New Arcade Fire!

I am SO excited by this news. Apparently, on June 1 (11 days from today) there will be new Arcade Fire music available. We all knew the new tunes were on their way, since the band's slated to be at Lollapalooza this year, we just weren't certain when. Well, now details are emerging that look like we'll be able to hear the first new track June 1, and up to 38 more by July! According to Consequence of Sound, 38 tracks were mixed, meaning we may very well hear enough new Arcade Fire music soon to make up for the 2+ years gap since Neon Bible.

FABulous news. :)

Recommended Song of the Day

Portland, OR

11/7/09: Learn to Lose, by Hockey

Listen to it HERE

I've enjoyed these guys for a while now, and was heartbroken when their sound went out at Lolla this year. If you like this song, click their pic to check out more.

Enjoy!

Tracy :)

Recommended Song and Lollapalooza Day 3 Recap

England, UK

8/9/09: You Want History, by Kaiser Chiefs

Listen to it HERE

I'm a really big fan of Kaiser Chiefs' album Employment, and the only reason I haven't featured a song from it yet is because I can't decide on which song. Well, after seeing Kaiser Chiefs at Lollapalooza, I knew I had to feature them. Their live show was surprisingly fantastic. Their newest album, Off With Their Heads, has been on my list of records I intend to check out since before it was released. I haven't gotten to it just yet, but I have heard several tracks off the album via Pandora or Napster, and today's song caught my attention a while ago.

**Side note - I very honestly, 100% seriously, have no idea what's on the radio right now. I know Lady Gaga, and that's it. I mention this because I have no idea if a recommended song was completely overplayed at some point and everyone's mother knows it, or if it's some random track off an unknown album. I could google it, but I kind of like the objective opinion that not knowing the song's success allows me to have.


Lollapalooza Day 3

I got to the grounds on time to hear most of Sam Roberts Band's (Montreal, Canada) set, but like Day 2 I heard my first band from the side putting on sunscreen in the shade. I liked it, but headed straight to Friendly Fires (St. Albans, UK) after sunscreen to get a good spot. Probably the #4 band on my list of "bands to see at Lolla 09," I previously saw Friendly Fires with White Lies at Double Door this spring. I liked that show and I love their self-titled album, so I was really excited to start Sunday with some dancing at their stage.

Well, dance I did. And so did lead singer Ed Macfarlane, despite the high 90s temperatures during their 12:30 set. I thought he was going to die. Thankfully, he didn't, and the show was one of my top Lolla shows fo sho. Here's a clip:

At this point in my Lollapalooza experience, I have survived nearly freezing to death during Fleet Foxes and nearly being rocked to death in the front rows of Tool. I admit I got lazy on day 3 and easily started settling for "hearing" a band from a distance versus "experiencing" their live show. I half-assed it for such fine artists as Portugal. The Man (Wasilla, AK), Gang Gang Dance (NY, NY), Cold War Kids (Long Beach, CA), Snoop Dogg (Long Beach, CA), and Band of Horses (the Carolinas). I feel OK about "missing" all these shows, because the three shows I DID see were awesome!

(PS Band of Horses, I don't care if the "legend" Lou Reed (Brooklyn, NY) played late into your set all but 3 minutes (much less only 10!), you do not play a second over Jane's Addiction's set! (much less 3 songs!) Booooo. I'm mad at you.)

So the first show I went to after Friendly Fires was Kaiser Chiefs. As I mentioned before, it was awesome. I was very much surprised to see their front man in action. He did a really good job of getting a crowd the size of Lollapalooza's involved. And, they were fun musicians to see live!

(The lead singer is singing in the crowd. And I totally thought that chick in the pink shirt was a fan that got on stage that no one was going after. I then realized she was signing the show...)

Immediately following Kaiser Chiefs I headed to the Citi stage to get good spots for Passion Pit (Cambridge, MA). I got as close to the front as I could and it was PACKED. I had high expectations for their show, as I saw them in January at Schubas in Chicago and it was BEYOND FABULOUS. As soon as they stated playing, everyone went crazy and people were falling over and crowd surfing. I nearly died trying to dance at Passion Pit! So, I moved towards the rear of the crowd and danced with other non-crazies. Nonetheless, Passion Pit was amazing. I love their music, but I REALLY love how much everyone in the crowd dances. I taped a quick 360 view during their set, which you can see below.

Also, I didn't get a good clip of the craziness at Passion Pit, but this person did. I'm for serious people; paramedics were shoving their way through the crowd at one point. Check it out:

Last stand-out act of the night was Jane's Addiction (LA,CA). I can honestly say that I don't think I know a single one of their songs. I have no idea how so many artists can completely slip by me, but Jane's Addiction was one of them. And even so, I thought their live show was FABulous! I suspected I might like it because Perry Ferrall is kind of my hero, with the whole "creating Lollapalooza" thing. And because I love Semi Precious Weapons, who one of my friends used to describe Jane's asthetic. Well, after seeing the show I can say I loved it! Perry's still my hero, and I even liked their music. :) I was able to use my last bit of memory to film the opening few moments of their show.

Here are some random moments of Lollapalooza Day 3:

I would LOVED to have seen Neko Case (Virginia/Canada?), Dan Auerbach (Akron, OH), Cage the Elephant (Bowling Green, KY), and Deerhunter (Atlanta, GA) as well, but that's what makes Lollapalooza bittersweet.

SO- that's my Lollapalooza 2009 recap. I already CAN'T WAIT for 2010. :D

Tracy :)

To hear the artists that played Lollapalooza day 3 that were featured on MY blog, click the links:

Friendly Fires
Ra Ra Riot
Portugal. The Man
Neko Case
Dan Auerbach
Vampire Weekend
Passion Pit

Recommended Song and Lollapalooza Day 2 Recap

Sweden

8/8/09: Let it Fall, by Lykke Li

Listen to it HERE

I really like her whole album, Youth Novels. I very much encourage you to check it out. I'm serious. Youth NovelsYouth NovelsYouth Novels



Lollapalooza, Day 2

SO happy it didn't rain again! It was warm and beautiful and I LOVED it :) I decided to try the LP33.tv thing one more time, so I started my morning at the press tent. This time, I even roped Chris Balzer into it.

My first stop was Ezra Furman (Chicago, IL). And while the music was certainly good, I spent most of their show in the shade lathering on sunscreen and ordering a cheeseburger for breakfast. Delta Spirit (CA) was the first act on my list of must-sees. They were awesome! I'm officially a fan, and big thanks to @Labatt205 for the inspiration :) Here's a clip of their performance:

From Delta Spirit I went right over to Langhorne Slim. I was SUPER excited to see him, as I love his song "Rebel Side of Heaven." I captured a bit of that song on video, which you can see HERE.

From here Chris and I did our LP33.tv stints, both failing miserably at trying to say "LP33.tv." I headed over to the XRT Relax and Recharge area and Chris visited the ADIDAS shoe van-thing. Again, you'll see it when I run for office...

I headed to Gomez (Southport, UK) next, against my own advice, but on the insistence of others. Again, I don't remember what it was that turned me off to Gomez, but for some reason I regretfully tagged along. (I was OK not going to Chairlift because I have tickets to see them with Micachu & the Shapes soon at Schubas) Thankfully, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed them! I need to add them to my current "Need to Listen to" playlist so I can hear more, and maybe soon you'll see them featured on MPD!

Following Gomez we hiked to Arctic Monkeys (England, UK). I met up with some friends for this, so I didn't really concentrate on their show. I was hoping to pay a bit more attention to them, as I like several of their songs, but oh well.

I caught Santigold (Brooklyn, NY) from the TV on the Radio stage. She was fun! I was impressed, and had no idea she'd been touring for the last two years. Lolla's show was her first show back in the states after her tour overseas, and the last show of her U.S. and overseas tour - so a big night for her!

TV on the radio (Brooklyn, NY) was a HUGE surprise. Sure, I liked them. Sure, I featured them. But goodness people, these guys are FABulous! A whole new level of respect and admiration for TVOTR. I left their show a few songs into it though, to try and get a good spot at Animal Collective (Baltimore, MD) (one of my top 3 shows to see). I failed horribly at this mission. It's sad and embarrassing.

I stood for an hour at the wrong stage. Yep, completely wrong stage. In retrosect, all our questioning of "what's taking so long?" and "why are those people next to us dressed like Jesus and the Devil?" makes more sense once you realize we were up front at Tool's stage! UGH! Uuuuuuugh. I suck at life. :(

Anyway, I caught 1.4 songs of Animal Collective's set, and all 1.4 songs were AWESOME. I'm SO sad I missed it, and SO happy we realized we were at the wrong state when we did, or I would have been in for a ruuuuude awakening when the band came out.

After Animal Collective, I did watch 15 minutes of Tool (LA, CA) (from a distance far, far away from the stage) and then closed out the night with Yeah Yeah Yeahs (NYC) at the other end. Truth be told, I don't remember much of their set. I was ready for bed.

The quick replacement of the Beastie Boys with YYY got me to thinking, who would be on my dream Lolla line-up? Some of my line-up actually was there, including Of Montreal, Passion Pit, Animal Collective and Friendly Fires. Others I'd add would include The Faint, Semi Precious Weapons, Bowie, Paul McCartney, Calvin Harris, Arcade Fire, The Blow, Hard-fi, No Doubt, Muse, Hot Chip, Yeasayer, Ha Ha Tonka, Verona Red, Modest Mouse, Paul Simon, Radiohead, Moving Units, and The Black Keys. OOOOOOOrgasmic. :)


Here are some more random pictures from Lollapalooza Day 2:

Next up, Day 3! :)

Tracy :)

To hear artists from Lollapalooza Day 2 that I've featured on MY blog, click the links:

Delta Spirit
Los Campesinos!
Santigold
TV on the Radio
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Joe Pug
Chairlift

Recommended Song AND Lollapalooza Day 1 Recap

Brooklyn,NY

8/7/09: Colors, by April Smith

Listen to it HERE

So, I was chosen to be an "official fan correspondent" this year at Lollapalooza for LP33.tv (I did it, it was fun, I wasn't great) and I got lost trying to find the media tend Friday morning. I ended up tagging alongside another person searching for the media tent, and they recommended I check out April Smith. I decided I'd look her up online later instead, as I was determined to see Hockey, but when I heard her music walking by I had to stop in. She was fabulous! She has a great voice, and randomly her song lyrics caught my attention ("When it comes to my man, I will fight like a boy.") BIG fan. Click her pic to hear more music.

She also introduced me to the website Kickstarter, which claims to be "a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers..." I LOVE this. Check it out. Some of the many cool projects featured on there include:

• Helping Polyvinyl Records save 10,000 records from destruction
• Helping the first unassisted paraplegic to summit Mt Kilimanjaro
• Funding April Smith's next album

They have a really cool philosophy around payment, click HERE to check it out.

Enjoy!


Lollapalooza, Day 1 :)

Despite the fact that at one point in the day both of my thumbs were numb from being so cold, it was phenomenal. LOVED it, of course. Here's a recap of my day, and feel free to check out my twitter feed, as I also "tweeted my Lolla experience."

I stopped by April Smith (Brooklyn, NY) first, and they busted out an old Samsonite suitcase as an instrument. I really liked her show, hence today's recommendation.

Then I headded to Hockey (Portland, OR). I don't remember what put such a positive impression in my head about them, but I was really excited to see them. When I got there they were riled up with energy, but then suddenly all the music stopped. I'm assuming the rain messed something up, but it took awhile for sound to come back. The band passed the time by throwing cans of beer into the crowd. :) When the sound finally did come back, the band quickly line-checked and jumped right back into another song, only for the sound to go out again before the song was over. It really sucks for them, and for us. But mostly for them.

From Hockey I checked out Manchester Orchestra (Atlanta, GA). I just recommended them, so I was excited to see them live. They sounded really good, but I felt inspired to make the hike from the Budweiser stage on the north side to the 2016 stage on the south side to see Rockford's Hey Champ. Apparently Lupe thinks they're a big deal, and I thought they were pretty cool. Nothing FABulous in my book though. Check out some of Hey Champ on my YouTube channel HERE.

I stopped at Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (Austin, TX) next. They were awesome. Check out this clip I took during their show:

I did pause as I passed The Knux (Hollywood/New Orleans), because they sounded pretty good, but I didn't get to really check them out. I had to run to my "fan correspondent" gig w/LP33.tv. I taped a segment in Q101's Hammock Haven. Let's just say, if I ever become famous or run for office, I'm sure - somehow - that tape will appear. That will be awesome...

I stopped by Amazing Baby (Brooklyn, NY) next, and while I liked what I heard, I didn't fall in love. We left after a few songs and got some food and prepared to make our way over to Bon Iver (Northwestern, WI). I would have certainly enjoyed Bon Iver more had I not been freezing. Really, the cold distracted me during Bon Iver, Ben Folds, (Nashville, TN) and Fleet Foxes (Seattle, WA). I was determined to enjoy Of Montreal (Sunlandia/Athens, GA), which is where I headed after Fleet Foxes, so I grabbed a bottle of wine to warm up with. It helped. :)

OF MONTREAL was, is and forever-shall-be, FABULOUS. I'm in love with Kevin Barnes, and their music. I was SOOOO excited for this moment since the day I saw the line-up. It. Was. Awesome. :)

After Of Montreal I could barely walk... stumbled over to watch a bit of Depeche Mode, but can't say I was able to soak any of it in. We headed out early to catch Lykke Li (Stockholm, Sweden) at Bottom Lounge. Here's a clip from that show:

Here are some random pictures I took throughout the day. It's not creepy, just capturing the environment...


It was a FABulous Day 1 :) I hope you all had an equally rewarding day, if not more! Day 2's recap is up next...

Tracy :)

To visit MY blog postings for the artists that played on Day 1, check out these links:

Of Montreal1
Of Montreal2
Fleet Foxes
Bon Iver
Manchester Orchestra
Andrew Bird
Peter, Bjorn and John
Depeche Mode
White Lies

Recommended Song of the Day

Chicago, IL

8/4/09: Speak Plainly, Diana, by Joe Pug

Listen to it HERE

I like a lot of this CHICAGO ARTIST's music, but this song always catches me right away. Hear more of him HERE and see him live Saturday at Lollapalooza, right after Langhorne Slim!

SO excited.

Tracy :)

Recommended Song of the Day

Wasilla, AK

8/3/09: Work All Day, by Portugal. The Man

Listen to it HERE

They're an early show this Sunday at Lollapalooza, but so worth getting there early/on time. SO excited.

Tracy :)

Recommended Song of the Day

Atlanta, GA

8/2/09: Shake it Out, by Manchester Orchestra

Listen to it HERE

Right after Hockey kicks off Lollapalooza on Friday, I'm heading to Manchester Orchestra. SO excited!

Tracy :)

Recommended Song of the Day

Akron, OH

8/1/09: I Want Some More, by Dan Auerbach

Listen to it HERE

Dan Auerbach (of The Black Keys) makes really good music. Check it out, yo.

On another note, can you believe it's August already?!? wtf. At least that means LOLLA soon!

Tracy :)

Recommended Song of the Day

California

7/31/09: Streetwalker, by Delta Spirit

Listen to it HERE

They'll be at Lollapalooza on Saturday, right between Ezra Furman and Langhorne Slim. CAN'T WAIT for Lolla!

Tracy :)

Lollapalooza 2009

Did you see that the official 2009 map came out today? Time to investigate my route...

Recommended Song of the Day

4/25/09: Wrong, by Depeche Mode

Looking forward to Lolla!

Tracy :)

UK

Great blog post!

Slice Magazine's blog posted a very useful summer music festival guide for 2009. You should definitely check it out!



PS that Coachella playlist I just posted is flippin' sweet. I'm just sayin'...