Indie Music Chatter

My good friend Raffy, who is also a big fan of indie music, sent me an SMS today. He told me to look for Tegan and Sara’s cover of Rihanna’s Umbrella. The thought of Tegan and Sara even covering a silly (umbrella -ella -ella) albeit catchy song is just too interesting to pass up. I told him I’m definitely going to check it out and what I saw was so much fun that I think you guys ought to see it too.

I’ve been obsessing about Scanners over the last few days. I’ll be blogging about them at length tomorrow but for the time being just watch their video for the awesome Lowlife.

Watching Steve Burns as a rocker is a bit of a sensory shock — you can’t believe that he’s the same Blues Clues guy, but more than that is the realization that he is actually pretty good and that his songs kick ass.

Here is the latest video from New Zealand twee pop band The Brunettes. The song, Her Hairagami Set, is from their 2007 album Structure & Cosmetics. Enjoy!

I just recently discovered Cherry Ghost and I have fallen in love with the music of Simon Aldred. I’ll make a more substantial post about Cherry Ghost soon. But in the meantime, I’m posting the band’s appearance in Jools Holland’s show — one of the few bands who have appeared on the show without even releasing a single to the public first. Watch them play the wonderful People Help The People.

Here’s a great performance of Jens Lekman as he sings A Man Walks Into a Bar. How can one man write such wonderful songs?

I’ve mentioned in past blog entries that I am a huge Pinback fan. One of the biggest reasons I became a fan is because of Loro, a song off their This is Pinback album. I think it is one of the greatest songs ever written. The youtube “video” above is not really a video, but it features the whole song so I think it fitting to put it here so that more people can listen to this exquisite tune from the band.

Pinback, This is Pinback, Loro

Here is Jens Lekman’s video for You Are The Light. I’m still on a Jens Lekman music binge!

Jens Lekman. You Are The Light

I have such an intense crush on Kathleen Hanna. So big in fact, that I follow every single thing she’s done — from Bikini Kill to her Julie Ruin project to Le Tigre.

I am tremendously in love with Le Tigre’s self titled album that I had no choice but to remove the album from my iPod. I kept coming back to that album so much that I had this tremendous backlog of albums that I never got to listen to in my player, so the painful decision to remove the source of my addiction. And the one song that I consistently play among all the other songs in that album? Deceptacon.

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Now playing: TV On The Radio - Province
via FoxyTunes

Kathleen Hanna, Le Tigre, Bikini Kill

Here is the new video from two of the ladies I admire most int the indie world, Tegan & Sara. I just love every single release that they have come out with and I am so stoked about listening to their new album, Con. The video above is for their new single Back In Your Head, which, of course, is from Con. Enjoy!

Tegan & Sara, Con, Back in your head

I’m still in a Yeah Yeah Yeahs mode because I can’t get enough of their Is Is EP. It’s safe to say that this is one of the best releases this year and it further cements the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ reputation as one of the most important bands in the world at present.I’ve decided to post an “old” video from the band, the one they made for Maps — which is one of their most popular songs. Watch Karen O shed tears on the video. She said those are real tears she shed because her boyfriend was supposed to be in the shoot but he was three hours late and they were about to go to Europe on tour right after the shoot finishes.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O, Is Is

The Eurovision contest in Europe is probably one of the kitschiest music contests in the world. I dare say, that it probably is the kitschiest. The bands that perform here are some of the best and worst examples of europop.

Despite it’s reputation though I have to say that Eurovision is one of those trainwrecks that you still want to watch. It’s like a road accident — you know you’ll probably lose your lunch by the sight but you still want to look. Even Morrissey, the king of irony, sees something weirdly appealing about it. he has mentioned that he wants to become England’s entry to Eurovision.

I blogged about The Ark a couple of posts back. Well, the band actually participated in the last Eurovision. Watch The Ark in all their gay glory in this Youtube video.

Morrissey, The Ark, England


I immediately fell in love with The Kooks from the moment I first heard their debut album Inside In/Inside Out. I just think that their album was absolutely sensational. There were perfect pop moments in that album that I can safely say helped shape my memories of 2006 — the year they released their CD. Almost a year and half since the album’s release and I am still in love with their songs. I just absolutely adore Naive. Give it a listen…

Yesterday I talked about Tom Waits and how I think that Closing Time is one of the greatest albums of all time. With your indulgence I’d like to talk about another relatively “old” album that occupies the rarefied club of all time greats.

Allow me to talk about My Bloody Valentine and Loveless.

Loveless is consistently in the top ten of almost all “greatest albums of all time” list — and rightfully so. My Bloody Valentine’s technical and artistic achievement with Loveless is incomparable. More than any album, Loveless has achieved that rare transcendence of elevating a song into sonic landscapes. Each song paints a picture in your mind, and you’re just listening to the instruments.

True it could be hard to swallow Loveless at times — some complain that Kevin Shields and co.’s masterpiece is too noisy, or that it has a tendency to meander. But, as I love to say to friends, this is one of those albums where you will need to invest time. You need to wait for that magic moment, when your intellectual mind shuts off and you allow yourself to be carried by the music. What you need is to surrender to My Bloody Valentine and they will hold you by the hand and show you one of the most beautiful sonic pictures you will encounter.

Tomorrow, I promise I’ll write something a little more current. I’m just in this old school funk the past few weeks, rediscovering my collection– revisiting old friends, as I love to tell my wife.

My Bloody Valentine, Loveless, Kevin Shields

I can’t stop whistling the “whistling part” in the Peter, Bjorn and John single Young Folks. Ever since I saw the video (how someone can do something that is both creepy and cute at the same time I will never know) and bought their CD Writer’s Block, I always catch myself whistling that part a number of times every day. I have come to call it the Barry Manilow syndrome — a state wherein a particularly catchy hook or melody manages to lodge itself into your subconscious that you can’t help but sing, hum or, yes, whistle that particular part. Why do I call it Barry Manilow syndrome? Well, just imagine any part of Mandy or Copa Cabana playing inside your head and more often than not you’d find that it will get stuck in your brain. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

But then I’d rather have Young Folks and Peter Bjorn and John’s catchy song play in my mind the whole day long instead of Copa Cabana.

Peter Bjorn and John, Young Folks, Barry Manilow