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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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The Best Albums Of 2011 (So Far)

Posted 6/22/11 2:00 pm EST by in Best Of, countdown


Adele

By Zachary Swickey

With July quickly approaching, we are about to wave goodbye to the first half of 2011. And what a year it has already been: current reigning Queen of Pop, Lady Gaga, sold a million records in a week; the Beastie Boys proved they still have it; and everyone’s favorite Parliament-smoking hipsters, The Strokes, sold-out Madison Square Garden!

We’ve already seen a slew of solid album releases from music veterans and some second efforts that show no signs of the sophomore slump. We have plenty of records to look forward to in the second half of the year – Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne project, Modest Mouse, Santigold and new Outkast and Dr. Dre records (if we’re lucky) – but before we get ahead of ourselves, here are ten of our favorites albums (so far) in 2011.

10. The Strokes – Angles

After making their return at last year’s Lollapalooza, The Strokes finally graced us with their first new music since ‘05. Taking a cue from bands like MGMT and Crystal Castles, Angles featured more synth and MIDI bits than most Strokes fans are used to. Nonetheless, the outcome was well-received and showed the experimentation the band was capable of.

9. My Morning Jacket – Circuital

Recorded in a church gymnasium in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, Jim James and Co. wanted their sixth offering to go back to the roots of their earlier works. There might not be much synth akin to their classic “Touch Me or I’m Going to Scream Pt. II,” but that didn’t stop the group from covering a vast musical soundscape, ranging from space rock to psychedelic funk.

8. Lady Gaga – Born This Way

The first artist to sell a million records in a single week since Taylor Swift accomplished the same feat late last year, Gaga’s “little monsters” obviously can’t get enough. Her Monster Ball Tour was one of the top draws of 2010, outselling many popular veteran music acts, and we suspect her upcoming Born This Way Ball will be no different. Our only complaint is that the disc sounds more like a sequel than a true evolution of her sound. Regardless, these delicious pop tunes are too good to deny.

Who else made our countdown? Read on. Read More...

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With The Winter Solstice Upon Us, Warm Up With Fleet Foxes

Posted 12/20/10 5:00 pm EST by in Music


For most of the people who live in the parts of the country that experience seasons (and even some of them that normally don't), it's hard to convince them that winter is only officially beginning today. It has been cold, snowy, dark and desolate for months, so the fact that winter is only just starting is a little disheartening for a lot of folks. But there's no fighting the passage of time or the natural spin of the Earth, which means that the Winter Solstice is upon us.

Perhaps the one consolation? There's also a lunar eclipse tonight, and the eclipse and the solstice haven't synced up like this in 27 years. So if you believe in the power of the moon (or if you are Marc Spector), then tonight should be interesting. For those of you not in tune with the solstice (essentially the day of the year where the northern hemisphere gets the least sunlight because of the axis position of the Earth), you'll probably do what you have been doing for the past few weeks: Trying to avoid snowstorms, keeping warm and wondering how it's possible that the year is almost over.

In order to help you stay toasty and appreciate the magic of a lunar eclipse (it's truly spooky if you've never checked it out), then you should probably crank up your favorite wintry mix (which we imagine is full of Morrissey songs and M.O.P's "Cold as Ice"). We'll get you started with Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal," which is somehow brutally chilly and strangely warming all at the same time. (It also has a fantastically trippy video, which certainly helps.)


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Pope Benedict XVI: Big Tupac Fan?

Posted 12/4/09 3:26 pm EST by in Music


A few weeks ago, a band called Casting Crowns stormed the Billboard album chart and outsold debuts by the likes of 50 Cent, Kris Allen, Them Crooked Vultures and Janet Jackson. It was another testament to the power of Christian rock, which is constantly spreading throughout the world and finding new mainstream audiences. They may be disappointed to find out that their influence perhaps doesn't extend to the Vatican — especially considering the likes of Tupac and Muse may be in heavy rotation there.

On Thursday (December 3), the Vatican released a playlist via MySpace Music that includes inspirational music and a selection from Mozart's "Don Giovanni," but it also features Tupac's 1998 hit "Changes," the latest single by Muse and a tune by Seattle folk-poppers Fleet Foxes. Curated by Father Giulio Neroni (who also produced an album called Alma Mater, which featured Pope Benedict XVI reading over liturgical music and also figures prominently on the playlist), the set of 11 tracks "is a perfect mix of classical, world and contemporary music," reads the explanation on MySpace. "The genres are very different from each other, but all these artists share the aim to reach the heart of good minded people."

Tupac was an inspirational figure to many, though "Changes" isn't necessarily his most positive tune. (sample lyric: "I see no changes/ Wake up in the morning and I ask myself/ Is life worth living? Should I blast myself?"). Still, it's fascinating to imagine the Pontiff kicking back with a copy of All Eyez on Me or banging his head to the "California Love" video.

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Fleet Foxes: From Critical Darlings To The 'SNL' Stage

Posted 1/16/09 3:18 pm EST by in snl


Fleet Foxes

A few weeks back, we wrote a post about Seattle's Fleet Foxes and how they ended up on many, many, many best-of lists at the end of the year, and wouldn't you know it — they've been tapped to perform on this weekend's "Saturday Night Live."

So to give you a preview of what's to come on "SNL" (and see if you should stay up late), check out the stripped-down performance of "White Winter Hymnal" the band did especially for us.
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Fleet Foxes Top A Bunch Of 2008 Best-Of Lists -- So Who Are They Again?

Posted 12/19/08 1:35 pm EST by in Best Of, fleet foxes


As you no doubt know, it's end-of-year list— and critically — music lists have reflected one thing about 2008 - everyone was listening to the same few records.

One of the bands getting a ton of love across the board is Seattle's Fleet Foxes. Their song "White Winter Hymnal" was thought to be one of the indie songs of the year — and when the band stopped in for an interview with John Norris — we got them to play a stripped down version of the new classic.
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Twenty Years Of Sub Pop Records ... In Three Minutes

Posted 7/11/08 6:56 pm EST by in Music


This week we were pretty jazzed about the 20th anniversary of Sub Pop, an influential record label with a roster that ranges from grunge legends Nirvana and Soundgarden to indie chart-toppers the Shins and the Postal Service. We celebrated by listening to Executive Vice President Megan Jasper's 21 favorite releases, then told you about a few of our own. We talked to Fleet Foxes about what being on the label means to them, and we even went straight to the source with a VIP tour of Sub Pop HQ. In case you're still fuzzy on what makes the label a musical treasure, get caught up with this quick three-minute history.

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Fleet Foxes Bring Fresh Blood To Sub Pop On 20th Anniversary

Posted 7/11/08 6:53 pm EST by in Music


After a certain airplane manufacturer and purveyor of java, Sub Pop Records just may be Seattle's most famous brand. And while they may not have given us the 747 or the Frappuccino, Sub Pop has delivered — and continues to deliver — great music. (Take a tour of the label's offices here.)

In fact, maybe the coolest aspect of the 20-year milestone that the label is marking with a two-day celebration in Redmond, Washington, this weekend is that its 2008 roster is one of its strongest ever. And no Sub Pop newbie has been talked about more in the past couple of months than Fleet Foxes. They are locals with a love of vocals — pastoral melodies and four-part harmonies — backwoods Beach Boys from the Pacific Northwest.

"I grew up in Seattle," explained Fleet Foxes' frontman Robin Pecknold, who was all of 2 years old when the label was born, "and for me growing up and listening to Sub Pop, it was Ugly Casanova and Beachwood Sparks, and the first Shins record. That was when I was, like, 14 or 15. But the earlier stuff, my knowledge of it I inherited through my older siblings, you know. And, I mean, Sub Pop's a total legend."

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