[caption id=”attachment_2587” align=”aligncenter” width=”565” caption=”Devendra Banhart and Animal Collective”][/caption]

It’s been a good past two weeks for Phoenix. First they performed on The Tonight Show, then they were featured in a Cadillac commercial, and finally they were remixed by Friendly Fires. Now, two new Phoenix remixes have surfaced. The first is by Neighbours and avant-folk singer/songwriter Devendra Banhart, while the second is by none other than Animal Collective.

The combination of Neighbours and Devendra Banhart put a unique spin on their edit of “Rome,” and manage to turn it into something sadder than the original song. You’re definitely not going to want include this in your workout playlist. Animal Collective’s remix, however, sounds exactly like what one of their songs should sound like - twangy, echoy, and downright weird. There are tons of fade-ins, fade-outs, and looping. It definitely has more liveliness than the remix of “Rome.” Check ‘em out.

Read More

[caption id=”attachment_2539” align=”alignright” width=”300” caption=”Atlas Sound aka Deerhunter's Bradford Cox”][/caption]

Keeping it short and sweet here.

I just really like this track off of Atlas Sound’s Logos released earlier this month. Atlas Sound is the name of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox’s solo project.

Spin magazine described ‘Walkabout’ as the following:

Bradford Cox’s blissed-out fantasy of an Animal Collective song playing on a merry-go-round at Panama City Bead in 1966
Pretty accurate, I’d say. It goes really well with rainy Sundays and the-end-of-fall time. Have a go:

[audio:http://jetcomx.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/atlas-sound-walkabout1.mp3]

In unrelated news, Rolling Stone gave 4 stars to ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ by Miley Cyrus while Grizzly Bear’s ‘While You Wait for the Others’ received 3. I’m a little beyond bothered.

Swedish indie-pop group Miike Snow (no, that’s not a typo) just released the music video for their hit single “Black and Blue.” Miike Snow’s sound has been described by professional music critics as “A-ha meets Animal Collective.” I personally like to think that their sound is more of an offshoot of Passion Pit’s. The band’s lead singer/songwriter Andrew Wyatt even sounds a bit like Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos.

The guys released their self-titled debut album back in May of 2009, and on it was “Black and Blue” and “Animal,” a song that went on to catapult them to fame. It’s funny, because as I sit here writing this, Miike Snow is currently playing at T.T. the Bear’s Place in Cambridge, MA, which is just a stone’s throw away from me. I wish I had bought tickets.

Anyway, the video for “Black and Blue” is one of the more captivating ones that I’ve seen lately, and it’s not incredibly weird. It actually depicts an interesting story; after the 3 minutes and 42 seconds are up, you feel for the main character.

Read More

17 Hours have never passed so quickly. Maybe it was the stop at Sonic that kept us going (us New Englanders think of it as some Holy Grail of fast food), but most likely it was the excitement of Bonnaroo finally becoming a reality. Honestly, I feel like my visit in Manchester, TN was a fantasy I dreamt up for my own fun. But it happened, and I have the lime green wristband, 3D ticket, and tie-dye t-shirt to prove it.

Even when you talk with people who went, Bonnaroo is hard to describe. If there’s a God, I hope heaven is a big ol’ Bonnaroo in the sky (sure as hell I’d go to church more often). Some friends from Boston College plus some and I all arrived around 5 am on Thursday, pitching our tent and canopy by the light of the sunrise. We napped, and then the adventure officially started.

Here’s the layout of Bonnaroo, 700 acres of former farming lands: Centeroo is an area where all the stages are located and carnival-like vendors. That majestic red archway you see in your friends’ Facebook albums? That’s the entrance to Centeroo. They sell anything from traditional pizza to deep fried gator, and as far as souvenirs go, buy a cool band posters or a didgeridoo. When and if you go, make sure to stop at the Wonder Waffle stand to get the hot waffle sandwich: a cube of vanilla ice cream between two thick waffles smothered in chocolate syrup. Surrounding Centeroo are all the campsites grouped by movie titles and divided by that movie’s characters. Ours was Pussy Galore in the James Bond area… we all got a kick out of that. Port-a-potties are located throughout, and you get used to peeing in the dark after the first two nights. Showering is a no-no. I mean you can for a little less then 10 bucks, but if you’re going to Bonnaroo you might as well do it up right.

Read More

It may not need justification, but it’s become so obvious that I have to talk about it.

Artists love It’s Blitz!. They just want to get their hands around it, their fingers in it.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have succeeded in making even the alternative unorthodox with this latest album release. And track by track, the remixes pour out. Ears first perked with Animal Collective’s take on ‘Zero,’ a dark horse remixer if that race ever existed. Intriguing, worth the listen, but nothing to write home about.

Read More