Four Tet - Gillie Amma, I Love You

Transgressive North and Scottish Love in Action have put together a masterful collections of artists for very admirable cause. The Everything Is New project was created to aid the Dalit, better-known as the "untouchable" children of Southeast Asia, releasing two separate projects. The first of which is the 11-track Sun Choir album curated by English band Marram, which also features help from the likes of Jarvis Cocker, Owen Pallett, and more. The project was recorded over a span of six years on three different continents.

The second piece of the project is the utterly-massive 29-track BOATS, which features Four Tet's "Gillie Amma, I Love You." That track (available below) and the rest of BOATS are individual tracks built from samples of the Light Of Love Children's Choir featured on the aforementioned Sun Choir, in which the artist can choose to do with what they wish.

The lengthy artist list included on BOATS include; Four Tet, Gang Gang Dance, No Age, Dan Deacon, Bear in Heaven, Rustie, Son Lux, YACHT, Califone, Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu), Sun Airway, Taken by Trees, Capybara, Deerhoof, doseone, El Guincho, Keepaway, Lucky Dragons, Julian Lynch, Matthewdavid, Max Tundra, Physical Forms, Ramona Falls, The Ruby Suns, rRoxymore, Slanter, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, and White Hinterland.

Watch a video on the project, read up on the effort, and listen to "Gillie Amma, I Love You" below. BOATS will be released January 20.

New No Age - An Impression

West coast noise freak duo No Age turned the off-putting scales off balance with last month's "C'mon Stimmung," the first single from the band's upcoming Sub Pop release An Object. A few days back, the band debuted the decidedly less chaotic "An Impression," which, yes, features some distortion, but comes through as one of the clearer and more direct efforts of the band in recent memory. There's even orchestration in the home stretch, if you can believe it.

Stream the track below. An Object is due out August 20. Pre-orders can be made here.

New No Age - C'mon Stimmung

It's kinda unclear what "C'mon Stimmung" actually means (you tell me), but who cares? It's brand new No Age, dammit.

The messy, profusely chaotic and disorienting track is the first from the band's upcoming new LP An Object, which will be released August 20 on Sub Pop. Listen to it below.

Thursday Bears: New No Age video - Fever Dreaming

Director Patrick Daughters' video for No Age's "Fever Dreaming" features the LA duo lounging in a Urban Outfitters garage while it gets destroyed, or something.

No Age - Fever Dreaming

Bears and Bullets Top 25 Songs of 2009 (Pt. IV: #10 - #1)

We'll continue our top 25 countdown with songs #10 through #1.

#10: Stillness is the Move - Dirty Projectors

As much as people fawned over Merriweather Post Pavilion, Dirty Projector's Bitte Orca rivaled it many ways. Some would even suggest that Orca surpasses MPP in brilliance with its sheer ingenuity and creative flourish, thanks in part to "Stillness is the Move." Often pop music is regarded is simplistic and rudimentary because of lack of originality and mass consumerism. With "Stillness," however, the rhythms, hooks, and harmonies of Amber, Angel and Haley is as uncommon and inventive as anything else we heard this year. Nearly impossible to replicate, although Solange Knowles did a good rendition.

Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move

#9: What Would I Want? Sky - Animal Collective

After over three minutes of distorted samples and crashes, Animal Collective's "What Would I Want? Sky," begins to glisten in a clash of brilliant vocal sequences, with a sample of the Grateful Dead's "Unbroken Chain" gently grazing in the background. Few and far between do Animal Collective's songs sound so gloriously uplifting and enriching, with Avey Tare asking, "Is everything alright? You feeling lonely? You feeling homely? You're not the only." The direct contrast between the first and the second half are what make Animal Collective such a polarizing and ingenious group -- with mess is beauty, in the brightest places.

#8: You're a Target - No Age

"You're a Target" accomplished something somewhat rare for No Age; they compiled a rousing, loud and boisterous noise-rock song with a collective harmony and memorable bridge. The song, part of the band's four-track Losing Feeling EP, wouldn't so much as fit with their 2008 album Nouns, because it sounds too mature, too frank and welcoming. "You're a Target," sounds, however, more embracing because the visceral fuzz and melody actual comes clean, unrushed, and still categorically immense.

No Age - You're a Target - MP3

#7: People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

How any artist retooled Hall & Oates coined "Maneater," to not only an extent of not only relevance but revitalization is beyond me. In Neko Case's "People Got a Lotta Nerve," the red-haired singer-songwriter boasts her man eater lifestyle not to the party-styled anthem idea of commanding and conquering the opposite sex, but ravaging them until their nothing. And yet, it's insatiably sweet coming from Case's exquisite alt-country voice -- both terrifyingly honest and beautifully broadcast.

Neko Case - People Got a Lotta Nerve

#6: Ambling Alp - Yeasayer

Before first listen to "Ambling Alp," Yeasayer could be deemed more psychedelic than pop. Their 2007 album All Hour Cymbals, aside from the wonderful "2080," sounded like a mirage in the Sonora desert -- long, labored, loose and fluid. "Ambling Alp," albeit very new (released only a few weeks ago), is a terrific step for the Brooklyn band. Pop is often curiously standard and continuous, always looking to achieve what's already been heard. Yet, every so often an artist with enough gall and ambition can make those strides toward a higher level. Radiohead did it, Animal Collective did it, and with "Ambling Alp," Yeasayer is doing it.

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp

#5: Lisztomania - Phoenix

With most of 2009 rumbling over Merriweather Post Pavilion and Bitte Orca, Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix reveled in their indie shadows and helped the band make their first leap into popular culture. "Lisztomania," creates a mass-appeal without asserting itself. Its bright melodies and cheery and leaping chorus, makes Phoenix sound lighter and more alluring than ever before, and it's not even the best song of the album.

Phoenix - Lisztomania

#4: Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The border between dance and rock music is hard to define. Often times those in music business will attempt to trespass on that border, and, more or less, failure is certain. What the Yeah Yeah Yeahs achieved with "Heads Will Roll," not only crosses that border, but takes it down. Karen O shrieks and shrills on a "chrome" dance floor, imploring that everyone should "dance, dance, dance till your dead," while Nick churns a haunting synth lead, almost sounding like noir with poise. The finishing product, glistening in a metallic stream, is heavier than it appears; it rips and tears through the dance-floor with a midnight castle element -- glowing in the dark and shining under the lights.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll - MP3

#3: My Girls - Animal Collective

"My Girls" rushes into the ear with a earthy stream, followed by the emerging electro beat, humming quietly in the back. The song yearns for simplicity, imploring that Panda Bear doesn't "care for fancy things," but that gloriously simplicity is already there. "My Girls," sounds like sped-up evolution. The sounds careen and swirl around the listener, with tiny percussions, vocal samples and bass punches popping out of the back like small cracks on the Earth's surface. It leads and ends in the same fashion, slowly swelling, rising, climaxing, and falling back down to Earth. But before it falls, "My Girls" goes somewhere Animal Collective, until now, haven't found before -- a place lost between sounds and meaning, combining for something unbelievable.

Animal Collective - My Girls

#2: 1901 - Phoenix

"1901" is Phoenix's advertisement for the rest of the world -- it's the culmination of the bands work for the majority of the decade; smart, invigorating, inviting pop music that can make someone smile for days. The song's fuzzy interlude and landscaping synths make Thomas Mars sound cleaner and cooler than ever, bringing the band in the commercial spot light that has been years in the making.

Phoenix - 1901

#1: Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear

"Two Weeks," is Grizzly Bear's triumph on Veckatimest. It's stark, luring, brilliant and incredibly intelligent. Every key note hit by Ed Droste and the rest of the band, honing in on their trademark harmonies, sounds crisper and better than ever. The alarming exceptionalism of "Two Weeks" makes one wonder how much further the band can progress after Veckatimest and 2006's Yellow House. Indeed, if "Two Weeks" can prove anything other than indelible craftsmanship, it's that Grizzly Bear seem to progress at each and every try. How much better can they get?

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks - MP3

Merry Christmas, yall.

Tuesday Bears: No Age on Surveillance

Pitchfork Media's new online show, Surveillance, featured a performance So. Cal. duo No Age.

The show, which can be viewed at Pitchfork.TV, features artists being performing live in a New York City hotel room performing live during this year's ATP Festival through a grainy surveillance camera.

No Age performed "You're a Target," a single I often mention as one of the best of 2009, from their recently released Losing Feeling EP, in a monochrome grey monitor. The episode was the second to final installment in the Surveillance series for 2009, which rounds out tomorrow with a performance from No Age's Randy Randall, Bradford Cox, and director Jim Jarmusch. In what exactly, I'm not sure.

No Age - You're a Target (Live on Surveillance)

Thursday Bears: New No Age Video - Losing Feeling

The video for No Age's new single "Losing Feeling," directed by Gil Kenan, (Monster House, City of Ember) is a fast-paced tale of a stop-motion animation mouse journeying through the corners of Los Angeles (or San Diego, I'm not sure), meeting up with another mouse and simultaneously explaining how No Age's Dean Spunt and Randy Randall came to be.

The song is featured on the band's four song Losing Feeling EP, released earlier this month via Sub Pop. "You're a Target," one of the year's best songs, is also featured on the EP, available here.

No Age - Losing Feeling



No Age - You're a Target - MP3

Thursday Bears: New No Age - You're a Target

Yesterday Los Angeles noise-punk duo No Age released their single "You're a Target" off of the band's upcoming Losing Feeling EP, due out October 6 on Sub Pop. The song features the regular No Age retreats; fuzz, screeches, lots of cymbals, and a blissful fury that has been so easily mastered by drummer Dean Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall. That being said, while "You're a Target" features many of the characteristics that exemplify most of No Age's catalog, the song is easily one of their best and is already on the short list for songs of the year.

The EP, the band's first original material since 2008's masterful album Nouns, will be available in 12" vinyl or digital format. Pre-order for yourself here.

No Age - You're a Target - MP3

Lollapalooza 2009 Review (Day Two)

While day one of Lollapalooza 2009 proved to be very disappointing for the most part, day two more than made up for it

Day Two:

The weather was perfect, contrary to Friday, with a steady stream of sunlight cascading on Grant Park throughout the day. Along with the much welcomed weather, the line-up picked up the slack significantly with much anticipated acts like Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, Lykke Li, Santigold, and headliners Tool and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among dozens of other notable acts set to round out the night.

At around 11:45 AM, roughly an hour earlier than the day before, I entered the park with a much more attentive smile on my face. The mud had all but disappeared from the park grounds while lines for concessions and bathrooms were completely absent. In those first few moments it was almost as if I had already had a better time than the day before.

My first venture took me back to the Playstation stage - where Andrew Bird finished the previous night - to check out the quirky New England four-piece Ezra Furman & The Harpoons. The group proved to be one of the best pre-noon acts of the festival as Furman enchanted the crowd in a suggested ironic raincoat as he spouted clever stories with his Gordon Gano-esque voice.

Ezra Furman & The Harpoons

As 12:15 drew near, I made my short walk to the Budweiser stage where I was asked by a grey-bearded older gentlemen for the time. In yet another lapse of deluded ignorance, I had no idea I was talking to Chicago rock poet-laureate Thax Douglas, who introduced the next act on my schedule, Delta Spirit.

The poem (from Thax's Myspace), entitled "Delta Spirit No. 3" went:

"like caramel drizzlings on the skin the brands glow dully whenever the body needs to cook a new version of itself- the fresh new body is vain of the brands which its fingers read as birthmarks tattooed by God, the brands taking a much needed vacation by riding the new body's vanity until their services are needed." -8/7/09 Schuba's.

My bewildered face was quickly erased once Matt Vasquez and the rest of the San Diego rock/blues group took the stage. Although they addressed the fact that they never played such a large crowd before, the group thoroughly impressed. Vasquez stands out as one of those rare true rock frontmen that has such a foregoing attitude that the outstanding music being played behind him almost seems to fulfill his true nature as a traveling bluesman.

Delta Spirit

The set closed with an amazing rendition of "People, Turn Around" as Chicago Cubs super-fan Ronnie Woo Woo (apparently, he's a big Delta Spirit fan) made his way through the crowd. At this time, Lollapalooza promoters sent me a text informing that rock & roll legend Buddy Guy was set to appear at the Kidzapalooza stage to perform alongside child guitar-prodigy Quinn Sullivan at 1:30.

A chance to see Guy enticed me enough to run to the stage, which seemed to be a mistake considering the heat. However, Guy didn't make the appearance on time and I was (almost) forced to listen to Sullivan, a child who's talents are more than admirable, but is still a 12 year-old kid. Needless to say, the child's songs about his guitar, how much he likes guitar, and about how he wishes it was 1973 again, tested my patience.

After an angry departure I decided to get a good spot for Minneapolis rap group Atmosphere at the Chicago 2016 stage. For those familiar with the schedule at this time I elected to pass up Animal Collective's DJ Set at Perry's and British indie-pop group Los Campesinos! on the opposite end of the park. Still, as I may regret missing Campesinos! a little, Atmosphere put on a spectacular show. Slug's rhyme's are chaotically intrinsic, full of challenging imagery and skill that would more than likely put any other MC at this year's festival (mostly Asher Roth) to shame.

Atmosphere

After Atmosphere's extra long 16 song set, I grabbed my first (and last) food of the day, a bratwurst with grilled onions, which proved to be the only good food I bought during the whole festival. I made my way to the Citi stage to catch Ipod friendly group Chairlift as my friends and I accidentally met up. They shortly departed to catch Coheed & Cambria while I waded through the spacey twee of the Brooklyn trio. The short, sweet set was clouded by enormous feedback and tiny technical disturbances that made making out anything Caroline Polachek said a bit of a struggle. Still, fans seemed to enjoy themselves enough, especially during "Bruises," one of the better songs of the day.

Chairlift

Soon after, Dean Spunt and Randy Randall of No Age made their way to the Citi stage, with Randall sitting in a chair for the entire show as the result of a dislocated shoulder from the night before. The Southern California noise-rock duo brought with them a following of musicians including Deerhunter's Bradford Cox and TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe and Dave Sitek listening on the sidelines, not to mention a group of avid fans (one so avid that he ran on stage, danced, gave Spunt a note, and dove back into the crowd nearly untouched by security). The show, despite Randall's handicap, was vibrant and loud, full of jumpy singles from the band's 2008 album Nouns and 2007's Weirdo Rippers.

No Age

Exhausted and my ears ringing, I filled my water bottles and moved to the opposite side of the park to grab a spot for TV on the Radio. The north side of the park at this time was immensely packed from people seeing Santigold at the Playstation stage and the Arctic Monkeys at the Budweiser stage. Trudging through was difficult, but my efforts were rewarded as I squeezed into a spot on the right side of the stage (same method I use every time).

As Santi's set ended (with a invigorating version of "Creator") TV on the Radio opened up with Dear Science's "Love Dog." The atmosphere surrounding the collective sound was lush with Dave Sitek's acutely organized feedback and backing rhythm section while Adebimpe and Kyp (the beard) Mylone took control of center stage. Adebimpe seemed to fall into his own, commanding stage as a modern Mick Jagger, effortlessly shifting from Dear Science and Return to Cookie Mountain, to the band's earlier work from the group's 2003 Young Liars EP. If I were to be brash I'd say in another couple years there's almost no doubt that TV on the Radio could achieve headline status.

TV on the Radio

The group closed out with a perfect "Staring at the Sun," that still remains possibly the best song of the festival. With the group sending off and Ben Harper and The Relentless 7 starting off close by the hardest decision of my weekend came; do I wait and get a great spot for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the only headline act I anticipated) or do I venture across the park and get a little of Animal Collective's show (who, for those that regularly read my posts, will note was my most anticipated act of the festival)? I elected the former, passing up what many regarded as a good show from Animal Collective in order to save my spot.

My patience once again was justly rewarded, as I witnessed arguably the best show of the festival with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Karen O., possibly the best frontwoman in music today, graced the stage in an obscure yet fitting Native American headdress, starting the show with "Runaway" from this year's It's Blitz! LP. The show only got better as the group scattered gems from It's Blitz!, 2006's Show Your Bones, and their spectacular 2003 debut Fever to Tell.

Karen frequently addressed the band replacing the originally scheduled Beastie Boys (guitarist Nick Zinner even played a riff from "So What'cha Want" from the Beastie's 1992 album Check Your Head) and how shocked they were to be there. None the less, the show was extraordinary. The trio filled the headline spot easily as jubilation from the fans filled the air when the group performed their hits "Heads Will Roll," "Zero," and a very special "Maps" in which Karen O. cheerily forgot the words to her most famous song.

In all, day two embarrassingly surpassed day one. The music was nearly perfect along with the weather and fans, creating an unforgettable atmosphere in the park. And with my luck still prevailing that trend would continue to day three.

Best Performances: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Delta Spirit

Worst Performances: Quinn Sullivan

Highlight: "Staring at the Sun" by TV on the Radio

Lowlight: Skipping Animal Collective.

Day Three Review Tomorrow

Official Lollapalooza 2009 Countdown (Pt. III)

Continuing yesterday's countdown of my Top Ten Must-See Lollapalooza Acts we take a look at my number six selection, Los Angeles noise-punk duo No Age.

#6: No Age

Since the release of 2008's Nouns LP off Sub-Pop, No Age has earned quick acclaim their frenetically quirky sounds from fans and musicians alike. The duo of Randy Randall and Dean Spunt, only with a guitar and drums, created a sound akin to early Sonic Youth and Deerhunter. From that, one could conclude that it also sounds nothing like them, as is the appeal of No Age.

The duo will be performing August 8 (Day Two) on arguably the biggest night at Lollapalooza on the Citi Stage at 5:00.

An added bonus; No Age will be performing with Deerhunter and Dan Deacon at Chicago's Logan Square Auditorium August 9. Tickets available here.

No Age - Eraser


#5: Passion Pit

Passion Pit have, in a very short time, become one of my favorite up and coming artists. The easily accessible indie-pop group's 2008 EP debut Chunk of Change and spectacular single "Sleepyhead" brought the group into the easily recognized indie-universe.

This year the grouped took another step forward with the May release of Manners. While the album still had a lot of what made Chunk of Change so good, it also added even more dance-able tracks like "The Reeling," including the aforementioned "Sleepyhead."

The group will be performing August 9 (Day Three) on the Citi Stage at 5:00, following Gang Gang Dance's 3:30 performance.

Passion Pit - The Reeling


Continued Tomorrow ...