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Promoting quality music in Knoxville … by any means necessary.
Free Music Friday – March 8, 2013: Foxygen and more for Knoxville Music Fans!
Knoxville music fans, it is time for a tour at knoxmusictoday.com for Free Music Friday! The cabin fever of this cold and miserable early spring is enough to inspire a magical mystery music tour and we will do just that this week. We have a trippy, dippy, no-reservations-required FMF this week. So no need to wait in line, get right to it, people!
It may be a sacrilege to not enjoy the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs!
Sacrilege by Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Ah, yes! The new single from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs! The trio of Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase will release their new album, Mosquito, on April 16. Just in time for spring, people!
And here is more new Yeah Yeah Yeahs -
Only eagles fly higher than MØ
Pilgrim by MØ – She has been called the Danish Grimes. Or perhaps Grimes is the Canadian MØ. So who is this MØ? The Guardian has a bit more about Karen Marie Ørsted, also known as MØ -
While you’re considering that, wondering how to type Ø on your keyboard (option + O) and pondering the meaning of MØ (it’s old Norse for virgin, apparently), have a listen to MØ’s two tracks, Pilgrim and Maiden. They’re great, a bit glitchy, with some elements of dubstep, aware of most developments in soulfully-sung electronica between Portishead and AlunaGeorge. They certainly go some way towards confirming the notion that the Scandinavians do intelligent, commercial pop as well as, if not better than, the Americans or the British these days. Although, when we say “commercial”, we don’t necessarily mean “commercially successful” (something else to ponder: when did the last of the many touted and fabulous Scandipop would-be stars actually have a hit over here? We can’t think of one).
Widowspeak advises against flying planes in wooded areas
The Dark Age by Widowspeak – The duo of vocalist Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas are from Brooklyn, so you know they must be good. Not necessarily Portland good, but not many are THAT good. Regardless, the new album from the duo, Almanac, is good. In fact it is very good. Pitchfork.com’s Harley Brown agrees -
With Widowspeak, Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas settled into uncovered ground between Ennio Morricone, Cowboy Junkies, and Neil Young. The interplay between Hamilton’s lilting melodies and Thomas’ stiff-legged, articulate riffs gave definition to what in lesser hands would just be sepia-toned retrospectives. Songs like the skeletal “Limbs”, with haunting background vocals crawling through the wreckage of a violin, were refreshingly familiar but also shocking; like a lost photograph of a childhood memory from a different angle. More than their contemporaries and immediate predecessors trafficking in similar themes, Widowspeak were filtering everything through a more self-aware light, perfecting Amanda Petrusich’s idea that Instagram makes you to feel “nostalgic for a time you never actually knew.” (Even Almanac’s album cover is a self-proclaimed homage to Wings, Sound of Silence, and the Carpenters LPs, with Hamilton coyly looking up at Thomas in a vintage dress undoubtedly gleaned from an overpriced Williamsburg rack.)
Youth Lagoon isn’t lost in the weeds
Dropla by Youth Lagoon – We will go ahead and warn you, friends of knoxmusictoday.com, you will likely either love this song, or hate it. We don’t think there is much of a middle ground. Give it a listen and let us know what you think. And what would you like to know about Trevor Powers, also known as Youth Lagoon? Here is a bit from his record label webpage -
Wondrous Bughouse, Powers’ sophomore album (due March 5 worldwide via Fat Possum), was spawned from what he describes as “becoming more fascinated with the human psyche and where the spiritual meets the physical world.” During the time he wrote, Powers became intrigued with the metaphysical universe and blending those ideas with pop music.
“Youth Lagoon is something so personal to me because writing music is how I sort my thoughts, as well as where I transfer my fears,” explains Powers.
“My mental state is usually pretty sporadic…a lot of this record was influenced by a fear of mortality but embracing it at the same time. Realizing that human life is only great because it is temporary. Experimenting with ideas about dimensions. I’m not a gifted speaker, so explaining things is difficult for me. But music always makes sense.”
Tame Impala, those orange barrels look familiar!
Mind Mischief by Tame Impala – Wait… What? Tame Impala again? Oh, you betcha. How is it possible to have a magical mystery music tour without the Aussies? You can’t. Trust us. For more of the band at knoxmusictoday.com, go here, and here, and here.
Foxygen will see you in Austin!
Shuggie AND Oh Yeah by Foxygen – FuseTV.com recently named Foxygen a ‘Must-See Act at SXSW’. But luckily for you, it isn’t necessary to delve into the depths of Texas for the South By Southwest Festival in order to enjoy this California duo of Jonathan Rado and Sam France. So what did the folks at FuseTV have to say about the band? Well, this -
Foxygen are proof that lo-fi can be as much fun as any shiny studio pop production. This California duo create shambling bedroom rock n’ roll that brings to mind Of Montreal circa ‘Cherry Peel,’ but with a lot more Mick Jagger in the voice and ELO in the melodies. Intricate craftsmen who still sound off the cuff while they’re playing, Foxygen could turn into one of SXSW’s breakout bands.
The Beatles invite you to “Step right this way!”
Magical Mystery Tour by Paul McCartney (Live) – When we say Sir Paul at knoxmusictoday.com, we are often referring to our good friend, the Prince of Nashville and frequent contributer to the mighty KMT, Paul B. Law. Not so this week. For our Free Music Friday Anthem this week, we have the OTHER Sir Paul. Mr. McCartney will be a headliner at Bonnaroo this year, and will no doubt thrill the crowd with classic after classic. Perhaps this one.
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