The thirst quenchers outdid themselves this time, calling on rapper David Banner to write and produce an original song for their new “Evolve” commercial series. Banner in turn tapped former BLACKstreet alum Kermit Quinn for lead vocals on the retro-R&B flavored cut.

MP3:

To be honest, Philip Selway never seemed too comfortable in the drummer’s seat. His live technique is close to trance-like it’s so off-putting, with his bright bald head aimed straight into the audience’s eyes while his arms thwack at seemingly memorized kit positions. He hits the parts superbly, does the solos, occasionally brings a fill, but he just never managed to cultivate a presence on par with, well, any other given member of his main-band-which-shall-not-be-named. So where Yorke’s The Eraser and Jonny Greenwood’s soundtracks don’t fall far from the transceiver-craniumed tree, it’s no surprise that the Selway solo outing, Familial, is more able to successfully distance itself from his larger project’s near-mythic narrative.

Read the rest of this entry »

And it’s free. Put together from fan video footage and official audio from Radiohead’s own master recordings, it covers an August 29th, 2009 set in Prague. Watch the whole thing on YouTube.

Everyone and their mother-in-law in the music industry caught a whiff of Los Angeles shoegaze revivalists Autolux when their debut Future Perfect dropped in 2004, its most prominent advocates being alt-rock star Thom Yorke and cool-kid noisemaker Trent Reznor. Both Yorke and Reznor were at the time in musical doldrums, though — Radiohead had just put out the most inaccessible of its tomes in the unfocused Hail to the Thief, and NIN’s grating With Teeth almost single-handedly killed industrial rock where it stood. Now, with both of the big boys back in the saddle of their respective projects, Autolux has finally peeked out of their personal recording studio after a six-year hibernation and offered a second LP, Transit Transit, to the world. Upon hearing it, it’s hard not to wonder how quickly the boot jumps between feet these days.

Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

As 2010 has progressed hip hop has shown a few signs of digging itself out of its six foot hole. There hasn’t been a steady stream of notable releases, but efforts from Nas and Damian Marley, The Roots, Big K.R.I.T., and Reflection Eternal most likely have some of the purists breathing some sort of sigh of relief. Enter under-the-radar emcee from London, Ontario… Shad. While mainstream darling Drake has had the spotlight on Toronto and the Canadian hip hop scene for a bit, Shad delivers less auto-tuned R&B and more 90’s era boom bap. Stumbling upon an artist like Shad should give optimism to any fan of hip hop.

Read the rest of this entry »

Built to Spill members Doug Martsch and Brett Nelson re-imagined seven previous tracks in all the glory that is ’80s synth and drum machines for a new EP dubbed The Electronic Anthology Project.

Check out “Eels (Else)” below and hear two more tracks over on myspace.

The context of a listener’s introduction and research into certain bands can prematurely — sometimes unfairly — paint the music before the play button is even pushed. In the case of the do-it-yourself-damnit indie trio Menomena, however, the background check helps more than it hurts.

Read the rest of this entry »

Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes fame) released a behind-the-scenes documentary covering a recent solo tour opening for Joanna Newsom. Shot by Pecknold’s brother Sean, the 14-minute B&W video is as mesmerizing as you’d expect, especially with some nice camera work.

For folk fans, I haven’t seen something this captivating since Jeff Tweedy’s behind the scenes footage.