musicleech » Bon Iver http://musicleech.com Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:38:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 My Top Albums 2009 http://musicleech.com/2010/01/17/my-top-albums-2009/ http://musicleech.com/2010/01/17/my-top-albums-2009/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:40:41 +0000 Rad Parker http://musicleech.com/?p=3141 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> I realize I am putting this out really late. I always put this off until winter break, thinking I'll have tons of time to listen to the albums, but always underestimate how much I actually need to listen to. But honestly, that isn't a bad thing. I think we are living in a time where there is a lot more new and interesting stuff coming out than ever before. Last year, I probably listened to about 75 albums for my top albums article. Some of them only half way through (because I could tell they wouldn't make the cut) and some in excess of 20 times. I don't feel like doing the math on that, but it takes an incredible amount of time. This year I stepped my game up and literally wrote down every album that made it on at least a few top lists from around the music blog, newspaper, magazine community, including the big wigs: pitchfork, sterogum, prefix, spin, etc.

I think most top lists aren't really substantial if they don't talk about what makes albums 'top albums'. I want to let you know what helped me decide. Basically, I listened to albums all the way through and gave each song a rating (1-5). A 3 being a song that is good, but nothing special. A 4 being a song that is something special, but you can get tired of it. 5s are songs that never get old and never get skipped. I once heard someone say that if you could only keep 1000 songs from your library, they would be all of the 4s and 5s.  Then I check out what each album averages, giving extra points for originality, interesting overall themes, track cohesion, genre mixing, or basically anything that makes it more of an album than a bunch of songs.

Now, once I have a list of albums that are generally agreed upon to be good by the blog community, I go through and weed out bands with sounds that I know I won't find appealing. Albums that are automatically omitted include basically anyone who doesn't make their own music or write their own lyrics, anything considered pop punk, alternative metal, or anything termed just rock or pop, because frankly, I'm not interested. Does that make me seem like a music snob? Kinda. Do I try to be unbiased when the headphones are on? You bet.

This year I at least tried out about 100 albums. If you have any comments, questions, or albums you think should have been considered, drop me a line below.

1. Phoenix -

Wolfgang

Amadeus

Phoenix

Phoenix - "1901"

2. Grizzly

Bear -

Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"

3. The

xx -

xx

The xx - "Crystalised"

4. Animal Collective -

Merriweather

Post

Pavilion

Animal Collective - "Summertime Clothes"

5. Real

Estate -

Real

Estate

Real Estate - "Beach Comber"


6. The

Flaming

Lips -

Embryonic

The Flaming Lips - "Watching the Planets"

7. Girls -

Album

Girls - "Laura"

8. The Smith Westerns -

The

Smith

Westerns

The Smith Westerns - "Tonight"

9. Neon

Indian -

Psychic

Chasms

Neon Indian - "Deadbeat Summer"

10. Cymbals Eat Guitars -

Why There

Are

Mountains

Cymbals Eat Guitars - "And the Hazy Sea"

2009 Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):

Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Passion Pit – Manners
Drummer - Feel Good Together
Atlas Sound – Logos
The Antlers – Hospice
Blakroc – Blakroc
Woods - Songs of Shame
10 ft. Ganja Plant - Bushrock
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue
The Strange Boys – The Strange Boys and Girls Club
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II
Miike Snow - Miike Snow
Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

EP, Mixtape, Compilation, and other non-album Mentions:
Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP
Kid Cudi - Dat Kid From Cleveland Mixtape
Drake - So Far Gone Mixtape
Wale - Back to the Feature Mixtape
Toro Y Moi - My Touch EP
The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches - The Dark Side of the Moon (Cover Album)
Various Artists - Dark Was the Night Compilation
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
Modest Mouse - No Ones First and Your Next EP
Washed Out – Life of Leisure EP
Deerhunter - Rainwater Casette Exchange EP
Various Artists – Underwater Peoples Summertime Showcase 2009

For comparison's sake, here is my list from 2008:

  1. deerhunter - microcastle
  2. little joy - little joy
  3. plants and animals - parc avenue
  4. mgmt - oracular spectacular
  5. los campesinos! - hold on now, youngster
  6. vampire weekend - vampire weekend
  7. the dodos - visiter
  8. bon iver - for emma, forever ago
  9. the sea and cake - car alarm
  10. starfucker - starfucker

2008 honorable mentions (in no particular order):

lil' wayne - tha carter III
white denim - white denim
atlas sound - let the blind lead those who can see but cannot feel
the ruby suns - sea lion
women - women
beach house - devotion
q-tip - renaissance
albert hammond, jr. - ¿como te llama?
dr dog - fate
girl talk - feed the animals
hot chip - made in the dark
french kicks - swimming
passion pit - chunk of change ep
cut copy - in ghost colours
black keys - attack & release



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]]> http://musicleech.com/2010/01/17/my-top-albums-2009/feed/ 3 Sasquatch > Bonnaroo? http://musicleech.com/2009/02/24/sasquatch-or-bonnaroo/ http://musicleech.com/2009/02/24/sasquatch-or-bonnaroo/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:59:56 +0000 Mark Jackson http://musicleech.com/?p=1437 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> sasquatch-lineup09-pic_210x

I can guarantee one thing: Sasquatch will not pull a Langerado.

A handful of big names overlap with Bonnaroo, but that's not a bad thing considering how far apart they are from each other: Sasquatch is in Washington state and Bonnaroo (lineup) is in Tennessee. Both still have more artists to add, but already it seems like both are upgraded from last year. I don't think Bonnaroo can be called a jam band festival anymore, but it's a wee bit more chill than its intensely indie counterpart. West Coast, start rounding up the troops.

Sasquatch! 2009 lineup
Jane's Addiction (feat. all four original members)
Kings of Leon
Nine Inch Nails
Ben Harper & Relentless7
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Erykah Badu
The Decemberists
Fleet Foxes
TV On The Radio
Animal Collective
Silversun Pickups
Bon Iver
Santigold
Of Montreal
Explosions In The Sky
Devotchka
Peter Bjorn & John
Gogol Bordello
M. Ward
The Avett Brothers
Doves
Calexico
Grizzly Bear
M83
Girl Talk
The Gaslight Anthem
The Walkmen
Chromeo (dj set)
Deadmau5
Mugison
Sun Kil Moon
Airborne Toxic Event
Blitzen Trapper
Shearwater
BLK JKS
The Wrens
Tobacco
Monotonix
King Khan & The Shrines
St. Vincent
Passion Pit
John Vanderslice
Bishop Allen
Blind Pilot
AA Bondy
Black Moth Super Rainbow
The Knux
Ra Ra Riot
The Dodos
Beach House
Arthur & Yu
The Submarines
Owl City
Viva Voce
James Pants
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
The Builders & The Butchers
The Dutchess & The Duke
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukelele
Fences
School of Seven Bells
Death Vessel
Horse Feathers
Hockey
Point Juncture, WA
The Pica Beats
Loch Lomond
Vince Mira
Comedians:
Zach Galifiankas
Demetri Martin
Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job
Todd Barry
Jon Benjamin
God's Pottery
People's Republic of Komedy

Bands playing at both festivals:
Nine Inch Nails
of Montreal
Animal Collective
Santogold (now Santigold)
TV on the Radio
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Bon Iver
Grizzly Bear
Girl Talk
Ben Harper & Relentless7

Tickets for Sasquatch! go on sale this Saturday (2/28) at 10am at for $154.40/$56.50 (three-day pass/single-day pass) if you buy them over the weekend. Once Monday hits prices will be bumped up to $199.50/$66.50. Buy them here.

Oh, and this could be the last Nine Inch Nails tour ever, so take your pick: Sasquatch or Bonnaroo?

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]]> http://musicleech.com/2009/02/24/sasquatch-or-bonnaroo/feed/ 0 Bonnaroo Announces 2009 Initial Lineup http://musicleech.com/2009/02/03/bonnaroo-announces-2009-initial-lineup/ http://musicleech.com/2009/02/03/bonnaroo-announces-2009-initial-lineup/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:08:55 +0000 Mark Jackson http://musicleech.com/?p=1381 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> The king of summer festivals is back on the beautiful 700-acre Manchester farm in June (11th-14th), and the announcement of (some of) the performers came this morning.

The lineup is packed full of big names and great accompanying artists. Metallica and Kanye are gone this year (YES!), and Phish is bringing back Bonnaroo as a jam band festival, doing two shows over the four days.  It could use a dosage of hip-hop though, so hopefully that comes with the next announcement (last year I got front row for Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli followed - needless to say it was a highlight of the festival). Other than that, the lineup is spectacular. We'll let you know when more artists get announced. 

See the whole thing at bonnaroo.com. Tickets go on sale Feb. 7. The first wave sold out already (before the artists were even announced), so the next price level is $234.50, then $249.50 once those sell out.

bonnaroo_aerial_1280x1024

Image via BandBuilder.com

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]]> http://musicleech.com/2009/02/03/bonnaroo-announces-2009-initial-lineup/feed/ 2 Free Links to Dark Was The Night AIDS Compilation http://musicleech.com/2009/01/27/free-links-to-dark-was-the-night-aids-compilation/ http://musicleech.com/2009/01/27/free-links-to-dark-was-the-night-aids-compilation/#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:38:58 +0000 Rad Parker http://musicleech.com/?p=1266 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> darkwasthenight-cvr So by now most have heard of this AIDS compilation that has everyone and their brother on it. Not sure if we have ever seen such a great combination of artists for a compilation. Have a look below at the track list if you haven't already. Sufjan's ten minute trip fest? Bon Iver singing falsetto over electric guitar? Ben Gibbard with Feist? Dirty Projectors with David Byrne? Grizzly Bear and Feist? There are some interesting match-ups and from what we have heard of the album so far, the artists aren't just treating this like some small charity deal, the songs are much better than would be expected for these kind of things.

We decided to scour the internet and find links to as many of the songs on the compilation so you can have a listen yourself. Please comment if you stumble across a broken link or if you have one that we are missing.

If you decide you like the album and would like support a really worthwhile cause, head on over to 4AD's website and pre-order the album. The compilation hits stores on 16th February '09 (17th in North America).

"THIS DISC":

  1. "Knotty Pine" - Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
    (hosted by 4AD)
  2. "Cello Song" (Nick Drake) - The Books featuring José González
  3. "Train Song" (Vashti Bunyan) - Feist and Ben Gibbard
  4. "Brackett, WI" - Bon Iver
  5. "Deep Blue Sea" - Grizzly Bear
  6. "So Far Around The Bend" - The National and Nico Muhly
  7. "Tightrope" - Yeasayer
  8. "Feeling Good" - My Brightest Diamond
  9. "Dark Was The Night" (Blind Willie Johnson) - Kronos Quartet
  10. "I Was Young When I Left Home" (Bob Dylan) - Antony with Bryce Dessner
  11. "Big Red Machine" - Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
  12. "Sleepless" - The Decemberists
  13. "Die" - Iron & Wine (live version)
  14. "Service Bell" - Grizzly Bear + Feist (live version sans Feist)
  15. "You Are The Blood" - Sufjan Stevens

"THAT DISC":

  1. "Well-Alright" - Spoon
  2. "Lenin" - Arcade Fire
  3. "Mimizan" - Beirut
  4. "El Caporal" - My Morning Jacket
  5. "Inspiration Information" (Shuggie Otis) - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
  6. "With A Girl Like You" (The Troggs) - Dave Sitek
  7. "Blood Pt. 2" (The Castanets) - Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
  8. "Hey, Snow White" (Destroyer) - The New Pornographers
  9. "Gentle Hour" (Snapper) - Yo La Tengo (live version)
  10. "Amazing Grace" - Cat Power with Dirty Delta Blues
  11. "Happiness" - Riceboy Sleeps
  12. "Another Saturday" - Stuart Murdoch
  13. "The Giant Of Illinois" (Handsome Family) - Andrew Bird (live version)
  14. "Lua" - Conor Oberst with Gillian Welch (Bright Eyes version)
  15. "When The Road Runs Out" - Blonde Redhead & Devastations
  16. "Love Vs. Porn" - Kevin Drew

UPDATE 2/9/09 4:37pm: We were contacted by websheriff.com and were asked to remove the links to the above songs. We're not giving into the man; this is for a good cause! Go out and buy it!

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]]> http://musicleech.com/2009/01/27/free-links-to-dark-was-the-night-aids-compilation/feed/ 3 Streaming: Bon Iver Interview And Feist Cover http://musicleech.com/2009/01/25/streaming-bon-iver-interview-and-feist-cover/ http://musicleech.com/2009/01/25/streaming-bon-iver-interview-and-feist-cover/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:29:40 +0000 Rad Parker http://musicleech.com/?p=1224 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> The people over at Triple-J radio sat down with Bon Iver the other day for the station's Like a Version segment to discuss various topics and listen to singer-songwriter Justin Vernon play "Creature Fear" from the debut LP For Emma, Forever Ago and give us a falsetto cover of Feist's "The Park". Among other things, the crew discuss writing lyrics on walls, Milwuakee's Beast, the technique where Vernon tests out the vocal lines as sounds before choosing lyrics, his dad's influence on living in the wilderness in seclusion, hanging out for a little but in Australia before going back into the studio, and the possibility of appearing on sesame street.

You can access the interview here.

Listen to Bon Iver's new release: "Blood Bank"

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]]> http://musicleech.com/2009/01/25/streaming-bon-iver-interview-and-feist-cover/feed/ 0 Video: Bon Iver: “Skinny Love” (Live On Letterman) http://musicleech.com/2008/12/19/video-bon-iver-skinny-love-live-on-letterman/ http://musicleech.com/2008/12/19/video-bon-iver-skinny-love-live-on-letterman/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:51:37 +0000 Mark Jackson http://musicleech.com/?p=1065 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> The band's most recent album For Emma, Forever Ago is musically pretty simple, but the power lies within the lyrics. Singer Justin Vernon says the song is about "old, sore, lost love" and how it can "damn and/or ambush" future relationships. Very well-written.

SongMeanings has some good conversation going if you'd like to read or contribute.

UPDATE 12/20 8:31am: The band has a new 4-track EP coming out January 20 entitled Blood Bank. We'll publish an early review of the album within the next few days.

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