women of 2011
Jan/01/2012 Filed in: favorites
of the year
A few videos
from three of the most ass-kickin’ female rock stars of
the past year -- Enjoy!
another take on this inscrutable song:
another take on this inscrutable song:
Comments
DJ Fundi's favorites of 2011
Jan/01/2012 Filed in: favorites
of the year
It was a great
year for music, one of the best I can remember in a
long time, and so making this list was easy this year.
The Top 10 were no-brainers to me. I’ve collected them
here alongside cool videos that may have escaped your
attention -- live footage, TV appearances, animation,
general weirdness. You can hear a mix of music from
nearly all of these artists in the episode
“11-11-11” on our main Podcast Cafe
channel. You can listen/watch a
playlist of all these videos back-to-back by
visiting http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL24098AC10069CAA0&feature=edit_ok
and clicking
on “Play All.” Enjoy!
Bon Iver "Bon Iver" -- expectations were sky high for the next utterances from Justin Vernon, and the troubadour from Wisconsin delivered a debut album that both stayed true to the emotional impact of his debut as well as charted new sonic territory. Highlights: Towers, Holocene, Wash., Perth. Here are my favorite albums and artists of the past year. It was hard to pick only 20 in what felt like an incredible year for music. I like the way electronic music is seeping its way in to nearly every existing form and genre of music, from folk to jazz to rock n roll. I guess this year’s list leans pretty heavily towards acoustic freak-folk Americana bands, not surprisingly.
Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues" -- another sophomore album burdened by expectations after a stunning out-of-nowhere debut, this release experimented with arrangements and instrumentation while deepening the lyrical content and crafting a lovely song suite about wrestling with one's (in)significance in the world. Highlights: Bedouin Dress, Sim Sala Bim, The Shrine/An Argument
The Decemberists "The King is Dead" -- this album probably got more play than any other in DJ Fundi's domain, and not only because it was dropped way back in January. the first great album of the year, it sounds especially rich and rocking on vinyl. excellent vocal harmony contributions from another rootsy band on the list, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. Highlight: Down by the Water, June Hymn, Dear Avery
St. Vincent "Strange Mercy" -- I still haven't pinned down why, to my senses, Annie Clark is by far the sexiest rock n roll star on the scene. on this album, she finds the precarious balance between sweet and dangerous, innocent and wrathful, and she and her eruptive guitar ride that edge from first song to last. Highlights: Cheerleader, Strange Mercy, Year of the Tiger.
Tom Waits "Bad as Me" -- the growling, yelping carnival barker cum whiskey-soaked balladeer returns with his first proper album in 7 years and delivers an incredible collection of diverse, well-honed songs from Weird America. Highlights: all of it.
Wye Oak "Civilian" -- I never tired of rocking out the title track alone and at high volume, the scorching, corroded guitar solo giving me the goosebumps every time.
Radiohead "King of Limbs" -- we purchased this album on vinyl, like Radiohead records before it, and have marveled in the complex, overlayered, dense, shifting intricacies of the music, which clearly favors the drums and bass for creating their most rhythmic yet abstract sound yet. Highlights: Lotus Flower, Codex, Give up the Ghost, Separator.
James Blake self-titled -- this album and artist were one of the more overhyped musical stories of the year, but this record, as it invents a new melodic post-dubstep sound with each track, carried great emotional impact and incredible bass drops. Highlight: Limit to Your Love, The Wilhelm Scream.
Wilco "The Whole Love" -- a return to the more edgy, experimental sounds of Americana fusion from albums of the late 1990s, and a solid collection of smart songs with deft musical playfulness and propulsion on every track. Highlights: opening and closing tracks
Gillian Welch “Harrow and the Harvest" -- Gillian and David's musical formula hasn't changed much since their first album in 1996, but they do what they do so well that it suits us just fine. their slow morphine-drip pacing, the way their voices harmonize so naturally, the spiderweb picking solos, the wistful, sepia-toned lyrics….all of it blends together perfectly on this melancholic collection of plaintive dirges. Highlights: The Way it Will Be, Silver Dagger, How the Whole Thing Ends, Hard Times, The Way It Goes….all of it!
Here’s a YouTube playlist where you can stream all of the above videos and more favorites from 2011 -- click “play all” and enjoy!
Runners up--more great music!
Beastie Boys "Hot Sauce Committee"
Kate Bush "The Director's Cut" and "50 Words for Snow"
Nicholas Jaar "Space is only Noise"
Yo-Yo Ma "Goat Rodeo Sessions"
My Morning Jacket "Circuital"
Welder "Flourescence"
Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal “Chamber Music”
tUnE-yArDs “W H O K I L L”
Tinariwen "Tassilli"
Bill Frisell "All We Are Saying…”
Lost in the Trees "All Alone in an Empty House"
SBTRKT self-titled
The Head and the Heart self-titled
Little Dragon “Ritual Union”
Happy listening and we look forward to another year of discovering and sharing new music with you in 2012!
Bon Iver "Bon Iver" -- expectations were sky high for the next utterances from Justin Vernon, and the troubadour from Wisconsin delivered a debut album that both stayed true to the emotional impact of his debut as well as charted new sonic territory. Highlights: Towers, Holocene, Wash., Perth. Here are my favorite albums and artists of the past year. It was hard to pick only 20 in what felt like an incredible year for music. I like the way electronic music is seeping its way in to nearly every existing form and genre of music, from folk to jazz to rock n roll. I guess this year’s list leans pretty heavily towards acoustic freak-folk Americana bands, not surprisingly.
Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues" -- another sophomore album burdened by expectations after a stunning out-of-nowhere debut, this release experimented with arrangements and instrumentation while deepening the lyrical content and crafting a lovely song suite about wrestling with one's (in)significance in the world. Highlights: Bedouin Dress, Sim Sala Bim, The Shrine/An Argument
The Decemberists "The King is Dead" -- this album probably got more play than any other in DJ Fundi's domain, and not only because it was dropped way back in January. the first great album of the year, it sounds especially rich and rocking on vinyl. excellent vocal harmony contributions from another rootsy band on the list, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. Highlight: Down by the Water, June Hymn, Dear Avery
St. Vincent "Strange Mercy" -- I still haven't pinned down why, to my senses, Annie Clark is by far the sexiest rock n roll star on the scene. on this album, she finds the precarious balance between sweet and dangerous, innocent and wrathful, and she and her eruptive guitar ride that edge from first song to last. Highlights: Cheerleader, Strange Mercy, Year of the Tiger.
Tom Waits "Bad as Me" -- the growling, yelping carnival barker cum whiskey-soaked balladeer returns with his first proper album in 7 years and delivers an incredible collection of diverse, well-honed songs from Weird America. Highlights: all of it.
Wye Oak "Civilian" -- I never tired of rocking out the title track alone and at high volume, the scorching, corroded guitar solo giving me the goosebumps every time.
Radiohead "King of Limbs" -- we purchased this album on vinyl, like Radiohead records before it, and have marveled in the complex, overlayered, dense, shifting intricacies of the music, which clearly favors the drums and bass for creating their most rhythmic yet abstract sound yet. Highlights: Lotus Flower, Codex, Give up the Ghost, Separator.
James Blake self-titled -- this album and artist were one of the more overhyped musical stories of the year, but this record, as it invents a new melodic post-dubstep sound with each track, carried great emotional impact and incredible bass drops. Highlight: Limit to Your Love, The Wilhelm Scream.
Wilco "The Whole Love" -- a return to the more edgy, experimental sounds of Americana fusion from albums of the late 1990s, and a solid collection of smart songs with deft musical playfulness and propulsion on every track. Highlights: opening and closing tracks
Gillian Welch “Harrow and the Harvest" -- Gillian and David's musical formula hasn't changed much since their first album in 1996, but they do what they do so well that it suits us just fine. their slow morphine-drip pacing, the way their voices harmonize so naturally, the spiderweb picking solos, the wistful, sepia-toned lyrics….all of it blends together perfectly on this melancholic collection of plaintive dirges. Highlights: The Way it Will Be, Silver Dagger, How the Whole Thing Ends, Hard Times, The Way It Goes….all of it!
Here’s a YouTube playlist where you can stream all of the above videos and more favorites from 2011 -- click “play all” and enjoy!
Runners up--more great music!
Beastie Boys "Hot Sauce Committee"
Kate Bush "The Director's Cut" and "50 Words for Snow"
Nicholas Jaar "Space is only Noise"
Yo-Yo Ma "Goat Rodeo Sessions"
My Morning Jacket "Circuital"
Welder "Flourescence"
Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal “Chamber Music”
tUnE-yArDs “W H O K I L L”
Tinariwen "Tassilli"
Bill Frisell "All We Are Saying…”
Lost in the Trees "All Alone in an Empty House"
SBTRKT self-titled
The Head and the Heart self-titled
Little Dragon “Ritual Union”
Happy listening and we look forward to another year of discovering and sharing new music with you in 2012!
internationally renowned boaster's favorites of 2011
Dec/12/2011 Filed in: favorites
of the year
The clerks at the house of irb have been steadily working through the submission for 2011's best of list. These efforts have been more difficult than in past years and as a result we have had to call in additional resources to handle the influx of goodness. Further, a mis-delivered pallet of Galo boxed wine has resulted in a significant drop in productivity. That coupled with our office manager disappearing for 3 days has left us screeching in at the last moment with our official list. In no particular order except for the first 3.....
Portugal, the man: In the Mountain, In the Cloud. If this was the only new album for 2011 I would have called it a great year. This year's Miike Snow + MGMT.
Tegan and Sara: Get Along. Not new material yet so refreshing and full of energy. I've possibly already overplayed this one.
Radiohead: The King of Limbs. Familiar but different. Always epic.
tUne-yArDs: WHOKILL. Loved Gangsta when it came out and the full release help up to that standard. A very welcome departure from everything else out there.
Tinariwen: Tassilli. makes sense that people leaving in the desert would come up with such simple yet rich sounds.
Beirut: Rip Tide. No big departures which is good. I love everything they do.
The Kills: Blood Pressures. As this came out earlier in the year I had forgotten how great it was. Several re-listens have me back on board in a big way.
The Drums: Portamento. 2 yr running on my top list. I think it is OK to like happy music with quirky lyrics.
Ryan Adams: Ashes & Fire. There were several alt country artists catching me this year but this was the best.
The Antlers: Burst Apart. So much good music to boast to this year.
Could've been on the list: Wild Flag, M83, Lykki Ki, head and the heart, Shabazz Palaces, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter,Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside......
Also, in the category of not new but new to me: Joan as Police Woman: The deep field.
And with that, we here at the house of irb wish you all a pleasant afternoon regardless of the time you read this.
irb
Blind Pilot * Bellingham 12/1/11
Dec/12/2011 Filed in: videology
Quantic * Opiuo * Bonobo * Seattle 9/29/11
Oct/10/2011 Filed in: videology
Live from the
most excellent Decibel Festival of electronic music in
Seattle -- three of our favorite DJs on one bill:
Quantic (up from his adopted home of Columbia), Opiuo
(all the way from Australia) and Bonobo (dropping in
from the UK). Video, for what its worth, by DJ
Fundi....turn up the volume and you’ll get some pretty
sweet sound tho! xo
WSP does "New Speedway Boogie"
Jul/07/2011
Live from
Targhee Resort high
in the
mountains of Alta, Wyoming -- a Jerry Garcia favorite:
“Spent a little time on the mountain,” indeed! Alta shows are being released today on HD video; details at www.widespreadpanic.com/panicvideo.
Here are two great reports from the Targhee WSMFP weekend from my buddy Jim on his JH Underground blog:
http://www.jhunderground.com/2011/07/13/a-few-last-thoughts-on-targhee-panic/
http://www.jhunderground.com/2011/07/03/aint-life-grand/
Here’s a mixdown of highlights from the Panic show, first night of the run: www.podcastcafe.org/livearchive/files/wsp-targheehighlights1-070111.html.
More to come....
Update: here’s a mixdown of highlights and favorite jams from the 2nd night, 7/2/11: www.podcastcafe.org/livearchive/files/wsp-targheehighlights2-070211.html. Sunday night highlights coming soon!
“Spent a little time on the mountain,” indeed! Alta shows are being released today on HD video; details at www.widespreadpanic.com/panicvideo.
Here are two great reports from the Targhee WSMFP weekend from my buddy Jim on his JH Underground blog:
http://www.jhunderground.com/2011/07/13/a-few-last-thoughts-on-targhee-panic/
http://www.jhunderground.com/2011/07/03/aint-life-grand/
Here’s a mixdown of highlights from the Panic show, first night of the run: www.podcastcafe.org/livearchive/files/wsp-targheehighlights1-070111.html.
More to come....
Update: here’s a mixdown of highlights and favorite jams from the 2nd night, 7/2/11: www.podcastcafe.org/livearchive/files/wsp-targheehighlights2-070211.html. Sunday night highlights coming soon!
FundiBlog on Facebook
Jun/06/2011
It’s awfully quiet here on the FundiBlog, and that’s because we’ve moved most of the action over to the Podcast Cafe’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/podcastcafe. Head on over, “like us” and receive all kinds of musical news updates, videos and music links, record reviews, polls, tidbits, insights, recipes and more!
Monsters of Bass * Seattle * Feb 19, 2011
Here’s a video
from a recent DJ show I saw in Seattle featuring Freq
Nasty, MartyParty and Opiuo, representing the vanguard
of future bass music!
The Cave Singers
Feb/02/2011 Filed in: music
reviews
The Cave Singers released
their 3rd album this week, No Witch, on Bon Iver’s independent Jagjaguar
label. It follows in the footsteps of their previous
releases, further honing their rootsy folk-Americana
sound, but with more variety in their delivery (touches
of a harmonium, viola, gospel singers, etc) and a
deeper, richer sound coaxed out of the studio. All
three of their albums form a cohesive vibe that
alternates between sunny & optimistic and spooky
& droning -- a vibe I better grasped after seeing
them perform their songs live on stage in Bellingham,
Washington last fall. I was most impressed by the
amount of gravitas and a sense of restrained, almost
throttled, power that seethed from the singer’s
delivery. Their music gave the sense of something
desperate or unbalanced lurking just beneath the simple
surfaces of their songs.
Here is a video I shot and edited from their performance:
And here is a sampler mix of five songs from No Witch to whet your appetite:
Here is a video I shot and edited from their performance:
And here is a sampler mix of five songs from No Witch to whet your appetite:
Keeney's Favorites of 2010
Jan/01/2011 Filed in: favorites
of the year
Here's my list along with
a playlist of selected tracks from this top 20:
http://rhap.com/mp.147358052
(in reverse order)
1 Yeasayer Odd Blood
2 LCD Soundsystem This is Happening
3 Ok Go Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
4 Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs God Willin' & The Creek Wont Rise
5 Hot Chip One Life Stand
6 Vampire Weekend Contra
7 The Black Keys Brothers
8 Johnny Cash American VI: Ain't No Grave
9 Belle & Sebastian Belle & Sebastian Write about Love
10 Kings of Leon Come Around Sundown
11 Rogue Wave Permalight
12 Jimi Hendrix Valleys of Neptune
13 Eminem Recovery
14 Broken Bells Broken Bells
15 B.O.B. B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
16 The National High Violet
17 Band of Horses Infinite Arms
18 Spoon Transference
19 Arcade Fire The Suburbs
20 MGMT Congratulations
A couple thoughts....I've become more mainstream for sure....perhaps its due to KEXP not being clear at my home, perhaps its due my reliance on Rhapsody for my choice for tunes(whereby I lazily settle for latest/greatest or playlists I created ages ago) and perhaps I am just getting softer.
Regardless, YeaSayer/LCD were hands down the best of the year....I don't know what it is about Yeasayer but they are like some sorta mixed cocktail with a few pills thrown in, you have no idea on ingredients but it just works. Ray/Vampire Weekend followed up with solid releases, not as good as prior, but solid with an S. Same can be said for Kings of Leon, Black Keys, Belle & Sebastian, The National, Band of Horses, MGMT.....all producing good albums that way not be as strong as their previous releases but solid enough to hit this list.
Johnny Cash & Hendrix both jumped in as I found a re-found appreciation for their music and these albums in particular. Not something I think of first to play, but good.
Saw both Eminem and B.o.B at VMAs this year and have to admit these two albums were my guilty pleasures of the year.
http://rhap.com/mp.147358052
(in reverse order)
1 Yeasayer Odd Blood
2 LCD Soundsystem This is Happening
3 Ok Go Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
4 Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs God Willin' & The Creek Wont Rise
5 Hot Chip One Life Stand
6 Vampire Weekend Contra
7 The Black Keys Brothers
8 Johnny Cash American VI: Ain't No Grave
9 Belle & Sebastian Belle & Sebastian Write about Love
10 Kings of Leon Come Around Sundown
11 Rogue Wave Permalight
12 Jimi Hendrix Valleys of Neptune
13 Eminem Recovery
14 Broken Bells Broken Bells
15 B.O.B. B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray
16 The National High Violet
17 Band of Horses Infinite Arms
18 Spoon Transference
19 Arcade Fire The Suburbs
20 MGMT Congratulations
A couple thoughts....I've become more mainstream for sure....perhaps its due to KEXP not being clear at my home, perhaps its due my reliance on Rhapsody for my choice for tunes(whereby I lazily settle for latest/greatest or playlists I created ages ago) and perhaps I am just getting softer.
Regardless, YeaSayer/LCD were hands down the best of the year....I don't know what it is about Yeasayer but they are like some sorta mixed cocktail with a few pills thrown in, you have no idea on ingredients but it just works. Ray/Vampire Weekend followed up with solid releases, not as good as prior, but solid with an S. Same can be said for Kings of Leon, Black Keys, Belle & Sebastian, The National, Band of Horses, MGMT.....all producing good albums that way not be as strong as their previous releases but solid enough to hit this list.
Johnny Cash & Hendrix both jumped in as I found a re-found appreciation for their music and these albums in particular. Not something I think of first to play, but good.
Saw both Eminem and B.o.B at VMAs this year and have to admit these two albums were my guilty pleasures of the year.