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Pitchfork Music Festival: Why You Should Go Next Year

Posted 7/18/11 8:33 pm EST by in Music


By Amanda Sprecher

The Pitchfork Music Festival hit Chicago this past weekend, and this concertgoer is here to tell you why you should join her there next year.

1. You actually get to see the bands you want to. The Pitchfork Music Festival has expanded since its 2005 debut, working its way up from one day to a full three-day affair. For this past weekend's event, the sound systems were improved immensely, and it was more organized. Rarely were there the giant overlaps between bands that force festival-goers to make difficult choices.

Due to the size of Union Park, only the festival was expanded and luckily not the crowds. This year attracted approximately 48,000 people over a three-day period, which might sound big, but compared to larger-scale indie festivals like Coachella, it was very comfortable.

Do you want to check out rising electronic artist James Blake croon at his keyboard from three rows away instead of all the way in the back? Great news: It's totally doable! One of the best aspects of a smaller-scale festival is that it takes less time to get to the different stages, and there's no need to camp out all day in front of one stage to see the artists you love. Sure, you might decide to hang around the stage an artist earlier to get closer to L.A. noise rockers Health, but that means you get to discover and dance to the poppy grooves of Toro y Moi before you start moshing. With the exception of the three headlining acts, it's an actual possibility to get close to the stage for most of the artists you've come to Pitchfork to see. Read More...

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Animal Collective Introduce New Songs, Skip Old Hits At Outdoor Gig In NYC

Posted 7/13/11 9:22 am EST by in Band You Should Know, Concerts


By Vaughn Schoonmaker

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Underneath a starry sky on a warm summer night in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Animal Collective took the stage for a nearly two hour set that left some fans highly satisfied with an outpouring of new material. While I found the setting and weather to be the perfect accompaniment for an Animal Collective concert, whose new wave, electronica, dreamy and arguably pop sound has garnered them a sizable following in the U.S., I could not stop wondering why I was having such a hard time getting into the mood of the show.

Considering it was seven songs before they played a recognizable crowd-pleaser, "Brother Sport," from their hit album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, I realized that I was not the only one having a difficult time adjusting to their new material.

"What is this song?" I heard mumbled from several fans in their late teens/early 20s. "When are they going to play [insert any one of their earlier song titles here]?"

Artists must go through a very complex stage of tour preparation when designing their set list. A careful line must be drawn that establishes how much of the older content can be played without overshadowing the material. In Brooklyn tonight, it seemed that they chose a route that shifted full gear into exclusively new material. Read More...

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: MGMT Vs. Animal Collective, Owl City Vs. Grizzly Bear

Posted 3/24/10 3:00 pm EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

The first round is entirely in the books, and like the actual NCAA basketball tournament (which resumes on Thursday, March 25), there were a number of dramatic upsets. Check out James Montgomery's rundown of the first round and get ready for a fast and furious round two. Today, we take care of the second round match-ups in the East.

(2) Animal Collective vs. (7) MGMT
It was all chalk in this part of the bracket, with MGMT narrowly defeating Arcade Fire and Animal Collective taking out Faith No More after falling behind early. This is a great match-up, because it pits the most-talked-about psychedelic indie group of last year (Animal Collective) against the 2010 version of that (MGMT). Which side will stand tall?

(3) Owl City vs (6) Grizzly Bear
Owl City had a brutal time putting away the Gaslight Anthem, while Grizzly Bear made a convincing argument for their seeding by knocking out veterans U2. Can Owl City keep carrying their unlikely momentum, or will Grizzly Bear make their home in the Sweet 16?

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: Animal Collective Vs. Faith No More, Arcade Fire Vs. MGMT

Posted 3/18/10 11:00 am EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

We begin the proper tournament in the East, which is a collection of critically-adored groups that could produce any number of underdog upsets. Let's get to the picks.

(2) Animal Collective vs. (15) Faith No More
Despite the distance between the two seeds, these two are closer than you might think. Animal Collective had a huge year, as they put out one of the most beloved albums of 2009 and are about to release a trippy, fascinating film called "Oddsac." After being absent for nearly two decades, Faith No More are back with one of the most hotly-anticipated reunion tours in recent memory. But who will prevail? The indie upstarts or the rock veterans making a big comeback?

(7) Arcade Fire vs. (10) MGMT
These match-ups are always dangerous, and it would seem that even though Arcade Fire have experience and stamina on their side, MGMT are about to release one of the most talked-about follow-ups of the past few years. In fact, they could easily be the Cinderella of this entire tournament. But which will come out on top?

Who do you want to win the MTV News Musical March Madness tournament? Let us know your thoughts and predictions in the comments!

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Jay-Z, Wilco And The Yeah Yeah Yeahs: 10 In 2009

Posted 12/30/09 11:34 am EST by in Music


2009 is coming to a close, which means that it's time to check in on what the favorite albums, artists, songs and moments were among the fine folks in the MTV Newsroom. Be sure to check out James Montgomery's definitive year-end list for 2009, and enjoy the "10 In 2009" series that will be running over the next two weeks.

By Rya Backer

I listened to a lot of good albums this year, and there were a lot of great songs on them. So I'll make like a girlfriend and give to you, the readers, my 2009 in song. The title of this mixtape? I'mma Let You Finish, But These Are My Favorite Songs of 2009. I'm hilarious?

Side A
Jay-Z, "On to the Next One"
I kept hearing this song in clubs and I really liked it, so I finally Googled "Somebody bring me back some money please." Now I cut a rug to it in the comfort of my own home.

Lightning Bolt, "Funny Farm"
I get that people think all their songs sound alike, but those people just don't get it. When you listen to this on full blast on the subway, you'll quickly find yourself with ample elbow room.

Suckers, "It Gets Your Body Movin'"
I knew this was special when I saw them live and during the big crescendo my friend (hi, Andy!) and I turned to each other and high-fived.

No Age, "You're a Target"
Apart from the fact that Dean is a true Hannukah Hottie, I really like the bigger sound. If I made skate videos, I'd probably use this song all the time.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Zero"
Their drummer, Brian Chase, is a very important Hannukah Hottie as well.
Read More...

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Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion Vinyl Doesn't Make The Billboard Chart After All

Posted 1/14/09 12:08 pm EST by in Uncategorized


We were really pulling for Panda Bear and crew. When I wrote last week that Animal Collective might make it onto the Billboard 200 charts this week based on the first-week sales of the vinyl edition of their Merriweather Post Pavilion album (raved about this week by our own James Montgomery), the underdog quality of that potential feat was kind of exciting ... and subversive.

But, alas, despite selling out all 4,500 copies of the first run of Pavilion almost instantly across North America, with so many of those sales happening in indie shops that don't report to Nielsen SoundScan, the scrappy sonic experimentalists just didn't make the cut.

According to next week's Billboard albums chart, Pavilion officially moved 1,500 copies, which put them just outside the big game, even in this moribund time of year when the majority of the albums in the top 200 saw double-digit sales dips. Read More...

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Animal Collective Vinyl -- Yes, Vinyl -- Could Hit The Billboard Albums Chart

Posted 1/8/09 1:19 pm EST by in billboard, Nielsen SoundScan


Animal Collective's David PortnerThe album the Chicago Tribune and Stereogum.com have already dubbed one of the best of the week-old year, Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, could make some serious news next week when the Nielsen SoundScan numbers come out.

Why? The album, which won't get released on CD until January 20, dropped on January 6 in a deluxe double-LP 180-gram gatefold vinyl format accompanied by a full album download. And thanks to a series of listening parties across the country, it just might break into the albums chart next week, thanks to vinyl sales only. Yeah, that's right, vinyl sales only (and, oh man, do Web sites loooooove to write about this wacky anachronism).

Read More...

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Animal Collective's New Album Cover Makes Us Cross-Eyed

Posted 10/22/08 5:52 pm EST by in Uncategorized


The official Animal Collective Web site was recently updated with a mysterious, mind-melting, wallpaper-like pop-up jpeg, which we've just received confirmation is the cover for their highly anticipated album Merriweather Post Pavilion, due out January 20, 2009.

Stare at it long enough and you'll see a unicorn.


Merriweather Post Pavilion By Animal Collective

Not really.

But, seriously, does this artwork remind anyone else of those 3D Magic Eye posters that The Nature Company used to sell? In honor of my 14-year-old mallrat self ("Mom, I'll meet you in the LaserDisc section of Saturday Matinee!"), I just spent the last 15 minutes starting at this album cover, and here are 10 images that have emerged while my bleary eyes studied the pattern: Read More...

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Kings Of Leon, Animal Collective Light Up All Points West Festival

Posted 8/11/08 5:06 pm EST by in Festivals, Music


Getting to cover summer music festivals can sometimes be a mixed blessing. Unless you have an especially large crew (as we did two weeks ago at Lollapalooza), you end up spending a lot of time shooting interviews and writing or shooting standup segments, and not a lot of time actually seeing live music. Such was the case this past weekend New York's All Points West festival. (check out some of the bands we talked with right here). I did, however, manage to catch sets by two of my favorite bands, neither of which is playing many U.S. dates this summer.

Kings of Leon are the sort of dependable rock band that almost effortlessly delivers a good show — and while a colleague of mine thought they could have used a little more effort in Saturday's set, I thought they delivered solid renditions of fuzzed-out, whiskey-soaked songs that just do not get old: "Taper Jean Girl," "The Bucket" and "On Call" and definitely got the late-afternoon crowd going. Every time I see the Kings live I'm reminded of just how many great hooks and melodies these guys they've crammed into three albums — which makes it all the more amazing they're bigger in this country (they're massive in England). On Saturday, we were also treated to "Sex on Fire" — the first single (and one of the more hard-charging songs) from Only By the Night, the band's fourth LP, set for release September 23.
Read More...

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