Music

Editor’s note: I have to be on a plane in about 7 hours, so I’m going to rely on Terrorbird Media’s description of Tahiti Boy and the Palmtree Family:

It seems like we’re all waiting for a story these days, some dream to escape to. A tale told by the fireplace with its heroes and villains, a That’s-all-Folks kind of ending and a piano playing I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas with the whole family around it. Tahiti Boy dreamt that dream and turned it into Good Children Go To Heaven. Here’s how the story goes.
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By this point I would think that everyone who reads this site knows of my love for Those Darlins. Frankly, I’ve written about them so much now that I’m having a hard time coming up with new ways to explain how awesome they are. So let’s just let their music do the talking for me, shall we?

The ladies were cool enough to do a session for Laundromatinee, playing a few tunes behind the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Check them out as they blow through their classic country-fried southern punk:

“The Whole Damn Thing”

Three more videos after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

I’m back from the longest break I’ve taken from this site in over three years, and I bring a gift of reconciliation. It’s a cover that is SO much better than the original that it even comparing it is like saying the Mona Lisa is more artistic than a pile of dog shit. To make up for my three-day absence I give you the incomparable Pomlamoose covering Lady GaGa’s “Telephone”:

And, because I love you, and I genuinely feel bad about leaving you alone for a few days, here’s Pomplamoose’s even better cover of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”:

I’ll admit, I’ve heard of ChatRoulette, but I can’t say I’ve ever actually tried it. The basic concept is that you get online with your webcam and get paired with random people. And you chat. Or show your boobs. Or whatever. This guy chose to compose and sing songs about the people he was connected with, on the spot. And he did it really, really well. Check out this video of him making new friends (and possibly enemies), and generally being the funny, musical dude I wish I was:

Ben Folds apparently liked the idea, and decided to pay homage to it. So he decided to do the same thing, live, during a concert in Charlotte, NC. Awesome.

Follow me here: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim got together to make a concept album about Imelda Marcos, the former Philippine first lady who is best known for having a shitload of shoes. That’s already a little odd, right? They the pair collaborated with singer/songwriter Santigold for the first single, “Please Don’t”. The song’s video is cobbled together from news footage of the exiled Filipino, and it’s strangely fascinating. Check it out:

via StereoGum

Most people, yours truly included, think Bob Dylan is one of the great songwriters of the 20th century. People are far more split on Dylan the performer. When you get someone with the incomparable voice of Nina Simone to sing a Dylan song, odds are most folks will appreciate it. So here you go. Here’s Ms. Simone performing “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”

via BoingBoing

Canada is very big right now. Despite the fact that their Winter Olympics lacked snow, and their women’s curling team choked in the gold medal game, they got a ton of positive international exposure. My guess is that British Columbia will have a bunch of new folks coming to visit in the next few months, and hopefully they’ll take the opportunity to check out the local music. One of the bands they should really see is Vancouver-based quintet Said the Whale.
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Zooey Deschanel and I have a pretty one-sided relationship: I worship her from afar, she doesn’t know I exist. I’m ok with that though. I have a feeling meeting her would ruin it. In real life she’s probably not the manic pixie dream girl she plays in most of her movies. And I’m probably not that interesting to a big shot musician and actor. So it’s probably best that we keep our relationship at a comfortable distance. She can keep going on not having any idea I’m out here, and I’ll keep admiring her work a little too much.

On that note, she and M. Ward are getting ready to release their second album as She & Him. Volume 2 comes out March 23rd, and from what they’ve released so far it seems to pick up where the last one left off. The video for “In the Sun” shows the pair back in high school. Loner M. punches away at his phone and practices guitar, while popular Zooey dances with her friends and perfects the dying art of hula hoop. That’s right. Zooey. Deschanel. Hula. Hoop. Enjoy:

Via Pitchfork

Christoph Waltz is awesome. He was completely deserving of his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for portraying Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. Eduard Khil is awesome too. His wordless singing has been all the rage on the internets lately, and still makes me laugh after about 25 viewings. So it stands to reason that Christoph Waltz + Eduard Khil = TOO MUCH AWESOME. Waltz did a bit for Jimmy Kimmel Live where he pays homage to the Russian singer:

How does Kimmel get folks to do these videos? He is truly one of comedy’s greatest heroes. Thank you Jimmy. Thank you.

Y’all probably know by now how much I like covers played on unusual instruments. Typically it’s ukuleles or banjos, but this week it’s a cello. And it’s played expertly by Ben Solle. He’s joined by a somewhat creepy quartet of dancers. Just try to ignore them and focus on Ben playing Fiona Apple’s “Extraordinary Machine”:

via Launtromatinee