Video: Florence and the Machine ' 'Breaking Down'

By Alex Young on July 2nd, 2012 in Music Videos, News

Stream: Dirty Projectors ' Swing Lo Magellan

Dirty Projectors are currently streaming their new album, Swing Lo Magellan, on NYTimes.com. The 12-track effort was culled from 'a sprawling twelve months of constant writing and recording in a weird house in Delaware County, New York,' and features frontman David Longstreth alongside Amber Coffman (vocals/guitar), Nat Baldwin (bass), Brian McOmber (drums), and Haley Dekle (vocals). It will be formally released on July 10th by Domino Records.

Four Tet announces new album: Pink

In recent months, UK producer Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) has released a series of vinyl singles through his label, TEXT Records. Next month, he'll compile those singles in a compilation called Pink, which will be released digitally on August 20th. It will also be released on CD in Japan through Hostess Entertainment on August 22nd. The album's artwork is above, and the tracklist is below.

Of the eight tracks included, we've already heard 'Locked', 'Jupiters', 'Ocoras', '128 Harps', 'Pyramid', and 'Pinnacles'. The other two tracks, 'Lion' and 'Peace for Earth', 'have not been released on vinyl yet but I plan to make that happen one day,' according to Four Tet's website.

Pink Tracklist:
01. Locked  (8:30)
02. Lion  (9:01)
03. Jupiters  (5:48)
04. Ocoras  (5:24)
05. 128 Harps  (4:52)
06. Pyramid  (8:27)
07. Peace for Earth  (11:23)
08. Pinnacles  (8:21)

New Music: Azealia Banks ' 'Nathan'

Azealia Banks has pushed back the planned Fourth of July release of her new mixtape, Fantasea, one week to July 11th. But as a consolation, she's unveiled another track from the effort in 'Nathan'. Listen to it below.

In case you missed it, the mixtape's lead single, 'Aquababe', is streaming here.

Live Review: Anthony Green, The Dear Hunter at Pawtucket's The Met (6/29)

Anthony Green and The Dear Hunter have been touring partners for quite some time. In fact, I first saw them together in 2007 at Farmingdale, NY's Crazy Donkey. Even though TDH's Casey Crescenzo and Circa Survive frontman Green have never played in the same band, playing together like this for so long inevitably leads to some strong bonds. Last night at The Met in Pawtucket, RI, with TDH acting as Green's backing band, the two put their enduring partnership on display, and it became clear theirs is more than a relationship between musical peers ' it's family.

Fitting, then, that openers and Boston-locals The Organ Beats feature real-life siblings. Singer Noelle LeBlanc (ex-Damone frontwoman) owns the mic while her brother, Danny, brings arena-ready rock to the drums. With their leather-clad power-pop unfurling behind melodic vocals, the Beats easily held the attention of early attendees marking up for Green and/or Dear Hunter. Though each member is integral to creating the band's precise sound, it's hard not to stay focused on Noelle. She's an impeccable frontwoman, her voice soaring out over 'Time to Go' and new track 'So Long', her banter jovial, and her hair covering her eyes in perfect rock-star mystique. They've got a new album coming, and with the right single, they could be poised for a break.

The Dear Hunter, incidentally, is also a band with singer and drummer siblings. There was a distinct bunch in the crowd anticipating this set as much as Green's. Hands were clapping and bodies were moving during 'Echo', and by the time the first chorus of 'Misplaced Devotions' came bellowing out, the floor was shaking with stomping feet. 'Everyone excited to see Anthony Green?' Crescenzo asked midway through the set. 'You, too!' was the throat-scratching reply from one fan, to which guitarist Robert Parr responded, 'They're not playing tonight. They're actually much bigger than us.' Well, no one coming to a small venue in the smallest state in the union would expect Bono-status acts, but TDH filled The Met to bursting with their prog-rock dynamism.

I've never seen Crescenzo, typically quiet and a tad nervous, appear in such good spirits. He was confident, smiling, and connected with the crowd in a way I hadn't seen from him before. Before playing the last number, 'The Collapse of the Great Tide Cliffs', he sincerely apologized if it wasn't the song some people wanted to hear (a girl's shrill scream at the first notes proved at least one happy customer). In part acknowledging the band's recent Color Spectrum EP series left them with a glut of material (I've still never heard epics like Act I's 'City Escape' or Act II's 'The Lake and the River' live), this also revealed a Crescenzo more emotionally united with his audience.

There are two possible reasons: TDH hails from Providence, just a ten minute trip down 95, and hometown gigs often bring out a band's best. The other, I believe, is playing with Anthony Green.

After a break, The Dear Hunter returned to back Green, whose usual band Good Old War is currently out with Counting Crows. During the third song, 'Moon Song', while Green and Crescenzo harmonized, they shared a smile from across the stage. There was no irony, no covering a mistake, no laughing at some stupid audience member; it was joy. These two really love playing together, and their combined energy adopted the crowd right into their little family. From the moment Green got on stage, hands were in the air grasping for him like children reaching to be picked up by a parent. 'He had them eating out of his hands' is a cliché, sure, but not when a singer is literally pouring Gatorade down fan's throats 'like a little bird.'

Green was a madman, flailing about, shoving four fingers into his mouth and biting down between lines. All the saccharine cheese of his 'Green-ian poetry' was easily overlooked, and that high-pitched voice doesn't run as much risk as being grating when supported by a furious live show. TDH's backup was as fevered as Green himself, his vocals cleanly counterpointed by Crescenzo's on cuts like 'Only Love'.

While Green's intensity was impressive, it was the love in the room that stood out above all ' Green even gave love to the sound guy, calling him 'the best on the whole tour.' Early in the set he thanked the crowd for singing along, which they did to nearly every song, including 'Seven Years' from his days in Saosin. When some crowd members later returned the thanks, Green graciously turned it down. 'Don't thank me,' he said, 'Trust me, I love this shit.' The eruption from the young, sweat-drenched crowd clearly indicated the feeling was mutual.

The Dear Hunter Setlist:
We've Got a Score to Settle
Echo
The Church and the Dime
Trapdoor
The Thief
A Sua Voz
Misplaced Devotion
He Said He Had a Story
The Collapse of the Great Tide Cliffs

Anthony Green Setlist:
Babygirl
If I Don't Sing
Moon Song
She Loves Me So
The First Day of Work at the Microscope Store
Right Outside
Drug Dealer
Blood Song
Get Yours While You Can
When I'm On Pills
Stone Hearted Man
Only Love
Devil's Song (This Feels Like a Nightmare)
Encore: 
Seven Years (Saosin cover)
Suitcase (Circa Survive cover)
Dear Child (I've Been Dying to Reach You)
'

 

Live Review: Tenacious D at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom (6/28)

I never thought I'd be compelled to write something intelligent about a Tenacious D show. Then again, I never thought I'd see Tenacious D live. But, when their Hammerstein gig was announced, something inside me insisted I go. Perhaps I wanted to be in the same room as Jack Black. (There's nothing wrong with that, right? Musicians are technically celebrities, but he's a movie star, a different breed altogether.) Maybe I wanted to see how much I've grown up since the days of jamming to 'Tribute' with my high school band. Or, fine, maybe I liked The Pick of Destiny. And maybe I had a huge shit-eating-grin on my face during 'Tribute', and maybe it is still hilarious. Yeah, I guess that's why I went, and why I'm struggling to say anything moderately intelligent about a Tenacious D show that isn't just along the lines of 'It's really fun to sing 'Fuck Her Gently' in a room filled with a bunch of fellow geeks.' (Spoiler alert: It is)

On Tenacious D's new record, Rize of the Fenix, specifically on the song 'They Fucked Our Asses', they make a reference to 'keeping their indie cred.' But, does a band with a giant inflatable Phoenix/Penis backdrop really have any indie-cred? Probably not. Does a band like Tenacious D need any indie cred? Definitely not. This was the kind of show where a bunch of apathetic concert goers could do nothing but ruin the show. Sure, the crowd might not have been dressed as well as when the band made a stop at Sasquatch! earlier this summer, but they were the right kind of crowd. Normally, a shirt with any sort of video game reference or faux-nerd regalia would make me scoff, at Tenacious D's show this was welcome. The kids decked out in Batman masks/capes, with Mario characters on their shirt, and pants with chains (they still exist) probably raged the hardest to Tenacious D's set, even inciting impressive mosh-pits during 'The Metal' and 'Deth Starr'.

As expected, Black's voice was on, from his gibberish vocalizations to his wannabe Ronnie James Dio screams. Theatrics were aplenty, with staged moments of Kyle Gass quitting the band before 'Dude (I Totally Miss You)' and 'Kyle Quit The Band', costumed antics during everything else, and the Phoenix (or, is it Fenix?) shot sperm shaped confetti for the finale. Songs that normally required a movie-oriented narrative like 'Kickapoo' and 'Beezleboss' still kicked ass with the members of the touring band playing different characters, and there was even a perfectly D'd medley of The Who tunes. Sure, the most variation you'll get in a song is Black adding 'motherfucker' between random syllables, but there's still something about seeing The D live that makes the show stand out.

Having said that, I never want to see the show again; there's absolutely no point. It's not that I know what to expect or that it's embarrassing, or that there's anything remotely wrong with the show. It's just that a Tenacious D gig is a memorable one-time experience, whether for the 14-year-old newcomer who just stumbled onto 'Kielbasa' or the 25-year-old whose side still aches from laughter every time he hears it. It's rare to find a comic that tours with the same material again and again. That's the difference here. The D will always play 'Kielbasa' and while it'll always draw laughs, it'll never have that first-time magic. Personally, I'd rather not fuck with that ' no matter how gently.

Setlist:
Rize of the Fenix
Low Hangin' Fruit
Senorita
Deth Starr
Roadie
Throw Down
Kielbasa
Kickapoo
Dude (I Totally Miss You)
Kyle Quit the Band
Friendship
The Metal
Wonderboy
Who Medley
Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)
Tribute
Double Team
Encore:
Baby
Dio
Fuck Her Gently
'

Lauryn Hill pleads guilty to tax evasion

'For the past several years, I have remained what others would consider underground.  I did this in order to build a community of people, like-minded in their desire for freedom and the right to pursue their goals and lives without being manipulated and controlled by a media protected military industrial complex with a completely different agenda.  Having put the lives and needs of other people before my own for multiple years, and having made hundreds of millions of dollars for certain institutions, under complex and sometimes severe circumstances, I began to require growth and more equitable treatment, but was met with resistance.  I entered into my craft full of optimism (which I still possess), but immediately saw the suppressive force with which the system attempts to maintain it's control over a given paradigm.  I've seen people promote addiction, use sabotage, black listing, media bullying and any other coercion technique they could, to prevent artists from knowing their true value, or exercising their full power.  These devices of control, no matter how well intentioned (or not), can have a devastating outcome on the lives of people, especially creative types who must grow and exist within a certain environment and according to a certain pace, in order to live and create optimally.

I kept my life relatively simple, even after huge successes, but it became increasingly obvious that certain indulgences and privileges were expected to come at the expense of my free soul, free mind, and therefore my health and integrity.  So I left a more mainstream and public life, in order to wean both myself, and my family, away from a lifestyle that required distortion and compromise as a means for maintaining it.  During this critical healing time, there were very few people accessible to me who had not already been seduced or affected by this machine, and therefore who could be trusted to not try and influence or coerce me back into a dynamic of compromise. Individual growth was expected to take place unnaturally, or stagnated outright, subject to marketing and politics.  Addressing critical issues like pop culture cannibalism or its manipulation of the young at the expense of everything, was frowned upon and discouraged by limiting funding, or denying it outright.  When one has a prolific creative output like I did/do, and is then forced to stop, the effects can be dangerous both emotionally and psychologically, both for the artist and those in need of that resource.  It was critically important that I find a suitable pathway within which to exist, without being distorted or economically strong-armed.

During this period of crisis, much was said about me, both slanted and inaccurate, by those who had become dependent on my creative force, yet unwilling to fully acknowledge the importance of my contribution, nor compensate me equitably for it.  This was done in an effort to smear my public image, in order to directly affect my ability to earn independently of this system.  It took a long time to locate and nurture a community of people strong enough to resist the incredibly unhealthy tide, and more importantly see through it.  If I had not been able to make contact with, and establish this community, my life, safety and freedom, would have been directly affected as well as the lives, safety and freedom of my family.  Failure to create a non toxic, non exploitative environment was not an option.

As my potential to work, and therefore earn freely, was being threatened, I did whatever needed to be done in order to insulate my family from the climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism that I was surrounded by.  This was absolutely critical while trying to find and establish a new and very necessary community of healthy people, and also heal and detoxify myself and my family while raising my young children.

There were no exotic trips, no fleet of cars, just an all out war for safety, integrity, wholeness and health, without mistreatment denial, and/or exploitation.  In order to liberate myself from those who found it ok to oppose my wholeness, free speech and integral growth by inflicting different forms of punitive action against it, I used my resources to sustain our safety and survival until I was able to restore my ability to earn outside of it!

When artists experience danger and crisis under the effects of this kind of insidious manipulation, everyone easily accepts that there was something either dysfunctional or defective with the artist, rather than look at, and fully examine, the system and its means and policies of exploiting/'doing business'.  Not only is this unrealistic, it is very dark in its motivation, conveniently targeting the object of their hero worship by removing any evidence that they 'needed' or celebrated this very same resource just years, months or moments before.  Since those who believe they need a hero/celebrity outnumber the actual heroes/celebrities, people feel safe and comfortably justified in numbers, committing egregious crimes in the name of the greater social ego.  Ironically diminishing their own true hero-celebrity nature in the process.

It was this schism and the hypocrisy, violence and social cannibalism it enabled, that I wanted and needed to be freed from, not from art or music, but the suppression/repression and reduction of that art and music to a bottom line alone, without regard for anything else.  Over-commercialization and its resulting restrictions and limitations can be very damaging and distorting to the inherent nature of the individual.  I Love making art, I Love making music, these are as natural and necessary for me almost as breathing or talking.  To be denied the right to pursue it according to my ability, as well as be properly acknowledged and compensated for it, in an attempt to control, is manipulation directed at my most basic rights!  These forms of expression, along with others, effectively comprise my free speech!  Defending, preserving, and protecting these rights are critically important, especially in a paradigm where veiled racism, sexism, ageism, nepotism, and deliberate economic control are still blatant realities!!!

Learning from the past, insulating friends and family from the influence of external manipulation and corruption, is far more important to me than being misunderstood for a season!  I did not deliberately abandon my fans, nor did I deliberately abandon any responsibilities, but I did however put my safety, health and freedom and the freedom, safety and health of my family first over all other material concerns!  I also embraced my right to resist a system intentionally opposing my right to whole and integral survival.
I conveyed all of this when questioned as to why I did not file taxes during this time period.  Obviously, the danger I faced was not accepted as reasonable grounds for deferring my tax payments, as authorities, who despite being told all of this, still chose to pursue action against me, as opposed to finding an alternative solution.

My intention has always been to get this situation rectified.  When I was working consistently without being affected by the interferences mentioned above, I filed and paid my taxes.  This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society, in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family.

As this, and other areas of issue are resolved and set straight, I am able to get back to doing what I should be doing, the way it should be done.  This is part of that process.  To those supporters who were told that I abandoned them, that is untrue.  I abandoned greed, corruption, and compromise, never you, and never the artistic gifts and abilities that sustained me.'