Aston Shuffle

The Aston Shuffle have an awesome video that not only appeals to my taste in music but my mild obsession with typography. Enjoy!

The Aston Shuffle - YOUR LOVE - from maxime bruneel on Vimeo.

Givers and (Show) Takers

Oddly enough, last night was my first show of 2011, but it certainly did not disappoint!  I went with two of my bestest concert buds, Tron and the Felarcanator.  Was also supposed to meet up with the roomie, but we continued our trend of Not Seeing Each Other, Ever.  Anyway, tickets were originally purchased due to the fact that Ra Ra Riot was headlining, and well...duh, but it had the added benefit of showcasing Pepper Rabbit (who I saw with Freelance Whales late last year) and some random other band, Givers.

Pepper Rabbit kicked the night off, and I enjoyed them from the balcony, whiskey ginger in hand.  They had quite the crowd watching, as you can see...normally opening acts at Neumos have 2 or 3 rows at the front and an empty backfield as people try and consume as many libations as possible before the headliners come on.  The Los Angeles based band is certainly worth checking out if you get a chance.

Next came the Givers, which imho were clearly the stars of the night.  From Lafayette, Louisiana, they had a great indie pop dance sound.  Super high energy, the drummer was a beast, and Tiffany, the girl of the group was a real show stopper.  She played the xylophone, drums and a ukulele and was very good at all of them (particularly the drums). You can tell they're still in the process of refining their music and have made vast strides since the release of their EP, to what today's version of Up Up Up sounds like.  Full album coming out soon...should be some really good stuff!

After the Givers left the stage, Ra Ra Riot came on.  Don't let me give you the impression that they were a bad show, au contraire, they certainly put on quite the performance.  They played some older stuff and some songs off The Rhumb Line, which I was more familiar with.  The cellist and violinist, both women, were not only quite formidable string players, they were also rather attractive (bonus!), each in their own way, a sultry cellist with a great voice, and the super upbeat cute girl next door violist who must have snapped 30+ horsehairs on her bow, given the fervor with which she played.   Their encore, fantastique aussi!

                     

I'll be in Cali for 10 days at the beginning of Feb, spending time with the ToA, but when I get back, it's Smith Westerns, Macklemore, Fresh Espresso, Girl Talk, The Naked & Famous and the Foals (tell me you're not jealous and I won't believe you).  I'm going to try and get my D90 in and get some real shots, rather than this iPhone garbage...

Be My Animal

I'm thinking I might need to make an 'Animals and Nature' themed mix soon. Between Yelle's awesome new track (without which, I would have no idea that animals dance at the Safari Disco Club) and Lykke Li's 'I Follow Rivers', I have solid material for quite a raucous dance party of a playlist. Busting moves right along with this theme, The Good Natured's second track 'Be My Animal' is a super catchy little tune that will have you shimmying along with Sara Macintosh's great vocals.

In Search Of Elusive Little Comets

When I studied abroad I became obsessed with the music scene in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and seriously considered dropping out of school to move to somewhere like Manchester or Liverpool to become immersed in the music scene there. Shockingly, the parentals would not agree to my ridiculous lack of plan and consequently I've had to rely on Tres as my emissary of all music Anglophile. I've been aware of the British group Little Comets but it wasn't until I heard this track from their upcoming CD which has a sound reminiscent of Vampire Weekend and Franz Ferdinand (without the awkward slowed down chorus thing going on) that I got really excited about their music.

Their new CD 'In Search Of Elusive Little Comets' comes out at the end of the month and can be added to my growing list of musics to purchase. Enjoy!

Little Comets - Joanna by Mud Hut Digital

Jump Right In

It's that time of year when I'm so happy to live in San Francisco. While everyone is still in the dead of winter the weather here is gorgeous and making me take long walks on city beach instead of working. With that in mind, I'm so happy to stumble upon this video and song by Benjamin Francis Leftwich, which makes me feel like running away and playing dress-up with my friends.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich "Atlas Hands" MUSIC VIDEO from gotofig2 on Vimeo.

Bowl Cuts

One of my favorite tracks of last year was 'Living in America', and even though DOM really needs to work on their live performance, they know how to put out some killer muzaks. The lead singer of Cults joins in on the vocals on this track and helps make this a panoply of hipster electropop. Thanks to being part of Passion Pit's Black Bell label, this collaboration is actually a free download on their official site as well.

Dom - Bowl Cut (Aislyn Remix) by EssysWorld

Byooooom!

I am in a prettttty awesome mood right now.  It's only 1030am and I've had quite a productive morning.  Drafting operating agreements, setting up LLCs, and jamming out to some solid tracks.  One of these tracks has been Treatment of the Sun by The Pass.  These guys are vaguely reminiscent of Passion Pit or a less melancholy MGMT.  They're from Louisville, KY, and have been around since '08, but I'm just jumping on the bandwagon now.  They put out a 5 song EP in early 2010, and have since released Burst, an uber cool full album where you'll find Treatment.

Treatment of the Sun is accompanied by a really simple, but great music video.  The old-school dancing is PERFECT for the song, and I can just imagine some indie chicks dancing their faces off in the exact same way to this track at a concert.  If you missed this song or video last summer on PMA, you won't want to repeat that same mistake.


The Pass - "Treatment of the Sun" PMA Premiere from Pretty Much Amazing on Vimeo.