Hold Steady on Daytrotter

Today's Daytrotter session features Brooklyn via Minnesota Springsteen revivalists The Hold Steady during their SXSW performances. You can listen to the band's performances of "Stay Positive," "Sequestered in Memphis," and "Constructive Summer" off the band's 2008 release Stay Positive, as well as "Sweet Payne" off of the band's almost untouched 2004 release Almost Killed Me here.

Clash Music's 50 Greatest Albums

Now keep in mind Clash Music, which has nothing to do with Joe Strummer, has only existed for five years, so essentially this is really their list of the 50 best albums of the past five years. Unlike usual music lists this came off a little boring and predictable for anyone who's been following alternative music for the past few years.

Judge yourself.

List:

50 The Killers - Hot Fuss
49 Kasabian - Kasabian

48 Deerhunter - Microcastle

47 Bat For Lashes - Fur and Gold

46 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

45 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

44 Portishead - Third

43 Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

42 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

41 Santigold - Santigold

40 Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel

39 Sigur Rós - Takk...

38 Efterklang - Parades

37 Liars - Drum's Not Dead

36 The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

35 Hot Chip - The Warning

34 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

33 Benga - Diary Of An Afro Warrior

32 Feist - The Reminder

31 Broadcast - Tender Buttons

30 Battles - Mirrored

29 Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

28 Tunng - Mother's Daughter And Other Songs

27 The Libertines - The Libertines

26 Kanye West - The College Dropout

25 Apparat - Walls

24 Burial - Burial

23 Gallows - Orchestra Of Wolves

22 Caribou - The Milk Of Human Kindness

21 Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene

20 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

19 Soulwax - Nite Versions1

8 The Bug - London Zoo

17 Brian Wilson - SMiLE

16 Isolée - We Are Monster

15 My Morning Jacket - Z

14 Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

13 Joanna Newsom - Ys

12 Modeselektor - Hello Mom!

11 Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

10 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

9 J Dilla - Donuts

8 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

7 M.I.A. - Arular

6 LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem

5 The Knife - Silent Shout

4 TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

3 Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times

2 Radiohead - In Rainbows

1 Arcade Fire - Funeral

Antony and The Johnsons on Ferguson

For past four years, ever since I first heard Antony and The Johnson's remarkable 2005 LP I Am a Bird Now, I'm still finding myself curiously amazed at any instance I hear Antony's hauntingly beautiful voice.

The group performed the title track from last year's Another World last night on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson with Antony glowing in a mid-night blue aura as he professes his terribly sad inner story. I image the feeling of Craig's humor about the album cover didn't last too long.

Wavves go Daytripping

Wavves were featured on another episode of Pitchfork TV's daytripping as the band ventured to Fort Fader, Texas on their SXSW duties. But nevermind the band for a moment, just, I've never really gotten used to John Norris' "MT-Free" hair. He's the only person I know who's probably aging backwards.

Other appearances include the band opting (and watching) Bun-B and Nathan Williams discovering just how hot Solange Knowles really is.

Crocodiles

Lo-fi is becoming an unavoidable aesthetic in modern alternative music. The cycles of Wavves and Vivian Girls echo minimalistic efforts the likes of which Robert Pollard has made a career (and roughly 1200 songs) out of. And in the recent trend I have grown an attentive, almost unhealthy and unexplained obsession with the material.

Crocodiles, however, have taken a more ear-friendly approach to the subject while still admiring the close resemblance of iconic 80's noise pioneers The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band's new album Summer of Hate shines those features in a clear-cut draw using Crocodile's obvious influences with a modern tinge.

"I Wanna Kill," if nothing else, is closer to Psycho Candy then anything you may have heard in the past ten years.

Crocodiles - Refuse Angels - MP3

Crocodiles - Summer of Hate - MP3

Crocodiles - I Wanna Kill - MP3

MP3's Found Courtesy of Pop Tarts Suck Toasted

Acrylics

Acrylics might be the next artist to hit my "breaking out" radar. The Brooklyn group, comprised of Molly Shea and Jason Klauber, is another off-product of the whole MGMT/Chairlift group finding recent success.

The band recently performed their first single "Molly's Vertigo" (and a Ramones cover of "Rockaway Beach") for Athens Soundies, another music site a like La Blogotheque and Laudromatinee.

Enjoy.

Acrylics - Molly's Vertigo



Acrylics - Molly's Vertigo - MP3

New Video; The Boy Least Likely To

I'm not really sure what the exact definition of twee really is (some kind of pop-indie blend of acoustic guitar, and maybe a xylophone and a flute somewhere that's sung by adults), but I feel like The Boy Least Likely To made an accurate interpretation of whatever it may be with their new video for "When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade" off of their most recent album Law Of The Playground

It stars an apple with buttons for eyes, and a bright red cloth-bird, and some angry lemons in a jean-covered world. It also teaches younger adults the easy steps to making lemonade. [Lemons + Rain + Straw + Dixie Cup].

The Boy Least Likely To - When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade