Anything I say here about Janelle Monáe will reveal my ignorance of what makes her everything that she is. Let’s just say I like this song, this video, and the fact that Erykah Badu appears on the song and in the video as well.
Source: jmonae.com
Every Labor Day weekend, Bumbershoot takes over the Seattle Center. It’s a great festival of music, art, comedy, readings — all the creative juices are flowing. If you’re thinking of coming to Seattle, or if you already live here, make this event a top priority.
I also love this music lineup video — nicely done!
Source: bumbershoot.org
Yet another great song and video from The National.
This new album is already my favorite of the year, and I’ve only heard two songs. Trouble Will Find Me comes out May 20.
I‘ve not been the biggest Kate Nash, but this song and video, “OMYGOD!” are quite good (and fun).
Wow. I clearly need to learn more about Colin Stetson and his saxophone, pronto. Hadn’t heard of him before now, but it appears his third album, New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light, comes out April 30. And he’s coming to Barboza in June.
Most likely you’ve already watched this video by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis that was posted yesterday, but in the off chance you haven’t seen it: watch and be amazed as you find yourself reaching for the mouse as soon as it ends to hit “replay.”
This song, “Can’t Hold Us” featuring Ray Dalton on the chorus, is off of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s fantastic album The Heist, which was #8 on last year’s Musical Bacon Calendar.
The National. With a single song, they’ve doomed every other release from 2013 to be “good, but not as good as that new album by The National.” Their new album, Trouble Will Find Me, comes out May 20. Prepare yourself.
I know next to nothing about Polly Scattergood, but “Wanderlust” and the corresponding video above are pretty great. Her 2nd album, Arrows, is due out on Mute “this summer.”
Primal Scream is getting back to its roots with the song featured in the video above. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was originally b-side from their 1991 album Screamadelica. The song’s called “It’s Alright, It’s OK,” and it’s from their upcoming new album More Light, due out on May 13.
Hmmm. And now: the Flaming Lips with Bon Iver in a NSFW video for “Ashes In The Air” from last year’s collaboration album …and Heady Fwends. No words.
This is Efterklang, a trio from Copenhagen, with a fun video from the band’s 2012 release, Piramida, for their song “The Ghost.” I’m not familiar with this band, but I do like this song quite a bit — with a somewhat latter-day Peter Gabriel sound — and the humor outlined in the video hits all the right notes as well.
Here’s everyone’s favorite Daptone Records revivalist Charles Bradley with “Strictly Reserved for You,” a new song with classic sensibilities. I love this video. It’s got a great look to it, and doesn’t allow Bradley’s campy “Screaming Eagle of Soul” bit to push things too over the top. This song is from Bradley’s new album, out today, titled Victim of Love.
This video is not new. It’s of my favorite Bruce Springsteen song: “Highway Patrolman” from the seminal Nebraska, originally released in 1982. The video was directed by Sean Penn, made of clips from his writing and directorial debut, The Indian Runner, from 1991, which is based on the slim narrative outlined in Springsteen’s song. The film stars David Morse (St. Elsewhere’s Dr. Jack Morrison and Treme’s Lt. Colson) and an early Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from LOTR, among many many other roles you’ve seen him in). I was only 8 years old when this amazing album came out, but I didn’t discover it until about 5 years ago. I was only a junior in high school when this movie came out, so it’s no wonder it never hit my radar until just now. But here we are, thirty years since the release of the album and twenty years later since the movie, and my interest is piqued. It’s safe to say it’s going to be a disappointment, because of my love of this musician, this song, and these actors. Fingers crossed it’s actually pretty good.
I’m going to try and not read too much into this Memento-esque video for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs first release from their upcoming new album, Mosquito, due out April 16.
