Music Tuesday Newsday: New Releases from Silverstein, Of Montreal, Emmylou Harris, and Daedelus

April 26, 2011 - 9:37 pm

Flying High Again

New ones to watch: Dedaelus has a new gem out called Bespoke, Emmylou Harris career keeps chugging along, and Bootsy Collins establishes that he is still the king of modern funk. Of Montreal’s getting bigger and bigger, and that’s all that’s really worth mentioning…

Airborne Toxic – Event All At Once

Emmylou Harris - Hard Bargin

About Group - Start & Complete

Dedaelus - Bespoke

Lions!Tigers!Bears! - Shallow Waters, Endless Depth

Girl Names - Dead To Me

OfMonteal - Thecontrollersphere

Kode 9 and the Spaceape - Black Sun

Emile Simon - The Big Machine

Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah

Rachel Platten - Be Here

Bootsy Collins - The Funk Capitol of the World

Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

The Wombats - This Modern Glitch

Kort - Invariable Heartache

Antony And The Johnsons - Swanlights

Dennis Coffey - Dennis Coffey

Younger Brother – Vaccine

Cass McCombs - Wit’s End

Memphis May Fire - The Hollow

Julian Lynch - Terra

Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!

Gallery Music Rapper’s Delight: Shwayze

April 26, 2011 - 11:04 am

I wouldn’t normally suggest jumping on stage during a Cisco Adler set to spit versus written in the yard of your Malibu mobile home park. But for Aaron Smith, “That shit just kinda went down,” and now here I chill in the greenroom of the ROXY on Sunset with Shwayze Pt.1. We await the shirtless half of the improbable Shwayze Pt.2 (Mr.Adler) to finish up his solo set so that I might snap a quick pic of this now quite NORML duo before they themselves, toke to the stage on this celebratory 4/20 eve.

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Gallery Music Social Distortion @ the Music Box : Prohibition-Era Punk Rock

April 26, 2011 - 10:22 am

There’s a lot of you out there (you know who you are) who long ago consigned yourself to the age-old credo “punk is dead.” You’d probably be hard-pressed to believe that even Social Distortion‘s recent Music Box performance could be the best argument in years to such a hastily-conceived notion. In addition to the debut of their newest and most raucous album in years, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, the boys really raised that punk bar a bit more: it wasn’t just a great concert with a tight band, it was a glorious punk rock/rockabilly/cinematic spectacle.

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Music Francis and the Lights: Catching Rays at Coachella

April 26, 2011 - 10:19 am

Francis

Last year, amidst major releases from Kanye West, the Kings of Leon, Vampire Weekend and Gorillaz, a little album by Francis and the Lights called It’ll Be Better snuck into slot five in my car’s CD changer sometime around April and stayed there for the rest of the 2010. Simple in its construction, heavily dependent on melody, and pristinely produced to enhance every hi-hat, keyboard flourish and tasteful guitar solo, It’ll Be Better proved that less was indeed more. But when I finally got frontman Francis Farewell Starlite on the phone, I found there was way more going on than meets the eye, and that dude is just as eccentric as his name—his real name, mind you—makes him out to be. But the fact remains that if you don’t keep him on your radar, you’re going to miss out on some of the best music this decade will have to offer. Backstage at Coachella 2011, he gave us a little insight into what he’s got coming next.

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Art Artstar: Yumna

April 25, 2011 - 11:47 am

Yumna

Yumna is a young photographer working in New York who’s evocative, color saturated work captures milieus from NYC fashion parties to the gingerbread skyscrapers of Yemen.

Your photography ranges from reportage in the Middle East to fashion work. What unifying elements do your pieces share?

Starting college, I was never sure of what I wanted to do because I always felt as though I had so many interests and was generally good at teaching myself pretty much anything I wanted to know. My initial interests were fashion related. My blog focused on my personal style and I was keen on developing something that was unique but not out of my financial realm. People took interest to my sense of style and I eventually began selling vintage pieces on eBay. I would do everything for the store from photographing to modeling to advertising… all on my own. After finishing my associate’s degree, I took a trip to the Middle East. It was my first time being there since I was a little girl and having obviously matured since then, I had the ability to take in a whole new side of my life that had been so untouched for years. Documenting my entire experience was only natural for me. I felt as though I had opened a whole new realm of my life-I felt so in love with my roots and wanted to share it with everyone-just the same as I had been doing with pretty much every other aspect of my life. The Middle East and fashion are two things I absolutely love-but sharing it all is truly my passion and basis for most everything I create.

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Film Fridays Geek A New Look At Green Lantern’s World, Attack the Block’s New Trailer, and The Boycott Against Akira Grows

April 22, 2011 - 7:46 pm

Ryan's Jolly Green Giant

The new extended TV spot for Green Lantern is out, taking us deeper into the world of Oa and Kilowog…honestly I wasn’t too sure about veteran James Bond director Martin Campbell handling this one (guess you can’t have Nolan or Arronofsky for every comic book film) but the trailer has me pretty sold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVbBsf4akXY

Meanwhile Star Trek veteran George Takei lashes out against the whitewashing of Japanimation masterpiece Akira in a series of tweets…“Akira epic fail–all actors up for Kaneda & Tetsuo are white? Sign & RT the petition…”  He ain’t the only one pissed off about it, as the petition’s been live on Facebook for months now.

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Art Featured The History of Graffiti and Street Art Exhibition at MOCA

April 22, 2011 - 10:45 am

banksy-1

Art in the Streets is the first major U.S. museum exhibition on the history of graffiti and street art, featuring the genre’s evolution from the bombing of New York’s subway cars to cholo tagging in the streets of L.A. to the contemporary street art popularized by the likes of Shepard Fairey and Banksy.

Located at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in L.A., Art in the Streets will run from April 17 to August 8, 2011, showcasing installations by 50 of the most dynamic street artists in the world. Artists include Banksy, Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Futura, Swoon, Shepard Fairey, JR, Retna, and Mister Cartoon.

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Music Mandy’s Music Mail 4/22/11

April 22, 2011 - 10:37 am

Talihina Sky Movie Picture

I didn’t think it was possible, but I’ve fallen even more in love with the Kings of Leon. Last night I went to the premier screening of Talhina Sky: The Story Of Kings Of Leon at Tribeca Film Festival with my brother El and friend Billy, aka Drummer Boy, (guess what he does?) whose band, The Postelles, opened for KOL last summer at the infamous pigeon fiasco concert. I went in excited to see the film but not expecting the band to be there as it was just a screening. However who should walk right by me as I’m walking in? None other than ¾ of the Followill clan, brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared. Naturally I put on my best “jaded New Yorker” and acted nonplussed as the (ridiculously good looking) boys in my favorite band walked right next to me, however inside I was screaming like a teenage girl whose just seen Justin Bieber. The film, directed by Stephen C Mitchell, a close friend of theirs, was an unapologetic, intimate look into their lives that was simultaneously humorous (particularly Caleb’s drunken monologue about living), absurd and at times, quite sad. After the film the band and Mitchell came up for a brief Q&A; the boys were wonderfully sarcastic yet genuine. They were raised very religious and when asked how they intend to raise their children, Caleb brilliantly replied “Scientology of course! We’re celebrities!” Hero.

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Music DJs Hit the Decks at Red Bull’s Thre3Style Workshop

April 21, 2011 - 12:18 pm

Red Bull Thre3Style Workshop 2011

Tuesday night, Red Bull held a DJ Workshop at the Scratch DJ Academy in New York City’s West Village in preparation of unique DJ competition Red Bull Thre3Style at Music Hall of Williamsburg this Friday night. The event was hosted by DJ Yamez with special guests DJ Rob Swift of the X-Ecutioners, DJ Synapse and DJ Cobra Krames.

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