The Milk Lounge


Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?

Today is Halloween, so I figured I would post a Halloween song. Makes sense right? I thought so. This song, called "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" was performed by North American Halloween Prevention Initiative, which is an indie supergroup. The contributors include, but are not limited to J'aime Tambeur, Beck, Dntel, Devendra Banhart, Feist, Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Thurston Moore, Karen O, Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Subtitle. The project was led by Nick Diamonds (The Unicorns) and Adam Gollner, and was released as a CD single. The disc includes the original long version, the radio edit, a Disco D remix, and Th Corn Gangg remix. The proceeds were donated to UNICEF.

NAHPI- "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? [Original Version]" [Removed]

Thanks for reading and good luck tonight with whatever adventures or tomfoolery you happen to stir up.

Labels:

Talleyrand Music & Arts Festival

For anyone vaguely aware of music in the Jaksonville, Florida area, Talleyrand should already be tattooed onto your calenders. For anyone oblivious to such events, consider this your warning. This festival is the largest, most exciting thing that has happened to Jacksonville's music scene in as long as I can remember, and will only add to its reputation. This doozie of a show will take place at Metropolitan Park, will feature dozens of bands, and have the work of over 100 painters, sculptors and multi-media artists on-site. Awesome! The line-up shall include:

The Bravery
("Time Won't Let Me Go") [Removed]
Against Me!
("Thrash Unreal") [Removed]
Spoon
("The Underdog") [Removed]
Keller Williams & The WMD's
Pepper
Rooney
("Blueside") [Removed]
Arrested Development
The Polyphonic Spree
("Sonic Bloom") [Removed]
The Format
("The Compromise") [Removed]
Lifehouse
Sage Francis
The Stills
MC Chris
Pat Green
Perpetual Groove
Cee Knowledge
The Draft
The Beggarweeds
("Sunbeam Mountain") [Removed]
The Expendables
Pat Dinizio
Leslie
American Bang
Straylight Run
Matt Wertz/Dave Barnes
Whole Wheat Bread
kLoB
Inca Maya
Julius Airwave
("Tickle Me Penguin") [Removed]
Astronautalis
Captain Kid
Power Douglas
Fusebox Funk
Greenness
Shadow Agency

With such a diverse group of performers I would expect all Jacksonville area residents to take FULL ADVANTAGE of the oppurtunity Talleyrand offers, which is a rare chance to see these bands together in a festival setting. There will be more Talleyrand coverage to come, as we intend to conduct a few interviews. We'll also be at the show itself (of course) and will do thorough reviews of the performances we happen to catch. Hip hip? Hooray!

Labels: , , , , , , ,

The Darjeeling Limited - Movie and Music

Once again Wes Anderson has perplexed my sub-conscious with another trivial movie, however, this one hits a little closer to home. The brothers three; Jack (Jason Shwartzman), Peter (Adrian Brody) and Francis (Owen Wilson) have drifted apart from one another after the what seemed untimely death of their father. A year later the eldest brother Francis decides that he wants to reunited the estranged men and to know them as brothers again. This leads them towards a "spiritual journey" on a train ride throughout India. However, because of tensions between the brothers another path may await them. Anderson successfully captures the feelings of hatred, distance and togetherness demonstrating that paths cannot be predetermined but at the same time showing that things may happen with a certain reason in mind.

Anderson puts the melodic music of Indian Filmmaker and musical score composer Satyajit Ray to use, to better demonstrate the Indian culture. He also uses songs from various other artists such as The Rollings Stones and The Kinks. One of Anderson's goals for the movie was to successfully capture and portray the culture of one of the worlds most "spiritual" countries.

The Rolling Stones - "Play with Fire"
[Removed]

The Kinks - "This Time Tomorrow"
[Removed]

"I want us to become brothers like we used to be."


Labels: , ,

Thirsty Thursdays: 26

First off, I apologize for skipping last week's Thirsty Thursdays. My excuse? Well, laziness, but last Thursday was also the day I recieved an invite to the Hellgate: London Beta Test. For those who don't know, Hellgate: London is a new MMORPG coming out on Halloween. Maybe this is the point where I should warn the readers that this post is focused on video games and good music to listen to while playing them. Anyway, I was turned on to HG:L by the fact that many of its developers and designers are the same ones that created Diablo II, a game that literally consumed my middle school years. Seriously, I would wake up, go to school, come home, play D2, go to bed, rinse and repeat. Pathetic really, but I had a lot of fun, and have now fit a successful social life into my schedule. Hooray! The first track for this post will be from the Killer7 soundtrack. Killer7 is a fantastic on-rails shooter set in the midst of worldwide political turmoil. It's a very inovative gameplay system in which you switch between characters and fight off enemies. Blood spurts everywhere, and the plot spills over with adult themes and controversy. The soundtrack was composed by japanese music director, Masafumi Takada, and is one of my personal favorites as far as videogame soundtracks go.

Masafumi Takada- "Rave On" [Removed]

Speaking of my favorite VG soundtracks, the next song is from Metroid Prime. The Metroid series has always been known for its haunting sci-fi musical score, and Metroid Prime is no different. This track is taken from a point in the game in which you explore a ruined spacecraft that has sunken underwater. The music fits perfectly with the setting, as you float around and gently hop from platform to platform.

Kenji Yamamoto, Kouichi Kyuma- "The Downed Frigate Orpheon" [Removed]

This next song is not from a videogame soundtrack, but it's perfect for grinding. No, not the butt-shakin', ass-wigglin' kind of grinding, I mean the stay up all night and power level your character or do boss runs and find loot kind. It's a dark trance song by Techno Animal, one of Justin Broadrick's many side projects.

Techno Animal- "Robosapien" [Removed]

Next up is a song for casual gaming. It's a simple song with drum machine, hand claps, and vague, almost whicpered female vocals. It comes off smooth, sexy and very chill. The group is X District, two people that only met for about five minutes and sent sound tidbits back and forth over the internet. It's interesting, and makes for a cool premise for the music.

X Distict- "Color Correction" [Removed]

Now it's time for a song that might fit in both definitions for grinding. VHS Or Beta stole my heart with "Le Funk", and kept on lovin' with "Night On Fire". Their new album "Bring On The Comets" was alright, but just isn't the same without their original guitarist. I miss Zeke Buck and his electrodiscofunk style. Anyway, grind away with this dub version of "You Got Me".

VHS Or Beta- "You Got Me [Baby Daddy Dub]" [Removed]

My first gaming experiences were with cheap handhelds and the original gameboy. To this day, I can sit down and beat Super Mario Land straight through twice, which unlocks hard mode, and beat that without hesitating. I know that game like I know my CD collection. Well, those old games all had 8-bit music. You know, the shoddy sounding beeps and boops? Well, I have here an 8-bit remix of Beck's "E-Pro" from the "Hell Yes Remix EP". It's awesome, and it's full of nostalgic beeps and boops.

Beck- "Bad Cartridge (E-Pro) [Remix by Paza of The X-Dump]" [Removed]

Well, hope you liked the post. Thanks for reading, now go grind!

Labels: , , , , , ,

Video Games, Women, Drugs & Liquor Ruin Lives...

We've kind of been slacking off lately if any one has noticed. I'm not sure why, well actually I'm positive as to why, games such as Hellgate: London and of course beer(s) and spirits of choice. We actually missed a thirty thursday... our bad. In all honesty right now I cant think of or find things to write on. I mean sure we could write about Radiohead's In Rainbows all day but I mean hell you can get that for free if you want. We can write about concert reviews... but you weren't there. We can write about CD reviews... but you may already have it. Almost complexing isn't it. College and trying to have fun seems to ruin all of the good things we had going for our website. I'm not saying that I personally am calling it quits, but more or less "waiting for inspiration" to come along.

Mojib - "Upside Down Reconstruction"
[Removed]

Labels:

Jesu: Lifeline

If you say the word “metal” in musical terms towards someone, they may think of or you will describe it to them as “heavy rock guitar driven, drum pounding, bass ripping, music.” Whereas if you say “ambient” or “shoegazing” most will either have no idea of what you're talking about or they will think of calming and relaxing almost “scenic” music. What happens when you take “metal” and “ambient-shoegazing” and crush them together? You get Jesu. Formed in 2003 by U.K. New-age composer Justin Broadwick, Jesu has been separating themselves from mainstream music by clashing genres. With over five hours of recorded music under their belt the Jesu collective has recently released yet another mind blowing musical fusion masterpiece. I say fusion because, its at times hard to describe all music, there are your more noticeable themes and musics where you can say, “Oh, thats county”, etc. but with groups and albums with this type of sound it can be perplexing as to what to call it... this is where genres are created or crammed into words like “experimental-ambient-shoegazing-electronica-rock.” Among the genre confusion Lifeline is a certifiable EP by its nature, it is a lovely foreshadowing towards an even more diversified musical sound attacked by Jesu. Signature soft-vocals, harmonic programming, rhythmic drums, and almost at times “soothingly heavy” guitar and bass add true definition towards the release. The sixth release from Jesu only makes me crave more of the type of sound that only Broadwick has been able to manifest. The music reminds me of our modern day world in a sense. At times whilst looking outside the window of a car at the country side it seems almost tranquil as if everything is at still, at peace. While at the same time showing you should have kept your eyes on the road then you may have seen the truck coming... This duality of nature... peace, life, love, war, death, hate... is something that Jesu seems to capture through music alone. It can represent a bad day turned good through the miracles of everyday life, a good day turned bad through the trivial complications that our modern lives may present. Or at times just simply laying in the grass watching the clouds pass without a care in the world to plague your mind. Lyrically Jesu sings about everyday inner struggles, social flaws to drug trips. Justin may be Jesu's founder and front man, but he's also accompanied by talented individuals such as Diarmuid Dalton on bass guitar and Ted Parsons on drums and other percussion. Jesu was forged from the aftermath of U.K. Heavy Metal band Godflesh, the type of music released from Godflesh was angry and despaired. After moving to the more peaceful country side, Broadwicks music has come to show a more calmed side such as that of Jesu. Just try not to get hypnotized while listening to the music, and as I said before be sure to keep your eyes on the road ahead of you, as the world can play tricks on your mind.

Jesu - "You Wear Their Masks" [Removed]

Labels:

No Black & White For Tomorrow

Heads up to all of our Jacksonville, FL readers: The Hives are crashing Jackrabbits this Friday! I would hope that you already knew this, but now you have no excuse. While it is disappointing that the release of their new album, "The Black & White Album", has been delayed until November 13th, I will gladly provide a couple of songs from it so you can sing-a-long at the show. I'll save my review of the album for closer to the actual release, but I will say that it's their most diverse release to date, and they pull it off extremely well. First up is the first single from the new album, "Tick Tick Boom". This track opens the album, and also advertised Nike running shoes. If you've ever heard The Hives before, this will sound very familiar, because it's a persistent romp of choppy power chords and loud screeching vocals.


The Hives- "Tick Tick Boom" [Removed]



Next up is "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.", a song that strays pretty far from their customary fast-paced punk sound. It begins with a friendly 'welcome' and simple, yet groovy disco riff. The song continues on at a relatively slow pace that would be easier to slow dance to rather than crowd surf or stage dive. I think it's great, but I'll let you judge for yourself.



The Hives- "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." [Removed]



Another upcoming album that I'd like to talk about is Coheed & Cambria's "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow". I'd like to point out that the album title is so long, the band's website abbreviates the abbreviation. They often refer to it as NWFT. Anyway, I saw the video for the first single "The Running Free", and have not yet decided what to make of the song. The production value on Claudio Sanchez's vocals was very well done, and there were some of CoCa's trademark onomatopoeias, but I was left wanting a guitar solo or some kind of impressive instrumentation. Luckily, the rest of the album makes up for this, and the following song, "The Hound (of Blood and Rank)", has a fantastic intro that showcases their growing Pink Floyd influence.

Coheed & Cambria- "The Hound (of Blood and Rank)" [Removed]

Well, hopefully you liked the tracks, and I hope to see a whole bunch of Loungers at The Hives' show this Friday! Enjoy.

Labels: ,

Thirsty Thursdays: 25

Its not like we are slackers or anything.... Yeah I guess we are sometimes, sorry for another thirsty Thursday on a Friday. Today my paste magazine came in which means I got some tracks that are going to make up for the 3 hour lateness, lets jump in.

Chicago indie-rock band Office released their fifth album September 25 and its a damn shame that I had never come across the group before. The music is great, the lyrics are great, collaborating bass, drums, and guitar pound together for an enjoyable song rhythm, a guitar solo to change things up, and layered vocals really make this song stick out.

Office - "The Ritz"
[Removed]

There are so many groups and artists with "wolf" in the name; Wolf Parade, Patrick Wolf, Wolf Mother, Wolf Eyes, and the list goes on and on... So lets add another "wolf" to the pack, Sea Wolf that is, Los Angels anti-folk rocks more than just your standard guitar, bass, keyboard, etc. they also have a cellist! Bad ass... Their latest album
"Leaves in the River" released September 25th.

Sea Wolf - "You're A Wolf"
[Removed]

Bands get together, they play music for a few years, and some can keep it together, they are forces to go their separate ways. This happened to The Weakerthans, however Sept. 25 (noticing a pattern here...) released their fourth studio album
"Reunion Tour," simple pop-punk-folk that only cheery Canadians could create.

The Weakerthans - "Civil Twilight"
[Removed]

Jenny Lewis this Jenny Lewis that. Turns out there are other good female vocalists out there and some spell their names different too! Jennie Arnau's fourth album
"Mt. Pleasant" (in Jennie's own words), "...has a real edge - it's country - oriented with jazz chording and rock rhythm," Jennie feels that her music is reflecting the "new face of southern rock."

Jennie Arnau - "Float on"
[Removed]

You know those bad ass guys who can play the harmonica, play acoustic, and sing too? Peter Case is one of those gentlemen. Making music for over 20 years now Mr. Case continues to make great folk-rock and truly follows the folk feel with songs seeming to be stories more or less than just plain lyrics. From the 2007s
"Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John."

Peter Case - "Every 24 Hours"
[Removed]

Diego Sandrin provides a little of what I like to call sleepy time folk. Coincidentally the songs name only aids my little created genre,

Diego Sandrin - "Blanket"
[Removed]

And with that I'm going to go climb into my bed,
Cheers & Goodnight,
Pipe.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Mojib—My Swedish Relaxation Savior

Everybody has a bad day here and there, sometimes more than should be expected. I had one of those bad days where nothing seems to work. After finishing some essays for my Rock History class I checked my e-mail and what I found was just what I needed, what I wanted really. Staffan Ulmert a.k.a. Mojib blew my mind and left me breathless with his tracks. Taking all styles of music—mashing, grinding and fusing them together—he has created some of the most upbeat relaxed music that my ears have been privileged to hear. Using multiple samples from groups such as Sigur Rós and The Notwist this talented artist has put his own style on top of those songs creating an awe-inspiring experimental electronica sound that absolutely cannot be ignored. His debut album Whimsical Lifestyle will be releasing on October 16th, and you can be sure that the Milk Lounge will be covering Staffan's music.

Here is a little taste of whats to come from the debut album Whimsical Lifestyle. You can pre-order the album by clicking here. This is by far going to be one of the hottest releases of Q4 2007. Making music is expensive so help Mojib continue to develop great music by supporting his music. This track is not a demo or live recording but the actual album version! Enjoy!

Mojib - "Answering Machine at Night"
[Removed]

The first song I listened to on the Mojib myspace page, using the Sigur Rós - "Starálfur" rhythm which is soothing enough as is, Mojib takes his own personal breakbeat eletronica introduction leading into this melodic enchantment of violins and drums.

Mojib - "Break of Dawn" (Demo Version)
[Removed]

Taking the Notwist - "Consequence" as the base for this song Mojib chops the track up adding his own personal touch to the track which makes it seem to have an almost angelic undertone.

Mojib - "In a State" (The Notwist & UNKLE Mashup)
[Removed]

Oh and of course his remixing abilities are just as grand, with the ability to take a song as upbeat as the Go Team's "Grip Like a Vice" and shaping it and molding it with his creative hands into an epic ballad.

The Go Team - "Grip Like a Vice" (Mojib Remix)
[Removed]

Cheers and more to come,
Pipe.

Labels: ,

Thirsty Thursdays: 24

This past Tuesday night, I had the great pleasure of seeing Rilo Kiley live in Orlando, and I can confidently say that they put on a hell of a show. Even if I didn't have a heterosexual bias towards the cutiest of cute, Jenny Lewis, I believe I would say the same thing. The crowd at House of Blues was a good one, and they knew all the songs. It was a special treat when they played "Dejalo" and "Smoke Detector", because they apparently hadn't played those songs for the past few dates of their tour. Also, they threw giant balloons filled with gold confetti onto the audience, which were soon popped on balcony lighting. One of the amusing highlights was when Jenny said "You guys are fucking awesome...sorry to cuss." The audience giggled. Here is a song that they didn'y play live called "Jenny, You're Barely Alive". It's a non-album track from the stellar "Saddle Creek 50" compilation.

Rilo Kiley- "Jenny, You're Barely Alive" [Removed]

Art In Manila opened for Rilo Kiley, and I had never heard of them before. I didn't have time to do my usual research before the show, because I got a ticket unexpectedly the morning of. Anyway, I didn't know what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed their set. It was very chill, and the guitarist's subtle approach to lead guitar kept the music very interesting. After the show I looked them up and was suprised to learn that the singer was none other than Orenda Fink of Azure Ray and Now It's Overhead fame, also wife of The Faint's Todd Fink. Their debut album is decent, more so if you're already a fan of Orenda's sound. My only dissappointment is that the studio recording doesn't quite capture the energy of the live performance. The song "Spirit, Run" from "Set The Woods On Fire" does the best job of displaying their live abilities.

Art In Manila- "Spirit, Run" [Removed]

For those who don't already know, Bloc Party has a new song, and it's got me psyched! Produced by Jacknife Lee (just like "A Weekend In The City"), it's heavy on synth with a fast dancable beat, and Kele's got vocoder effects. Set for release on November 12. Good Weather For Airstrikes had a radio rip of the song that I would love to share with you.

Bloc Party- "Flux [radio rip]" [Removed]

Always happy to hear news about former Unicorns members, I smiled upon hearing of Alden Penner's new group, Clues, and their upcoming album, "Rad Boo Horror & the Glory". The album title seems fitting of a fomer Unicorn. The album's release is scheduled for "soon", so be on the lookout for that one. Here is a montage preview of tracks from the new album that has my ears tickled with delight.

Clues- "Rad Boo Horror & the Glory preview" [Removed]

Stereogum recently featured a tribute to R.E.M.'s "Automatic For The People" featuring covers of each track. Entitled "Drive XV: A Tribute To Automatic For The People", it features covers by Figurines, The Veils, Rogue Wave, Meat Puppets, and many more. I'll share with you the Shout Out Louds' cover of "Man On The Moon". It's delicious, with a nice conga thing going on. The entire tribute is available for free over at Stereogum.

Shout Out Louds- "Man On The Moon" [Removed]

I apologize yet again for another Thursday post on Friday, but I was distracted by It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and late night swims. Hope you enjoy the tracks.


Labels: , , , , , ,

The Fall of Troy before the Fall of Troy

Hardcore-experimental rock band The Fall of Troy from Mukilteo, WA have tantalized my ears with their music for well over five years now. Lead vocalist and guitarist Thomas Erak keeps me amazed by providing not only the rhythm guitar but also lead/harmonic guitar as well. Described as having a At The Drive-In and Blood Brothers sound, Erak's harmonics and effects, with bassist Tim Ward's thumping backing combined with drummer Andrew Forsman's light up drums (Yes! They really do light up when he plays them!) make this band a must listen to if you're into the prog-rock-hardcore type. The band has released three albums and with each album comes more complex and mature guitar work. Little do most TFOT fans know that Erak, Ward, and Forsman were both in a band before the Fall of Troy called The Thirty Years War. Both names were chosen the same way; by opening a school book opening to a random page and blindly pointing to their destined name. During the Thirty Years War era the three were accompanied by a forth member Mike Munro. Before becoming the Fall of Troy and losing Mike Munro to his day job the band released three EPs "Martyrs Among the Casualties" and "Live at the Paradox". Although the band did not receive much (if any) commercial success they did put out some great songs and some great previews for of what was yet to come.

The Fall of Troy's debut self-titled album was released in 2003 with a re-issue released by the band in 2006. The album featured complex riffs, hidden-meaning lyrics and mysterious ambiance effects. The Thirty Years War to TFOT jump can be witnessed in these two songs. You may notice the more mature and accurateness in The Fall of Troy version, whereas in the 30 Years War version you may notice a more dirty underground feel. You decide.

The Fall of Troy - "Reassurance Rests in the Sea" (2003)
[Removed]

The 30 Years War - "Reassurance Rest in the Sea" (2002)
[Removed]

Cheers,
Pipe.


Find more music by this artist at The Hype Machine and/or Elbo.ws

Labels: ,


      • Subscribe




© 2007 The Milk Lounge