I don't know much about Francois & The Atlas Mountains, except that they play charming indie music in french. And that their new video for "City Kiss" reminded me of strange dreams I've been having the past couple of nights. Like driving with my friend Jorge Luis from high school trying to get him to his wedding, only to find out this morning that he got married in real life this week. Weird.
The other thing I know is that the video was directed by Elliot Dear, who has done spectacular work for King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, which we have featured here. This time he steps away from animation, which is what he's known for, but still delivers an awesome narcolepsy-infused search for a hook-up.
Enjoy "City Kiss" by Francois & The Atlas Mountains:
Nico Segal is the trumpet player for Kids These Days and today released a solo project called Illasoul: Shades of Blue. The concept is a mix of jazz and blues trumpet with spoken word and hip hop. The idea probably started with Kerouac's 1959 epic Mexico City Blues, but has received little mainstream attention since then. I've included a recording of Ginsberg discussing Mexico City Blues and playing from a recording of Kerouac reading the poem.
Mexico City Blues 239th Chorus
And how sweet a story it is When you hear Charlie Parker tell it, Either on records or at sessions, Or at official bits in clubs, Shots in the arm for the wallet, Gleefully he Whistled the perfect horn
I don't know what this guys has been through, but every song he puts out seems to just reach into your heart and squeeze tight.
If you haven't seen his earlier videos, you should definitely take a look — they are all beautiful and heartbreaking, and we've been talking about them in the blog for a while (see here). This time, Henson pairs up with Joseph Mann to create a sad story about love lost in the forest.
Listen to it, and cry if you must.
You can find "Small Hands" in Henson's excellent LP release Dear... I think he released his album in England in 2010, but has not released it in the states yet. You can purchase his album through his website www.keatonhenson.com
Ok, back to the normal happenings of the blog after a pretty awesome SXSW week here in the welcoming town of Austin. Thanks to all the people that came to the party. We had a blast.
Little Dragon is a Swedish electronic-pop band. They've collaborated with a bunch of great people in the past, including José Gonzalez, Maximum Balloon, Gorillaz and most recently SBTRKT, where you can hear Yukimi Nagano singing while being possessed by some kind of evil spirit (see our previous post, here). But Little Dragon has been producing their own awesome music for years now... their most recent album Ritual Union was one of my favorites of last year.
They've just released a creepy video for their song "Crystalfilm." Enjoy:
The music, art, and politics blog Hater threw a hip hop/graffiti brunch at yellow jacket social club on Saturday. Killer sets from the whole docket, but the real standout was Dark Time Sunshine, Onry Ozzborn and Zavala. Onry Ozzborn is 1/2 of grayskul, of Rhymesayers fame. Below is a track from their 2010 release, Vessel. It's called run.
For my non-Sx post (at least I think), I've got a gravel-voiced Canadian. Honestly, given the track's title I was expecting a Kanye and Hova diss, but maybe what we've found is the antithesis of their track about Paris. Ira Lee is the Saskatchewanese artist responsible, FB, and is a self-described avant guarde, pop-rap minimalist storyteller. I've got absolutely no idea what that means, but there's no denying the emotionally provocative nature of his wild-west stylings. The track's called Drinking Alone In Paris and in keeping with my theme involves a piano, mental instability, and a whisky breakdown.
We're so excited about Last Choice's Get Nasty party on Tuesday, March 13th starting at 6:30PM at Nasty's (606 Maiden Lane). Don't forget to RSVP by friending us on Facebook www.facebook.com/SoLastChoice. If you hate Facebook, RSVP by sending an email to last@so-choice.com.
I've put together a little Grooveshark playlist so you can preview the awesome artists we are going to have at the party. Go ahead, practice your dance moves in front of the mirror. You'll need them.
And we wouldn't want to leave out the ever-dashing Okie Weiss. Here is a video to get those toes a'tappin'.
See you Tuesday! Free beers while they last, and don't forget to bring a light-colored t-shirt.
In my frenzy to listen to bands for SXSW, I lingered a while over Sun Hotel. They are playing KVRXplosion, and I'm really excited to see them at Spiderhouse next Wednesday.
Sun Hotel is based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. They've got a nice fuzzy pop Americana feel, and while I don't think their work is perfect, I definitely think they are headed somewhere.
This is a video of "Got Along" from their Gifts EP. Below is the story of filming, because I won't be able to do it justice in the retelling.
"This video was recorded the morning after Sun Hotel, Caddywhompus, Black James Franco, and Psychedelic Tractor played at Trevor Smith's house for New Year's Eve. This was filmed in one shot, first take, by Harrison Smith. Chris Rehm set up 5 iPods around the yard and edited the audio and video. Talib Abdullahi drove the truck that Harrison was sitting in for filming. The car was pushed by Sean Hart, Chris Rehm, and Trevor Smith. This song "Got Along" originally appeared in Sun Hotel's EP "Gifts", released October 2011 on Chinquapin Records. Big thanks to Trevor and all our Austin homies that helped/came out. The band sat around the fire pit which, during the previous night, someone threw a couch on top of, necessitating the Fire Department to come out and mayhem to ensue."
Gabriel García Marquez once compared Caracas to human beings of great stock, who can't be loved except by those that are capable of bearing them. And that's what you have to do when you live in Caracas, you have to bear it. You have to bear trash, bear traffic, bear smog, bear political intolerance on every side, bear injustice and poverty, bear inequality, bear a wave of violence that has not been seen anywhere not torn by war.
But it's not a fluke that people love Caracas... because under that rotten veneer lies a beautiful, fun, interesting, complex, living city. A mix of concrete, trees, flesh and blood that mesmerizes and fascinates anyone capable of looking deeper. There's nothing like looking at El Ávila in a cool December morning, or going to watch a baseball game at the packed Estadio Universitario, or going to buy Arepas at 5.30am after a long night of rum and whiskey, or making out with a beautiful girl in Plaza Altamira.
Some of you might have seen the video for the song "Rotten Town," by OneChot, a reggae artist that was recently shot in the head when trying to avoid getting robbed, victim to the same violence he denounced time and time again through his art. If you haven't, please see it here, it's a great song and a great video.
But there's a new anthem for the city. 12" Ninjazz, a hip hop collective from Venezuela has just released their video for the aptly titled song "Caracas." They capture exactly what I was talking about. There's nothing more to say except that it is BEAUTIFUL, I love it, and I'm proud of them for the work they do.
You learn to love Caracas in-spite of its contradictions, or maybe even because of them. Because, let's face it: danger and chaos are some of the most beautiful things in the world. Ninjazz captures that sentiment perfectly when they sing: "Caracas, city of tradition, treason, irony, paradox, and contradiction."
Enjoy Caracas, seen through the eyes of 12" Ninjazz:
Consider this your official invitation to our annual pre-SxSW party. We did this last year and had a blast. Handed out hand-made t-shirts, listened to good music, danced, made out, got the cops called on us, moved to Wolf's house to continue the dance party, got the cops called on us again, got really, really drunk and had insane amounts of fun.
It. will. be. fun. If you're in Austin and you like the music that we play you will find this party awesome. So come and bring friends, everyone is welcome (if they're over 21... sorry young'uns). You'll be able to come in without RSVPing but there might be a small charge, SO RSVP! it's easy! just go to our facebook page by following this nifty link and like us... we want to be liked! If you already like us then you're already on the list. All you need to do is show up and dance and drink until you're making out with Cuckoo Chaos' lead singer in the ladie's restroom (not a true story). If you hate Facebook, RSVP by e-mail to last@so-choice.com.
Here's what you need to know:
There will be free beer but it will eventually end. Nasty's has pretty cheap beer after that plus their usual bar (which is REALLY REASONABLY PRICED).
Bring an old t-shirt! We will gladly stamp some cool design on it that we still need to figure out.
Bring your dancing shoes. THERE WILL BE DANCING.
Bring your friends. The more the merrier. Get them to RSVP!
RSVP!!! don't waste a few bucks that you can use to tip the bar staff
We love you all and we can't wait to see your beautiful asses shaking on the dancefloor.
