Bears And Bullets Albums Of The Year (#10-#1)

Continuing with list week, we hit the finale - the Best Albums of 2013, numbers ten through one. Read the countdown after the bump.

Bears And Bullets Songs Of The Year (#25-#1)

Continuing with yesterday's list, we count down the best songs of 2013 down to number one. See if your favorites made the list, after the bump.

Bears And Bullets Songs Of The Year (#50-#26)

It's that time again. Here are my favorite songs of 2013, part one. Listen and enjoy.

New Vampire Weekend video - Diane Young

It turns out that the burning Saab video originally for "Diane Young," the energetic lead single from Vampire Weekend's recent Modern Vampires Of The City, wasn't the "official" video. Today, the band debuted the real thing as a modern Last Supper, featuring an array of indie heroes. Those included are; members of Dirty Projectors, The Walkmen, Chromeo, Santigold, and Sky Ferreira, having a better party than any of us are.

New Vampire Weekend - Ya Hey

Still less than two weeks before the release of Modern Vampires Of The City, there was a culmination of buzz about "Ya Hey," which had only been heard by sources who were lucky enough to get a promo copy of the album. Considering "Diane Young" was a fine enough single in its own right, the hyped reputation of "Ya Hey" was a bit curious.

Today, Vampire Weekend released the third lyric video from the upcoming album, in a furiously celebratory fashion. Champagne (labeled "Ya Hey) is popped throughout from the top of the New York skyline, with the  surprisingly solemn song playing through. For the first time, Ezra Koenig seems to be playing with bigger elements, talking of love and the evolution of devotion, with the band employing more backing vocals than ever before.

It's a big jump, which comes with the help of producer Ariel Rechtshaid, who's plenty familiar with big pop acts.

Modern Vampires Of The City is set for release May 14 on XL Recordings.

Vampire Weekend on Later ... With Jools Holland

Starting off the furious whirlwind of performances before the release of the band's third album Modern Vampires Of The City, Vampire Weekend stopped over Later ... With Jools Holland with a couple new tracks. First, the album's lead single "Diane Young," leading into "Unbelievers." The appearance comes after the Steve Buscemi-directed performance last Sunday at New York's Roseland Ballroom (Buscemi is a distant relative of band member Chris Baio, in case you forgot) and nearly a week before the band's upcoming Saturday Night Live appearance.

Modern Vampires In The City is slated for release May 14 on XL Recordings.

Lollapalooza Headliners Leaked

Aha! Finally some big Lollapalooza news.

Aside from that Nine Inch Nails news that Billboard leaked out a few weeks back, confirmations for this year's festival were largely stray. Aside from a few small confirmations, like Angel Haze and Imagine Dragons, nothing was firmly stamped down.

As per usual, The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot released the fest's first "confirmed" headliners. Previously rumored acts Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend are indeed on the billing alongside The Killers this year. All four performed at the festival in 2009 and 2010, but only The Killers and Phoenix were previously booked as headliners. M&S have obviously exploded since their 2010 appearance, so the headlining spot isn't surprising, but Vampire Weekend booked as an official headliner may be still curious.

Lollapalooza fans will recognize a slight gap in headliners - an electro act. Since 2011, festival organizers have made a large concerted effort to bring more electronica music to the festival, booking Deadmau5 in 2011 and Avicii and Justice last year. With the four new headliners and Nine Inch Nails, only one headlining slot remains. Nothing is confirmed, but expect that final slot to go to a major electronica act.

The four headliners weren't the only acts leaked, however. Previously rumored Postal Service and The National will also be heading to Chicago this August. Expect the full lineup release in the coming weeks.

Lollapalooza takes place August 2-4 this year. Stick here for more updates and rumors.

New Vampire Weekend - Diane Young and Step

After debuting a bevy of songs down at last week's SXSW, Vampire Weekend formally introduced the two tracks to the band's upcoming double A-Side single "Diane Young/Step." The first two official releases from the band's upcoming third LP Modern Vampires In The City have supporting videos as well. "Diane Young" is simply a car on fire, but, "Step" is a Manhattan-inspired lyric video fitting of a sweeter tune.

Check out both below and grab Modern Vampires In The City May 7 via XL Recordings.

Lollapalooza Rumors Update

It's been some time, but with only a few weeks left before the official Lollapalooza 2013 lineup is revealed, its time to get up to speed.

Bonnaroo, Firefly reveal 2013 lineups

Earlier today, both the 2013 Bonnaroo Music Festival and Dover, Delaware's Firefly Festival announced their annual lineups.

Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mumford and Sons, Bjork, and Wilco will sit at the top billing of the Manchester, Tennessee festival, which is the second of the three major U.S. music festivals to be announced (the third, of course, being Lollapalooza).

Firefly will also boast Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, as well as Coachella and Lollapalooza 2012 headliner Red Hot Chili Peppers. Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foster The People, MGMT, and Kendrick Lamar will also be on top of the billing. For the full lineups, go to the official festival websites linked below.

Bonnaroo will take place June 13-16, with tickets going on sale February 23 at noon EST (here). Firefly will take place the following weekend, June 21-23, with tickets going on sale February 21 (here).

Sasquatch! 2013 lineup revealed

The always underrated Sasquatch! music festival, held every Memorial Day weekend in May, has announced its 2013 lineup.

Headliners this year include Mumford & Sons, the recently reunited Postal Service, Vampire Weekend, The XX, Sigur Ros, and Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - who are placed pretty high on the billing.

Included in the usually stellar mid-card are: Empire Of The Sun, Cake, Grimes, Andrew Bird, Built To Spill, Danny Brown, Schoolboy Q + Ab Soul, El-P, Japandroids, Death Grips, and plenty others (comedians a plenty, too). Click the poster above to see the whole lineup.

Tickets for the May 24-27 event, held in the stupidly gorgeous Gorge Ampitheatre in Washington, will go on sale February 9 via the festival website.

New Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love

Is there an indie band that fits the commercial-friendly mode better than Ra Ra Riot? Sure, you can make arguments for Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit, but the band's new track "Beta Love" may question that whole thing. Check out the lovable new single below, and watch for the band's new album January 22.

New Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers (Live)

Last on on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, New York's own Vampire Weekend performed a special Halloween edition (hence the makeup) version of their completely brand new track, "Unbelievers." It's the first new material we've heard from the band since their 2010 release Contra, following the band's confirmation of a new album last summer. Check out the performance below and stay tuned for more album details in the near future.

Tuesday Bears: Pitchfork Music Festival lineup released

No other music festival bares influence on Lollapalooza more than the Pitchfork Music Festival. Both are held in Chicago, less than a month apart from one another. And because of this, the festival organizers have inacted a "radius clause" which I've mentioned on here time and time again, that states that musical acts that play within a certain mile radius in a certain time span before and after Lollapalooza's scheduled dates cannot play there. All this usually means is that any act playing Pitchfork cannot play Lolla and vice versa.

So, who won't be at Lollapalooza this year? Feist, Vampire Weekend, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, lead out the initial headlining list, alongside Hot Chip, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, Tim Hecker and a handful of other notable acts, all of which you can see here.

The pre-Pitchfork predictions seemed to be strong for Bon Iver, PJ Harvey, and Jeff Magnum headlining, but now that that seems to be out of the question, that all but guarantees a spot for Justin Vernon and the band at Lolla in August. This, however, is not the entire Pitchfork Music Festival lineup. More than 30 other acts will also be added, so nothing is certain.

Again, nothing is confirmed yet, but this is reason enough to be suspicious. Tickets for the July 13-15 fest go on sale Friday, March 9 at noon. Single-day passes are $45 and a three-day pass are a reasonably priced at $110.

Friday Bears: Bears and Bullets Top 25 Songs of Year (Pt. V)

We'll continue our top 25 countdown with songs #5 through #1.

#5: All of the Lights - Kanye West
The third and final selection from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, "All of the Lights," explodes following a swollen string section interlude, morphing the album's impeccable middle section, with "Power" leading into "All of the Lights" and swirling off with "Monster." With that, "All of the Lights" is the album's polished core, swimming in blasting drum beats, guest voices, and a daunting platform -- Kanye being able to manipulate his most endearing forces into a breathing example of perfectionism

#4: Shutterbugg - Big Boi (ft. Cutty)
"Shutterbugg" is an exemplary sample of what a lot of time and patience can do for a song. As with most of Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, Big Boi's first (technically) solo work outside of OutKast, "Shutterbugg" was hindered by years and years of delays; the albums first promo single was released in 2007, believe it or not. Regardless, not suffering any Chinese Democracy type anguish, the delay didn't pull anything back. "Shutterbugg" is a incredibly polished and formed piece that vigorously blends the best of funk and Big Boi's coined southern verse. The wait was probably worth it.

Big Boi (ft. Cutty) - Shutterbugg



#3: Fuck You - Cee Lo
Without much of a doubt, "Fuck You" was the feel good single of the year. If I was popular enough to manage a poll, it'd be pretty hard to say that it wouldn't be the fan favorite, what with the Glee covers and multiple video mashups to go along with it. Cee Lo combines all of the interlayering factors that add up to something almost everyone can keen into: nostalgia? Check. Abrasiveness? Check. Universal understanding? Check. Don't be swayed by "Forget You," the toned down radio-friendly version, or even worse, Paltrow style. "Fuck" matters.

Cee Lo - Fuck You



#2: Dancing On My Own - Robyn
I've been totally ignorant of Robyn for the past few years, passively ignoring or just not getting it. I suppose my blatant disregard for what she's been able to do since her late 90s one hit wonder in the States made "Dancing On My Own" that much more important to 2010. It's a deceivingly well-paced dance pop masterwork, combing her invigoratingly melodic prose with an intensely romantic sub-sound into an all-engrossing dance frenzy. But, even with the lightning flash of awe-inspiring sound, Robyn's sense of loveless distance makes it that much more enchanting, disheartening, and, all at once, effortlessly breathtaking.

Dancing On My Own - Robyn



#1: Giving Up the Gun - Vampire Weekend
For one, "Giving Up the Gun" is defiantly unsuspecting: it's a melodic push of Vampire Weekend's strongest aesthetic forces, gleefully bound together in a spur that is almost impossible to categorize. In a way, it's the hardest thing Vampire Weekend ever had to do in their short three year career -- tactfully enclosing on the Ezra's romanticism, and the rest of the bands clever, blindingly thoughtful combination of buzzing bass and drums, strings, chimes, and a splitting mystery key board. "Giving Up the Gun" may end up being this good because it's an unspoken mismatch of multiple components that don't seem to fit well together. But, then again, the best songs usually have that effect.

Vampire Weekend - Giving Up the Gun



I'd like to personally wish everyone a happy 2011. We'll be back soon, kids. Until then.

Tuesday Bears: Bears and Bullets Top 25 Songs of 2010 (Pt. II)

We'll continue our top 25 countdown with songs #20 through #16.

#20: On Melancholy Hill - Gorillaz
Damon Albarn's return to the studio as cartoon band frontman for Gorillaz yielded "Melancholy Hill" on an album that, more often than not, showcased the talents of others: Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, etc. The song stands alone on Plastic Beach as Albarn's highest achievement because it's only him. Aside from the plush synth drives, Albarn showcases what so many Blur fans remember from the 90s; a solemn and lonely voice that drives toward subtle beauty.

Gorillaz - On Melancholy Hill



#19: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) - Arcade Fire
"Sprawl II" is, in a way, the furthest departure Arcade Fire have ever taken from their coined sound. Regine leads the bass-heavy and synth-driven charge of an Earth catapulting spring that invokes her to scream "sometimes I wonder if the world's so small." It should be taken with a grain of salt, because there have been few times that Arcade Fire have sounded bigger

#18: I Think Ur a Contra - Vampire Weekend
Contra, as Vampire Weekend's second studio effort, came off to some fans as a bit more bumpy and rushed as its self-titled preprocessor - but that argument always seems to follow any band that explodes off a debut (Strokes, anyone?). However, "I Think Ur a Contra," and it is spelled that way, is, for a moment, cold and sad. There have been very few, if any moments in Ezra Koenig's short career that he has sounded so warm that even his minuscule heartbreak seems distant from "Contra's" wintry beauty.

#17: Rill Rill - Sleigh Bells
Oddly enough, Sleigh Bells softest moment from their ear-bashing (in a good way) debut Treats proved to be the record's most endearing track. The jagged guitar, borrowed a bit from Funkadelic, turns away from the group's typically bombasting approach, to turn on sly, jubilant and - most important here - catchy rhythm that escalates into a drifty high school daydream.

#16: Yulia - Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade, the now either defunct or on indefinite hiatus band, hasn't gotten their fair share of compliments since their 2005 debut Apologies to the Queen Mary. With what may have been the band's last work, Expo 86, the group produced "Yulia," a harrowing and true song about Soviet cosmonauts from the 50s that were lost in space to drift along through eternity. But focusing on the bleakness, and in a way, Wolf Parade's departure, takes away from the stark love song that "Yulia" turns into. Indeed, its face front value is something completely different, but here it can't stop from sounding so engrossing and tearful.

Wolf Parade - Yulia



Stay tuned, we'll return tomorrow for songs #15 - 11.

Tuesday Bears: Vampire Weekend try to impress your mom

Making their daytime television debut, and marking the first and probably last time I'll ever have to say that phrase, Vampire Weekend performed "Cousins" and "Holiday" today on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Ezra's voice seems to be a bit off during "Holiday," something that probably infuriated 40-plus year old women across the country. "I don't need this, what is this? What happened to Stamos? I bet he doesn't like this."

Vampire Weekend - Cousins (Live on Ellen)



Vampire Weekend - Holiday (Live on Ellen)

Friday Bears: Vampire Weekend on Colbert

In last night's performance of "Holiday" on the Colbert Report, Vampire Weekend, Stephen asks the band what Contra really means, the well-deserved "Oxford Comma" scrutiny (in AP Style, they don't give a fuck, if you're wondering) and drummer Chris Tomson's questionable appearance.

You can watch both the performance and the interview below. Contra is available now via XL Recordings.

Vampire Weekend interview with Stephen Colbert

www.colbertnation.com

Vampire Weekend - Holiday (Live on The Colbert Report)

www.colbertnation.com

Thursday Bears: New Vampire Weekend Video - Holiday. And some Twilight stuff

Vampire Weekend, in the release of their new video for "Holiday" off their album Contra, are caught playing around the California (let's assume) coastline, grabbing In-N-Out Burgers, hangin' with the ladies and kicking the apparent shit out of somebody. Did I mention they're donning Colonial-era Europe garb? Yeah, probably.

Contra is available now via XL Records.

Vampire Weekend - Holiday



Also, take a listen to the band's new song "Jonathan Low," for the Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack below. You can grab the soundtrack June 8, via Atlantic Records.

Vampire Weekend - Jonathan Low - Stream

Monday Bears: Vampire Weekend back on SNL

Vampire Weekend made their triumphant return to Saturday Night Live last weekend, in what many regard as one of the best episodes in a long, long time, thanks in large part to host and Southern beard aficionado Zach Galifianakis.

The band brought two of Contra's heavy hitters -- "Cousins" and the Gyllenhaal-powered "Giving Up the Gun," complete with a backing string-section -- in quite possibly the best live-performance we've ever seen from the Ivy League crew.

Vampire Weekend - Cousins (Live on SNL)

Vampire Weekend - Giving Up the Gun (Live on SNL)