Herman Dune – Tell Me Something I Don’t Know

So this is old, but I stumbled across it on Funny or Die this morning and couldn’t resist sharing with you guys. The song is obviously a good one, but the strangeness of the video is itself worthy of a post. Herman Dune is a strange cat anyways (check out “I wish that I could see you soon” but then you throw in Mad Men’s Jon Hamm befriending a cute little yeti and all sorts of strange happens. I can’t decide if this is funny or heart warming.
You decide

New Songs From Beirut

Finally

One of our favorite ‘indie meets world’ groups out there (and loved by the indie press) Beirut are currently wrapping on a new album…their first since 2007 ‘The Flying Club Cup’. These guys are a lot like A Hawk and A Hacksaw” but lead singer Zach Condon’s voice is too beautiful to overlook. They apparently are debuting some of these new tracks on a current tour. Check out the two new ones below and be glad Beirut is Back!

Danger Mouse’s New Venture

Spaghetti Westerns, Mopeds and 80 Year Old Italian Musicians

After 2010’s Dark Side of the Soul this upcoming Danger Mouse project is not something most would expect from this genius producer.  Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, has been working on a “score” for a spaghetti western film that doesn’t exist and he’s doing it in collaboration with composer and filmographer Daniele Luppi.  Also thrown in to the mix are the soothing stylings of Norah Jones and the raucous howls of Jack White.  According to an article from SPIN, Burton describes Rome as a “very visual album…about love.”  And to help him create these visions of love, Burton explained having to trade bottles of wine with an Italian Moped mechanic in exchange for antique instruments that would be played by some original Italian spaghetti western musicians…who are also antiques.  Burton said there were a few language barriers.

Rome will be released May 17.  Go to the official site to watch trailers and teasers, one of which you can view below RIGHT NOW.

New Radiohead! “Supercollider” and “The Butcher”

Although Radiohead made it clear there wouldn’t be a follow up to their latest album King of Lambs, of course they surprised us fans by releasing two more tracks as part of Record Store Day, which were recorded during those sessions. The following songs titled “Supercollider” & “The Butcher” are a lot more on par with with most of what Radiohead fans are looking for.
Enjoy

“Supercollider”

“The Butcher”

Monday Warming: Little Tybee

First off, apologies for the slow start this Monday.

Second on, check this band out! Little Tybee is somewhat of a small orchestra featuring around 14 instrumentalists on their latest album, Humorous To Bees (now available) in additions to guitarist/pianist/vocalist Brock Scott and 8-string guitar player Josh Martin. Their sound really cannot be tied down. There’s a mixture of atmospheric orchestral sounds with Motown and even some Caribbean-esque sounds. They released their latest album on Paper Garden Records where you can hear some new songs.  Check out a live performance of one of those songs, “Nero,” below.

Little Tybee – Nero (live @ The Goat Farm) from Brock Scott on Vimeo.

Monday Warming; Thiago Pethit

Here’s an artist from Brazil who makes me wonder why we don’t post more music from there. Although I don’t speak Portuguese, you can tell this is a very intimate song and Thiago just has that soothing voice you enjoy listening to. Video isn’t too bad either, good for yet another rough Monday wouldn’t you say?

Stream his latest album Brazil, TX here.

Post SXSW – Debo Band

*Note- Finishing my SXSW coverage today…so be prepared.

Mixing things up from the typical indie band, I was also catching a lot of “worldly” shows at SXSW. In the past few years, more and more international groups are making it to Austin and this is a wonderful thing. Sometimes hipsters need to discover something out of their comfort area. One of the best shows I saw last week came from Debo Band, a Boston based Ethiopian funk group who know how to get the crowd moving. From their opening note full of brass power on top of their lead singer who has more than enough swagger, these guys rocked. Check out the SXSW video of their show during the All Music is World Music showcase.

Post SXSW – Video w/ Stats

So my good friend on Twitter @melissadowler was kind enough (and awesome enough) to make a cool little video showing some numbers and statistics from this year’s SXSW. I’m posting this because it’s not your typical cliche montage video of a bunch of random bands, but shows more of the creative side of SXSW, and there’s plenty of that down in Austin.

For those of you who have never been, here’s only a small, small glimpse.
Thanks a lot Melissa!

SXSW 2011: The Stats from The Long Haul Project on Vimeo.

Post SXSW – Arcade Fire’s Saxophonist, Colin Stetson

Couldn’t wait on this one

So I was going to post a good countdown list of my favorite and least favorite shows from last week’s SXSW, but I just came across this and couldn’t wait to share my excitement. Walking into The Parish for the NPR day party on Thursday afternoon, it was quite exciting to see a dark, quiet room, completely focused on the stage and solo saxophonist Colin Stetson “wailing” on his sax. This Avant-garde style was unique to my other experiences last week and I can see why musicians like Arcade Fire, Tom Waits, and David Byne ask Colin to accompany them on their tours. See why on NPR below

Colin Stetson Live in Concert on NPR

SXSW 2011: Too Fucking Crowded

SXSW 2011 – The Year It Was Too Big

So in the coming days I’ll be posting my post-SXSW bands, but to start things off I just want to mention just how fucking crazy SXSW was this year, and not a good crazy. Insane crowds, having a useless badge, riots, police, bad info, the list goes on and on. This year’s motto seemed to be many Austinites telling me how crowded it was. St. Patty’s day didn’t help with the hundreds of completely obliterated kids face planting in the streets, then the more and more non-SXSW shows and parties bringing in the hoards of Austin hipsters looking for free food and beer. I could go on and on but instead I’ll just post on the positive side of the festivals, which is the bands worth hearing. To sum up SXSW 2011, I’ll quote a friend who stated “I’m worried SXSW has gotten too big for Austin’s britches” – Well said

To reiterate my point…
Check out a small “riot” in this video outside the DFA 1979 show

The Atlantic’s piece ‘Was this year’s SXSW cursed?”

MTV on limiting the festival next year

And for the icing on the cake…here is Screeching Weasel’s Ben Weasel getting in a fight…with two girls.

UPDATE: This incident led to Screeching Weasel disbanding on 3/23.  Read a statement from the band here.