How’s this for some Friday What The Fuckery? A Vampire Weekend tennis video featuring RZA as the umpire, Lil Jon as the coach, Jake Gyllenhaal, a Jonas Brother and their friend Jenny. If you were wondering how RZA and Lil Jon got involved he heard the reference to himself on ‘Oxford Comma’ and promptly sent the band “cases of Crunk Juice”. Nice. The vid was directed by the Malloy Brothers.
As we all hear Contra via web streams this week for the first time (hear it below at the bottom of the post), thoughts turn to how this album will translate live compared to their first album seeing as it lacks a teeny bit of the buoyancy. Pretty well by the looks of these live session videos. While Contra lacks the immediate sugar rush of the debut, it seems to be making up for it in depth. It’s still growing on me so time will tell how it stands up. Here are three new tracks from Contra performed live – ‘Holiday’, ‘Cousins’ and ‘Run’ with two well-known tracks from the first album for good measure.
‘Holiday’
In retrospect, the first official leak from the new Vampire Weekend album Contra, ‘Horchata’ was not really as exciting as it could have been. ‘Cousins’ is a different beast altogether: frantic, fun and frolicsome, like a younger brother of ‘A-Punk’ which is fitting as both video share the same director in Garth Jennings of Hammer & Tongs. The Cousins’ video is equally as fun-filled.
Contra is released in early January. Thanks to The Noises in Our Heads for the original Vimeo link.
Vampire Weekend today released ‘Horchata’ a new song from their upcoming album Contra to be released in January through XL.
It’s no great change from their debut really but you’d hardly want them to go electro or something. It’s still the same old ‘perfect for a Wes Anderson’ soundtrack buzz going on here except with some added marimba.
This song is the opening track from Contra and Horchata is a Mexican/Latin American drink made with rice and nutes with origins in Ancient Egypt. See, you learn something new every day.
Tomorrow I’m splitting from dull overcast Dublin for the weekend in favour of the three-day Rock en Seine festival near Paris. The lineup includes Vampire Weekend, Bill Callahan (really looking forward to this), Oasis, Faith No More, Passion Pit, School of Seven Bells, MGMT, Baaba Mal, Klaxons, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, Vitalic, The Horrors, Dananananakroyd, Metric, Yann Tierson and The Asteroid Galaxy Tour.
There’s even a free mini-Rock en Seine for kids who haven’t got too old to scoff at Oasis yet. Should be good.
The trip has been made possible by Eurostar and We Are Social who are bringing myself and some UK music bloggers over for the festival on a little break (see previous art and fashion breaks). I’m looking forward to travelling by the Channel Tunnel for a laugh (especially as it’s a FREE bloody trip – blogging can have its perks and it’ll be a nice respite from 18 hour days). If you’re interested in following suit, check out Little Break, Big Difference for ideas for entertainment and culture-themed breaks to Paris, Brussels and Lille. Here’s a track from Danish band The Asteroid Galaxy Tour which reminds me of something else.. Anyone know it?
The Asteroid Galaxy Tour – Around the Bend
Full report ASAP (and possibly through Twitter too) and a new Podcast and an Electric Picnic mixtape coming next week.
A selection of nine songs for your long weekend delectation. Enjoy.
The Very Best’s debut album Warm Heart of Africa is out on the 11th of August and while it’s perhaps not as exciting as the mixtape last year, these remixes of the title track which features Ezra from Vampire Weekend are making up for it right now. The Architecture in Helsinki remix is essentially a cover with brass replacing the original’s African guitar sample. It’s awesome. The Metronomy is equally different taking the a snippet of the vocal and putting it through some weird 80s vocoded effect.
1. The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa (Architecture in Helsinki remix)
In Day and Night today, it’s the fourth week of the Oxegen giveaway so pop on over to blog to enter to win two weekend tickets.
Also over there you’ll find some cool videos (especially the dinosaur one), a look at Songkick, links to stuff like a Manga comic about Jesus and the RIAA case against the 32-year old mother of four. In the music section this week I featured the proper recording of a song I debuted in video form a year ago from The Very Best’s (Radioclit and Esau Mwamawaya) forthcoming album out in August. The title track and opening song features Ezra of Vampire Weekend. Pure sunshine in aural form.
The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa
On the gigs front for the weekend – This Box Social gig is worth a look.
Listen to The Very Best feat. M.I.A in the more >>
Hey folks – Aoife here again. As I type, it’s late Sunday night/early Monday morning and Niall is running around the flat packing for SXSW. Bless him, he’s been RSVPing to parties all weekend. My heart bleeds for him, it really does.
After a bit of a delay, our March podcast is ready. Hope you enjoy it.
Podcast #24 -Tracklisting
- Marina and The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road
- Flying Lotus – Tea Leaf Dancer (Low Limit Remix)
- Elliot Lipp – 10-Beam Rider (Peace Love Weed 3D)
- thecocknbullkid – I’m Not Sorry
- La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream Remix)
- Dj Signify – Low Tide featuring Aesop Rock (Of Cities)
- Mount Kimbie – Maybes (Maybes EP)
- Faunts – Feel.Love.Thinking.Of. (Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.)
- Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy (Air France remix)
- Tunng – Take (Good Arrows)
- Vampire Weekend The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance (Miike Snow remix)
(right click to download)
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Before I announce the result of the Irish vote this week, let’s have a look at the greater picture. It’s another list! Here are my top 30 albums of 2008.
- 30. Minotaur Shock – Amateur Dramatics
- 29. Pivot – O Soundtrack My Heart
- 28. Fuck Buttons – Street Horrsing
- 27. She and Him – Volume One
- 26. White Denim – Workout Holiday
- 25. Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual
- 24. Jamie Lidell – Jim
- 23. Fight Like Apes – And the Mystery of the Gold Medallion
- 22. R.S.A.G - Organic Sampler
- 21. Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke
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20. Clark – Turning Dragon
2008 was the year Chris Clark let rip with some real bone-crunching, distorted glitchy rave-ups. Turning Dragon was like some grimey journey through the seedist club known to man.
Key track: New Year Storm
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19. The Vinny Club – Rocky IV Reckyrd
Vinny’s solo project away from the furious bass duties for Adebisi Shank was a 26 minute triumph of computer-generated fun. The film of the title informs each 8-bit workout with song titles, samples and theme. It’s the sound of an Atari throwing shapes on a dancefloor.
Key track: It’s Not You It’s OF
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18. The Jimmy Cake – Spectre & Crown
The Jimmys’ third and best album, a welcome return after five years of silence. Spectre & Crown ebbs and flows wonderfully through Herculean orchestral passages of melody and cadence, leaving an indelible chronicle of nine musicians contributing to a singular and necessary vision. The production is immaculately precise yet organic, the music epic yet controlled; brimming with piano, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, bass and saxophone.
Key track: Jetta’s Palace
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17. Cadence Weapon – Afterparty Babies
Rollie Pemberton’s second album took us on a journey of his hometown Edmonton, on the way he recounted tales of his friends, failed club nights, hairdressers, tattoo artists and underage youth cliques all set to bouncing dancefloor-orientated hip-hop beats.
Key track: In Search of the Youth Crew
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16. Little Joy – Little Joy
Fabrizio Moretti, the drummer from the Strokes hooks up with some friends in LA to make an album of sunshine-infused folk-pop and manages to surpass all other Strokes-related material since Is This It?. Little Joy is the perfect name for these little nuggets.
Key track: No-one’s Better Sake
I wouldn’t have had Ezra from Vampire Weekend down for a punk but he proves me wrong by ably joining Fucked Up during their 12-hour gig marathon in NY. Ezra joins the band for covers of ‘Someone’s Gonna Die’ by Blitz and ‘Parents’ by the Descendents.
“What’s up Nerds?”
First listen to the Esau Mwamwaya and Ezra (Vampire Weekend) collaboration ‘Warm Heart of Africa’ due to appear on Esau’s forthcoming album.
In a perfect world, this would be number one.
