animal collective loves thriller

Animal Collective discusses their favorite album of all time, MJ's Thriller (except Avey, he gets sort of hilariously denied by the buzzer):



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this mirror's a window

Hole Class is a side project of Beth of Times New Viking and Rob of Eat Skull. Recorded on a farm in Ohio between '05 and '08, these songs were apparently self-released on cassette at one point, and are now being put out on vinyl via MEDS Records. Couldn't find much more info on this collection of sub-2:00 lo-fi "gothic country" pop songs, but based on the handful of heartfelt tracks I've heard, I think I already like it as much as either members' "real" band:

mp3:
hole class :: wrong mirror (this mirror's a window)
hole class :: true temper

[buy. thanks to npip for the tip]

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video: Dirty Projectors | "Stillness is the Move"

Directed by Matthew Lessner.

(via)

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sun was high (so was i) :: part II

From the same guy who brought us Wavves vs. the British Railway Council and that absurd Animal Collective x Phaseone clip comes this unofficial video for Best Coast's "Sun Was High (So Was I)." Not sure how this song -- which is like a week old -- already has two awesome unofficial fan videos, but this dude is officially 3-for-3:



mp3:
best coast :: sun was high (so was i)

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elsewhere:


yeah yeah yeahs [photo]

My two favorite music festivals made some big lineup announcements in the last couple of days: First up, the Monolith Fest added Yeah Yeah Yeahs to an already stellar lineup that includes Phoenix, DOOM, the Walkmen, HEALTH, Girl Talk, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Method Man & Redman, and many more. YYYs will headline at Red Rocks on Saturday, September 12. Get your tickets here.

In TX festival news, Austin's 4th annual Fun Fun Fun Fest just announced the first group of acts on this year's bill: Broadcast, Atlas Sound, Jesus Lizard, and the King Khan & BBQ Show. More coming soon; stay up on their twitter for the latest.

mp3:
the king khan & bbq show :: love you so

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new wavves video :: "no hope kids"

New video for "No Hope Kids," composed of footage shot by our friend Pete Ohs on Wavves' first European tour:



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erykah badu x the roots :: "i wanna be where you are"

According to Questlove, the Roots and Dallas' own Erykah Badu snuck off before Badu's guest appearance on Fallon on Friday night to record this cover of "I Wanna Be Where You Are," from MJ's 1972 debut solo LP, Got to Be There. Not surprisingly, Badu absolutely nails it:

mp3:
erykah badu x the roots :: i wanna be where you are (mj cover)

(via Questlove's twitter)

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pearl harbour | "lost @ sea"

Piper K. and Skylar K. are Los Angeles' Pearl Harbour, and they make awesome washed-out/woozy stoner-surf pop jams. I included their song "Sunburn" on that summer mix I posted recently, but this is the one I've listened to probably 30 times in the last week, and it keeps getting better. Dreamy, timeless, and kind of perfect:

mp3:
pearl harbour :: lost @ sea

Get Pearl Harbour's Calistonia Dreamin' CD-r with handmade cover art for $5 here. The girls have a few West Coast shows coming up soon with Nite Jewel and Best Coast. Here's a video thing they did recently for Videothing.

Update: Look for a 12" EP on Mexican Summer in October.

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GvsB sirius/xm blog radio

Our weekly Sirius XM Blog Radio show airs today at noon Eastern (and again at midnight) on Sirius XMU. This week's episode features brand new music from Air France, Pearl Harbour, the Very Best, Kria Brekkan, Best Coast, Memory Tapes, the Smith Westerns, and more. You can listen online with a free trial here. Check this week's playlist + some mp3s after the jump...

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gorilla vs. bear blog radio :: june 25

01. air france :: GBG belongs to us
02. jj :: from africa to malaga
03. memory tapes :: bicycle
04. les sins :: lina
05. ancient crux :: in teen dreams
06. smith westerns :: be my girl
07. ganglians :: valient brave
08. white denim :: i'd have it just the way we were
09. the very best :: warm heart of africa
10. amadou & mariam :: sabali
11. HIGHLIFE :: F KENYA RIP
12. best coast :: sun was high (so was i)
13. pearl harbour :: sunburn
14. dum dum girls :: jail la la
15. veronica falls :: found love in a graveyard
16. wavves :: to the dregs
17. toro y moi :: talamak
18. VEGA :: no reasons
19. neon indian :: 6669 (i don't know if you know)
20. nite jewel :: what did he say
21. vibes :: night court
22. wavves :: friends were gone
23. wavves x babe rainbow :: weed demon (surf-step edit)
24. girls :: hellhole ratrace
25. harlem :: come back jonee (devo cover)
26. glasser :: glad (delorean remix)
27. cassie x lil wayne :: official girl (CFCF remix)
28. kria brekkan :: bee xlaura
29. grizzly bear :: ready, able
30. sharon van etten :: much more than that

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summer mix

Here's a summer mix, inspired mainly by this oppressive heat haze we've been experiencing in TX over the last week or so. Seriously, kids can't even go to a baseball game here these days without almost dying. Featuring a bunch of stuff I've been listening to a lot lately:

[other sweet summer mixes here and here, depending on where you live]

mp3:
gorilla vs. bear summer mix (52 mb)

Tracklist after the jump...

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01 best coast :: sun was high (so was I)
02 pearl harbour :: sunburn
03 HIGHLIFE :: F KENYA RIP
04 mor thiam :: ayo ayo ne ne
05 vibes :: night court
06 map of africa :: bone
07 dem hunger :: police rasta
08 sun araw :: horsesteppin
09 arch m :: 21st union
10 family portrait :: mega secrets
11 toro y moi :: talamak
12 the mayfair set :: already warm
13 dara puspita :: to love somebody
14 smith westerns :: be my girl

from africa to málaga

Another blissful, impossibly warm, St. Etienne-inspired gem from Sincerely Yours' (Air France, the Tough Alliance, Memory Cassette) newest artist, the mysterious jj:

mp3:
jj :: from africa to málaga

Free mp3 courtesy of Sincerely Yours; if you like it, buy the 320kbps version here. Not surprisingly, goes remarkably well with the new Air France song from the other day:

mp3:
air france with roos :: GBG belongs to us

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mp3 premiere: kria brekkan | "bee xlaura"

kria brekkan

We are psyched to premiere the first in a series of double A-side 7" singles that former múm siren Kria Brekkan plans to release later this year. According to Kria:

"Here is Bee Xlaura. A track I recorded in beginning of 2007, and has been lying around on tapes in Iceland since. My friend Orri Jónsson helped me record these and other tracks. Some are being put on 7" inches, of 2x A sides, and will gradually be released."

All of the charmed beauty and child-like wonder of last year's haunting Wildering 7", minus the nightmares, confirming (as if there was any doubt) that Kria Brekkan was the best thing about múm.

mp3:
kria brekkan :: bee xlaura

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The same song, as performed for La Blogotheque in Paris a few years ago:



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Girls | Album

girls @ gorilla vs. booze III

San Francisco's Girls -- one of our favorite new bands to emerge in the last year or so -- have announced their upcoming debut full-length, due on September 22 on the great True Panther Sounds, in conjunction with Matador Records. That marks the second GvsBooze III alum to announce a new album on Matador (sort of) in the last few days. Look for a limited 10" vinyl single for Hellhole Ratrace prior to the album's release. The Album tracklist:

Girls | Album

1. Lust For Life
2. Laura
3. Ghostmouth
4. Goddamn
5. Big Bad Mean Motherfucker
6. Hellhole Ratrace
7. Headache
8. Summertime
9. Lauren Marie
10. Morning Light
11. Curls
12. Darling



(via)

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lessins

[photo]

You might recall Chaz Bundick -- aka Toro Y Moi -- from his awesome dreamy/fuzzy lo-fi pop songs that we posted recently. Well Chaz has another project called Les Sins, in which he makes blissful, shimmering disco-house jams that are pulsating and repetitive but also kind of dreamy, like this one:

mp3:
LES SINS :: lina

And, in case you missed these the first time around, from Chaz's other project:

mp3:
toro y moi :: talamak
toro y moi :: blessa

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elsewhere:


SALEM [photo]

While we wait patiently for their full-length, check this insane and dizzying juke/crunk/goth/??? mix that SALEM recently put together for 20 Jazzfunkgreats [tracklist here]. 

mp3:
SALEM :: XXJFG mix (37 mb)

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babe rainbow

Vancouver's Cameron Reed -- aka Babe Rainbow -- creates haunted, murky, "inverted dubstep cave recordings" that evoke similar feelings of paranoia/anxiety as SALEM's darkest and most desolate work. Reed sent over a few songs for us, and he's made most of his other stuff available for free download at his blog; check the way he's warped You Say Party! We Say Die!'s dance-punk song "Like I Give a Care" and Wavves' "Weed Demon" into his own eerily unsettling underwater dirge-step jams:

mp3:
babe rainbow :: shaved
babe rainbow x wavves :: weed demon (surf-step edit)
babe rainbow x you say party! we say die! :: like i give a care

Download more Babe Rainbow here.

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new Air France :: "GBG Belongs to Us"

This glorious new summer jam is part II of "a love letter in three parts" from Gothenburg's Air France.

mp3:
air france :: GBG belongs to us

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photos: St. Vincent | Live in Dallas

more after the jump...

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beck :: "sunday morning" (velvet underground & nico cover)

With help on vocals from Iceland's Thorunn Magnusdottir:



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mp3: the very best :: "warm heart of africa" feat. ezra of Vampire Weekend

the very best

We mentioned Warm Heart of Africa, the upcoming debut full-length from Esau Mwamwaya + Radioclit, the other day. Here's the uplifting title track, featuring Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig:

mp3:
the very best :: warm heart of africa (feat. ezra of vampire weekend)

Listen to two more from the album on the group's myspace page or here.

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tonight in Dallas: St. Vincent | Live at the Granada

[via]

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Busy night in Dallas, hit these up after the St. Vincent show: Santigold at House of Blues, and the official afterparty at the Cavern, featuring Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko, and Sober.

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elsewhere:

Our weekly Sirius XM Blog Radio show airs today at noon Eastern (and again at midnight) on Sirius XMU. This week's episode features brand new music from the Smith Westerns, the Very Best, White Denim, HIGHLIFE, Best Coast, Major Lazer, the Bitters, Tiny Vipers, and many more. You can listen online with a free trial here. Check this week's playlist + some mp3s after the jump...

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gorilla vs. bear blog radio :: june 18

01. white denim :: i'd have it just the way we were
02. fergus & geronimo :: harder than it's ever been
03. the bitters :: warrior
04. the very best :: ntende uli
05. esau mwamwaya :: chalo
06. HIGHLIFE :: F KENYA RIP
07. toro y moi :: talamak
08. animal collective :: daily routine (phaseone remix)
09. pariah :: detroit falls
10. j dilla :: coming back
11. white denim :: regina holding hands
12. white denim :: i start to run [video]
13. the smith westerns :: dreams
14. the smith westerns :: be my girl
15. memory tapes :: bicycle
16. basement jaxx :: raindrops
17. major lazer :: keep it goin louder
18. harlem :: caroline
19. the mayfair set :: desert fun
20. dum dum girls :: baby don't go (sonny & cher cover)
21. taken by trees x the tough alliance :: taken too young
22. best coast :: sun was high (so was i)
23. the bitters :: can you keep a secret
24. family portrait :: mega secrets
25. real estate :: beachcomber
26. st. vincent :: laughing with a mouth of blood
27. here we go magic :: tunnelvision
28. daniel rossen :: waterfall (judee sill cover)
29. animal collective :: no more runnin
30. SALEM :: brustreet
31. tiny vipers :: dreamer
32. grizzly bear :: foreground

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new video: Girls | "Hellhole Ratrace"

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harlem signs with matador

We've been hearing the rumors for a minute, and it's now official: GvsB faves Harlem have signed with Matador to a "worldwide, multi-record deal." Congrats, dudes. They'll be recording their 2nd LP this summer, due out on Matador in early '10.

mp3:
harlem :: south of france

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new real estate :: "green river"

Real Estate has a new 7" due out next month on Half Machine Records, featuring the excellent (and oft-blogged) "Fake Blues" on the A-side, backed with unreleased UK-only track "Green River" on the flip. More sunny, consistently enjoyable psych-pop from the Jersey Shore, complete with appropriately hazy/beach-y cover art (pictured), all for only for £2.99. Pre-order it here.

mp3:
real estate :: green river

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related:



Download Chocolate Bobka's "Polaroids at the Beach" mix, featuring tracks from Quiet Village, Real Estate, the Mayfair Set, the Tough Alliance, Beach Fossils, and more, including one of the hottest songs ever from Ms. Tyree "Sugar" Jones.

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elsewhere:



Major Lazer's debut record is finally out, which means we've selected the shirt/vinyl prizepack winners: Jasmine Amaya, Colin Krenitsky, and Antonio Garcia, check your email, yall. In related news, here's an "extra special blog bonus" version of album track "Anything Goes," courtesy of Mad Decent:

mp3:
major lazer :: anything goes

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photos: Grizzly Bear + Here We Go Magic | Live in Dallas

grizzly bear in dallas (click for larger image)

Not sure I've ever seen a larger, more adoring audience at Dallas' Granada Theater than the one that showed up for last night's Grizzly Bear + Here We Go Magic show. Luke Temple & co. opened with a swirling set that culminated in awesome hypnotic versions of "Fangela" and "Tunnelvision," which I'm now convinced are two of the best songs of the year. Grizzly Bear's amazing otherworldly harmonies and perfect setlist resulted in a rousing and fully engaging performance that had all 1200+ attendees mesmerized throughout, leading me to believe that this guy is kind of clueless. Here are some photos from the evening:



















Photos by David + Chris, but mostly David. More shots of Grizzly Bear + Here We Go Magic after the jump...

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In related news, Pitchfork just posted this, and it's great:

mp3:
daniel rossen :: waterfall (judee sill cover)

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HERE WE GO MAGIC:









GRIZZLY BEAR:











[more of David's shots here]

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warm heart of africa

the very best @ sxsw '09

"Ntende Uli" is a new track from the Very Best's highly anticipated upcoming debut full-length, Warm Heart of Africa, which is due out this fall on Green Owl, and features guest appearances by M.I.A. and Ezra from Vampire Weekend. Stream the Very Best's "Ntende Uli" here.

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And if you still don't have last year's mixtape, which was one of our favorite releases of 2008, grab it here:

mp3:
esau mwamwaya + radioclit are the very best .zip

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best coast

Thanks to Porch of the Mystics for the heads up on this new "lazy haze" beach blanket lo-fi pop from Bethany Cosentino (formerly?) of Pocahaunted. Bethany's calling the group Best Coast, and she says we can expect "songs about summer and the sun and the ocean and being a lazy creep," with "drums, beach boys bass lines, and other amazing things" added by her friend Bobb Bruno. Look for a tape on Blackest Rainbow and a 7" on San Diego's awesome Art Fag Recordings -- which may or may not include this song -- in the near future:

mp3:
best coast :: sun was high (so was I)

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new video: white denim | "i start to run"

New video for White Denim's rad new single, starring bassist Steve Terebecki as our hero "the runner." So good:



EDIT: stream White Denim's new album Fits in its entirety here.

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memory tapes :: "bicycle"

The mysterious forces behind Weird Tapes + Memory Cassette -- which may or may not have been the same person all along -- have "merged" to form Memory Tapes, and will be releasing a new full-length this fall (limited vinyl run on Acephale and Something In Construction in September, with a wider release to follow). "Bicycle" is the dreamy lead single from the new album, and will be released on 12" in August in the UK on Loog Records:

mp3:
memory tapes :: bicycle

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pictureplane x teengirl fantasy

Denver's unclassifiable Pictureplane is set to release his new full-length Dark Rift on August 4 on the great Lovepump United. Here, new album track "New Mind" gets blissfully housed by the equally unclassifiable Teengirl Fantasy, who turns the song into a swirling ethereal club jam:

mp3:
pictureplane :: new mind (teengirl fantasy wide open edit)

Pictureplane will tour the U.S. with labelmate HEALTH this Fall.

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elsewhere:

TONIGHT IN DALLAS / SOLD OUT:



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