from their ambience driven ethereal roots and have ventured into more traditional territory, exploring folk and rock and roll influences to add to their arsenal. The effects of this are Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, a catchy, upbeat, and a little more listener friendly version of Sigur Rós’ self described slow motion rock. That doesn’t mean it’s understandable. They still use a combination of Icelandic and the band’s own made up language, and shockingly enough, a song in English. The band even uploaded pronunciations of both the album name, as well as the track names onto their MySpace music player. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaustis a quintessential album for music appreciation
Best Track: "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur"

2) Doomtree - Doomtree
Oh did they bring it. In a year where the real Chinese Democracy finally saw the light of day, indie hip-hop’s own mythical beast finally emerged. No, it didn’t take 14 years, and no, it didn’t result in free Dr. Pepper for America. What it did do, however, was reestablish the Doomtree Collective as the most powerful crew to come from Minneapolis since the Headshots Collective spawned Atmosphere. It’s raw in moments and polished in others, intense at times and subtle minutes later. Containing work from all five emcees and four producers, the self titled crew album exploded the way it needed to, with volume and resonance. The best hip-hop record since God Loves Ugly.
Best Track: “The Wren”

1) TV on the Radio - Dear Science
The only way someone could have beaten Doomtree on this year’s list is if they did something completely different than what they had been doing, and did it really well. Low and behold, New York avant-jazz-rockers TV on the Radio made a pop album. A damn good pop album at that. The moodiness and artful ambience that made their past albums good, but difficult to listen to for extended periods is broken through, letting the horns blare through. Dear Science is catchy in all the right places, moody when it needs to be, and artfully done at every moment. It’s a little realer than other TV on the Radio albums, a little more down to earth. It’s like they brought their music back to earth, and it made us dance.
Best Track: “Dancing Choose”

Honorable Mentions:
She & Him - Volume 1
Breanne Düren - Breanne Düren
Laura Stevenson - A Record
Crescent Moon Is In Big Trouble - Crescent Moon Is In Big Trouble
Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors
A Night in the Box - Write Me a Letter
The Dodos - VisiterGirl Talk - Feed the Animals

Coming Up In 2009:
P.O.S. - Never Better (Feb. 3)
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (Jan. 20)
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast (Jan. 20)
Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream (Jan. 27)
William Elliot Whitmore - Animals in the Dark (Feb. 17)
The Decemberists - Hazards of Love (March 24)
Sims - I've heard it's coming out, I'm excited
Dessa - Same here, rumors abound
Eminem - Relapse AND Dr. Dre - Detox AND 50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct (Yea, what? I'm excited.)
I've heard Outkast will be releasing three albums (solo efforts from each rapper and a group album)
Prince is rumored to have three albums out this year, too. That is wicked badass.
Eyedea and Abilities and I Self Divine have talked about 2009 records, so fingers crossed.
Brother Ali's supposed to have and EP coming out.
Jay Z - The Blueprint 3

MNIndy interviews Dessa

The Minnesota Independent's Paul Schmelzer (who also writes the blog Eyeteeth) interviewed Dessa of Doomtree via e-mail recently. Dessa answered questions regarding the release of her book and full length album, as well as politics and haircuts. Check it out here.