Posts tagged with little dragon

12/31/2011

[Our 1000th Post!] Top Albums I Listened To The Most In 2011

Upon publishing our last post, I noticed our post count was at 999. I couldn’t just sit here and not complete my 1000th post (well, I had a few guest writers, but I “wrote” most of these “really good posts” mostly all myself) before we began a brand new year, could I? So, on the actual last day of the year, what better way to celebrate 1000 horrible pieces of written prose and musical delight than with my last minute, totally unplanned list of Top Albums I Listened To The Most In 2011? These are not the “best albums of 2011″. These are not even necessarily “my favorite albums of 2011″. They are just the albums I listened to the most, for whatever reason. I think the coolest part is that as I began writing this, I realized that prior to 2011 I hadn’t really listened to most of these artists even once. I probably forgot a few albums I LOVED this year, as I often do with these stupid lists. Maybe my choices aren’t that exciting, but this is what I listened to the most in 2011. So without further ado, here are my top albums I listened to most in 2011, in no particular order.

1. SBTRKT – SBTRKT

So, remember how I said, “In no particular order”? Well, that applies to every album listed below except this one because, as my last.fm stats clearly show, I’ve listened to this album more than any other in 2011. And after my fantastic live experience with SBTRKT this past November, this was definitely the year of SBTRKT for me. If you didn’t already know that, then you shall not reserve the right to call yourself a reader of this site, which I hope is the case because the writing is awful. I still remember my first listen, not knowing that the album would soon become my go to, not to mention my introduction to the world of the UK bass (or whatever it’s called). Also, shoutout to Sampha. Since I’ve already posted “Something Goes Right”, my favorite track from the album, several times, here are few more choice selections.

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Little Dragon – Ritual Union

I knew nothing of Little Dragon until Yukimi Nagano’s memorable guest vocals on last year’s Plastic Beach [via Gorillaz] but after that I definitely took notice. This album is just so interesting to me because it’s kind of minimal and complex at the same time and you can tell I love it because I already posted a few of the tracks and even this killer Tycho remix. I also got to shoot the band at this year’s Movement Fest with the Ren Cen and that was pretty cool too. My claim to fame is that I was standing on the side of the stage when Nagano came over to ask the sound guy to turn up her vocals. He didn’t see her, so I got his attention for her, he made some adjustaments, and then the sound was perfect. I think she fell in love with me after I saved their set like that and I’m really happy to know that she still thinks about me every day.

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When Saints Go Machine – Konkylie

This was the album I never saw coming. In fact, prior to one of my fabulous guest writers turning me on to the band’s Fail Forever EP and that great Nico Jaar remix, I was more than excited for their debut album. And then I heard it, and it was dark and blurry and melodic and interesting and glorious all at the same time. I feel like nobody even heard of this album (perhaps because Pitchfork opted not to review it, despite posting a few times on the band’s previous EP) but I think a lot of people would like it if they did. It doesn’t really sound like much else I’ve heard that I can think of. All hail Scandinavia and the wonderful music it produces. I once called the track below “one of the most beautiful tracks of all time”. Hyperbole or truth?

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Destroyer – Kaputt

While we’re on the topic of beautiful albums, let’s talk about Destroyer’s contribution to the music world in 2011, Kaputt. Here’s another musical project that I never listened to once before this year and fell in love with rather rapidly. The silky smooth saxophones and trumpets that weave a web throughout this entire album kind of make it for me. I don’t exactly know what the musical descriptor “yacht rock” refers to, but if they are talking about music that would be nice to listen to on a sunny day on a yacht, then this is it. This album is like the most perfect reincarnation of some post-disco late 70s smooth jams that I can think of. I saw the band solo back in March and as the opening notes of “Chinatown” began, I had to refrain from grabbing the hand of the girl I didn’t know standing next to me because it just kinda felt like it should happen at that moment. But that would have been creepy, so maybe I did the right thing.

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John Maus – We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves

I think it’s safe to say that 2011 was the year that I “really got what lo-fi music was all about” and John Maus was a big part of that. This album was another one that I listened to with no knowledge of Mr. Maus except that I’d heard a few people mention the album. Turns out it was right up my alley. I also got to catch Mr. Maus live in concert, aka him on stage alone with beats on an ipod screaming hysterically looking all crazy like his head was about to explode at any second. But I still liked it. And I shall listen to this album many times in the coming days/weeks/months/years. Short songs with big fat synth and lo-fi reverby vocals. All the time.

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Crystal Stilts – In Love With Oblivion

Here’s another album that contributed to my newfound love/appreciation of all things lo-fi. While more lo-fi rock than the lo-fi synth above, I still got strangely attached to this album which didn’t sound much like anything else I was in to at the time when it first struck my ears. There’s something so familiar about all of these songs, and the lo-fi vocals matched up against the bright and shimmering guitars are really a match made in sonic heaven. I first heard “Shake The Shackles” late last year and was mildly obsessed with it and the rest of this album didn’t fall far behind. This was one of the few acts in this list that I did not get the privilege of catching live this year, but I will add them to the list next year if at all possible, I can promise you that. Re: the song below…clarinet solo anyone?

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Zola Jesus – Conatus

Zola Jesus is my musical spirit animal. No idea what that means, but my point is that I like her stuff a lot and “really feel like I get the tone she’s going for” in her songs. I dig her choice of electronic sounds, which I like to describe as industrial (is that what people mean when they say she’s “kind of goth”?) and her melodies are just so darn interesting to me. Like how the whole album has this dark undertone to it even though most of the melodies are pretty major (is that what people mean when they say she’s “kind of goth”?). This album was a bit dancier than some of her previous tunes (see Seekir, for example). And of course, her voice is pretty powerful, especially when you see how tiny of a thing she is in person. I haven’t seen her in person myself, but I’ve watched live youtube videos, and I can just tell. I cooked a delicious meal to this album a few weeks back and it was only then that I realized how much I enjoyed every single song on the album. I WILL see Zola Jesus live in 2012. I will. Mark my words.

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Puro Instinct – Headbangers In Ecstacy

This was an album that sort of snuck up on me throughout the year. I think my first real legit full listen was on one of my famous summer bike rides around the neighborhood. It was pretty much some of the most perfect summer bike ride music in America. I don’t know if this technically counts as lo-fi but I will still include it in my year of lo-fi due to the reverb and the fact that I saw them play with John Maus. The tunes on this album are relatively simple with thoughtful melodies that kind of take you away to another place. They’ve got a real throwback sound, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it’s a throwback to. Either way, a great release from these sisters who I think I want to hang out with all the time. It was also nice to see the sister who wasn’t the lead singer playing all the guitar solos at their show. Can you tell I’m running out of things to say about every album? Don’t worry, I’m almost through.

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CANT – Dreams Come True

I think this was also the year that I realized how mega Chris Taylor is, producing tons of albums that I love in addition to Grizzly Bear scheisse. But when he released the CANT album this year as a sort of solo project, it all became clear to me. As it turns out, thinking back on it, the Chris Taylor Grizzly Bear tracks were my favorite ones for the most part. And this album was full of tracks like that, except more raw and more electronic. A lot of these songs didn’t even seem to have much music, aside from the variety of clicks and clacks that made up the rhythm section, but that’s what made them so unique to me. It was kind of like Chris Taylor took his Grizzly Bear melodies and made them all a little darker and then used more of the exact instrumentation that I love. Plus he always reminds me of the oldest son from “Home Improvement” in a weird way. What I’m saying is, Chris Taylor is a man of many musical talents, and I like most/all of them.

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Siriusmo – Mosaik

I am even a little surprised that this album made the list because this is the type of electronic music that I usually qualify as “way too heavy for me to ever really like a lot”. But, as it turns out, I liked this album quite a bit. I don’t know what made this album so listenable for me except that maybe the wide variety of sounds and techniques that were used kind of all worked together in a way that wasn’t so scary for me. I guess it helped that “Mosaik” was the first track I heard, which is one of the less potentially scary tunes on the album for someone who doesn’t really like really heavy electronic, but the rest of the tracks kept me coming back for more once I gave them a shot. Back when I sometimes went to the gym, this album was also quite handy in keeping my heart rate up via nonstop musical action and variety. Kind of like muscle confusion for your ears.

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Com Truise – Galactic Melt

And last but certainly not least is Galactic Melt from an artist with perhaps the most controversial name in 2011. I have no problem with his name myself, and at least it’s a hell of a lot better than Mord Fustang. But for real, even if I did, it’s all about the music anyway, and his music is so great because it’s got a totally one of a kind sound where you can hear 5 seconds of a track and know that it’s his. And his gratuitous but appropriate use of only old school synths makes for a modern take on some old classic sounds that we all know and love. I got to see him twice this year, including once with a drummer, and both were pretty fantastic dance inducing sets. Big ups to Com Truise for making some of the doper beats I heard in 2011.

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This concludes our stupid list and our 1000th post of all times. See you in 2012, which is tomorrow.

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11/11/2011

Little Dragon – Little Man (Tycho Remix)

I obviously love Little Dragon and I obviously love Tycho. On his ISO50 blog, Tycho says this is his first remix he’s ever done, and I think it’s quite lovely. I happen to be a sucker for the more subtle remixes where the integrity of the song is kept intact but there’s just a little something extra and this fits that bill. The bit beginning at the 1:20 mark is especially enjoyable to me. You can listen below and download the song on Tycho’s Facebook Page. Don’t forget to check out the albums released this year from both of these acts either – Little Dragon’s Ritual Union and Tycho’s Dive, both among my favorites of the year.

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10/01/2011

Little Dragon – Brush The Heat

“It’s finally happened,” I thought when I first heard this track. “Somewhere out there, a group of swedish people understand what It feels like to live in 90-feels-like-105-degree weather.” The first word I could think of when I heard Little Dragon’s “Brush the Heat” was scorch. Something about those eerie four minutes made me feel like I needed to drop everything I was doing, pull out a fan and hope it served as a remedy. Perhaps Its suggestive title is to blame, but there’s no denying that reverberating percussion, that feedback and those choir-boy-like vocals that seem like they’re evaporating as they hit the air make you all hot and bothered. Such is the case of most of the group’s new album, “Ritual Union,” released late this summer. All ten songs make me feel like i’m being seduced in the most discreet way possible, slowly getting worked up by the most basic and bare sounds and instruments; its the rawest form of musical foreplay. The band’s US tour kicks off in october at LA. Check out the official site for more dates and sweet spots.

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guest post by Christine

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08/15/2011

Little Dragon – Please Turn

I’ve finally given a few listens to Ritual Union, the new album from Sweden’s Little Dragon, led by the ever mesmerizing Yukimi Nagano. It’s funny that I only heard of Little Dragon after Nagano’s memorable vocals on Gorillaz’ “Empire Ants” last year, but now I know that they are a force to be reckoned with on their own. After 2-3 listens to the album (which I think is great, by the way), this track is definitely my favorite, with its uptempo beat and it’s Miike Snow-esque 8-bit chorus.

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06/02/2011

2011 Movement Electronic Music Festival: Day 3 In Pictures

Ah, day 3, you cruel temptress. This was perhaps the day I’d longed for the most, with Fatboy Slim, Green Velvet, Flying Lotus and Little Dragon all on tap (in addition to so many others). And the fact that after a cool and rainy weekend we were now experiencing upwards of 90 degrees and that I was able to wear a pair of shorts for the first time since Coachella were both cause for great excitement. It also meant that lots of ravers in the Hart Plaza fountain and lots of shirtless bros in the crowd. Slightly less awesome but I guess it comes with the territory. Day 3 photo set is mostly just about showing everyone enjoying the great day and the great atmosphere brought on by the fest. As I watched Fatboy Slim’s incredible set, lights and lasers a-blazin’, I couldn’t help but think that the production at all of the stages had gone through the roof this year, or maybe I just hadn’t paid attention in years past. Either way, big ups to Paxahau again for putting on an incredible weekend and turning Movement into a world class weekend. Here’s some scheisse from day 3, fun in the sun.

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05/23/2011

2011 Movement Electronic Music Festival Preview

As a metro-Detroiter who loves all things Detroit, I can pretty confidently say that the Movement Electronic Music Festival (the festival formally known as DEMF aka Detroit Electronic Music Festival) is among my top Detroit events of the year. I remember back in the day when I drove down to Detroit all by myself for the first time to go to the fest (before I even knew what electronic music was, but just wanted to see what all the commotion was about) when it was still free, with every kind of character you could imagine in attendance, including all of the riff raff that comes with a free electronic music festival. Over the years, while the fest has started charging an admission fee (a 3-day pass will run you $70 and individual day tickets are $35 each), the fest has really come into its own and kicked it up a notch (not to mention kept out a bit of the aforementioned riff raff) perhaps thanks to Paxahau who has flawlessly produced the festival the past several yearsto turn into what has been for the last few years a fantastic Memorial Day weekend and the perfect way to officially kick off summer.

This year we’re happy to report that we’ll be covering the event again in pictures (check out last year’s pictures from day 1 and day 3) and couldn’t be more excited, so I figured I’d start out with some of the artists I’m most looking forward to seeing, and then let you in on some of the other cool scheisse to check out at the fest. Before we get started, you can check out the full line up with set times right over here.

To be totally honest, before Gorillaz released Plastic Beach last year with the vocals of Little Dragon‘s Yukimi Nagano gracing a few of the tracks (including my favorite ever, “Empire Ants”), I don’t think I’d even heard of the Swedish group much less heard them. But since then, I’ve found out that they are a totally legit group with a pretty unique sound with electronic roots. This is one of the cool parts of the festival, since most of us hear “electronic music fest” and assume it’s all DJs (which would be well enough), but there are actually quite a few live bands performing. And like many of us, I’ve got a soft spot for all things Swedish. But it’s really Little Dragons totally off the wall sound that gets me the most. It’s just so damn interesting on the ears and I can’t wait to hear it in a live setting on the waterfront. I may also have an indie crush on Nagano, so there’s that. Their third studio album Ritual Union is set to be released this summer.

Little Dragon – Nightlight

My latest electronic obsession, mostly because I only just recently started listening to him, is Daedelus. Los Angeles native Alfred Weisberg-Roberts was not only a pioneer of the elusive monome (which he proudly displays for his audience during his live show just so we can all see exactly what’s going on, even though none of us have any clue) but in just over 10 years has released a boatload of albums and EPs (probably close to 20 in total). And, if his Coachella set is any indication, he also dresses like a muthafuckin G (well, like a Victorian muthafuckin G I suppose) and wins the award for most elaborate stage design, with large panels covered in mirrors wired to move in every direction. And his live set that I got to witness at said Coachella included just about all of my recent jams including Tame Impala, James Blake, Siriusmo, and Bjork (among several of his own fantastic tunes) and he manipulated these songs in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I just kept thinking, “I love this song!”. We got a slightly abbreviated set due to some technical difficulties before the crew began setting things up, so I can’t wait to catch him again.

Daedelus – LA Nocturn

It’s not an electronic music festival without a Ghostly artist on the roster that I’m really excited to see, and this year that artist is Com Truise aka Seth Haley who we’ve posted about a few times before. He released his Cyanide Sisters EP last summer and then rereleased it with some bonus tracks and they are all real, real good. Haley calls his sound “mid-fi synth-wave, slow-motion funk” and I’d have to say that’s pretty accurate. He’s got a Sunday 1PM time slot, which is the day that I traditionally can’t attend the fest due to family obligations. But hopefully I will spend early Sunday afternoon as I did last year, jetskiing up the Detroit river and listening to the sounds coming out of the Red Bull stage which butts up right to the river. Or just going to the fest in the afternoon and leaving. Either way, I want to see Com Truise and see what he’s got in store for his extended early afternoon set.

Com Truise – Slow Peels

And last but certainly not least, closing out Saturday night on the main stage will be none other than legendary Atlanta via Chicago DJ Felix da Housecat. My first flavor of his tune was his killer jam “Ready to Wear” which I first heard thanks to Hipster Runoff on a drive home on a random late Monday night. I’ve since jumped into many of his other tunes and remixes of everyone from the top pop stars to some of our indie darlings. He’s been to Detroit a few times recently but I’ve never been able to make it to his sets, but that is all about to change. He also responded to me on Twitter once, I believe in reference to the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears, so that was pretty exciting.

Felix Da Housecat – We All Wanna Be Prince

So, that’s just a small sampling of the insanely awesome roster of artists that will be performing. Other highlights for me personally include Flying Lotus, Dam-Funk, Dirtbombs (a detroit garage band that covers Detroit techno classics), Fatboy Slim and Green Velvet, among many others. Point is, no matter what sort of electronic music you like, there’s really something here for everyone.

So now that we’ve talked about the music, let’s talk about some of the other great things that you will find at this year’s festival.

One thing that has been working it’s way into the festival the past few years is community art, and that will likely come to a head this year as Paxahau is teaming up with the Community Arts Moving Projects (CAMP Detroit) and Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3) and have selected teams of local artists who were asked to create original designs using repurposed materials found around town (if this doesn’t exemplify the DIY/repurpose everything attitude of Detroit right now, I don’t know what does). Over 50 artists submitted designs but in the end 6 were chosen. Most of the installations will be interactive and electronic, coincidentally. With the festival getting even more national and international attention every year, it’s a great way to highlight the rapidly expanding artist movement that is taking place in Detroit. The installations were all built in the Russell Industrial Center and will be moved to the festival grounds this week. You can check out sketches of all the winning designs right over here, and you better believe I will be checking these out and bringing you pictures of the real things.

And as if all of that wasn’t enough, in one of the more interesting extensions of the festival, Paxahau has ALSO teamed up with Wheelhouse Detroit which has been giving bike tours of the city for some time now to create a special techno-themed bike tour on Sunday and Monday afternoon during the festival. Anyone with a festival wristband can get a discount to join these tours (but space is limited so sign up early!) which they’re calling “Techno in the 313″. I’ve been wanting to go on a Detroit bike tour for some time now, and I DID just recently purchase a bike, so I just might have to take part in one of these. The first will be on Sunday, May 29 from noon to 4 p.m. This is the “long” tour (recommended for more experienced riders as it goes as much as 21 miles) and will take riders past historic electronic music sites like The Music Institute, Underground Resistance HQ, and the Packard Plant. The tour price is $30; with bike rental it’s $40. The second tour is Monday from 12pm to 3pm and will take riders landmarks such as The Music Institute, Underground Resistance HQ, and the East Riverfront Warehouse District. The tour price is $25; with bike rental it’s $35. Even if you can’t commit to either of these tours, you should still hit up Wheelhouse Detroit because I hear their bike tours are pretty top notch.

And last but MOST importantly, for all of you who can’t make it out to Detroit for the festival, thanks to Resident Advisor and Awdio, the entire festival will be audio streamed over the internet so you can hear all the awesomeness that will be going on. From noon to midnight all three days of the festival, you will be able to audio stream all 5 stages. Here are the links to stream each day of the festival.

DAY ONE:
DAY TWO:
DAY THREE:

Not too shabby, eh?

So, what I’m saying is, 2011 Movement fest is shaking out to be a pretty good time. We hope to see you all there with your dancing shoes on ready to kick off summer at the Detroit waterfront in the best way. And if you can’t make it, check back here after the fest for photo recaps of the music, the good times, and, of course, the fashion. Oh, the fashion.

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02/16/2011

Hypem Hunting vol. 4: Feather

For this week’s edition (which comes just a few days after last week’s thanks to my lack of remembering to post things, cuz I’m smart), I asked twitter to select a random word and our friend IndieBeanie was the first to reply with the suggestion of “Feather”. I was at first a little unsure that there would even be too many search results with that word, but I gave it a go anyway, and luckily, as usual, it all worked out for the best.

First up is a tune from Bristol band Chorchazade, a band I can’t say I’ve ever heard of (As it usually seems to go with this little segment of mine), but I was immediately drawn by it’s title which read just like you would imagine to hear it sung. But as it turns out, this is actually a mid 80s post punk band, and that’s pretty cool because I can hear the 25 year old influences, but I know I’d still like this dark and minimal rock tune if it were released today for the first time. And I love that you can hear the vinyl crackle from time to time.

Chorchazade – Aaah, You are as Light as a Feather
[via Swan Fungus]

Up next is a tune that’s just as dark and ominous, but really beautiful in all senses. Musically, it’s dark and beautiful. And both the band name and song name have that dichotomy of light and dark all in one. Kind of crazy actually how that all works out. But either way, The Black Feather has really nailed this sort of dark and minimal lo-fi sound. And they’re from France which makes them automatically even more awesome. I really, really, really like this one. And to further add to dichotomy, this song came on in my itunes as soon as that one ended.

The Black Feather – Friendly Killers
[via das klienicum]

As I write this, I’ve stumbled upon an artist called Tickley Feather aka Philly’s Annie Sachs and I’m still not sure which song to post because so many of them are right up my alley. She seemed to be riding up the buzzwave but I’m not sure why she seems to have slipped off everyone’s radar (not that she was on mine at all until a few minutes ago. I think I’ve decided to post “Don’t Call, Marylin”, but you should listen to a lot more of her songs, because they’re good. I should probably email her for some new tunes.

Tickley Feather – Don’t Call, Marylin
[via KEXP blog]

And last but not least, an 8 minute remix of the Little Dragon tune “Feather” by Fromwood. And it’s a pretty enjoyable 8 minutes. To be perfectly honest, I knew nothing of Little Dragon until lead singer Yukimi Nagano’s memorable guest vocals on “Empire Ants”, one of my absolutely favorite tunes of 2010 and one that still hits me every time that beat kicks in like whoa. This remix is totally low key in all the right places and picks up when the time is just right. It’s housey and great but never over the top and the perfect compliment for Nagano’s delicate but assertive voice. I really like this, like a lot a lot. Good job to Little Dragon on being great and to Fromwood for nailing this one.

Feather (Little Dragon) – Fromwood Remix by Fromwood

[via The Wounded Jukebox]

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04/19/2010

coachella day 3: all good things must come to an end

Our bodies tired and a little sore, it was time for the third and final day of Coachella to begin. I’d been looking forward to the strong day 3 lineup ever since it was released and was glad that there were not too many conflicts today. Since Delphic had to cancel thanks to Icecanogate, our day was going to start out with an early afternoon set by Local Natives, a band that I didn’t know was among my favorites until today.

There’s really something special about a nice early afternoon set in a tent. It’s a great atmosphere (especially when palm trees can be seen behind the tent) and can really set the tone of the whole day. All I can say after this performance is that I am beyond stoked that I will be seeing them twice more this summer (including a tiny show at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor). The energy was almost incomprehensible at times and their songs took on a whole new life on the live stage. Anyone who has the chance to see these kids live need to do it. As my friend Peabs said, Local Natives justified the price of his ticket and everything else was just gravy. The vocals were spot on (and harmonies are such a huge part of their music, so this was a good thing) and a lot of songs turned into big singalongs, namely the crazy parts of “Sun Hands” and the “oh oh oh oh ohs” of “World News”. Oh boy, I almost can’t imagine my head not exploding had Delphic nailed a set right before this. Here’s two bad pictures of the band. I believe the second was during the insane section of “Sun Hands”

Local Natives – World News

buy it on Local Natives - Gorilla Manor - World News or amazon

We sat around for a bit until 3:45 because my friend Sarah was going to be spinning at the Green Stage, you know, the stage that has giant hamster wheels, a see-saw, hand cranks and stationary bikes, all used to create energy to run the stage. Her set was great and she gathered a pretty nice crowd, but I have to say it was pretty difficult riding that bike for more than ten minutes on a 90 degree day on the third day of a music fest. But it was pretty fun anyway, and it was great to see a long lost friend, especially since we’d been talking Coachella for so long.

Next up was another highly anticipated act, Club 75 (who I often mistakenly refer to as Beat 75). This DJ supergroup is made up of Busy P, Cassius (who I must say looks exactly how I envisioned him to look….extremely French), Justice and Mehdi. The set was pretty fun but I think in my head I envisioned this to be a Justice show, which clearly is not what it ever was advertised to be. And apparently when you’re 15 it’s still cool to start a mosh pit. After sweating up a storm we headed back out to take another breather, because next up was Miike Snow. Sorry for no pics. The bright backdrop sort of washed out all of the people. But video footage has been obtained.

This marks my third time seeing Miike Snow live. The first was at Lollapalooza last year, when I had no idea who or what Miike Snow was (maybe back when I thought it was a person, not a bad) and only knew that they had something to do with this Vampire Weekend remix that I really liked. Then I was blown away by their live show at Lolla and by mere chance got to catch them in Chicago a few weeks later at a tiny show at the Empty Bottle. So I pretty much knew what was in store for me. And even so, it was one of the rip-roaringest good times I had all weekend. I can’t quite describe what it is, but there’s something so cool about the way they combine great catchy pop tunes with heavy electro in a way that is completely organic and not forced one bit. And the extended electronic jams are just “the whip”. At the end of the set, lead singer Andrew Wyatt again reminded us that if we didn’t know, Miike Snow is the name of a band, and not a person in the band. And then he implored us to tell our friends.

I’m not sure what it was about this performance, but it was by far my favorite of the three that I’ve seen. It just seemed that the jams were harder and the beats were heavier.

It was time to get some food in mah belly (a slice of pizza that was much inferior to the one I devoured on day 1) before heading over to the Pavementhomyorillaz extravaganza. I’m not the hugest Pavement fan in the world (I like them, but just haven’t really listened to them in depth) but it was still great to see them and hear a few tunes that I really enjoyed like “In the Mouth a Desert” and the classic “Range Life”. In fact, “Range Life” offered up one of those surreal weekend moments where you kind of just look around at the whole scene and the mountains and palm trees that surround the grounds and smile a little bit.

After that, we decided our priority was Gorillaz so we sort of camped out there. We could hear some of Thom Yorke’s set, but I heard his encore was “Everything in its Right Place” aka one of my favorite Radiohead songs ever, solo on piano. So that was a definite fail on my part. I also hear that Flea is a ridiculous addition to Yorke’s music, so was a little sad to miss that as well, but we can’t make it to everything at these festys, now can we. Especially if we want any sort of line of vision for Gorillaz.

Just before Gorillaz took the stage, I noticed quite a few chairs and music stands on the stage. Were they going to have some sort of orchestra accompanying them tonight? The answer was yes, via a 6-8 member string section. They started out with, appropriately, the Orchestral Intro from Plastic Beach followed by “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach” with a special appearance from Snoop Dogg (if a prerecorded video of Snoop Dogg playing on the big screen counts as an appearance). They played a few older tunes and then hit up some of my Plastic Beach favorites, such as “Glitter Freeze” (which was for sure off the hinges), “Empire Ants” (with a guest appearance by my girl from Little Dragon) and “Melancholy Hill”, among others. Other guest appearances included De La Soul (during “Superfast Jellyfish”) and Bobby Womack (during “Stylo”).

The stage setup was pretty simple but pretty entertaining. There was a large “GORILLAZ” near the bottom just above all the musicians and a giant movie screen showing all kinds of crazy video content, much of which included the cartoon version of Gorillaz, but have no fear, Damon Albarn and company were on stage in the flesh as well performing live.

The group came out for an encore and played “To Binge” (again with vocals from Little Dragon) and a great version of “Feel Good, Inc” that the crowd really got into. And then in a strange turn of events, they brought out Bobby Womack to sing the final song, which I’m not quite sure what it was. And then the weekend was over, just like that. After 5 or 10 minutes when the crowd realized there wouldn’t be a crazy festival ending dance party to “DARE” as so many of us were hoping for at that point in time, we walked back to our cars, most of us completely satisfied with the fantastic weekend we had just experienced, with heavy eyelids and aching feet.

Gorillaz – To Binge feat. Little Dragon

buy it on Gorillaz - Plastic Beach - To Binge (feat. Little Dragon) or amazon

I know you’re all sick of hearing about Coachella from me, but I think you’ll be getting two more pieces of awesome this week, one of them a recap of the festival as a whole (highlights, misses, etc). And the second, the much talked about video. I definitely have lots of clips (it was all about catching little moments in time and connecting them to tell the full story of the fest), but now it’s just a matter of whether or not I can figure out how to edit them together. Although there are 118 of these moments and I haven’t looked at any of them yet, so they may all be scheisse. Wish me luck.

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