Band of the Week: Kid Cudi

I'M BACK BITCHES

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band of the week #10: kid cudi (myspace)(official site)

It's been awhile, but the artist of the week feature is back! And who better than Kid Cudi?

I know that you've heard "Day 'N' Nite" by now, and the catchy as hell Crookers remix, right? I mean, everybody has, that shit's everywhere. "Embrace The Martian", another Crookers joint, is equally ill.

Is Cudi the future of hip-hop? If that would mean that the future sounds like this, then I sure as hell hope so.

This is going to be big.

Band of the Week: Allison Weiss

I told my sister Christian, "That the time has come. You don't listen to Allison Weiss? Don't worry you're not the only one, okay? Last night I was listening to her through my neighbor's door, then his young boys turned on their PS2. Its true!

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band of the week #9: Allison Weiss (Official Site)(Myspace)

The guitar is one of music's most popular weapons when embarking on overt musical missions. A favorite of funnyman John Mayer, Canadian indie singers Tegan and Sara, and El Mariachi, who uses his guitar in such a skillful manner that he killed a wanton Mexican General on two occasions. I must not also forget that he used it to serenade the always sexy Selma Hayak, on two occasions as well. Selma Hayak! One two occasions! With a guitar!

Allison Weiss has a similar ability, with the ears of young men and women. Her music is playful, but not sugar coated. Sincere, yet not over-sentimental. Good, and not bad. Her song "Let Me Go" displays a simple sweetness in music, that many yearn for yet don't find. Well you've found Allison Weiss--enjoy!

Band of the week: Proxy

band of the week #8: proxy (myspace)

What a surprise? The act that I pick for Band of the Week is electronic.

But, electronic music = fun, fun, fun.

Hopefully, you've heard of Proxy, if for no reason other than the fact that the track "Raven" made my top 20 songs of 2008 list. While, in my opinion, the best song in their rather limited oeuvre, their Dance In Dark EP definitely merits a listen or two as well.

Band of the Week: Digitalism

Holy Jesus, Batman. There's only 4 days until Christmas.

Seriously?

***band of the week #?: digitalism (myspace)

Just listen to "Pogo" - I think you will have heard enough. Digitalism is a lot of fun, and their music is pretty, well, pretty.

That, and their logo is pretty ugly. Just saying.

Either way, Digitalism - good band.

Band of the Week: Pinches Cuerpos

Beto Chapa, Thurston Moore and Magic Johnson play basketball on weekends. For serious.

***band of the week #6: pinches cuerpos (official site,myspace)

Beto is a humble man. I called him in Texas about six months ago to talk to him about his band, Pinches Cuerpos. For almost twenty minutes we talked, mostly asking him questions about his music. He does everything himself, the writing, instrumentals, the legalities, and even the music video to his single, "Bossa, Espionaje y Amor", a personal favorite of mine. During the day he works and when he can, he creates his music. This humble demeanor of course has founds its way to his music. "PC does not fit into any one particular genre. Rather, it is intended to be exploratory in nature & a pure creative outlet."

Songs like "Naufrago Aburrido" off of his album entitled "Instrumentals"--which can be downloaded off his website--Beto effectively incorporates unorthodox sounds like beach waves, breathing, and what I think is a coke can being crumbled.

Beto sings on his album "Digital Lo-Fi", but he sings in Spanish. I regret not paying more attention in class.

Band of the Week: Deepset

Kuala Lampur must be a hell of a place.

***band of the week #5: deepset (myspace)

deepset hail from Kuala Lampur, and like I said, it must be one hell of a place. They make long, beautiful epics in the post-rock medium, and fill me with emotion like nothing since (you guessed it) Explosions' 2003 opus.

There's not much more to say. I've written a review of their debut The Lights We Shed Shall Burn Your Eyes for The Silent Ballet. I gave it a 9, but I'm sure it'll be knocked down a few points before it's published. Oh well. That's life.

But that's not at all the point. Check out "If you can still hear this whispering, you are dying". You'll get the point right away.

Band of the week: Coma

I like post-rock. Do you like post-rock? Here's some post-rock.

***band of the week #4: coma (myspace, download ep)

Questionable English aside, Malaysian band Coma have a fairly impressive MySpace page. There are no fancy graphics, no distracting layouts, just black text on a backdrop of white. Oh, and two rather beastly instrumental tracks. Coming out of left field, and with just an EP to their name, Coma is one of many bands these days rejecting the new trend of vocal-laden post-rock, and instead throwing back to the days of slow-build/furious release circa 2001. I think that they themselves say it best:

we are coma, there are two meaning of coma, 1st were a full stop, and 2nd were a deep sleep. we love to share our feeling through our music, we believe that words can only mean a certain meaning at certain times. so the greatest way to share our thought and emotion with our music. we are trying to soundtrack the horror of the world event and peoples lives event.

Good times. So check them out, download their EP, and most of all, enjoy!

Band of the Week: Definition

I'm thinking that Sunday should be the official day for "Band Of The Week", since the last couple weeks it's gotten delayed until today anyway....meh, whatevs. Enjoy!

***band of the week #3: Definition (myspace, last.fm)

Instrumental rap, electronica, entertaining - call it what you want, but Definition is one thing for sure, and that's extremely enjoyable. Based out of Tuscon, Arizona, Definition is the brainchild of Scott McGowan. He came out with an EP in late 2007 (In The Company Of Owls), and is expected to release a follow up full-length Sounds Anonymous sometime in the spring.

This isn't hardcore dance music - not at all - but it's chill enough to zone out to and yet captivating to the extent that you'd never want to.

For a good time, call Definition (or just add them on MySpace - after all, it's the twenty first century!)

Band of the week: Attention Thieves

Sorry this week's installment was a few days late, but i'm still trying to figure out which day is optimal for posting this feature. I've also been hella busy reviewing (mostly) mediocre albums for that other website, so my time's been quite in demand.

Better late than never, though.

***band of the week #2: attention thieves (myspace)

This week's band comes at you from across the pond: Attention Thieves are a currently unsigned indie (redundancy alert!) from the UK that make catchy alternative rock music. How generic sounding. My bad.

They're really fun though, trust me. There's intricate guitar work, charmingly British vocals, and a steady rhythm section that can induce toe-tapping in the most conservative of voters.

Plus, they just posted a new song yesterday! So give them a listen, before they get scooped up by some major label, that way you can say you knew them when.

Band of the Week: The Van Allen Belt

I figure that if you're reading a blog about music, you are probably also interested in keeping ahead of the curve to impress all of your friends with the "next" band ahead of the indie curve. So, to make your life that much easier, there's a new regular feature round these parts - first there was "Songs of the Week", now there's the "Band of the Week".

Enjoy, check back next Friday, and Happy Halloween!

***band of the week #1: the van allen belt (myspace)

If you have a MySpace profile, and ever venture to explore the "Music" section of the massive social networking blackhole, then you've doubtlessly experienced the joy of random friend adds from obscure bands that you've never heard of. And, of course, 99% of the time they're bands that you never want to have heard of. Let's face it, most of the music out there is utter crap. The other day, a little group called The Van Allen Belt gave me one of these adds, and for some strange reason, I decided to actually listen to the music on their profile - and am I glad that I did!

Sporting sultry vocals, jangly instrumentation, and an overall lounge-y atmosphere to boot, the Van Allen Belt is certainly more than a torus of energetically charged particles held in place by the Earth's magnetic field. This Pittsburgh outfit is nothing short of a throwback to a lost age, singing about our bleak future in the most upbeat manner imaginable. Think the Beach Boys, but less optimistic and with a girl singing. Fuck it, I don't even know, I really can't do them justice with words. You'll just have to hear for yourself.

Check out their MySpace, I implore you. It'll be the most fun you've had all week!