Harlem Shakes (photo by Elizabeth Weinberg)
This week I don’t have a cute little intro. This week we are diving right into it y’all.
Harlem Shakes released their debut album Technicolor Health only yesterday and the Brooklyn band is rocking my socks off. The top three ways to listen to this album: hanging around the apartment aimlessly picking up clutter and dancing (make sure you close the blinds), when you’re on a cross-country trip and you’re starting to fall into a hypnotic daze and you need a pick-me up (haven’t tried yet but I’m guessing), walking the streets of New York City (sing along to yourself, it’s impossible to look crazy here). There is not a single track on this LP that is not infinitely charming and catchy as hell. Seriously. Lexy Benaim has the type of voice that is comforting and vaguely relatable. By this I mean, it’s not the sort where the vocals are so stunningly out of your range hitting a high C kind of thing that when you chime in you’re atrociously off-key and just don’t bother. You can imagine yourself up on stage and since that is a pretty consistent fantasy of mine, I dig it. It’s all very soothing. Check out their MySpace to listen to some of my personal picks “Niagra Falls” and “Strictly Game.” Unfortunately my favorite song “Sunlight” is not streaming over there so oh well I guess you will have to go out and buy the album. Also, check back in Friday because I am going to their record release party tomorrow night and will let you know how they sound live. I’ll be walking in with pretty high expectations and am 95% sure they will be met. You should also take a peep at guitarist Todd Goldstein’s other projects ARMS and the sea & the gulls if you’re enjoying this bunch. (I love when people have multiple projects. Also, did this name make anyone think of The Squid and the Whale? Anyone?)
Out of all the SXSW tweets (twitters?) I was seeing last week there was one band that received mention over all others: Dirty Projectors. So I thought to myself, “hhhmmm now Linds, where have you heard this name before? You know you have listened to them somewheres along the line…” Oh no worries. Only the excellent “Knotty Pine” track off Dark Was the Night - the compilation so good we can’t stop talking about it. Fun fact No. 1: They colloborated with David Bryne of the Talking Heads for “Knotty Pine.” Fun fact No. 2: I am going to the Dark Was the Night show on May 3rd at Radio City Music Hall. (That is the sound of me freaking out with magical joy.) No worries, I will tell you all about it. Incidentally, I will also being seeing the Dirty Projectors live at said show. Now all the SXSW twitters (tweets?) were raving about Amber Coffman’s vocals and I have to agree that I find her to be the nicest part of this listening experience. (Ed Droste in particular was a major fan.) I did have a bit of a struggle trying to understand why everyone was so crazy about this group AT FIRST. David Longstreth’s voice does grate the eardrums every once in a while as if he is overextending himself. But stick with it. Give it a couple of listens. It really grows on you. The way Coffman provides a balmy extreme to Longstreth’s pitch really hooked me around the third listen or so.
Videos! Last night at the Musuem of Modern Art, Department of Eagles decided to unveil their new video for “No One Does It Like You” co-directed by Marcel Dzama and also Patrick Daughters, the guy who rose to legendary fame because of an iPod commercial. (1,2,3,4 tell me that you love me more…) It’s fantastic and creepy but I’m very glad those ballerina-dancing soldiers are wearing RED hoods because they do look very similar to… well nevermind. The choreography is stellar (obvi) and the ghost swaying back and forth is cracking me up. Heads-up: it gets bloody. I was excited to see this as Daniel Rossen will be a little preoccupied for a while. Also, the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are is out! FINALLY. This movie has been saved from the depths of post-production hell and will shine in all its Spike Jonez glory. (Yes, yes and Dave Eggers too. I’m like the only person in the world who didn’t think that A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius was so staggering. What is the What is definitely worth your time though.) If the trailer is any indication this movie is going to kick all other children’s movies asses. Catherine Keener is in it! I’m saying! Especially if the soundtrack includes more Arcade Fire cranking in the background. (This version of “Wake Up” was a perfect fit.) Thanks to gorilla vs. bear for the heads-up.
That’s all the time we got for today kiddos. Oh wait, one last thing? How does everyone feel about the new Passion Pit single off upcoming album Manners? It’s called “The Reeling” and I am… less enthused than I would like to be. Chunk of Change is such a stand-out EP. This new single sounds less, “This is a mixtape for my girlfriend” and more “a producer got their hands on our stuff.” Which is true but… well. It’s growing on me. It’s just not what I expected. I would love to hear your thoughts. Haven’t heard of Passion Pit yet? Congrats, you just found your favorite new band. Later. (PS. Did I use enough parentheses in this post?!)
