Sadly, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, but there are some good new tunes to see the season out. I apologize, again, for the comic book related news. Seems like everyone is trying to cash in on the craze.
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I am probably most stoked this week for Madeon’s recently released “Technicolor,” which is an EDM tour de force. Each of the track’s many layers are distinctly vibrant, but together they intertwine in a hypnotic crescendo that culminates in a volatile mix of emotion and pulse. The 19-year-old superstar said he wanted to “tell a story through dance music using a longer structure than what I’ve done before,” and I don’t think anyone can argue that he didn’t do just that. Man, what the hell was I doing at 19?
If you’re in the mood for some fun carefree pop bravado, check out Dent May’s “Let Them Talk.” It’s an ideal outro for the waning summer, with its charmingly wonky vocals, snide lyrics, and guitar work that gives a slight nod to Talking Heads.
I’m pretty surprised that I found this on Pitchfork, seeing as it doesn’t necessarily jive so well with the lo-fi and indie scene the site tends to glorify. That aside, Dads’ “Boat Rich” leaves me hesitantly curious. It has a lot of compelling elements from a range of genres, including post-punk / emo vocal delivery and math rock guitar noodling, but the combination of these things seems to me as worryingly nostalgic as it is musically deft. Calling it “high school alternative” would be reductive, but there’s something undeniably juvenile here, though you can probably let most of that slide in favor of musicianship.
WATCH:
My grandparents lived in Hoboken, so I grew up with a natural attachment to the waterfront and the densely populated little city. But it wasn’t until I reached high school and going to shows became a priority that the area became that much more important, if only for one reason: Maxwell’s. To try to summarize its musical and cultural history and significance here would do it a disservice, but nj.com has done a pretty bang up job in their mini documentary of the venue. Check out this fitting farewell, especially if you’re a displaced New Jerseyian and / or recovering scenester such as me.
Some of you might have seen Vine videos or Tweets from those lucky enough to have partaken in this little experiment, but Jay Z has just released the full, final product of his “art film” for his song “Picasso Baby.” Truth be told, I think he’s desperately grasping at highbrow straws, but that doesn’t mean it looks any less fun.
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Nothing too noteworthy this week.
Karen Elson got a restraining order against her ex-husband Jack White, to which he contested her in court, but do people really care about his failed marriage and weird grudge against The Black Keys?
Speaking of irrelevancy, did anyone else know that The Bloodhound Gang is a still a band, and touring at that? Apparently, they are, and they were just banned from a Russian festival after some raunchy stunt involving a flag. Was anyone really expecting any less from the band who’s claim to fame was a song about fucking like animals on TV?
Other than that, Kanye wants to blaspheme and buy the King of Rock and Roll’s house for Kim and the King of the Beach just released a comic book.
RANDOM NOSTALGIA:
This has been stuck in my head for the past few days and I have no idea where it came from
by Justin Davis. Follow him on Twitter @yeahjustindavis
