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Thursday, March 28th, 2024  

Steve Earle

“Colorado Girl” (Townes Van Zandt Cover) (Live on Letterman) Video

Jun 05, 2009

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Here’s Steve Earle covering longtime friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt. David Letterman chats a little bit with the musician about the short time he lived on Zandt’s driveway. (I always dig when the musicians get to talk because they often have better stories than the TV personalities yappin’ away on the couch before them.) Anyway, Earle performs an acoustic “Colorado Girl,” with no accompaniment. Letterman prefaces the performance with a succinct Van Zandt biography (“he was an interesting fellow and led a bit of a tortured life”). Dave ends the night with an offer for anyone buying Earle’s new LP: “If you buy this now, we’ll throw in the carpet.” Earle’s Van Zandt cover collection, Townes, is out on New West. [Culture Bully]

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

“Desert Song” Video

Jun 05, 2009

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This is some joyous hippie revival music. Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros are a 10-piece epic circus of insanely talented musicians, fronted by Ima Robot‘s Alex Ebert. This video is part one of a 12-part feature-length movie musical that band is putting together. Part One is “Desert Son.” The song is supposedly about Ebert coming to grips with the middle name his father secretly wrote on his birth certificate—a Native American name which means ‘Devil’ or ‘Demon.’ The opening shot is of his father chanting in Monument Valley—shot by his mother. The song is taken from the band’s forthcoming ablum, Up From Below and the video is directed by Benjamin Kutsko and Cory Marrero. Up From Below comes out on Community Music/Fairfax Recordings/Vagrant on July 14th. Under the Radar is featuring The Zeros in our Summer ‘09 issue.

Choir of Young Believers

“Action/Reaction” MP3

Jun 05, 2009

The Danish songwriter Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, known as Choir of Young Believers, is joined by multi-tracked female vocalists on this swirling, clattering single. The call-and-response vocals, coupled with the track’s symphonic grandeur, make this a very pretty track indeed. “Action/Reaction” comes from Choir’s Ghostly debut This Is For The White In Your Eyes, which is due August 18th.

Chairlift

“Bruises” Video

Jun 05, 2009

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This may not be as cool to look as the pastoral clip for “Evident Utensil”, but this video for Chairlift’s “Bruises” is at least as entertaining as their multi-colored iPod commercial; which the tune also soundtracked. Singer Caroline Polachek is trapped in a room of video screens broadcasting her lover’s almost strange images. There’s also a whole lot of making out and leg shots. We interviewed Chairlift way back in the Fall ‘08 issue of Under the Radar.

MGMT

“Kids” Video

Jun 05, 2009

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I have to first note that my fiancée hates this new music video for MGMT’s “Kids.” I tried to console her that “no children harmed in the making of this video,” but she wasn’t taking that one bit. After a fireball and string quartet overture of the melody, NASA samples, and some apt Mark Twain quotes we’re off in monster land. That’s Joanna Newsom as the worst mom in the world award recipient. The Brookyln boys worked with Ray Tintori again. If you recall he did the music vid for Oracular Spectacular’s “Time to Pretend.” There’s some trippy ‘70s animation as well. It’s nice to see a MGMT clip with an actual budget.

Grizzly Bear

“Two Weeks” Video

Jun 05, 2009

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As we reported earlier this week, Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest just bowed at #8 on the Billboard charts. Our cover artist for our Most Anticipated Albums of 2009 issue recently released their fantastc new music video for lead single “Two Weeks.” Directed by Patrick Daughters (Feist), the chamber-folk quartet are supposed to look like androids as they sing in tandem in front of stained glass. The producer was Karen Lin and VFX were handled by The Mill Production company. Stay for the end when their heads explode! Get ready to click replay because this track is one of the best of the year. Veckatimest is out now. For more information on Veckatimest, claw your way over here.

Friday Bridge

“This Case is Closed (Johan Agebjörn Remix)” MP3

Jun 03, 2009

The ‘80s-influenced electro-pop of Friday Bridge is pretty much a household name in Sweden but the musical vehicle for Ylva Lindberg and Niklas Gustafsson barely register a blip here in the States. Here’s a short history lesson. Friday Bridge was founded in 2004, and quickly grew a fanbase after the release of The Lady Julie. The following year, Friday Bridge released an EP and the single It Girl, which received extensive airplay in Sweden and elsewhere. Friday Bridge’s debut album Intricacy was released on But is it Art? in 2007 and this past March the duo saw the release of their sophomore album, Bite My Tongue. Thankfully they’re friends with Sally Shapiro songwriter/producer and fellow Swede, Johan Agebjörn. This crisp, 320 kbps remix of the Tongue track has that distinctive Italo-Disco sound he’s perfected with Shapiro. Loungey keyboard washes and synth lines fill in the grooves between that steady dance beat and Lindberg does her best ice queen impression. “This Case is Closed” is a lock for any self-respecting electro fan…case closed.

YACHT

“Psychic City (Voodoo City)” MP3

Jun 02, 2009

Summer jam contender number one is the bubbly YACHT’s “Psychic City (Voodoo City).” Perfect soundtrack for inner-tubing down the river or playing Frisbee on the beach. The Portland electro duo have rarely impressed this much. Got to love that wordless chorus and those bass-y snyths. The new single is taken from Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans’ forthcoming album, See Mystery Lights. YACHT took the lyrics to “Psychic City” from Two Million Years, an early K Records cassette tape release by Rich Jensen and then laid down a synth part inspired by Althea and Donna’s “Uptown Top Ranking.” See Mystery Lights appropriately drops July 28th on DFA and the pair is on a U.K. tour with Patrick Wolf in the meantime.