Man, the end of a semester = tough time no time for a music blogger. And what a week to be busy! Folks from Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend teamed up, Camera Obscura and Super Furry Animals released the new “best albums of 2009,” The Flaming Lips had didn’t have have the official rock song of Oklahoma, OH so many things! The Naked Wizard got tased! After the jump is the best stuff of this week (with SO many MP3s) we never told you about.
Discovery: The Vampire Weekend/Ra Ra Riot collaboration
Unarguably one of the biggest –discoveries– this week (Lots Of Love all around!) was Discovery, the duo of Vampire Weekened’s Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles. Don’t worry, it still has that pop you love, but it’s much heavier on the synth. Almost Kanye-esque if you will. They’ve been around for like, a year or something, but people are just realizing it now. Go figure.
Discovery – “Orange Shirt” [MP3]
Discovery – “Osaka Loop Line” [MP3]
Super Furry Animals: Dark Days/Light Years
Oh wow, this album is good stuff. Admittedly, I never really got into the whole Super Furry Animals thing, but no matter, their latest album, Dark Days/Light Years is great. With the slight funky side that Of Montreal loves to use, a little silliness, well-placed synth, and killer song writing, the band has made a gem. I would say something like “it’s the best album of 2009,” but, you know, that ain’t me. The point: go buy it. Really.
Super Furry Animals – “Inagural Trams” [MP3]
Super Furry Animals – “The Very Best of Neil Diamond” [MP3]
“The Naked Wizard” gets tased at Coachella
Some annoying guy dressed up like a wizard at Coachella, then stripped naked and got TASED by police. All the annoying people there were all “Booo man! The whole world is watching!” because a guy who was naked in public refused to put clothes on, mouthed off the police and resisted arrest. What did you expect? They gave the guy plenty of time to NOT get tased, but he blew it.
I give a bronze star to you, Naked Wizard, because you’re annoying but provided the world with entertainment for at least a week. Video below, but totally NSFW. Unless your boss is cool with like five minutes of penis. ‘Cuz it has that.
Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career
The title track to Camera Obscura’s new My Maudlin Career came out like, forever ago, but now the whole album is out! And you just know it’s great. Why else would I be writing about it? What, like I’m negative about things (…)? The album runs 46 minutes of sweetness (and maybe a little sadness too). I feel so many influences here, a little bit of country, a little bit of alternative and a little bit of pop. It’s a very cool sound that’s incredibly well executed here. Another candidate for KR’s “Best Album of 2009.”
Camera Obscura – “French Navy” [MP3]
Camera Obscura – “My Maudlin Career” [MP3]
The Flaming Lips “Official Rock Song of Oklahoma” fiasco
What a bonanza this has become. A while ago the state of Oklahoma let residents vote on the state’s new official rock song. Naturally they overwhelmingly voted for The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize,” because it’s an amazing song. When the state senate voted on a measure to make this fluff bill a reality, it passed unopposed.
But of course some representative in the state house didn’t like that a band member wore a t-shirt with a hammer and sickle on it and suddenly people hated the bill. The house voted 48-39 for the song with 15 people abstaining. But since the house needs 51 votes to pass a bill, it fell through. But then! Oh! THEN Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry overruled the house making the song official! Music: 1 Oklahoma Commie Witch Hunters: 0.
Seriously, this isn’t the age of McCarthy. Who cares if he supports communism? It’s just an idea. Not a threat to our country. Like at all. Ever.
The Flaming Lips – “Do You Realize??” [MP3]
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