If you would have told me that I would love a Delorean tune with a little dubstep flavor, I probably would have first laughed in your face, then I may have done that Three Stooges eye poke thing to you, and maybe kicked you in the nuts when you least expected it, grimacing in pain. Luckily, I was told that I might like it over the computer, so the theoretical “you” in this case were spared. Although I don’t know if this technically qualifies as dubstep, I don’t really care. Because just hearing that weird vocal sample in this song will forever conjure images of Pitchfork festival day 2, camera in tow, in the disgusting 90 degree humid heat, not caring about a thing except for the killer beats on stage. And I’m pretty happy that the duo LightsoverLA, who will be releasing their first EP this October, decided to mix it up. Because after listening to this jam a few times, it seems like this is the sunny version that’s taken hold in my memory of that fateful July afternoon.
This track might have saturated the blogosphere like whoa yesterday. But you know what?I like it so much that I’m posting it anyway. Glasser is Cameron Mesirow and besides having the cuteness to be my next indie crush, she cranks out some great tunes as well. Her debut album Ring is being released September 28, and we can’t wait (you couldn’t hear it over the computer, but I just made the noises from the chorus of “I Can’t Wait” by Nu Shooz). “Home” at first seems much different than what we’ve heard from her before, with its clappy beat and what sounds like some sort of glitchy mallet instrument. And then there’s the big, harmonized, synthesized chorus that also rules the school. But it’s Mesirow’s voice that’s the real star of the show. Check out a Delorean remix of “Glad” as well, which at first doesn’t sound Delorean at all, but then sounds totally Delorean. Rad to the max.
What a weekend. Despite the steamy temps, this was perhaps my favorite of the three Pitchfork Fests I’ve attended. But I figured instead of writing about it, I’d just show you what i saw. Check out about a million pictures from days 1 and 2 after the jump. Later this week, we’ll also be bringing you about a million pictures from day 3 as well as a few interviews we got at the fest as well with some of our favorite bands.
This weekend we will be heading to Chicago for our third consecutive Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park. There are so many reasons this fest is so great especially when compared to the other huge fests I’ve gone to in the past.
Maybe one of the best parts of the fest is the ratio of big name acts to the small size of the festival grounds. There are only 3 stages at this fest, 2 of them being right next to one another, and a third just a 5 minute walk away. And there’s really only music going on 2 of those stages at any given moment. The beauty of this is that unlike the huge festivals (usually with 6+ stages), it is actually viable to catch all the acts you want to see without worrying about which of your 4 must see acts you will watch, since they’re all playing at the same time. And it’s not like these are no name bands either. Many of these acts actually performed at Coachella, including some headliners and just about headliners.
This year they’ve changed up the Friday format a little bit as well. In the past, there were only a few Friday performances on the A and C stages. Two years ago, some of the acts performed full albums from cover to cover sponsored by All Tomorrow’s Parties and last year the acts played requests from the audience as part of Pitchork’s Write the Night. This year it seems the acts are free to perform whatever they want, and the fest has opened up the B stage on Friday for a lineup of top notch comedians as well. The Fridays in the past have felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the weekend so hopefully this will correct that. All they need now is to revive the DJ tent that I’ve heard about from the fest’s first years. I also think the Friday action starts a bit earlier this year, so it won’t feel so much like that half day with a few bands before the real fest begins (at least like it has for me in the past).
Another pretty unique aspect of Pitchfork fest is all of the interesting and unique merch you can obtain. There are typically 2 huge tents with lots of vendors selling just about anything you can think of, on top of most of the indie record labels on site with plenty of vinyl to go around. And for all of you poster collectors, make sure to check out the entire walkway devoted to unique and (presumably) handmade posters for just about any indie artist you can think of.
And let’s not forget the food. While festival food in general has greatly improved over the past few years, Pitchfork has always had a great selection of any type of food you could possibly want, including plenty of veggie and vegan items. And the beer, which I believe was $4 or $5 a piece last year, is also pretty reasonably priced compared to other fests, not to mention that it’s delicious Goose Island beer rather than the typical Bud Light.
But, of course, the most important part of the festival is the crazy good lineup they manage to put together every year. I mean, looking at the Sunday lineup this year is almost like taking a look at my most played artists in my iTunes. I’ve seen a lot of these acts live before (and am greatly looking forward to seeing them again), but I thought I would just highlight a few of the acts I’m most excited to catch this time around that I haven’t seen before. I’m wondering who will take the cake as this years unexpected MVP (the title I so dubiously granted to the incredible, perfectly lit by natural light M83 performance last year).
I have to admit, over the course of the past year, I’ve found a whole new appreciation for well-done pop music, so I’m especially excited to catch Robyn live on Friday night (especially since I’ll be missing her Detroit stop on the tour the following night). I’m expecting a high powered performance that could be a highlight.
Saturday afternoon should get a jolt of high powered Spanish energy when Delorean takes the stage. Besides their own brand of summery and danceable tunes, these guys have put out some of the brightest remixes in recent memory.
I have to admit, while I’ve heard and loved a handful of Wolf Parade tracks, I’m much more familiar with side projects Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown. But if the energy of those bands is any indication, I fully expect Wolf Parade to have its way with the Pitchfork Crowd.
I’m not going to get into all the things I (and presumably many of you) love so much about San Fran rockers Girls. I will only say how excited I am to catch their early afternoon set.
Last but not least on my list of “most anticipated Pitchfork acts that I haven’t seen live before” is none other than Major Lazer. The Diplo and Switch-led live act is, by any account I’ve ever read, a not-to-be-missed all out party in all senses of the word.
Happy birthday to us! It’s officially our one year birthday and we couldn’t be happier with how things have transpired over the last year, especially the past few months. While straining my brain trying to come up with the perfect way to celebrate, it came to me almost by accident. Since we’ve never done any sort of mixtape, we asked a bunch of our favorite blogs to each submit a track that reminds them of summer. Then, I mixed them all together (sort of, having never done any sort of audio editing in mah life) and the end result is the “Blogwave Summer” mixtape! It was an interesting project because everyone has a different definition of the perfect summer tune, but there’s a great mix of upbeat and chill that all flows together in the end. The mere fact that I was able to do this is a testament to how far we’ve come this past year , so I’m really happy with how it all came together. I mean it’s no Mondo Boys Weird Summer mixtape, but it holds its own. Oh, and thanks to j-town, whose FANTASTIC image I borrowed for the mixtape artwork.
Here’s the full track list, as well as which blog contributed which track in [brackets]. My eternal thanks to all of the blogs who participated, you are all super rad. And make sure to check them out too if you are not already a reader. Thanks to the ON (Original Ninja) The Music Ninja, you can click on any blog names in the image below to get to their respective sites, so do it! Oh yeah, and since this is our anniversary, I took the liberty to throw not one but two fantastic tracks into the mix.
I’ve provided the file in a couple of different ways. You can download it below as one continuous mp3 file, or you can download it as separate tracks (which will sound exactly the same as the single file when played in succession). You can also stream the whole thing right here in the audio player below if you want a sneak preview, but your best bet is probably to download the zip file. Plus the zip file includes a front and back cover which lists all the songs and blogs that contribute them, so that is nice to have. The whole thing runs at about 1:18, so press play and let the summer tunes take you away.
Thanks again to everyone for reading this past year, and let’s see if we can’t make the next year even better.
And here’s a bonus tune that I’ve posted before that JUST missed the cut for this mixtape, but that I listen to almost daily because it’s just SO farking happy. I’m sure it will only get even more play as the days get warmer. I also chose this song because, to quote Mr. Shooter McGavin, “Even though only one of you will become my colleague, all of you…are now my friends.”
With the overwhelming amount of new music that I’ve been trying to trudge through lately (mind you, it is definitely an enjoyable trudge), I thought it would be a nice feature to add to the site to review some albums based on the first listen. I’m hoping to do this once a week, and I think there will be plenty of material out there for this to work. First up is an album that I am expecting to be a quintessential summer album based on their prior works, Delorean’s Subiza. I know most of you have heard this one already, but I’m sitting at the airport listening for the first time. Here we go!
1. Stay Close – The first single from the album is the only track I’d heard prior to this listen and I’ve already talked about what makes it so great here. Makes me want to have a dance party on the beach. As I am predicting most of this album will.
2. Real Love – Right off the bat, I love the distorted vocal sample. It’s got a bit of a “What You Know About That” vibe. A bit more of a slow burner, but still a nice dance vibe. A great example of how Delorean tracks have so many little bits and pieces working together to make something really beautiful. Didn’t expect this one to go on for so long, but I like the major reverb in the second half.
3. Endless Sunset – Starts out with a really nice beat. Whoa! Wasn’t expecting that big drop right in the beginning. This one’s gonna be fun. I just noticed that I’ve never really listened to a Delorean lyric, but I don’t feel like I have to. This music just speaks for itself. Nice synth coming in for the chorus, especially when the beat kicks back in.
4. Grow – This one sounds a little more house than the others. Really subtle. I’m barely 4 songs in and excited about the summer dance party possibilities. This might be the brightest of the songs so far, which says a lot.
5. Simple Graces – Hits you right away! Slower than the other tracks, but still pushing forward. Again, great use of vocal samples. Nice quiet section in the middle with some subtle bongos. Might be the chillest part of the album thus far, but still keeps your attention. Sounds like there’s a buildup in the works. Back to the opening theme before a quick percussion outro.
6. Infinite Desert – This one is a bit slower at the start as well. There’s a cool little thing going on with the rhythm and the piano working together. Just building more and more layers as the song goes on. Big change in the middle, and the percussion is mostly replaced with handclaps, but not annoying ones. And now the piano is replaced with juicy synth. Nice big finish. “Would you like to start, start a riot?” Yes, please.
7. Come Wander – Starts out quietly and bursts into one of the most driving tracks on the album. I know I keep saying this, but every song is just exploding with sunshine and happiness. There are a few breakdowns that remind me a tiny bit of Tensnake’s “Coma Cat”. Piano seems to play a bigger role.
8. Warmer Places – Still has the great dance beat, but sounds just a tad less happy than the others in the beginning. I didn’t love this one until the chorus, but now it makes more sense. There’s a sort of nice contrast between the verses and chorus. I think these end lyrics are saying “And if you want to we can drown our way back into the sun.” So I guess even lyrically it is all summer all the time.
9. It’s All Ours – What a great beat. It sounds a little tribal and a little South American influenced to me. Definitely stands out from the rest. This track sounds to me like it was meant to kind of calm you down from all the excitement of the rest of the album. Still really nice but quite a bit more lax than the others. A fitting ending to a great album.
So I think it’s pretty clear that I fully endorse this album. I can envision it falling heavily into my summer rotation. I do think I had a preconceived notion of what this album would sound like, but I think my notion was spot on. And I can only imagine I’ll like it more with each listen. I dig.
Also, while this album is prime for blaring on hot summer days, make sure you also take the time to listen to it through some headphones for the full effect.
First things first. Even though my ticket had already been purchased regardless of lineup as Pitchfork Fest weekend is a time honored tradition in my group of friends, I was really looking forward to finding out the remainder of the lineup, and last night my wait came to an end. And I’m pretttttty happy with what I saw. Lots of bands I’ve never seen before but have wanted to see. Most notably Delorean (!!!!!!), jj, Wolf Parade, among so many others. Now all we need is a sweet place to stay and things will be golden.
On to a great Friday jam. Atypicals are (is?) a pretty cool electro-pop-synth band currently residing in Brooklyn. What I really like about them, aside from their funky fresh sound, is that they perform as a 4 piece band who plays live instruments! This is what I loved so much about seeing LCD Soundsystem live years ago. I’m very intrigued by this proposition because I think there’s something really great about a live drum set, and I think it’s even better when you get it in conjunction with a full band and a DJ. Today I present to you a sweetical remix of “Venus” by Digiraatii out of Cleveland. Ah, Cleveland! Lemon, we all wish we could just pick up and move to Cleveland. Are you a model? You need to eat something! Those were a few 30 Rock references, which will make you cooler if you knew that already. This remix gets a little dirty, but unlike a lot of dirty electro, this is only slightly unkempt, and its dirty on top of a really nice musical element, so it’s not so overwhelming to the average listener. Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth.
I posted a remix a few weeks back by everyone’s favorite Spanish beatmasters Delorean. The group has the uncanny ability to make every day sound like summer, something that those of us in the Midwest can definitely appreciate. They are releasing a new album in June titled Subiza, but in what seems to be the newest method in combatting piracy, you can download an mp3 version of the whole album now if you preorder. I think most people download leaks not necessarily because they want to steal music, but rather because they don’t want to wait to hear the new stuff, so this is a great example in my mind of the music industry adapting to the changing landscape. Unfortunately, it seems that only the indie labels have picked up on this as of now.
As always, “Stay Close” sounds like all of the sights and sounds of summer wrapped up in a four minute trap. And wouldn’t you know that the video for this track just solidifies everything I’ve ever felt about this group’s music? I swear, watching this video is exactly the visions I’ve always seen in my head when listening to Delorean. It really takes the song to a whole new level, and makes me uber-excited for summer up north week 2010, as well as everything else that is awesome about summer.
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