I gotta be honest... this is only getting a full post because of that picture. How awesome is that?!? As you could probably tell from the title "The Grizzly Man" and that stellar artwork, Kidz have sampled "Two Weeks" and thrown some flighty lyrics over a sped-up version of the original. It's entertaining enough, but I mean... come on! Look at that artwork!! Kidz in the Hall - "The Grizzly Man"
Would you have expected anything less awesome from Grizzly Bear?!? Just to remind you how great their music videos have been this year, we offer the following:
Look up "Veckatimest" on Wikipedia and you'll find an entry for this album. You'll also find an entry for "Veckatimest Island," the smallest, uninhabited island of the Elizabeth Islands near Cape Cod, MA. I don't know what inspired Grizzly Bear to title their third LP after this, but you can be positive of one thing: the island is not a metaphor for the album. In Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear have orchestrated a beautiful, nuanced (at times, almost painfully so), and sonically populated album that not only improves on their sensational Yellow House, but challenges the concepts of "immediacy" and "sprawl" by creating an album that truly encompasses both without being defined by either. Don't believe the hype, because it's entirely possible that this album might be even better.
So much has been made of early singles "Two Weeks," "Cheerleader," and "While You Wait For The Others," the latter of which could very easily be the best song released this year. Both "Two Weeks" and "While You Wait..." capitalize on a theme of minor verses that segue into expansive, echoing major choruses that find the whole band embracing the chorus-in-an-empty-church sound so prevalent on Yellow House, but with an added fullness that feels like the sonic equivalent of moving from black & white TV to color (or maybe more aptly, from regular TV to HDTV). The album provides a natural ebb-and-flow, and while many people may find the temporal downshifts towards the middle encumbering, the contrast helps display the variegated sonic palate of the band, and by the time we arrive at "Foreground," the steady repetition of keys, string accompaniments, and upper-register vocals sound like the coda to an album-length song with different movements. Although each track is capable of standing apart, they're significantly more powerful as a sum of parts.
Opposition is key. People who aren't competitive have never truly reached the height of their potential. Just ask Magic and Bird. Sampras and Agassi. Palmer and Nicklaus. Truly transcendent talents thrive and flourish with a worthy competitor. They painstakingly work on and develop their talents, gradually ascending to the highest levels, seemingly improving when it doesn't seem like improvement is possible (or necessary). And so here we are... Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest receives its proper release. Almost three months after being leaked and six months after the release of Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, we can now truly ring the bell on what will no doubt be a heavyweight fight between the two for the title of "Album of the Year". Did Grizzly Bear craft their album as a response or challenge to Animal Collective? Absolutely not. But regardless of how well Veckatimest stands on its own (and we're talking about British Guard-level standing), it will always be compared to MPP. And (in 2009), Grizzly Bear will always be compared to Animal Collective. Maybe that's a good thing... maybe it's bad. Or maybe we should just be thankful that two incredible albums were released in the same year.
Background... "Black Cab Sessions" take place in (obviously) a black cab traveling the streets of London (top form!). They host a variety of musicians, some you've heard of, many you haven't. The performances are (as you can imagine) very stripped down due to the inability of cabs to accommodate amps, drum kits, etc. Our recommendation? Check out Grizzly Bear's performance of the amazing "All We Ask," then have some fun going through the other chapters. Man, the Brits are great!
You thought we were kidding about Grizzly Bear Day?!? Not even in the least. The gang stopped by WNYC (can you guess which city that's in?) to play/record four Veckatimest tracks: "Foreground," "Two Weeks," "While You Wait For The Others," and "All We Ask." Without question, these are four of the strongest songs on the album, and the recording provides a nice, mostly-acoustic rendition of each of them. If you watched the video below, hopefully this picture to the left convinces you that the guys don't always look like possessed dolls exploding in church. Sometimes, they just look like super-trendy indie-rockers... actually, are we sure which one is worse?
Patrick Daughters is apparently a big deal... he's directed videos for Feist, The Shins, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He's also responsible for creating one of the creepiest videos I've seen in a long time with Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks." The facial movements of the plasticized band members are slowed down and emphasized as light begins to emit and burst forth from their heads as the song climaxes. They're at church, so maybe it's the word of God, or maybe their chamber-like harmonies are angelic (although I'm not sure that would make their heads explode)... or maybe it's just an interesting visual concept. In any case, prepare to be creeped out.
If you read this blog, or basically any other music blog on the planet, than you're well aware that today marks the much-anticipated release of Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest. In honor of the big day, we'll be posting (almost) exclusively about Grizzly Bear. We'll try to get around to writing a review, but chances are it'll be much less professional and much more fan-boyish than what you can find here or here or here or here... well, you get the picture. All we'll say for now is that for an album that leaked in March, Veckatimest has maintained relevancy and buzz. Even better, it comes as close as humanly possible to living up to the hype... not a small feat.
If you weren't aware, Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective are locked in a blogosphere battle for the ages. Not with each other, of course... but every talking head (er, typing hand?) has an opinion on which album is better: Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion (released in January amid massive hype) or Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest (set to be released May 26th... also amid massive hype). Naturally, we have an opinion as well, but we're reserving it until Veckatimest actually drops. In the meantime, both bands have been on the cathode-ray tubular device in the past week playing some of the highlights of their albums: Grizzly Bear on "Live with Jools Holland" and Animal Collective (complete with interpretive dancers) on Letterman. Take a listen!
... Oh yeah, and there was something about loving mothers? Or making love to mothers? Or mothers' love?...
Animal Collective: "Summertime Clothes"
Grizzly Bear: "Two Weeks"
Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg: "Motherloving"
Sunday 5/3/09 | The Earl | $8 (advance)/$10 (door) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Enjoy seeing the "next big thing" according to basically every blog, all for the low, low price of $8! Plus, you can get a burger at The Earl before the show. How could this possibly be a bad idea??
Saturday 5/16/09 | The Drunken Unicorn | $8 (advance)/$10 (door) Horse FeathersandJoe Pug At a venue called "The Drunken Unicorn," you don't necessarily expect to hear the soft, bucolic sounds of these two artists. As long as the music from MJQ doesn't bleed over, it should be a very entertaining concert.
Wednesday 5/20/09 | The Earl | $8 The Explorer's Club It's entirely possible that these guys have only ever hear The Beach Boys (and just the sun-tinged, surfer-and-his-girl variety... not the Pet Sounds variety). If you like that sound, you'll love this band, and it should be interesting to see if they can hit their harmonies live.
Wednesday 5/27/09 | The Tabernacle | $25 The National Well, unfortunately, this show got moved from The Variety Playhouse (great venue and staff) to The Tabernacle (good venue, crappy staff, Live Nation online ticket sales). I love The National, but I'm not sure I can drop $25 + my first born in Live Nation "convenience charges" to see them without a new album to hear live.
Friday 5/29/09 | Variety Playhouse | $16 (advance)/$18 (door) Bonnie "Prince" Billy Will Oldham's recent album as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lie Down In The Light, is phenomenal as is his newest album, Beware. He's also apparently great live, but really, I just want to see if he makes fun of Wes Anderson. Video: Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "I Am Goodbye"
Saturday 6/6/09 | The Drunken Unicorn | $12 (advance)/$14 (door) Passion Pit and Harlem Shakes There will be all kinds of sweaty kids rockin' out their awkward dance moves at this show. And I plan to be one of them. Seriously guys, let's go!!
Sunday 6/7/09 | Variety Playhouse | $18 Bon Iver I'm starting to run out of things to say about this band (and lead-man Justin Vernon). So seriously... just go. Go to this concert. Spend $18 and go. Go.
Friday 6/12/09 | The Earl | $8 Here We Go Magic I know almost nothing about this band except that I heard them on XMU radio (when I had my free trial period) and they have a self-titled album that just came out. But that's what concerts are for... checking out new bands!
Saturday 6/13/09 | The Tabernacle | $26 TV On The Radio and Grizzly Bear I will be at this show despite the fact that I should be studying for an exam. You're basically getting to see a full set from TVOTR and Grizzly Bear (and their phenomenal upcoming album Veckatimest) for $13 each. That's unreal! Make sure you buy tickets from the box office to avoid having your wallet taken advantage of by Live Nation.
Sunday 6/14/09 | The Earl | $12 (advance)/$14 (door) St. Vincent Annie Clark's debut as St. Vincent (Marry Me) was eccentric and tight, and her upcoming Actors promises more of the same great songwriting from the Polyphonic Spree alum.
Look up "Veckatimest" on Wikipedia and you'll find an entry for this album. You'll also find an entry for "Veckatimest Island," the smallest, uninhabited island of the Elizabeth Islands near Cape Cod, MA. I don't know what inspired Grizzly Bear to title their third LP after this, but you can be positive of one thing: the island is not a metaphor for the album. In Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear have orchestrated a beautiful, nuanced (at times, almost painfully so), and sonically populated album that not only improves on their sensational Yellow House, but challenges the concepts of "immediacy" and "sprawl" by creating an album that truly encompasses both without being defined by either. Don't believe the hype, because it's entirely possible that this album might be even better.
Background... "Black Cab Sessions" take place in (obviously) a black cab traveling the streets of London (top form!). They host a variety of musicians, some you've heard of, many you haven't. The performances are (as you can imagine) very stripped down due to the inability of cabs to accommodate amps, drum kits, etc. Our recommendation? Check out Grizzly Bear's performance of the amazing "All We Ask," then have some fun going through the other chapters. Man, the Brits are great!
You thought we were kidding about Grizzly Bear Day?!? Not even in the least. The gang stopped by WNYC (can you guess which city that's in?) to play/record four Veckatimest tracks: "Foreground," "Two Weeks," "While You Wait For The Others," and "All We Ask." Without question, these are four of the strongest songs on the album, and the recording provides a nice, mostly-acoustic rendition of each of them. If you watched the video below, hopefully this picture to the left convinces you that the guys don't always look like possessed dolls exploding in church. Sometimes, they just look like super-trendy indie-rockers... actually, are we sure which one is worse?
If you read this blog, or basically any other music blog on the planet, than you're well aware that today marks the much-anticipated release of Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest. In honor of the big day, we'll be posting (almost) exclusively about Grizzly Bear. We'll try to get around to writing a review, but chances are it'll be much less professional and much more fan-boyish than what you can find here or here or here or here... well, you get the picture. All we'll say for now is that for an album that leaked in March, Veckatimest has maintained relevancy and buzz. Even better, it comes as close as humanly possible to living up to the hype... not a small feat.
