I’ve been hearing a wide range of opinions about Animal Collective’s Fall Be Kind EP, which leaked last week before its December 15th debut.

For me, I give it an instant thumbs up.

It’s like a little treat, getting a five-song bundle from a these three crazies less than a year before their release of Merriweather Post Pavilion.

The opening track ‘Graze’ really does it for me - it contains one of the most beautifully strange transitions I’ve ever heard. It’s a body high of a dream sequence lullaby that turns into a somewhat ridiculous use of pan flutes reminiscent of an African safari.

My favorite by far is ‘What Would I want? Sky,’ which is characterized by their usual repetitive nature and witty uses of hallow, echoing voices both elevated and grounded by crashing and banging. I feel like whirling around or falling asleep… I can’t decide which, but both are good options.

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Our favorite indie freak-folk band Animal Collective just released a new video for their song “In the Flowers.” Not surprisingly, the video is a bit on the weird side. (This could possibly be the understatement of the century.) The video itself is a trippy montage of sorts, complete with vintage footage that looks as if it was filmed by Abraham Zapruder himself.

Since the “In the Flowers” is such a good song though, it really doesn’t matter what the video looks like. The video could have been in claymation for all I care.

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Here’s a new track off of The Black Keys’ upcoming album Blak Roc. It’s called “Stay Off the Fuckin’ Flowers”, and it features one of raps heavy hitters: Raekwon. As expected, he tears it up on his first verse. His rhymes are complimented by the Keys’ nice little guitar riff. Blak Roc is set to drop on Black Friday.

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[caption id=”attachment_2791” align=”aligncenter” width=”328” caption=”Compliments of The Ridiculant “][/caption]

All Cheeming Boey needs is a Sharpie and your standard styrofoam cup to make absolutely spectacular pieces of art. Talk about using your resources.

According to the Metro‘s blog The Ridiculant, Boey started drawing on cups in 2006, and they’ve gained increasing popularity ever since. It seems like a simple concept, but the designs are nothing short of complex and complicated. Some even take months to complete and sell for hundreds of dollars.

I think these are amazing, take a peek:

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There has been an incredible amount of hype over the new duo, Girls. Today, for the first time, I sat down and watched their music video for their single, “Lust for Life,” and I honestly cannot say I’ve been so impressed with a song and video in a very long time. The song is beautiful and strange, the lyrics are real and from the heart, and Christopher Owens eerie voice is the perfect topping to this delicious cake. Owens uses effects that make his songs sound like they are coming out of 1969 instead of 2009, which adds to the perfection of this new masterpiece.

Owens and bandmate, Chet Jr White, have produced the best thing to be released in years. Owens sings these sad, heartbroken songs of wishing for happiness, love, and the end of loneliness. In the track, “Hellhole Ratrace,” Owens says, “I’m all alone with my heartache and my good intentions.” Owens seems like a man who is lost, lonely, and begging for someone to love him. It adds to the charm of the album: the sadness radiates through every song and makes you fall in love with this man you’ve never seen or met before. Somehow every song makes you feel nostalgic for a time and place that never existed. And despite every track being drenched in the sounds of depression, they all make you want to dance. Listening to this album makes you smile whether you want to or not. The beats to the songs make you want to move in a way you never have before. You want to see the world differently and make everything feel better somehow. There’s something beautiful in the strange simplicity of the Girls’ sound. You’ll dance, you’ll sing, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and most of all, you’ll find something to believe in.

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