Beck, MGMT, Little Joy & Wolfmother Cover Leonard Cohen [MUSIC]

Beck loves to play around with other people's music. Especially when he's on leave from creating his own. His side-project, dubbed Record Club [rhyme not intended], affords him the opportunity to invite talented friends over to cover a classic album in its entirety, in a day, with no rehearsal. He recently finished posting clips from the Velvet Underground & Nico session, featuring Nigel Godrich and Giovanni Ribisi [the actor?! What the #%&@?!].

Now it’s on to Songs Of Leonard Cohen, which stars the crew from MGMT, Andrew Stockdale from Wolfmother, Binki from Little Joy, multi-talented musician/composer Brian Lebarton and Beck's bassist Bram Inscore [both returning from the first Record Club].

One the nicest off the album “Suzanne,” came out the other end sounding like a 'groovy, cello-heavy version' — because that’s just how it happened. Beck says: “There is no intention to ‘add to’ the original work or attempt to recreate the power of the original recording. Only to play music and document what happens.”


So very musically scientific of you!


The tracks have been dropping weekly, and I've been patiently compiling them for your listening pleasure. Check out Beck.com for newness, videos, interviews and to see what else is in the works.

DOWNLOAD:

Beck & The Record Club - Suzzane
Beck & The Record Club - Master Song
Beck & The Record Club - Winter Lady
Beck & The Record Club - Hey That No Way To Say Goodbye
Beck & The Record Club - Sisters Of Mercy
Beck & The Record Club - So Long, Marianne



You'd be a loser, baby, if you don't check out these 'tunes...

MGMT - Late Night Tale [MUSIC]

              

If you are a fan of mixtapes--and why the hell wouldn't you be--then you may no doubt be familiar with the music series known as LateNightTales. These studio sessions are albums curated by a host band/artist and features tracks [often B-sides or unreleased demos] by other fellow performers that compliment their own style.
I've been following this series for years now, which stretch back nearly a decade and have been hosted by greats' such as The Flaming Lips, Arctic Monkeys, Trentmøller, Groove Armada, and Turin Brakes. And not to leave anyone out and with hurt feelings, the list goes on to include even the likes of Jamiroquai, Snow Patrol, and Belle & Sebastian.

The most recent compliation was curated by the electic electro-indie pop rockers, MGMT. It features some soothingly nice music by themselves, The Velvet Underground, Disco Inferno, The Chills and Julian Cope.


DOWNLOAD some killer tunes below:
MGMT - All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (Bauhaus Cover)
The Chills - Pink Frost
Disco Inferno - Can't See Through It
Julian Cope - Laughing Boy
The Velvet Underground - Ocean

Foster The People Stump Braniacs [NEWS/MUSIC]

                           

Foster The People are clearly one of the top break-out Indie bands this of this year. Having bypassed the usual gambit of non-stop touring, guerilla marketing and street team assemblage, and ending up at Saturday Night Live and a slew of festivals, it would be unusual for anyone to not know who they are...right?
Wrong.
Turns out even the brainiest of citizens have problems when it comes to knowing what's important to the kids these days. Appearing in a $2000 question [or answer form rather..] was the following:


'Got that song "Pumped Up Kicks" stuck in your head? Blame this trio led by Mark Foster.'

Omg! Are you serious Alec?? You just gave them the answer! But alas, not one of the contestants could even venture a guess that was even close. Guess you can only be smart OR cool...
Watch the people who no doubt went home later and googled them HERE.


Get some BONUS TRACKS HERE:

Foster The People - Chin Music For The Unsuspecting Hero [Bonus Track]
Foster The People - Love [Bonus Track]
Foster The People - Life On The Nickel (Mansions On The Moon Remix)

Thom Yorke Sings About Zombies [MUSIC]

Thom Yorke has been a very busy lad lately--teaming up with Berlin-based production duo Modeselektor for the vocals on their atmosperic new single 'Shipwreck.' French director Tony T. Datis [i.e. Skrillex] has directed an entertainingly eerie visual which centers around a little boy and blood-lusting zombies. The plot deals about one of the oldest fears of mankind. While facing a serious threat by the zombies, the kid seems to be frightened by something else.

Watch it below to find out what.. The song is taken from Modeselektor's current album, Monkeytown, which is out now on their own Monkeytown Records.



DOWNLOAD track:

Modeselektor - Shipwreck (Feat. Thom Yorke)



Daft Punk Classic Gets Cherokee Reboot [MUSIC]

Daft Punk is getting new life breathed into one of their golden oldies' 'Something About Us.' French duo Cherokee has given it a chill new lounge vibe with teasing vocals, soothing synths, and what sound like waves crashing in the background. Ideally, the perfect track to take with you on your next trip to Miami.



The original track was nestled right in the middle of their 2001 release 'Discovery', along with fan favorites ' 'Digital Love' and 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' [which was of course sampled by Kanye, and then oddly covered by 30 Seconds To Mars...wow].


Stream track below:

Daft Punk - Something About Us (Cherokee Remix) by digi10ve

..or DOWNLOAD:

Daft Punk - Something About Us (Cherokee Remix)

Axl Rose Looking Pretty Thorny..Going On Tour [NEWS]

                  

Believe it or not, Axl Rose [who is looking remarkably like Indiana Jone's love child with Criss Angel] is hitting the road again with the help of some new young 'Guns.' As the only original member of Guns N' Roses, it his duty [of course] to promote his new aptly named tour, "Appetite For Reunion." However, we are still talking about Axl here...so you sorta have to take what you can get.



Showing up only a mere 15 hours late to a taping of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, it officially marked Axl Rose’s first interview in five years, and the first televised one in over a decade. The GN’R frontman sat down with Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine backstage in Miami, and discussed things like Chinese Democracy‘s legacy, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame eligibility, and the ’91 tour Axl only agreed to because his manager told him if he didn’t perform Slash would overdose on heroin.



Watch the Q&A HERE.

Radiohead Hits The Road - 2012 Tour



If you were one of the unlucky ones [like me] who got locked out of their most recent two-day stint at Roseland Ballroom back in September, I empathize with you...

But look!

On the horizon hope lingers! Radiohead has just announced their largest tour since 2008, with dates and cities [and countries] spanning 10 months beginning in February 2012. No mention yet of a return to NY, but I imagine its still a possibility [especially given the rumor that they were supposed to play Occupy Wall St]..

The band has been recently promoting their highly enjoyable and totally necessary remix album of The King Of Limbs and we can expect that their will be some interesting live renditions with all that time spent on the road.

Tickets go on sale beginning Nov. 12 (excepting the Feb. 29 date in Tampa, FL, which will go on sale Nov. 19), with a four-ticket limit per person. The W.A.S.T.E. fan presale will begin Nov. 9 [today].

Don't blame Ticketmaster if for any issues...They can go to hell!

Jimi Hendrix Writes To His Dad.

Letters Of Note just released a touching little correspondence from rock legend Jimi Hendrix to his father Al Hendrix back in Seattle, Washington. Now, although this site usually stays more current, I couldn't help but be moved by the gravity of emotion that seems quite clear despite a lack of depth. It could be Jimi's yearning for approval, or the humbleness he was often known for. Not sure.

The postcard was written in October of 66' from Munich, Germany only two months before 'Hey Joe' would be released. 'Are You Experienced?' dropped shortly after--and eventually as we all know, would go on to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

Check out the image below:

TRANSCRIPT:

Dear Dad –

Well...Although I lost the address, I feel I must write before I get too far away – We're in Munich, Germany now – We just left Paris and Nancy France – We're playing around London now. That's where I'm staying these days. I have my own group and will have a record out about 2 months named "Hey Joe" By the Jimi Hendrix EXPERIENCE

I hope you get this card – I'll write a decent letter – I think things are getting a little Better –
Your loving son,
Jimi


Certainly a touching little piece of rock history and family love...

'Retarded Fren' - Thom Yorke & MF Doom Celebrate Stuff.

Collaborations are the new black. Its a fact. So when you get mega-talented, multi-artist collaborator MF Doom, Thom Yorke & Johnny Greenwood in the same room, you know things are going to get retarded.

Literally it seems..

'Retarded Fren' is the newest in a long line of cross-genre mash-ups featuring Doom--who's worked with artists such as Danger Mouse to create the infinitely awesome brainchild: DangerDoom; and Thom & Johnny of Radiohead who have worked with probably everyone at this point, including PJ Harvey, Bjork and Flea.

When inquired about working with Thom, Doom precisely replied:
"We're working on some duet songs and shit. Just like preliminary shit but we'll probably end up doing a whole record together. He's cool, he got a lot of ill ass ideas and shit, you know..."

Sounds good to me.

To snag your own copy of the Lex Records 10th Anniversary Compilation titled 'Complex' [which we have a feeling it will be] hit up their site. The album drops in January on vinyl.  You can also check out more tracks which will drop every week or so.

Check out the first track 'Retarded Fren' below:

DOOM, Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood - "Retarded Fren" by Treetop