Web Toolbar by Wibiya Bears and Bullets: 2011-10-02

Friday, October 7, 2011

Friday Bears: Joy Formidable on Letterman

They put up what has been referred to as a "legendary" performance at Lollapalooza two months ago, but the Joy Formidable made their TV debut last night on the Late Show with David Letterman with "Whirring," the standout from the group's debut The Big Roar, available now.

There's a certain frenetic pounce to the song, especially swirling (or whirring, that works too) into it's jolting finish. Watch below, and grab the MP3 from Stereogum.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Thursday Bears: Everything you missed on late night TV last night

Like the title said, you missed a lot.

Mastodon, Portishead, and Black Star (!) all performed on late night TV last night. Mos Def (now Yasiin Bey) and Talib Kweli performed the new "Fix Up," alongside Black Star standout "Astronomy (8th Light)." Watch them all below.

Mastodon - Curl of the Burl (Live on Letterman)



Portishead - Chase the Tear (Live on Fallon)



Portishead - Mysterons (Live on Fallon - Web Exclusive)



Black Star - Fix It (Live on The Colbert Report)




Black Star - Astronomy (8th Light) (Live on The Colbert Report - Web Exclusive)



Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Wednesday Bears: Biophilia - Full NPR Stream


Head on over to NPR now for a full, free stream of Bjork's hugely anticipated Biophilia. A few may remember that the original release date for the "app album" was September 27, but was pushed back to next Monday, October 10.

Stream the new album here.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Bedroom Eyes

Tuesday Bears: Radiohead on Fallon

More Radiohead?

On the cusp of what has now been a confirmed upcoming tour from the England super band (next year), Radiohead made yet another familiar New York City stop on their recent media brigade, this time on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

But with most of The King of Limbs tracklist already performed on Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report, "Giving Up the Ghost" was the next logical choice (if you're keeping tabs, that only leaves the instrumental "Feral" and "Separator" left to be seen). Watch the performance - sans Ed, Colin, and Phil below.

Radiohead - Giving Up The Ghost (Live on Fallon)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Monday Bears: Albums of the Month - September 2011

Albums of the Month - September 2011

New segment!

At the end of every month forever until I inevitably die - maybe - Bears and Bullets will run an Albums of the Month column. Right now, we'll take it easy early on with three top albums, but hopefully the list will continually expand.

September 2011 marked the release of a handful of anticipated releases, many of which collided on the same day; September 13, including: A.A. Bondy, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Das Racist, Mates of State, Memoryhouse, St. Vincent, and Wild Flag. That being said, the month was marred by disappointing releases as well. So, after all, what were this months standouts?


3. Four Tet - Fabriclive 59
Kieren Hebden, better known under his Four Tet moniker, released Fabriclive not as a studio set, but as part of the Fabric series, that will conclude at the end of this year. It begins as a generally mum post-90s trip-hop push colliding with the soft undertone of crowd noise, which to my knowledge has some sort of purpose. After the easy play-in, it courses through modern-Euro house and then seamlessly through more crowd loops into pure Four Tet-sound. It's that endearing core of the mix that sticks out further than many of September's other notable outputs.

Fabriclive 59 Stream


2. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
What are Girls? The super-hyped San Francisco buzzband don't fit into the 2011 mold quite as well as their acclaim would seem. Upon the release of Father, Son, Holy Ghost's first single "Vomit," it would seem that they were wedged into some hybrid Beach Boys that are much more sensible to the Jesus and Mary Chain crowd. Confusing? It should be.

Regardless, there's something incredibly endearing about Father, Son, Holy Ghost that doesn't seem like faux-wave lo-fi that frequents the Pacific coastline. Those surf-sensibilities are there, but aren't juxtaposed as an overwhelming theme - letting Christopher Owens' songwriting take the necessary lead.

Father, Son, Holy Ghost Stream

1. Mastodon - The Hunter
The metal band I simply hype more so than any other marked the end of September with the release of The Hunter, an album which was received by some to be too far off a departure of the band's hard-nailed previous works. And, well, they aren't wrong. Tracks like "Curl of the Burl" and "The Hunter" are easily the most accessible in the band's catalog. For some, though, that as a detraction is in hindsight. The Hunter jabs through blinding, clenching numbers like "Spectrelight" while allowing itself to web a different pattern. For me, that puts in on top.

The Hunter Stream

Mastodon - Spectrelight