Archive for March, 2010
Interview: Gabbing with the Black Lips
At first glance, Black Lips may come off as revolutionary pioneers who play only to shock and paralyze. The Georgia-based quartet who classify themselves as “flower-punk” gained immense global attention and criticism for their ludicrous,off-base shows that cross the avant garde line.With an unconventionally intricate garage sounds and iron-handed attitude, Black Lips are anything but orthodox. We talked to the guitarist Cole Alexander about the band’s current tour and an upcoming record.
GSL: Is there a style under which you would classify your music?
Cole Alexander: I would definitely classify it as rock and roll. I guess more specifically you can call a garage-punk music.
MM: : How do you feel when you hear your favorite bands music in a commercial or a movie that you hated?
The thing with movies is you can’t tell the outcome until it’s released. Judging from experience, someone will come along and say “Hey’ we’ve got this great movie”, and we say “Okay, cool”, but it sucks when it ends up being lame. It’s just hard to tell.
MM: It has been heard that you’re currently recording your sixth studio record, how is it progressing?
Yeah, we’re working on it. It’s kind of in the beginning stages still.
We don’t really have a deadline, we’re planning to take our time and chill. We’re pretty wrapped up this year, so the album should come out in 2011.
MM: When do you mostly write your material?
To be honest, whenever. Usually when I hear a good song, I’ll get an idea and I’ll record it on my phone, so I can go back and expand on it later.
MM: You and the Bradford Cox of Deerhunter have a project called Ghetto Cross. How would you say this project differs from the Black Lips?
It’s kind of a combination. A little more punk but with a taste of Deerhunter’s indie sounds. I would say it’s definitely more experimental. It’s a laboratory creation, we don’t want to put out anything until we’re satisfied, but we do have one song!
MM: What are your favorite tunes to listen to while you tour?
Lately it’s been this guy Reverend Jackson from the 70’s, the guitars on the record are amazing.
MM: You are known to play at a lot of places where most bands usually wouldn’t, why is that?
We’re kind of punk-rock explorers, we like to explore land through the ways of art. We’re trying to mobilize punk music around the world. We were actually talking about Palestine and playing there. Before it was an idea and now we’re actually trying to gain a connection.
MM: It’s been heard that you’re interest in touring third world countries South America, India, what are your goals for this type of tour and how does it differ from the western tour?
I’m not a 100 percent sure, it’s almost like an image. (in my head) To take other cultures and to bring them to a place that’s common with music. I don’t want us to be another typical mainstream rock band.
MM: Do you think that people misconstrue the whole image of your band, after seeing all of the bizarre acts?
People probably think that we come off as bratty, just trying to shock the audience. If you listen to our music, it will give you a better understanding of our personalities.
I hope that they would expect a return of many forms. High-fi and low-fi, definitely meshing up the sounds to please both audiences. Just to have such a variety of people enjoy it, for me it’s just fun to bring.
By Viktorsha Uliyanova
MGMT Release Video for “Flash Delirium” (and Some MGMT vs LCD Soundsystem – “All My Children” (Immuzikation Remix) For You Too!)
MGMT. You’ve won. After personally being a bit skeptical about the upcoming record Congratulations (Columbia), I think this morning was the deciding factor. The glam clad boys have released the first video from the record for “Flash Delirium.” It’s not overly flashly for once. It’s artsy, and really brings the song to a new level. Ben Goldwasser finally comes into his own as an actor (haha) as Andrew VanWyngarden plays the sidekick to his creepy “Welcome Home,” party. It’s just not right to reveal everything in the video, because then it would ruin everything, right?
Take a peak HERE AND WATCH!
Congratulations is due out April 13th.
Also check out one of our favorite MGMT remix/mashups ever of MGMT vs LCD Soundsystem – “All My Children” (Immuzikation Remix) Make it an MGMT day. Your coworkers and roomates will love you for it. Maybe.
MGMT vs LCD Soundsystem – All My Children (Immuzikation Remix) by modernmysteryblog
Secondhand Sunday: The Morning Benders “Waiting For a War”
What better way to start Spring off then with some old school Morning Benders. There’s nothing we can really say about this song from the poppy (former) Californians, but it’s ohhhhh so good. This week’s edition of Secondhand Sunday is their track for “Waiting For a War.” Get ready to start dancing around your apartement. Yea, the Morning Benders just make you want to do that, don’t they?
SURFER BLOOD + Interview + Remix = Freakin’ Awesome
Surfer Blood. Ah. We can’t seem to get enough of them here at Modern Mystery, but really, who can? The band just finished up a ton of successful shows at SXSW and are still on their forever extensive tour that tickets are becoming harder and harder to get (Oh I’m having Vampire Weekend flashbacks all over again!).
We first met Surfer Blood at CMJ 2009. They were a little late for our interview, and quite frankily we weren’t even 100% sure what these boys looked like. From the back of a van we conducted their first interview EVER. Five bright eyed guys who said they were worried about getting one CMJ show and somehow ended up with nine. From the first moment we saw them live with a handful of people at Santo’s Party House, every CMJ show seemed to get bigger and bigger. It was only the beginning and we knew they were going to be huge.
Today in our system we came across the Surfer Blood Remix of “Swim,” (Alpaca Remix by Allen Blickle of Baroness) and remembered how rad it is. For your listening pleasure it’s down below.
Also, here is the previously mentioned INTERVIEW with Surfer Blood.
Surfer Blood – Swim (Alpaca Remix by Allen Blickle of Baroness) by modernmysteryblog
New Blitzen Trapper Song, “Heaven and Earth”
Blitzen Trapper is slowy heading back into action as Sub Pop and the band just leaked their newest track from the upcoming Destroyer of Void due out in June. The song titled “Heaven and Earth,” is nonetheless beautiful and haunting at the same time. What really stands out is the piano and singer Eric Earley’s voice. I’m not sure if there is much more I can say about this song, you just have to listen for yourself….and I suggest that you do.
Blitzen Trapper- Heaven and Earth by modernmysteryblog
Download the song HERE
New RYAN ADAMS Song. He’s Says He’s Going ‘Metal.’ What Am I Suppose To Do With This Information?
This week Ryan Adams’ announced the return of his metal planned act known as “Werewolph.” I’m not sure if this is leading him out of his retirement, but I hope so. I love Ryan’s work, I really do, but besides the little bit of growl in his voice that doesn’t even last more than a few seconds overall, it could nicely fit on Rock N Roll. That’s not a bad thing by any means, but hell I was expecting like freaking Slayer to come out here. The record will be pressed this week on his label Pax-Am and will be titled Orion. Your guess is as good as mine as to what the rest of this vinyl only album release is going to sound like overall. We’re off to a good start though. Can we hope he’ll be back on the road again? We’ll have to wait and see.
Listen and Download Ryan’s first metal inspired song “Electrosnake”
Ryan Adams – Electrosnake by modernmysteryblog
WYLDLIFE Give Pains of Being Pure at Heart a Run for Their Money…
Over time I have met and helped many amazing bands. I want to share with you one of my favorites. Hailing from the outskirts of New York City is a young band of early 20′s lads called Wyldlife. They’ve been making a name for themselves around New York and last year did a super successful Northeast Tour. Imagine if The Strokes and The Ramones had a bastard child. This would turn out to be Wyldlife in the most flattering way possible. Also, what cool parents that would be right? Every tune is addictive, and every note is flawless from one track to the next. The vocals are dead on brilliant. Oh and does the lead singer look familar to you? Well that’s Dave Feldman, the brother of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and The Depreciation Guild’s Kurt Feldman. I hate to play favorites but I’m loving Wyldlife more.
You can catch Wyldlife this coming Thursday, March 25th in New York City. They’re playing Webster Hall. The show starts at 8pm and it’s Ages 19+. 10 bucks will get you into one of the most energetic concerts you’ll ever see. Consider this peer pressure. Go do it!
Here’s some Wyldlife for your downloading pleasure and check out more songs on their Myspace HERE.
Click on the Down Pointing Arrow on the Right Side of the Soundcloud Box to Download!
Wyldlife- Lit Lounge by modernmysteryblog
Wyldlife- Girls In Fedoras by modernmysteryblog
Wyldlife- I Just Can’t Stand Just Standing Around by modernmysteryblog
The Strokes ARE BACK!
I was possibly in denial about the fact that The Strokes were making a new record. I don’t even want to think about how long ago it was that the band took the stage together. After Mr. Casablancas finishes up some tour dates for his recent solo record Phrazes for the Young everything goes back into full force for sure. The band is already in the studio recording LP four that will be out later this year. Can I just say it’s about damn time? I swear if Nick Valensi decides to start a solo project in the next month my head might explode. He is the only member without one, isn’t he?
The Strokes are also headlining Lollapalooza in August and will be playing the Isle of Wright festival in June. Talk about a grand comeback. Hopefully the rest of North America will start to see Strokes shows surfacing in the next few months. A new record is certainly a good way to start things off.
Take a listen to a demo of “Someday” down below. Let the good times roll….
The Strokes- Someday (Demo) by modernmysteryblog
Interview: Warming Up with Miike Snow
You’ve been hearing the name everywhere. They’re probably your new favorite group. Everyone wants a piece of Miike Snow. No, it isn’t a one man band, it’s a three piece electro outfit originally hailing from Sweden. Over the weekend we had the chance to catch up with singer Andrew Wyatt about their overnight success and their SXSW shows. Take a peak below!
Modern Mystery: Your album exploded onto the scene pretty quickly. Did you ever expect this much attention and praise?
Andrew Wyatt: Not really, not at all. We thought it was something that was fun to make and also some sort of cliche amongst our peers. We never thought it would be music for the people.
MM: What do you like better, remixing or being remixed and why?
Wyatt: Remixing, just because it’s a little more proactive. We just try to pick something we like, and that has process of emotions.
MM: You are set to play SXSW next week. Is this your first time playing the festival and are you excited?
Wyatt: Yea we are very excited! It’s a great festival with a long running tradition. It’s our first time playing.
MM: How does the group come up with songs?
Wyatt: We’re all in the same room. Someone may have ideas in their head. We all create the songs in the same room in the prescence of each other. We take turns after it’s done.
MM: How long did it take you to create the debut album?
Wyatt: Probably 4 or 5 weeks, not inclduing mixing. With mixing it took 6 weeks.
MM: Are you constantly working on new material?
Wyatt: When we are on tour its difficult. I don’t think were going to make the new album on a laptop. The instruments we use are not on the tour bus. It’s difficult to make a new album with us touring so much.
MM: How do you create what you did in the studio and bring it onto the live stage successfully?
Wyatt: Theres just different ways. Sometimes you can’t do something on stage you did on an album. You have to find a viable replacement for that.
MM: What’s your favorite part about playing a show?
Wyatt: I think crowd surfing. So far we don’t have a favorite place to play. We’ve had great audiences all over place. We’re really excited for Coachella though.
MM: What does the next Miike Snow record have in store? Or are you guys just focused on touring right now?
Wyatt: We’ve been thinking about what we want to do , and we have a title an an album cover and were going to work backwards from there.
MM: Your videos are pretty amazing and artistic. Do you guys have a hand in the concept?
Wyatt: Not really the directors have responsibilities and time constraints. It hinders us from ideas. The next record we’re going to have more input on the videos, and we will be more involved next time.
MM: Where do you see Miike Snow five years from now?
Wyatt: We’ll have our own private islands and send out smoke signals to communicate. We’ll throw out our blackberrys!
MM: You’re playing three sold out shows in New York. Are you excited about those?
Wyatt: Of course, and in October we’ll playing Terminal 5. I hope we’ll sell those out too of course its nice to see those big full shows. Like shows in your hometown, there’s nothing like it.
Miike Snow- “Animal”- Mark Ronson Remix by modernmysteryblog
Here We Go Again: An Interview with Tim Nordwind from OK Go
OK Go has always been one of my favorite bands. The band broke big when their second record Oh No (EMI Capitol) came out five years ago and haven’t slowed down since. Their pop hooks, killer stage prescene and hillarious videos are a force not to be reckoned with. Late last week I had the chance to talk to bass player Tim Nordwind about everything from their split with their long time record label to the future of the band. Oh here we go, here we go, here we go again……
Modern Mystery: What is the inspiration behind the songs on the new record?
Tim Nordwind: A lot of this record was written during the Bush administration and in the economic downfall. It seemed like the world need help. Also stuff that the band was going through, personal times. We had just come off the road after two and a half years. It was what we were going through, that sort of thing.
MM: There was a long span between Oh No and Of the Colour of the Blue Sky (EMI Capitol). What was the reason?
Nordwind: Well the second record, since we toured a lot, it took about a year for us to come up with stuff, and with the label putting it out in the world. We ended up touring with Oh No for two and a half years and that’s three and a half years already. When we got home, we got our heads together and we started to write songs for the next record. And so when we first sat down we realized what we wanted it to sound like. So it took a little while longer and we wanted to go in organized. By the time we got it together and had the label distribute it, it was five years right there. I hope we don’t take as long next time. I don’t think we’ll be on tour for two and a half years with this record. We’ll make and another one and it will pick up I guess!
MM: Did you feel any pressure going into the studio since Oh No blew up pretty big and fast?
Nordwind: All the pressure we were feeling was self inflicted for sure. The label was more or less hands off. At that point they had let us do our own thing. We often feel a lot of pressure, but the pressure was totally self inflicted. We spent a lot of time asking ourselves “It this good?” “What do you think?” We put a lot of time into it. No one else gave us pressure.
MM: Yesterday it was announced that you had cut ties with EMI and Capitol to form your own label, Paracadute. What was the decision behind that and how much involvement does the band have in it?
Nordwind: It was definetly something the band wanted to do. We needed to make a change and start our own business. It seemed like a good time to do it. Our label, it was a very amicable split and they were pretty cool about it. It’s definetly an exciting moment for us. For the first time in eight years we’re an independent band, really an independent band. We started out as an independent band anyway. We’ll now distribute our records ourselves. It’s exciting.
MM: Your videos are always amazing. How do you come up with the concepts?
Nordwind: Concepts come from all sorts of places. Sometimes it’s born out of an idea one of us will have, or a friend of ours will come and say “Hey I have an idea,” and we kind of just go from there. It’s really a collaboration and we don’t do traditional film making. We like to sort of, well we like to act, and like if you want to make a video, what do you do? We try to figure it out rather then going to someone who makes traditional films. We started having friends of ours make our videos. Our ideas come from all over the place and then we work on them.
MM: How do you create your songs? Is it a collaboration or does everyone come in with seperate ideas?
Nordwind: Usually the way we write songs is that we all kind of do it alone. Then we’ll bring it to the band and we all sort of work on it and make it sound just right. Then we sometimes take ideas and sort of jam them out. Usually by the time a song is done, everyone in the band has touched it one way or another.
MM: Where do you see OK Go in ten years from now?
Nordwind: I don’t really know, and the exciting thing is that we don’t what it is. I hope we don’t go the way of we run out of good ideas. Like the new record company, that makes us very excited, and that’s awesome. If we’re still as successful, that’s a fifty-fifty chance. Hopefully we’ll all be there working on songs.
Take a listen to OK Go’s “This to Shall Pass” (Passion Pit Remix)
OK Go – This Too Shall Pass (Passion Pit Remix) by modernmysteryblog
Secondhand Sunday: Of Montreal “So Begins Our Alabee”
Spring coming automatically puts me in an Of Montreal mood. Okay, more so. Aren’t I always in an Of Montreal mood? Hah. This video is an oldie and a personal fave from The Sunlandic Twins (Polyvinyl). “So Begins Our Alabee,” is one of the greatest songs and the video is just fun and colorful. Yes this is before they glammed themselves up. Notice Kevin’s casual dancing and non-flashy clothes. My my have they come a long way. Either way, they are one of the best bands to ever exist. We can’t wait to see what the band has up their sleeve next.
Creating Beats with Javelin
I first saw Javelin back at CMJ 2009. One of my friends and fellow Modern Mystery writer, Joe, told me I just “Had to hear these guys.” Curious, we headed out to see the chill wave duo at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. It was noon time on a weekday. As intimate as it was, it was one of the highlights of my CMJ. The cousins who are currently residing in Brooklyn are getting bigger by the day. Today I had the pleasure of speaking with George Langford who was waiting to pick up Javelin’s new tour ride. Their debut album titled No Mas drops on David Byrne’s label Luaka Bop on April 20th. Be prepared for one of the hits of the summer.
Modern Mystery:The first time I saw you guys was at CMJ last year. At the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn at an early afternoon show. How has things changed for you since then?
George Langford: We played a lot more shows since then. We finished our full length that’s coming out in a few weeks, we just did a tour in the UK with Yeasayer. It’s a new experience. It’s been a barage since then, and we’ve had increase in activity, more opportunities and better shows. Things have been good since then.
MM: How does art play a role in your songs, stage performance, and overall image of the group?
Langford: Tom and I would both agree that a visual experience for us is a valid one in the way music is produced. What we draw inspirations from are musicians and other music but also visual things. We spend a lot of time at record stores and thrift shops and its not always the music but sometimes the cover. The two go hand and hand, the visual and sonic.
MM: Do you find it hard to bring what you created in the studio onto the live stage?
Langford: All the time, its pretty much the constant battle. It’s the fun of the challenge of the band. You’re in the studio and make this song, you try to create them and you can’t. You play that element and try to portray it live and jump around onstage. It’s a learning process . We’re just two people. It’s a challenge.
MM: How do you create and write your songs? Where does your inspiration come from?
Langford: In the past it had been like two chemists working in the same lab, working on different projects and working with each other. Some of the best stuff we ever made are the instances we work together. Sometimes we make things together or bring it to the other guy and flush it out together. In the beginning we had very different styles and now its more similar. In the start for me it wasn’t competition to out do the other one but try to impress the other one. To come up with something better , try to impress the other person. That’s how it was in the early days.
MM: Have you ever been on the tour this much? Did you think a year ago that is where you would be?
Langford: We’ve never had to tour this much, its always been looming,. Like if we are going to do the music thing we’ll have to be road dogs at some points. Compared to some bands we’re hardly that. The next couple of months we’re going to be on the road a lot and it’s going to change the live show and format, getting loose with it and finding new ways to t do it
MM: Are you excited about the release of No Mas or more nervous?Langford: I’m so excited. So many songs we’ve been sitting on for years, some of the material is brand new, and some is old and reworked. It’s pretty bizarre. It’s like murder to me waiting for this to come out.
MM: How did you get involved with David Byrne’s label?Langford: It was just a lucky thing. We have been burning these cd-rs and selling them at shows, giving them to friends. This one cd Jamz N Jemz just got in the hands of the people at the label, and here we are. I guess it doesn’t happen like that to a lot of people. We weren’t very active in the pursuits of labels.
MM: What do you like more? Being in the studio or being on stage?Langford: In the past I’ve been very much of a studio type person. I’m a total hermit and I love being at my house, but it is a tremendous rush I get from performing. I used to have paralyzing stage fright but it went away…like panic attacks and anxiety. It’s now excitement .I could never understand this foreign idea of getting up there and performing but it feels so good. So I guess at the moment I enjoy being on stage. I don’t know how to compare.
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