INDIEBON MIXTAPE: New Music Too

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MUST LISTEN: Lana Del Rey vs Erika M. Anderson (EMA)

So here we are, another cat fight between two songstress battling out for indie queendom. EMA (short for Erika M. Anderson) used to be the frontwoman of the band Gowns while Lana Del Rey used to be, well,  Lizzy Grant. I have here two of their new tracks. Both songs are dark and emotional, just choose whether you like it husky or operatic...

VS

MUST LISTEN: Hold My Breath by Holy Ghost!

Good morning, people! It might be storming outside but that's not an excuse to skip aerobics today especially if Holy Ghost! is playing on the background. Hold My Breath is the new track from Holy Ghost!'s self-titled album and its Let's Get Physical vibe would make you lose few pounds by just listening to it. hahaha!

FILM: Hirokazu Koreeda's Nobody Knows

Just finished re-watching Hirokazu Koreeda's Nobody Knows and it's one of the most depressing films I've ever watched. Nobody Knows was about four children abandoned by their mother in a small Tokyo apartment and the film shows how these poor kids survived the challenges of being on their own. Why do Japanese love making bittersweet films? I thought it was a feel-good movie. But towards the end, something just happened that made my world crashed. So sad I wanna cry (no not really.) It was a such nice film, though. I love the naturalistic feel- very minimal and stoic. It feels like you're really there with actors. Nobody Knows was an official selection in 2004 Cannes Film Festival and Yûya Yagira won the Best Actor award.

INDIEBON MIXTAPE: Songs of Fire & Ice: A Game of Thrones Mixtape

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NEW MUSIC: MGMT – "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything"

So here it is! MGMT's track All We Ever Wanted Was Everything from their curated compilation for LateNightTales. The compilation includes tracks from Suicide, Felt, Television Personalities, The Velvet Underground, etc and this track which is a cover of the 80's post-punk classic of band Bauhaus.

Here's the original version from Bauhaus...

INDIE POGI: Spector

Rockabilly London lads with Mad Men sensibilities.

MEMBERS: Fred Macpherson (vocals), Christopher Burman (guitar), Thomas Shickle (bass), Jed Cullen (synth, guitar), Danny Blandy (drums).

MUSIC: They say it's "somewhere between Roxy Music and the Strokes, the Killers and Kanye West, Pulp and R&B and Frank Sinatra." I say it's pogi! ;p

THE LOOK: Dapper (sorry for the word) Wall Street dandies (again, the term!)

RELEASES: Spector debuted with What You Wanted...

...and they just released their single Never Fade Away.

BAND CRUSH: Choo Choo

Check out this awesome band from Bern, Switzerland called Choo Choo! They make music that "mixes soulful pop songwriting with heartfelt indie rock passion." I totally dig their sound. It's nothing new or what but it gives me that feeling of familiarity which often hits the sport for me when liking music. If you're a fan of Tahiti 80 or Phoenix, then Choo Choo's music is definitely a must listen too! Their second album, Cannes, is out and you can listen some of the tracks from it below...

We Go is also their current single/video.

MUST LISTEN: Body and Soul (feat. Amy Winehouse) by Tony Bennett

The late Amy Winehouse would have been 28 years old today if it wasn't for her tragic death a few months ago. Her last collaboration also surfaced today on the web and it's her recording session with Tony Bennett at the Abbey Road Studios. Body and Soul is way too jazzy for me but it gave me the chills watching Amy Winehouse sing. This track is part of Tony Bennett's upcoming album Duets II. Listening to it makes me feel like I'm in a hotel lobby or an elevator or a Christmas flick situated in NYC. It just has that sosyal feel. ;)

NEW MUSIC RELEASES! WEEEEE!!!

Well hello there! It's been a while since my last blog post! I almost forgot that I have one hahaha I was just too lazy to blog. Probably coz I was uninspired or something. This is a good week for new music from awesome bands/artists that's why i decided to finally make a post about it. Check out these new releases that I discovered.

Neon Indian's Polish Girl

Chillwave king Alan Palomo aka Neon Indian just released his second album Era Extraña today. I was able to advance listen to it and I liked it. he also released a video for the single Polish Girl and he looks pogi in this clip.

Cut Copy's Blink and You'll Miss a Revolution

Still from Cut Copy's amazing LP Zonescope, this video for Blink and You'll Miss a Revolution tries to re-enact Planet of the Apes in a musical...using the band's dismembered body parts.

Beirut's Santa Fe

cruel summer...that's all

The Big Pink's Stay Gold

I love this track! It still has that Domino vibe which made The Big Pink a household name. The band will be releasing their second album Future This early next year and the single for Stay Gold is due on November.

Active Child's Playing House (feat How To Dress Well)

Remember when James Blake and Bon Iver did a collab a few months back? Well, this one is as perfect as that! Active Child's lo-fi sound compliments with How To Dress Well's R&B sensibilities. loved it so much!

Los Compesinos!'s By Your Hand

AHHH! death to the Los Compesinos!'s new song By Your Hand! They will also release a new album Hello Sadness this November so watch out for it!

Florence + The Machine's Shake It Out

Listen up you Florence fans coz Shake It Up is gonna be the band's next huge single. It's from their new album Ceremonials out this October. The Shake it out shake it out part is so catchy, I've been singing/shouting/belting it out since this morning when I found out about it.

MUST LISTEN: Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus cover) by Tokyo Police Club

What a quirky way to end the Polaroid-sponsored 10 Days 10 Covers 10 Years series of Tokyo Police Club singing Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA. I must admit (please dont judge me), this song is my fave Miley Cyrus song. hahaha There I said it! I cant imagine the boys from Tokyo Police Club playing this song and dancing Miley choreographies. lol. If you wanna check the other songs they covered, go to Polaroid.com 

 

BAND CRUSH: Big Deal

I LOOOOOVEEEEE BIG DEAL!!!!!!

Sorry. I just need to release that off my chest. I literally had to stop their music so I could write this post because my mind wonders the oblivion every time I hear Alice Costelloe's voice. Big Deal's music is just so good! Havent felt this in love with a band in the recent times since The xx. 

Big Deal is a girl/boy duo from the UK comprises of Alice Costelloe and Kacey Underwood. There is a big surge of boy/girl duos lately but the Costelloe-Underwood love team is the Guy and Pip of the category. They are not really "lovers" but it's more like a musical relationship that makes this duo a perfect couple. 

They just released their debut album, Lights Out, and listening to it is like reading my highschool diary materialized in songs with layered acoustic and electronic guitars and fragile voices blended in perfection. I have the full album stream below and I encourage you to take a listen and buy their album here. 

RECOMMENDED TRACKS: Swoon, Locked Up, Summer Cold, Homework, Seraphine, EVERYTHING!!!

Big Deal - Distant Neighbourhood 

Big Deal - Chair

Big Deal - Cool Like Kurt

Big Deal - Swoon

Big Deal - Homework 

Big Deal - Talk 

Big Deal - With The World At My Feet 

Big Deal - Locked Up 

Big Deal - Summer Cold

Big Deal - Visions 

Big Deal - Seraphine 

Big Deal - Pi 

 

And here's an acoustic performance of Swoon. Watch it!

 

NEW MUSIC: Audio, Video, Disco by Justice

One last new track to get your Sunday morning pumping. Here's Justice's new single and also the title track of their new album Audio, Video, Disco.  


 

MUST LISTEN: Hex Girlfriend by Neon Indian

We can finally hear Alan Palomo's voice without sounding like he's in a different underworld. Hex Girlfriend is the third track we've heard from his new album Era Extraña and it seems that Palomo has been experimenting with different styles so that's something to look forward to in this new album. I love the rockability of Hex Girlfriend and Alan sounds cute in this one ;)

MUST LISTEN: All Alone by Toro y Moi

She's my true love. I've got what she needs in her life...

I Wanna Smell Julian Casablancas!!!

Julian Casablancas might have the looks of a sweaty punk god in those photos but his latest endorsement proves that he doesnt give a funk. The Strokes frontman is the new face of a French perfuam Decibel: The Essence of Rock which smells like Aldehydes and Green Italian Tangerine with hints of licorice, violet, Haitian Vetiver, Tonka Bean and Vanilla. HMMMM smells interesting.

MUST WATCH: Teenage Tide by Letting Up Despite Great Faults

One of the best bands in the shoegaze-indiepop category, Letting Up Despite Great Faults put us into nostalgia with their new video Teenage Tide. It has that "Teenage Dream" feel but this time, it's more like an orgy! lolol. There's nothing so WOW about this video but you gotta like the music. Anything from this band is a must listen! Teenage Tide is from LUDGF's 5-track EP Paper Crush which is already out! To know more about Letting Up Despite Great Faults' music, click HERE

Rags Gone Too Soon Part 1: The Face and Sleazenation

There are thousands of magazine titles in the entire world. When I googled the question "How many magazines do we have in the whole world?", Yahoo Answers bluntly replied 'too many'. Well, in the Philippines alone, we have more than 200 local circulating publications battling for readership- some titles survive and a lot them loses war.

That short intro isnt actually related to this post. Hahaha I dunno. been thinking of a good lead in but it seems that my brain and thoughts are out of sync.

Over the past few months, I've been researching for some inspirations for a "project" im working on. I've read insightful articles about youth culture publications and subculture movements and stumbled upon these amazing magazines. Magazines that didnt care about the trend because they set it or moved against it. These are the magazines I would really want to read/own/work for. But unfortunately, these titles are already folded. :( So, i discovered four amazing rags to share with you and hopefully it'll inspire you too. I already heard about these titles before but didnt really put much attention until now. This is a two-part post but not really text driven but visuals overload. I dont wanna bore people with all my blabber, you know. ;) 

Part 1. These two magazines inspire me with their provocative take on music, style and pop culture.

The Face...that changed the magazine industry

Dubbed as “the world’s best-dressed magazine”, The Face was the taste-maker from 1980s til early 2000. It was the brainchild of NME editor Nick Logan who also founded the teen pop magazine Smash Hits (which I had several copies when I was in grade school) and Arena.

Logan employed Neville Brody as the art director and typographer. And since then, 'the face' of the British magazine industry changed. The Face covered music, fashion, pop culture and a little bit of politics.

There's nothing like it when The Face first came out in 1980. It's so original that it's the first published magazine in the UK that used colored pages. 'The Face advocated that music didn't matter unless everyone looked good.' It's also the magazine that launched the careers of Kate Moss and one of my fave photographers Juergen Teller.

and I found some insides of the magazine which made me drool a deluge...

The Face's last issue was on May 2004 with Kelis and Andre 3000.

It folded in 2004 due to decline of sales and advertising revenue. ;(

SLEAZENATION: Anti-fashion of Modern Subculture

Sleazenation started as a free zine covering club youth culture and lifestyle in London. Founded by Steve Beale in 1996, Sleazenation was the bible of cool Britannia. It was then in 1998 that the magazine circulated on a wider market.

What I like about Sleazenation, although i havent read any issue, is that it didnt use celebrity or "it" people for it to sell. Instead, it perfected its designs, production values, the contents to cover and their relevance to their target readers and used it as their selling point. "If anything, we are an anti-style magazine, but you have to know how to be stylish to be unstylish," (PAKPAKAPKA) said Steve Beale in an interview.

Steve Beale left Sleazenation for The Face in 1999 and the magazine continued til 2003 showcasing the works of Stephen Male (one of i-D's art directors, photographers Ewen Spencer and Jonathan de Villiers, and Scott King who directed Sleazenation as "an ideal for living through fashion, art, music and design." Very inspiring... 

So that's the Part 1! Part 2, i will feature another two magazines that shook the graphic design scenes...

*photos via google, MagCulture and here