Vampire Weekend released their new album, Modern Vampires of the City, on Tuesday and recently performed a 12 song set at Apogee’s Berkeley Street Studio in Santa Monica for KCRW and NPR Music. Vampire Weekend play the Firefly Music Festival on Sunday, June 23. Video, set list below.
“White Sky”
“I Stand Corrected”
“Diane Young”
“Step”
“Diplomat’s Son”
“Unbelievers”
“Ya Hey”
“Campus”
“Oxford Comma”
“Contra”
“One (Blake’s Got A New Face)”
April is Public Radio Music Month and to celebrate, NPR Music is offering ten free songs to download, curated by various stations around the country including WXPN. XPN’s pick was “Strictly Reserved For You” by Charles Bradley that you download here. Today’s download comes from the band Telekinesis, the project of Seattle based multi-instrumentalist Michael Benjamin Lerner. Telekinesis recently released its third album, Dormarion, on Merge Records. Below, download “Ghosts And Creatures” via NPR Music. Telekinesis plays Johnny Brenda’s on Tuesday, May 7th. Go here for tickets.
Alt-J lead vocalist Joe Newman from Stubb’s in Austin. (Photo by Adam Kissick for NPR)
The NPR Music Showcase at Stubb’s ( clockwise from left: Waxahatchee, Nick Cave, Cafe Tacvba, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) | Photos by John Vettese
NPR Music‘s annual showcase at Stubb’s BBQ has become a coveted ticket at South By Southwest, and last night’s bill was a knockout. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds gave a stunning, electrified performance of songs from their new Push the Sky Away; Philly’s Waxahatchee played a hushed and intimate indoors set; Mexico five-piece Cafe Tacuba rallied the outdoor crowd with song and dance; and Yeah Yeah Yeahs notched the energy up even further, premiering songs from their new LP Mosquito and taking a deep-digging trip into their back catalog.
The capacity crowd was teeming with excitement for Cave, who’s an expert at constructing a mood. “We’re going to start with a rather long song,” Cave said, pointing to the dusky sky as they took the stage. “Hopefully, by the time we finish, it will be dark.” Continue reading
You’ve got to give it up for our compatriots at NPR Music for this cool collaborative music and film project featuring the music of Angel Olsen. A group of artistic minded friends- Angel Olsen, Randy Sterling, Ashley Connor, and Zia Anger- worked on producing two music videos, one for “Tiniest Seed,” a track from Olsen’s buzz-inducing HalfWay Home (2012), and one for a new rockier song “Sweet Dreams,” which is available on her forthcoming “Sleepwalker” 7”. Both videos almost perfectly encapsulate the mood and feel of the tracks, a necessity for a musician who lives and dies expressing emotions.
Last year, the Internet was abuzz with glowing reviews of Olsen’s sophomore release Half Way Home and rightly so, for her emotive singing, honest lyrics, and rawness of spirit resounded with many listeners (including this one). Folkadelphia was lucky enough to capture to record a few songs while Angel was in Philadelphia, which is available here for streaming and download.
Photo by Andreas Laszlo Konrath courtesy of the artist
Love This Giant brings Byrne and Clark together in provocative and frequently exciting ways, thanks in part to a slyly funky horn section and an overarching sense of brainy boldness. Though they swap lead-vocal duties, Byrne’s jittery, globe-trotting eclecticism tends to overshadow Clark’s efforts, in part because the horns’ volume forces her guitar work out of the foreground. But Byrne sounds more invigorated than he has in years, and as one of the best young singers, arrangers and guitarists in the business, Clark possesses a craftsmanship-intensive oddness which meshes nicely with his.
Listen to Love This Giant in its entirety via NPR Music here.
photo by John Bartol
