"The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). It is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders, and is directed by Gregg Breinberg. Students are assigned to the chorus after an annual auditioning process at the beginning of each school year. PS22 is the largest elementary school in Staten Island which draws students from a wide cross section of ethnic groups and socio-economic levels. The chorus meets twice a week during school hours to practice, and performs throughout the year at school functions, local events, and on special requests. It has been featured on several major national news and music networks after its videos had gained international attention within the popular video-sharing site YouTube. As of January, 2011 the chorus's videos have been watched more than 27,000,000 times." [Wikipedia]

Their first appearance on this site came when they appeared on stage with Crowded House at Wellmont Theater. You might also know them as the children's chorus you hear on Passion Pit's "The Reeling."

Check out some brand new videos below, shot by filmmaker Jonathan Kalafer, of the group during some improv sessions and one of them doing an acoustic version of MGMT's "Kids" (a song they were already famous for covering). A recent one of the chorus covering Freelance Whales and some other ones are down there too...

Continue reading "PS22 going to Academy Awards, covered MGMT (new videos) "

MIA at Brooklyn Bowl (more by Chris Gersbeck)

M.I.A. released ("leaked") a new mixtape at 7pm EST on New Year's Eve. It features b-sides and rarities and is called Vicki Leekx. The nineteen song mix (which is actually a single track) features production from M.I.A., Danja, Munchi, Diplo, Blaqstarr, Switch, Rusko, Sugu Arulpragasam and So Japan.. Download it for the price of an email address.

Vicki Leekx (rhymes with Wiki Leaks) is the follow-up to 2010's / \ / \ / \ Y / \, which was recently awarded 5th "Most Underrated Album" of 2010 in the Pitchfork Readers Poll. MGMT were #1 on that list. MGMT were also #14 on the list of "Most Overrated" artists, and they have a new release this week too. Daytrotter released a live session by them today.

You can probably guess who got #1 on the "Most Overrated" list. Both Pitchfork lists in full and the VICKYLEEKX track list, below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork published a reader poll, underrated artist M.I.A. released a mixtape, MGMT did a Daytrotter"

Tim's complete set of pictures from FFF Fest Saturday are split into two posts: HERE and HERE. A third set, that I took with far inferior skills and camera, but that fills in some blanks and includes stuff like a dude being thrown into a pool filled with thumbtacks, a member of Gwar storming the stage during Municipal Waste's set, and people waiting in line to get Wavves' autograph, continues below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 3) - Jacob Calle, Butcher Bear and Charlie, Gwar vs Municipal Waste & more"

photos by Tim Griffin

The Dwarves

Appreciative crowds turned up at all four [Fun Fun Fun Fest] stages [this past weekend], and the festival's vaunted circus atmosphere was out in force -- with plenty of traffic at the mechanical bull, the Eurobungy, the skate ramps and the arcade games set to free play. After a few weeks with unexpected, last-minute cancellations and other problems, Moody said the organizers were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"All the snafus [like Devo cancelling] happened before the fest. We don't have a record of great luck, you know? Whether it be weather or bands or whatever," said Moody. "So when that kind of thing starts happening you start to wonder, 'Oh (expletive), is this gonna be another year with some weird curveball?' We were just hoping it wasn't a run of bad luck and it wasn't. We got a little bad luck before the festival but all kinds of good luck at the festival."

Even the dust cloud had a silver lining.

"We love the dust this year, because at least it's not raining," Moody said. "We hated the dust when it first happened a few years ago, but after it rained last year we were like 'Bring on the dust!'" [Austin 360]

You saw pictures from Friday night, and the first half of Tim's shots from Saturday (11/6). Here are the rest of that day (with more coming soon). They continue below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 2) - Cap'n Jazz, Dwarves, MGMT, Dirty Projectors, GWAR, Delorean & more"

photos by Alysse Gafkjen

MGMT / My Morning Jacket

"It's more than an average sweat-your-brains-out, suffer-in-the-mud music festival. It's the Voodoo Experience, and it went down at City Park this weekend in New Orleans.

Voodoo Fest, one of the world's largest Halloween parties, housed thousands of attendees who, for three days of musical bliss, watched some of the world's most notorious names -- including Muse, Ozzy Osbourne, MGMT and My Morning Jacket -- and donned costumes ranging from zombies to superheroes, fictional characters to condiments and anything and everything in-between." [The Daily Reveille]

Continue reading "Voodoo Experience 2010 in pics & video - part 1 (MGMT as Scooby Doo, My Morning Jacket, Jonsi, Muse, Metric & more) "

MGMT at All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

"Rockers MGMT have become the latest act to end a gig early because of a missile attack - drummer Will Berman stormed offstage at the band's Manchester, England show on Sunday night, September 26 after he was hit in the torso by a glass of urine.

The group were midway through hit song "The Handshake" towards the end of its set at the Manchester Apollo when the incident happened, prompting angry Berman to stop drumming and walk off. Even his bandmates were unaware of what had happened. They had to ask fans, "Where's Will gone?" The group was forced to end their show without a drummer. They did not return for an encore. -[Aceshowbiz]

videos below...

Continue reading "Nardwuar interviewed Joanna Newsom & MGMT about harps, Carnegie Hall, Glasslands, Wesleyan, Sonic Boom... (video) "

photos by Alexander Stein

"HOLY SHIT O M G I KNOW IM A BIT LATE BUT YO GABBA GABBA & MGMT, OMG, I CAN'T HANDLE THIS. I LOVE LIFE." - Charlotte J

" On a stage lit mostly by an abstract, curling, wave-shaped screen, singer Andrew VanWyngarden of Brooklyn's MGMT stared up at the top balcony of Radio City Music Hall.

He was silent at first, more overwhelmed than scared. Finally, he blurted out, "Nobody's more surprised about us being here than me."

His astonishment seemed shared by the hipsters in the house not used to seeing their band with such a large crowd, many of whom don't know their Greenpoint from their Bushwick." [NY Post]

MGMT friends Amazing Baby opened the show. Francis & the Lights opened the night before.

The costumed characters' appearance (I mean Yo Gabba Gabba) is far from random. MGMT have been on the TV show, and Yo Gabba have FIVE shows of their own coming up at the same NYC venue. Tickets are still on sale.

More pictures from Wednesday night, the setlist from both shows, and Yo Gabba Gabba/MGMT videos, below..

Continue reading "Yo Gabba Gabba joined MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall in NYC (pics, video, setlists) "

I& D photos by Nikki Sneakers, MGMT photos by Lanna Apisukh, words by BBG

Geoff Rickly of Ink & Dagger at This is Hardcore in Philly Sunday

Amazing Baby will open the sold out MGMT show at Radio City Music Hall TONIGHT (8/18), part of a two night stay for MGMT who played the venue last night with Francis & The Lights. Tickets for tonight are still available, if you so desire. Last night's crowd was reportedly very young and included at least one enthusiastic fan who rushed the stage. MGMT must drive people nuts, I know it drives me crazy....

MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall Tuesday night

Tonight's show marks the end of a busy week for Don Devore of Amazing Baby, as he also brought his past/current (?) project Ink & Dagger to Party Expo on 8/12, This is Hardcore on Sunday (8/15), and to The Ox in Philly on 8/13 as well:

Most scenesters with a basic hardcore background know that Sean McCabe was Ink & Dagger and initially looked at the shows with some skepticism, but in the end, the whole thing seemed like a pretty fitting tribute. Despite all the baggage/backstory/justifications that go with explaining why this was ok, it felt pretty right as the band ripped through both seven inches a couple songs off of "Fine Art".

It would have been great to catch all 3 sets, but out of the trio of shows they played this weekend, a warehouse show on Friday the 13th with very little advertising, felt like the best fit to me. While I'm sure the set at TIHC was equally impressive, I was more concerned about the collection of boners, meatheads and doofuses that wouldn't "get" what was going on and put a damper on things. The dust hasn't had a chance to settle on the weekend, but all of the Ink & Dagger comments I've heard in 2010, remind me of the same comments that would follow them back in the late 90s. You either get it, or don't understand it. Whatever. That's the way it was in the beginning and the way it will continue to be. -[deathtens]

Continue reading "Ink & Dagger played Philly (pics & video), Amazing Baby play Radio City tonight w/ MGMT (who played last night too)"

TIME OUT NY: Do you listen to a lot of pop music?
Trey Anastasio (September 2009): I really liked MGMT when that record came out. I like Band of Horses, you know, [Singing] "I could sleep, I could sleeeeeep." That song really got inside me for a while. I was listening to Panda Bear.

Oh yeah, man. He's the best.
I couldn't stop listening to that record for, like, five days. I had it on my headphones...that "Comfy in Nautica"?

Yeah, man. Are you familiar with his band Animal Collective?
I didn't even know who it was! I heard one of the songs, maybe on Pandora or something, and I bought the album and I really liked it. I would be cooking in the kitchen and listening to "Comfy in Nautica." Really weird and layered.

You should check out Animal Collective. They're really creative...big Deadheads.
Really? Wow. I found it kind of to be a little Eno circa 1973. I just like the sensibility of it. That Band of Horses record really lodged itself in my ear for about a week. That "Ode to LRC" and all that. [Singing] "In the logbook of the LRC..." [Laughs]

Wow.
I'm always looking for a new band to fall in love with. I went through an MGMT thing for a while there. You heard that record, right? I love discovering new stuff. Oh, you know who I was listening to for, like, another week? It usually lasts like a week with me. Todd Snider. You ever listen to him? I'd never heard of him till somebody mentioned his name. I got two of his records. Peace Queer? I couldn't stop listening to that one for a while...like Panda Bear. So you've heard of Todd Snider?

Unfortunately, East of The Wall has been forced to cancel their appearance at the Acheron due to a medical emergency, but KEN Mode and Castavet are still on the bill.

El-P's new video for "Time Won't Tell", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

most photos by Josh Darr

Dodos w/ special guest Neko Case / The Antlers

"There were no special effects during Soundgarden's performance on the last night of Lollapalooza -- no lasers, no costume changes, no props or hydraulics. Even the video screens switched over to black and white. But the band didn't need any added visuals: Soundgarden delivered an explosive set of classic '90s songs in front of their biggest audience since their breakup 13 years ago. Chris Cornell underplayed the band's return, suggesting their decade-plus break was more like a few years. "It's good to be back!" said Cornell, who's grown his hair back out to its late-'80s length. "We just took a little break, but now we're back."" [Rolling Stone]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2010 - Day 3 in pics, Soundgarden setlist, videos"

by BBG

Chiddy Bang at Highline Ballroom (more by Nathaniel Shannon)

Chiddy Bang will hit the road in a big way in support of their upcoming LP The Swelly Life, due on Sept 14th. Look for them to hit Highline Ballroom on August 24th with Donnis, XV, and 2AM Club (tickets). The Swelly Life, which features appearances from Pharrell Williams and Q-Tip, is the Philadelphia duo's debut and follow up to their Opposite of Adults EP which featured the MGMT-sampling track of the same name (get it? Opposite of Adults?). The "Opposite of Adults" video is below.

Following a string of US dates, Chiddy Bang will put territories down under on smash alongside an incredible line up of Memory Tapes, Missy Elliot, Holy Ghost, Delorean, Soulwax, Midnight Juggernauts, and many others as part of Parklife, a multi-city dance music festival in Australia. Festival flyer is below.

All Chiddy Bang dates and some videos, including the new one for "Dream Chasin", below...

Continue reading "Chiddy Bang releasing an LP, touring (videos, dates, MGMT) "

Here's Andrew from MGMT jumping on bass during Tame Impala's last song at Coco66 tonight. Congratulations. (amrit singh)

Australia's Tame Impala, who are in town for shows at Pianos and Glasslands, played an invite-only (sort of) show at Coco66 last night (6/23). As you can see above, Andrew from MGMT sat in with band. If you're looking for a connection, the band's just finished a three-week tour together. All current Tame Impala dates below.

Also last night, the Rapture played a semi-secret show at Union Pool, where they debuted a pair of new songs. They play Friday in Philly and Saturday at NYC"s Milk Studios.

In Manhattan, UK singer Estelle, who performs in Miami tonight, stopped by Talib Kweli's show at S.O.B.'s and performed her single "American Boy." Estelle sings on the new Reflection Eternal (Talib and Hi-Tek) track "Midnight Hour". You can listen to that song below.

Some grainy tweet pics of both Estelle and the Rapture are also below. There's also an unrelated video of someone asking MGMT & Tame Impala for directions as an excuse to talk to them on the street before a show posted below...

Continue reading "The Rapture played Union Pool last night, Estelle joined Talib @ SOB's, Andrew MGMT helped out Tame Impala @ Coco66"

Currently on tour with MGMT, Australian band Tame Impala (who got Best New Music today) will play two NYC shows in June. In addition to the previously mentioned gig at Pianos on June 24th (tickets still on sale), you can catch them at Glasslands on June 25th (tickets on sale). All dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Tame Impala on tour w/ MGMT, playing 2 NYC shows (dates)"

Spectrum (aka Peter Kember)

Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965) is a British musician, more usually known as Sonic Boom and was a founding member of Spacemen 3. Kember and Jason Pierce (born on the same day in Rugby, Warwickshire) formed Spacemen 3 in 1985. Sonic Boom's first solo album, Spectrum (the same name he eventually gave his new band), was recorded in 1989 while Spacemen 3.... In 2010, Peter Kember produced MGMT's second album, titled 'Congratulations'. Congratulations is musically adventurous, featuring nine psychedelic, space-inspired tracks that were no doubt, influenced by Kember... [Wikipedia]

"MGMT keyboardist Ben Goldwasser and frontman Andrew VanWyngarden joined the group onstage at the start of its encore for the Silver Apples' "A Pox on You." The musicians later returned for a jam leading out of Spacemen 3's "Suicide" that featured Goldwasser on synthesizer and VanWyngarden on auxiliary percussion. The musicians then both switched to effects pedals and other digital toys for the improvisational number that closed the night. The jam segments spiraled on for almost 20-minutes."

That said, it's not the first time Sonic Boom and members of MGMT played live in public together. An older example is in the videos below...

Continue reading "MGMT played with Spectrum @ Knitting Factory "

The Luyas @ MHOW in April (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

tonight in NYC
* High Violet Annex (see below)
* Effi Briest @ Union Pool
* Blank Dogs @ Home Sweet Home
* Iggy Pop @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Clare & The Reasons @ Joe's Pub
* Elliot Brood, Jonny Corndawg @ Pianos
* TBA, Only Son, Ching Chong Song @ Cake Shop (see below)
* Heavenly Beat, Attics, Red Romans @ Bruar Falls
* Dick Heaven, James Pobiega, Jeff Halen @ Zebulon
* Cold Heat, Rahzel Sadat, X Craig G, Torae, Poison Pen @ SOB's
* Massive Attack, Neon Indian, Martina Topley Bird @ Terminal 5
* Two Door Cinema Club, Bad Veins, MillionYoung @ Bowery Ballroom
* Hot Hot Heat, The Stationary Set, Paige Whitcher @ Public Assembly
* Leatherface, Ninja Gun, Two Man Advantage, Iron Chic @ Knitting Factory
* Steve Moore, itsnotyouitsme (Joshua Light Show Fest) @ Abrons Art Center
* Venom P. Stinger, Fresh Kills, Violent Bullshit, Golden Error @ Shea Stadium
* Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now!, Murder Mystery, Blackbells, Phil and the Osophers @ Mercury Lounge

Joshua Light Show's four-night fest at Abrons Art Center kicks off tonight, and has Silver Apples, Oneida, Dean & Britta and more coming up.

Tonight at the National's High Violent Annex

LIVE sets by:
6:05 - INLETS
6:25 - ZACHARY CALE
6:45 - HELADO NEGRO
7:05 - JULIANNA BARWICK
7:25 - THE LUYAS
7:45 - TALK NORMAL
8:05 - ARLT
8:25 - MARTHA WAINWRIGHT

Unfortunately Leatherface never made it into the country.

Venom P Stinger back together again, warm up for an ATP UK gig in NYC tonight.

Clare & the Reasons play their own show at Joe's Pub tonight. They tour the US with Van Dyke Parks in September. Tickets are on sale for the NYC show at the Bell House.

Tonight's PiL concert will be streaming from DC at NPR.

Blank Dogs reports that, "This and Pendu NYE&E are our last NYC shows or a while. Ok?" He plays the Wierd Records party at Home Sweet Home tonight.

The new video for Memoryhouse's "Lately (Deuxieme)," which cops a sample from Jon Brion's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack, is posted below (along with a Jay Electronica song that does the same and the original).

Jonsi performed on Craig Ferguson last night. Video below....

MGMT was on Letterman. Videos below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Tickets are on sale for an August 18th MGMT show at Radio City Music Hall. The date was just added right after the August 17th show went on sale.

Tickets go on sale at 9am for the MGMT show at Radio City Music Hall.

UPDATE: Second MGMT show added.

Tickets are on sale at 9am for Ani DiFranco shows at Town Hall in NYC on November 19th & 20th.

Tickets are now (or will soon be) on presale for MGMT shows including the one at Radio City Music Hall. Tickets go on general sale for the Radio City show on Friday at 9am.

"Playing Fordham's Spring Weekend w/ @birbigs and so far what I've learned about the youths of today is they still love flip flops and cargs." - Max Silvestri

'Only mgmt singing my fav-song-of-the-moment, Congratulations. Nbd.' -mickiemyheart

MGMT went from Fordham on Saturday (5/1) (where Max Silvestri and Mike Birbiglia also performed), pictured above, to the Bamboozle in Jersey on Sunday...

[After Girl Talk was] MGMT, the glam-prog outfit whose new album Congratulations is being met with confusion from some corners. It's certainly not as immediate a listen as the group's keyboard-spangled Oracular Spectacular, but it is a somewhat bewitchingly strange pop album. At one point a man canvassed the crowd handing out 3-D glasses, which seemed appropriate both for the red-and-blue beams surrounding the band and for the pillowy, proggy songs they rocked from the new record. MGMT brought back the doubters by closing their set with the sugar-coated "Kids," and as fans' camera phones were held aloft, they lobbed a question at the next headliner: "Hey, Weezer, are you playing this song, too? It's our song."

As it turned out, the answer was "yes," although it wouldn't be answered until much later in Weezer's set...It was during the first encore (which was introduced by the band replicating the drum and guitar solos that open Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher") that "Kids" was brought out and interpolated with Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," not to mention a blonde wig on Cuomo's head. While the borrowed bits of other songs delighted the crowd, Weezer opted to end the night and the festival with "Buddy Holly," demonstrating they still have plenty of firepower from their own catalog." [Rolling Stone @ Bamboozle]

MGMT will be be on Letterman on May 11th. And they're playing Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday, August 17th. Tickets go on sale Friday at 9am. I wonder how many, if any, show they'll add. Can they beat Vampire Weekend's three? Peter Gabriel plays his second show at the venue tonight (5/3).

The MGMT show comes at the end of the band's summer-long tour of North America (the May/June secion of which will be opened by Tame Impala). They also have European dates from September to December mapped out. All tour dates and videos are below...

Continue reading "MGMT played Fordham & Bamboozle, playing Radio City "

MGMT @ Coachella (sta.helena)

MGMT, who recently performed at Coachella, are playing Fordham's Spring Weekend concert this Saturday, May 1st (12:30pm; 441 East Fordham Rd, Bronx) along with Average Girl and Penrose. The show is closed to non-students, but you can have a friend there (or a Craigslist creep) sign you in as a guest.

The band plays Bamboozle, which runs Saturday and Sunday in NJ. And they'll be on Letterman on May 11th, where they'll do a webcast-only set to be broadcast online earlier that night.

MGMT were on Saturday Night Live on April 24th. Videos from that and their full tour dates are below...

Continue reading "MGMT playing Fordham before Bamboozle and other dates ++ SNL videos "

Morning Benders @ Emo's in Austin (more by Tim Griffin)

tonight in NYC
* Real Estate @ PS1
* Narrows @ Cake Shop
* Earth Day @ Grand Central
* Mike Doughty @ (le) Poisson Rouge
* Kings Go Forth @ Southpaw
* Jason Collett, Zeus, Bahamas @ Union Hall
* Karl Denson's Tiny Universe @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Frances, Rafter, Necking (late) @ Glasslands
* Shark?, This Is Versailles (BBQ) @ Party Expo
* Camila Meza, Meta and the Cornerstones @ Zebulon
* Dam-Funk on a Rocks Off Concert Cruise
* International Noise Conference 0'10 @ Silent Barn
* Titus Andronicus, Harlem, Spider Bags @ Maxwell's
* Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Dough Rollers @ The Bell House
* Adam Green, Savoir Adore, The Dead Trees @ Bowery Ballroom
* Weird Owl, Imaginary Weapons, Von Haze (early) @ Glasslands
* Of Montreal, Wiz Khalifa, Ghostface Killah @ Columbia University
* Envy On The Coast, The Fall of Troy, Twin Atlantic @ Irving Plaza
* Gordon Voidwell, Boy Crisis, Das Racist, Iron Solomon @ 92YTribeca
* Tobacco, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Blast Off! @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* The Morning Benders, Holiday Shores, The Luyas @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* HEALTH, Cold Cave, North Highlands, Oberhofer, Andrew W.K. (DJ) @ Solar One
* Holiday Shores, Micachu & the Shapes, Beach Fossils, Moonmen on the Moon Man @ Bruar Falls
* Screaming Females, The Measure, Barrakuda McMurder, Byrds of Paradise, Modern Hut @ Mercury Lounge
* Tahiti Boy and The Palmtree Family, Single Parents, Other Crimes, Drunk Tigers, Blues in Space @ Pianos

This Week in Indie

Short Wave Warfare

Bruar Falls' one year anniversary is tonight.

BrooklynVegan presents Morning Benders, Holiday Shores & The Luyas at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

BrooklynVegan presents Narrows, I Hate Our Freedom and Psychic Limb at Cake Shop.

Silversun Pickups/Against Me! Williamsburg Waterfront tickets are on sale at noon.

MGMT is on Saturday Night Live tonight.

There's a tribute to Alex Chilton at the Living Room on Sunday night.

Devo performed on Jimmy Fallon this past week. Videos below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

"Wow. The Sahara is past capacity at Coachella for Die Antwoord. No midget. Waiting for the trainwreck but people dig it." - The Scenestar

"Seeing a shirtless Danny DeVito run across the stage while Faith No More played pretty much made my #coachella weekend." - stovn

Die Antwoord, Faith No More

Flopping phalluses are in this year according to Major Lazer and Die Antwoord. Each presented the intersection of beats, party-hyping, gross humor, and dancing in your underwear. Day 2 of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival had an overall far-out theme. Some with sexually explicit lunacy, others with psychedelic music. South Africa's Die Antwoord introduced zef-rap to the festival, South Africa's version of white trash hip hop-a bold, fearless expression of crazy stick a finger up your bum entertainment.

Before arriving at these culminating moments, the day progressed through a series of psychedelic and/or raunchy expressions. John Waters kicked things off with thoughts on crawling through pig poo, taking poppers, the pleasures of sploshing, and strange things he wants to do before he dies. Gossip's Beth Ditto hoped he was watching her blazing disco soul performance but was afraid to look backstage and see him smiling and waving at her. Gossip put on a set that inspired revelations on reality in the most self-empowering ways.

John Waters & Beth Ditto @ Coachella (this pics via Jermey Scott)

The day's best covers include Faith No More doing "Reunited" (they also covered Michael Jackson's "Ben"), Portugal, The Man's jamming Bowie's "Moonlight Daydream," and Girls' flawless "All I Have To Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers. The last was a most appropriate choice for the band with an Ariel Pink sensibility towards '50s ballads. MGMT brought the futuristic 1960s with songs from its new album. Many pointed out that the band didn't play "Kids", but that seems to miss the point that MGMT put on a pretty sophisticated, experimental live performance of the band's signature Indian headdress on Phil Spector Fraggle Rock sound.

The Raveonettes played as a duo and sans drum machine, adorably sharing a mic sometimes. The rest of the band remains trapped under lava in Iceland, figuratively speaking. Camera Obscura also shouted out bands stuck in the UK, dedicating "Let's Get Out Of This Country" to those who could not make it.

It seems almost every DJ this weekend has sampled Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor" except Flying Lotus, who took the stage all on his own (no Thom Yorke cameo included). After warming up the crowd with some first grade experimental hip hop, FlyLo brought out the big guns, sounds combined in layers and pitches that act like quaaludes on the light speed continuum. The Dirty Projectors girls evoked cool electronic birds and the Dezurik Sisters with their harmonizing powers. Beach House cooed the audience romantically as 50% of the band, Alex Scally, rubbed his slide up and down the frets.

Did that sound sexy? It's time to talk about sexy. The xx provided the mellow arousal Blonde Redhead and Portishead have given Coachella the last two years. People like The xx because they want sex that fits this soundtrack. They also want sex as excitingly goofy gross as Die Antwoord and to fall in love with a gal like Sia, all at the same time. Sia's beautiful voice closed the night in the Gobi tent, and though her accent rendered her side comments completely incomprehensible, everyone laughed and agreed with anything she said. On the other hand, as great and sexy as the Dead Weather sounded, I don't know if I want to bed someone who demands I treat her like my mother. Old Crow Medicine Show suggested letting a woman rule your mind leads to troubles during "Minglewood Blues." Instead, let her win your heart with country-fried dinner.

Faith No More's twelve-song set included a cameo by a semi-streaker who happened to be Coachella regular Danny Devito. You can see that happen in one of the videos below. Faith No More's whole setlist is down there too.

Porcupine Tree, Tokyo Police Club, Hot Chip, The Almighty Defenders, Les Claypool, Devo, and Muse were also on the bill Saturday. Our review, pictures and videos from Friday are HERE. Saturday continues below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Two in pics, video & review (Die Antwoord shots & Faith No More's setlist included)"

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

The Megaphonic Thrift @ by:Larm 2010 (more)

tonight in NYC
* Louis CK @ Caroline's
* ACME @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Kronos Quartet @ Zankel Hall
* Al Green @ the Wellmont Theatre
* John Zorn Improv Night @ The Stone
* Stupid Party, Gourmet Scum @ Don Pedro
* WFMU's Hoof & Mouth Sinfonia @ Maxwell's
* Todd, Sewerkraut, Drunkdriver @ (late) Cake Shop
* Marina and The Diamonds, Samuel @ The Bell House
* Lord Jeff, Truman Peyote, Julie Bryne @ Silent Barn
* Talib Kweli (DJ), DJ Jujitsu, DJ Eque @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Rufus Wainwright: Blackoutsabbath @ Park Avenue Armory
* Red Hook Ramblers, The Hot Johnsons @ Knitting Factory
* Standard Fare, Little Big, Jack Skuller @ Death By Audio
* Darren Hanlon, A Classic Education, Electricians @ Bruar Falls
* David Daniell & Douglas Mccombs Duo, Alan Licht & Loren Connors @ Union Pool
* Carolina Chocolate Drops, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens @ Bowery Ballroom
* Casiokids, The Good The Bad, Spleen United, The Megaphonic Thrift @ Littlefield (starts 1pm)
* Sissy Spacek, Gerritt Witmer and Paul Knowles, Sean Meehan, Dim Diamond @ (early) Cake Shop
* Field Mouse, Hailey Wojcik & Her Imaginary Friends, Gregory & The Hawk, Julie Peel @ Glasslands

pre-SXSW Scandanavian week continues at Littlefield this AFTERNOON (which is even earlier-feeling than normal thanks to us losing an hour last night. Did you set back your clocks yet?).

Oh, also MGMT is apparently playing Mercury Lounge tonight (as The Smirking Worm).

"The most-talked about aspect of Lady Gaga's Beyonce co-starring, Jonas Akerlund-directed music video for "Telephone," which premiered Thursday night, was not the singer's flagrant partial nudity, girl-on-girl kissing or mass-murder sequence in a diner featuring Tyrese Gibson. It was the product placement. At least nine different brands make appearances in the nine-minute music video, from Gaga's own Heartbeats headphones to a "Beats Limited Edition" laptop, from HP Envy to "telephone" partner Virgin Mobile, and from Miracle Whip and Wonder Bread to Diet Coke. [Ad Age]"

The Lonely Island is Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone. Last night on SNL they debuted the video for "Boombox" featuring Julian Casablancas. Watch it below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"