New Music Videos from Animal Collective, Morning Benders & More

Morning Benders--"Excuses" from Big Echo [Excellent video showing how the song was recorded]


Yours Truly Presents: The Morning Benders "Excuses" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.
Animal Collective--New Video for "Guy's Eyes" from 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion



Black Mountain-- "Old Fangs" from Wilderness Heart



The National-- "Afraid of Everyone", live on David Letterman from High Violet



Massive Attack-- "United Snakes", live on Jimmy Kimmel



Gorillaz--"Clint Eastwood", live from Glastonbury 2010 ft. Snoop Dogg

Introducing...ceo

White Magic

With the release of White Magic (Modular Recordings--Tame Impala, Avalanches, YYY's...) tomorrow, the world will get their introduction to Eric Berglund's (of The Tough Alliance) new schtick, an amalgation of electronically-laden globetrotting pop music. The album is easy to take in, clocking in at a mere 29 minutes and will likely turn some heads waiting for that danceable summertime album (Sleigh Bells is/was/will never be for me). I even think those pitchfork-wielders up there in Brooklyn will dig this one.

Video for Come With Me:



Press Release on Modular's web site [CLICK TO READ FULL RUNDOWN OF WHAT CEO IS]
"ceo is a lost love and it is Rihanna's voice. it is hibernation, the spectacle and every breath you take."

Get the picture? Yeah, me neither

The Best of 2010 1/2 -- Albums and Songs

Think we can go ahead and put the first half of 2010 up against the last two year's musical output combined. Amazing year so far and with Arcade Fire, Radiohead, & My Morning Jacket albums all likely arriving in the 2nd half, the '10's could perhaps mark the return of good, interesting, non-lowest-common-denominator music to the mainstream airwaves and Billboard charts. When Dr. Dog, LCD Soundsystem, The National, a bizarro/unfit for radio album by former pop darlings MGMT, road warriors Widespread Panic, & The Black Keys all hit their chart peaks in the same year, the tides are undoubtedly changing towards pop music's best year since 1994 (Oasis Definitely Maybe, Weezer Blue Record, Nirvana MTV Unplugged In New York, Nas Illmatic, Soundgarden Superunknown, Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral, Live Throwing Copper, Pink Floyd The Division Bell, and on and on and on...). The kids are catching on, it's working...

Here are my choices for the first six months of this new decade:


The Best Songs of 2010

1. MGMT--Siberian Breaks--Congratulations
2. Beach House--Take Care--Teen Dream
3. Yeasayer--Madder Red--ODD BLOOD
4. The National--Afraid of Everyone--High Violet
5. Gorillaz--Empire Ants, Plastic Beach, Stylo, Rhinestone Eyes, Superfast Jellyfish [Pick One]--Plastic Beach
6. LCD Soundsystem--I Can Change--This Is Happening
7. Delta Spirit--Before the Devil Knows Your Dead--History From Below
8. Dr. Dog--Where’d All The Time Go?--Shame, Shame
9. Preservation Hall Jazz Band & Tom Waits--Tootie Ma Is A Real Fine Thing--A Benefit Album for Preservation Hall
T-10. Bonobo--Animals > Black Sands--Black Sands
T-10. The Melvins--Evil New War God--The Bride Screamed Murder
T-10. Radio Dept.--Heaven's On Fire--Clinging to a Scheme

Others Deserving Recognition:
Morning Benders--Mason Jar--Big Echo
The Tallest Man On Earth--Love Is All--Wild Hunt
Spoon--Mystery Zone--Transference
MGMT--It’s Working--Congratulations
MGMT--Song For Dan Treacy--Congratulations
Reptar--Houseboat Babies (studio recording)--Single
Cold War Kids--Audience--Behave Yourself EP
Black Keys--Tighten Up--Brothers
Black Keys--Never Gonna Give You Up--Brothers
Surfer Blood--Twin Peaks--Astrocoast
Ben Cameron--Sun Will Shine--Sun Will Shine
Broken Social Scene--Meet Me In The Basement--Forgiveness Rock Record
Widespread Panic--St. Ex--Dirty Side Down
She & Him--In The Sun--Volume Two
Preservation Hall Jazz Band & Yim Yames--Louisiana Fairytale--A Benefit Album For Preservation Hall
Delta Spirit--Ballad of Vitality--History From Below
Jonsi--Grow Till Tall--Go
Broken Bells--Your Head Is On Fire--Broken Bells
LCD Soundsystem--Dance Yrself Clean & Home--This Is Happening
The Roots--Dear God 2.0 (ft. Yim Yames)--How I Got Over
Midlake--Children of the Grounds--The Courage of Others
The Disco Biscuits--On Time--Planet Anthem (just kidding just kidding just kidding)

A couple choice live SBD gems to hit the streets this year:
My Morning Jacket--Oh! Sweet Nuthin (Velvet Underground)--Live From Bonnaroo 2008
The White Stripes--Jolene (Dolly Parton)--Under Great White Northern Lights

Best Albums of 2010 1/2

T-1. Beach House--Teen Dream
T-1. MGMT--Congratulations
3. Gorillaz--Plastic Beach
4. Yeasayer--ODD BLOOD
5. Dr. Dog--Shame, Shame
T-6. The Black Keys--Brothers
T-6. Morning Benders--Big Echo
T-6. The Radio Dept.--Clinging To A Scheme
9. LCD Soundsystem--This Is Happening
T-10. Delta Spirit--History From Below
T-10. The Melvins--The Bride Screamed Murder
T-10. Bonobo--Black Sands

Album that comes out June 28th that is primed for many best-of lists:
ceo--White Magic [Only listened once, could be the summer album we've been waiting patiently for]

Other Albums Deserving Recognition:
Broken Bells--Self-Titled
Spoon--Transference
Tallest Man On Earth--The Wild Hunt
She & Him--Volume Two
The National--High Violet [Will probably make Top 3/5/10 by the end of the year, gets better with age, repetition]
Preservation Hall Jazz Band--A Benefit Album for Preservation Hall

Haven't listened enough to form opinion:
Deer Tick--Black Dirt Sessions
Futurebirds--Hampton's Lullaby [Out 7/27 on Autumn Tone]
Surfer Blood--Astrocoast
Tame Impala--Innerspeaker [like what I hear...]

Disappointing:
Band of Horses--Infinite (Very slowly fading into mediocrity, album-by-album, in an inverse relationship with widespread popularity)
Midlake--The Courage of Others
Widespread Panic--Dirty Side Down (Return to John Keane's Athens studio sounded promising, album falls sorta flat though, decent at best).


LIVE:
Jay-Z--6.12.2010, Manchester, TN {Which Stage, Bonnaroo Music Festival}
Galactic--2.13.2010, New Orleans, LA {Tipitina's Uptown}

PBFD (Post-Bonnaroo Fallout Depression)? It'll be ok.

Suffering from post-Bonnaroo depression?
Cubicle not looking nearly enough like the inside of a 90 degree tent at 8:30 a.m.?
Let the words of a wise man soothe your troubled mind...

Don't look so sad
I know it's over
But life goes on
This whole world
Will keep on turning

--Kris Kristofferson

Here's the reviews from JamBase, click link to read on the web site

Saturday, June 12th CLICK TO READ

Friday, June, 11th CLICK TO READ

Thursday, June 10th CLICK TO READ

357 days until Bonnaroo 2011

See Sunday's pasted below:

Sunday, June 13 – Day Four

We had the best time at your party
-Ween

The final day at Bonnaroo was all about survival as temperatures neared 100 degrees by midday and produced a fairly subdued Sunday crowd just trying to stay vertical and manage to catch many of the can't-miss acts closing down the fest (and, as per usual, conflicting with one another). Bonnaroo veterans John Butler Trio opened a technically flawless set on the What Stage with "Used to Get High," and the Aussie frontman graciously thanked the early crowd for braving the oppressive heat to check out his set.

Next, it was off to The Other Tent for Blues Traveler, where a crowd member challenged John Popper to a harmonica duel with a handmade sign after "Run-Around," to which Popper replied that they would need to take it outside after the set. This was the band's second appearance at Bonnaroo (first since 2003) and the set was both well received and well attended in the smaller Other Tent. After an interesting, dubbed-out reading of Radiohead's "Creep," it was time to head on back over to What Stage, where John Fogerty was making his Bonnaroo debut.

The 65-year old still has the same vocal talents that accented Creedence Clearwater Revival's signature swamp rock sound in the early '70s. The legend showed off his often overlooked chops on "Green River" and ran through a mix of the CCR catalogue as well as a number of tunes from his most recent solo record, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, which I strongly recommend.

Listening to the bare bones, stripped down Kris Kristofferson performance while laying in the grass in front of the tent was a fairly transcendent way to spend a lazy Sunday. After seeing John Prine on Saturday, it'd be hard to pick a favorite between the two monster talents of the songwriting universe. There was something very raw and exceptionally soothing about listening to one man slowly play his guitar and sing into the mic after seeing so many varied musical displays throughout the weekend. Sometimes less is truly more.

Next, things heated up over at Ween, who highlighted the final day of this year's 'Roo, while deservedly playing in front of a large Which Stage midday crowd after a few previous Bonnaroo appearances in the smaller tents. We arrived just in time after a short stop at the aggressive Dropkick Murphys set to catch "Roses Are Free," "Voodoo Lady," "Your Party," a bangin' "Buckingham Green," and an excellent cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance." You could tell the band recognized the opportunity to win over hordes of fans in the crowd unfamiliar with their music, and they didn't hold back on busting out the big guns while playing a set with added gusto.

Medeski Martin & Wood had a fun little sit-in by Bonnaroo scenester and unofficial mascot Beatle Bob, who was goofily gettin' down and playing one of Billy Martin's many percussion toys during a dark, heavy improv exercise. Travel arrangements caused for an early departure, but not before catching Phoenix's set in front of an enormous crowd comparable to Weezer's the previous day. It was a cool early evening scene with a colorful, picturesque sunset and numerous red and black balloons floating around at the front of the audience. The band's most intricate arrangement from the Grammy-winning album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, "Love Like a Sunset," was appropriately placed in the set just as dusk was beginning to sweep across the Manchester skies and was a beautiful way to cap off the weekend.

The cultural phenomenon that is Bonnaroo once again produced an amazing four days of diverse artistic offerings, and for the fifth or sixth year in a row, the weather wasn't too much of an issue (once you get over the heat part). Here's looking forward to the 10th Annual Bonnaroo festival in 2011!

Top 5 Shows of the Weekend
1. Jay-Z
2. LCD Soundsystem
3. The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs performing Dark Side of the Moon
4. Dr. Dog
5. The Melvins

Favorite Random Artist of the Weekend
Nortec Collective presents: Bostich and Fussible

Best Day
Saturday. Getting to see Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, John Prine, Steve Martin, Thievery Corporation, Jeff Beck, The Melvins, Jimmy Cliff, and Conan O'Brien in the same day was exceptional, even for Bonnaroo.

What This Year's Bonnaroo Will Be Remembered For
1. 80,000 hands moving along with Jay-Z
2. The diversity of talent on display, balancing Bonnaroo's free spirited neo-hippie vibe with sounds of the present
3. Excellent weather
4. Conan O'Brien MC'ing What Stage throughout the weekend
5. A legendary Saturday
6. The addition of the annoying Lunar Stage
7. The absence of a Panic, Phish or a Dead-related headliner
8. Stevie Wonder's long overdue debut appearance at the festival.

Who would YOU like to see headline in 2011 at Bonnaroo's 10th Anniversary? Share your thoughts in our comments section. Never know what happens when you dream aloud!

David Gilmour, Daft Punk, My Morning Jacket, Orbital, Gorillaz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Neil Young