New Keane! (And yes, the only place I could find the video was on Perez.) Here’s the video for their newest song, “Stop for a Minute.” I know Meredith will be dancing a bit across the pond. It’s nothing terribly original from the band, but it’s definitely catchy, and K’naan spices up their sound a bit with a style that reminds me of some old song my grandfather always plays that I just can’t place right now. Also, if you want more songs with the word “minute” in them, this one by K’naan from his Troubadour album has been a favorite driving song of mine for awhile.
Ok so I don’t know if Calvin Harris, hailing from Scotland, has made it big yet in the US of A, but here in the UK he is huge. He is an electronic/dance artist and DJ, and sort of resembles a happier Miike Snow. Every club I’ve gone to so far here has played or made some sort of adaptation of his songs. The one above is called “I’m Not Alone.” Steve Aoki has made an insane remix of this one. I think most people here know his songs, “You Used To Hold Me” and “Flashback,” but I really love the synth lines in this song. WAIT FOR IT. It’s insane.
duuuudess…Foals. They’re back and with a second album to be released in May called Total Life Forever. This music video is of their new song, “Spanish Sahara.” I just love it.
ps. i’m extremely upset that i can’t come to the body language gig :(
Sooooo last thursday evening was the world premiere for Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland in London’s Leicester Square. The crowds were insane, and I couldn’t really see much. Plus, of course, it was raining. In any case, I know there are pictures online that people can see but here are a few of my own!
Also, THIS came up while “stumblingupon” (if that can be a term). I think it’s still a bit glitchy, but cool nonetheless. I guess one would have to memorize all of the buttons to get it to sound good. Who’s up for it?
New Shout Out Louds album released February 23rd! It’s called Work, and the singles “Walls” and “Fall Hard” were released earlier this year. While they kept their signature cute background melodies, this new album has gone a step further. Although their previous album, Our Ill Wills, has distinct tempo changes and a profound message about traveling away from home, Work has allowed the band to come back home with a more simple and upbeat outcome. When I listened through the album, there was hardly a song that I didn’t put on my ipod playlist.
Get “Walls” and “Fall Hard” (Passion Pit Remix) here. (Song above is regular version of “Fall Hard”)
Also, an actual The Morning Benders album will be released on March 9th. I first heard of them when they opened for The Kooks a couple of years ago, but they only had EPs being released then. The Morning Benders’ new album is called Big Echo, and they have certainly grown as a band since I heard them last. The lead singer’s voice is something I have never quite heard before. The only way I can describe this band is if The Shins had a distant cousin…. Anyway, the only single that is available is “Excuses,” and by golly is it great. There are also other songs from their previous album/EP. Download it all here.
enjoy, millbillies
So I went to Wales this past weekend with a few friends for a homestay. We stayed in a city called Swansea, in the southern portion of Wales by the coast. On Saturday we explored the areas of Mumbles and Rhossili. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Wales, but I was pleasantly surprised at its overwhelming beauty. When we arrived in Rhossili, we quickly ran to the edge of the cliffs and literally stared out into the sea for a whole hour. Despite the intense, numbing temperature and wind, my friends continued on to play with the roaming sheep, while I sat down on the cold earth and looked out at the vast space in front of me. As the Welsh idiom goes, “Bu’r taith yn agoriad llygad i’r ferch fach.” [The journey was an eye-opener for the little girl.]
I realize that Will posted this a whileeee ago, but OMGGG i’m flabbergasted, and recently came upon it myself. Vampire Weekend vs. Miike Snow - The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance. There have been a few remixes of this song by Vampire Weekend, such as Chromeo’s, but this is far, far superior. You can download it here.
Also, I went to a club in the west end of London this weekend called T Bar, and 2020 Soundsystem premiered their new album Falling. Check out the songs Closure and Satellite.
cheers.
Alright, so within the first few days of being at school here in London, I purchased Q magazine, which is the UK’s biggest music magazine. While this february 2010 issue focused on Vampire Weekend’s new album, Contra, and John Lennon’s “untold story” of drugs etc, I zoomed in on the articles “New to Q Presents The Faces of 2010” and “Review New Albums.” In a list, the ones I found quite exciting were:
1. Two Door Cinema Club (indie/electronic) (I’ll be seeing them opening up for Phoenix in March!) Full of energy, this group is a Northern Ireland based electro pop band. Check out the songs “Undercover Martyn” and “I Can Talk.”
2. Next, this band called Midlake (indie/folk). From Texas, they have created a sound that is a mix between Radiohead and Fleet Foxes. Amazing, I know. I think they have a lot of work cut out for them being related to bigger bands, but they sure can create really beautiful melodies. My favorite songs of theirs that I have heard so far are “We Gathered In Spring” and “Young Bride.”
3. Broken Bells (indie rock) is another band I am truly psyched for. From good ‘ol America, it consists of the lead singer of The Shins, James Mercer, and Danger Mouse. The single they have released is called “The High Road,” and it is flippin’ good. Let’s just hope the rest of it will be as awesome, if not more.
4. The next one that was listed in Q was a band called The Drums (post punk). Straight out of Brooklyn, they are surely an upcoming band as they mature with experience. In the song “Let’s Go Surfing,” the bass-line ensues while the voice is calm and exciting at the same time.
5. Langhorne Slim (Folk/Soul/Rock). I don’t really like classifying artists, but he is a mix between Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. Check out “In The Midnight” and “Diamonds and Gold.”
6. The Crookes (Indie). They’re pretty hot, forgive me, and from Sheffield. My favorite song by them is called “By the Seine,” and it sounds like a basic UK indie band song, but this one has a little Beirut-ian edge to them, if you will.
7. Finally, the band Delphic (Indie/Electronic) is apparently all the rage here, and I certainly can see why. They’re from Manchester, and just released their debut album, Acolyte. I’ve posted my favorite song of theirs from this new album up at the top. It’s called “This Momentary.” The intro is genius, in my opinion, and the techno aspect picks up after the first few words are repeated a couple of times. I really like the lyrics.
This is their album artwork for Acolyte:
cheers, millians.
So I have been a little bit MIA from themilltheblog for a while, but now that I am almost settled in London for my semester abroad, I have a bit of time to post! So London is weird, if you haven’t ever been here. The music is almost the same, except for a few artists that are in the top 50 such as Take That and Cheryl Cole. The accents are so varied and their expressions are probably as weird as ours. For example, a hangover in England is called a bad trip. I wonder what they call an actual bad trip… Anyway, I posted this song, even though it’s a year old, (oh no), but it’s been brought back to me recently. It’s One Republic and the song is called “All The Right Moves.”
Deastro- i’m in loving awe.
I first discovered Deastro when I was up late one night last year watching Adult Swim (probably watching King of the Hill or Aqua Teen) and the song, “Light Powered” had come on briefly, which is one of the more known songs. The real artist’s name is Randolph Chabot, and he started making music when he was 13! He formed an electro band called Veleciraptor, which inspired the ideas for his current synthesized projects: Our Brother The Megazord (not quite sure the origin of this name) and Deastro, which try to blur the lines between electronic and acoustic music. The song that I wanted to post above is called “Spritle,” but it was too long :(. So the one I did post is called “Toxic Crusaders.” Wait until the very end, because it sounds awesome. My other favorite song is called “Michael the Lone Archer.” All of his genius songs make me feel like the world is inherently good, and his electronic melodies are so optimistically child-sounding. You will only know what I’m talking about once you listen…so do it, man! A lot of his songs can be listened to here.
Album Cover for Moondagger
