Old Crow Medicine Show

Don't snub these guys just because you hear a banjo and a twang. Broaden your horizons. Old Crow Medicine Show is an old-time american string band, and the new face of bluegrass and blues, which they are unabashedly showing across the country. Playing pre-war covers alongside original material, these young, southern Dylans have a stash of songs that I'm not ashamed to play loud. Ketch Sechor, lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, went to prep school at Phillips-Exeter, so his southern sound is accented by a northern mood and experience that just seems to hit home for me. Put your feet up on the porch, open a can of beer, and drift into the intelligent but accessible melodies of Old Crow Medicine Show.

I'm Still an Animal

The video and the sound both conjure ideas of a swedish Animal Collective. Miike Snow is not one person, but three people, none of whom is named Miike. The two swedish members of the group (Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg) are the creative force that wrote "Toxic," Britney Spears' grammy-winning hit of 2004 (hey, we all have to make money). Don't judge them for that. They are joined by american singer/songwriter Andrew Wyatt to form Miike Snow. They released their first single, "Animal" in August of 2009, so this stuff is still fresh. They are charting in the UK, and their name recognition in the US is on the rise. Melodic electro and piano chords drive their airy, quietly dramatic anthems and combine with intelligent lyrics to produce something that sounds just right in the sun or in the sleet. A neat trick.

As opposed to the above-mentioned Movits!, I recommend that you get Miike Snow's entire album; there isn't a bad track to be found. I'm partial to Sylvia, Burial, and A Song for No One.

EPIC PIECE OF TRIVIA: The band is infamous in some circles in Sweden due to the ongoing rumor that Christian Karlsson is in fact the true reincarnation of Grigori Rasputin, one of the most evil and hated men in Russian history.

MOVITS!

Hailing from Luleå, Sweden, these three nordic gents are smashing together jazz, swing, and hip-hop, and taking the charts by storm. It's a new kind of music, and my only xenophobic complaint is that it ain't in English. Movits! (pronounced Move-Its) debut album, Äppelknyckarjazz, dropped in November 2008, and is making its mark both on Amazon and on iTunes.

Stephen Colbert brought them on his show just a couple of weeks ago, providing a "Colbert Bump" to their popularity.

Don't doubt their rapping abilities just because they look like they're straight out of The Sound of Music. This stuff is dancetastic.

Their motto?

"They say Hip-Hop was born in the Bronx, but the Bronx was born in Sweden."

Press play and get moving.

I Was Out of Your League...

Mikhaela Yvonne Maricich, AKA The Blow, is a singer/songwriter from (my favorite) Portland, Oregon. Formerly a member of The Microphones, Mikhaela branched off on her own as The Blow, a lo-fi combination of lilting vocals a la Regina Spektor, and sparse electronic beats. "Parentheses," a track The Blow released in 2006, was critically acclaimed, and climbed as high as #66 on Pitchfork's "Best Tracks of the Year." Here it is, along with my current favorite, "True Affection."


"If something in the deli aisle makes you cry, you know I’ll put my arm around you"



"I was out of your league, and you were 20,000 leagues under the sea"

Enter The Vaselines

Subpop Records released this remastering of selections from The Vaselines' discography just a month ago. These unusual indie-boppers come all the way from Glasgow, Scotland, and have been in and out of recording studios since 1986. With a Belle and Sebastian meet Kimya Dawson kind of sound, The Vaselines never fail to surprise audiences with their bizarre, often overtly sexual song lyrics and subjects (The Day I Was a Horse, Rory Rides Me Raw, Sex Sux, and Monsterpussy, to name a few). Their biggest claim to fame is that they are one of Kurt Cobain's most-cited musical influences (Nirvana covered at least 3 Vaselines songs). And that's more than enough of an endorsement to get me to set aside 2 minutes to give them a listen. I hope you do too.

Matt & Kim Do Times Square

Here's the new Matt & Kim video, "Lessons Learned," off of their most recent album, Grand. As usual, this savagely cute duo keeps the budget low and the entertainment high. It looks like they're hitting the mainstream now, because this video was featured all day on MTV. I'll cry if I hear teeny-bopppers screaming at the next Matt & Kim show I attend.

PS: Kim, we were so close! Fuck censorship...

This Week's Random Obsession

Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective.
This album has been the soundtrack to the last 10 days for me, especially through an all-nighter of nicotine, alcohol and headphones Sunday night.
I really hadn't listened to it carefully since I first downloaded it in January, and I feel like a fool for wasting these last two months when I could have been enjoying Animal Collective at their best.
Honestly, This is my favorite of their albums. It shows more talent and listenability than 2005's Feels, and is more adventurous and confident than 2007's (admittedly awesome) Strawberry Jam. This Baltimore-bred band is SOLD OUT at the 9:30 club, and you are gonna have to cough up a good deal of money to get in on this one. Every time they play in the DC/Baltimore area, they sell every ticket in half a day. Be on your toes next time; I know I will be.
As far as things to look forward to with Animal Collective, Panda Bear revealed in an NPR interview that there's a new music video coming out this summer, saying that it would be "some of the most experimental stuff [they've] ever done." The video, directed by Danny Perez, is meant to "create a movie that would have visuals similar to what somebody would see if they closed their eyes while listening to Animal Collective's music"
Just do me a favor and close your eyes when you listen; these songs not just ask for but deserve your full attention.