"Love Lost": The Temper Trap's New Music Video

The Temper Trap, a group I have really come to love within the past 2 years, has just released the music video for one of my favorite tracks off of their debut album, Conditions, entitled "Love Lost". The song itself is beautiful and I think the music video is quite precious; the dance moves of the endearingly uncoordinated young boys and dark-yet-serene cinematography makes it hard not to at least watch it all the way through. The concept itself is simple, but I think it's simplicity makes for a more effective, well-made accompanier to an already wonderful song. Watch it here!

The Temper Trap: "Love Lost" (Official Music Video)

Die By The Drop- The Dead Weather's new single/ music video

This is almost too much to handle. The Dead Weather just released the music video for their new single "Die By The Drop", off their forthcoming second album Sea of Cowards, set to be released May 11th in the US (and in case any of you were wondering what that face on all the fans at Coachella were from, now you know). Watch the music video below; Alison Mosshart, my absolute IDOL, is delightfully creepy and, as always, just screams sex appeal in this. And of course, Jack White's great too.

"Die By The Drop" (Official Music Video)

M.I.A. is back.... and is as badass as ever.

Oh my god, this is great news. The newest single from M.I.A., entitled "Born Free", has just leaked on Pitchfork; it's raw, its punk, it punches you in the face.... all the things I would have only dreamed of seeing from her. Who knew she would go from announcing her retirement from music to heading in this mindblowing new musical direction for her unexpected third full-length album. We all know she has an affinity for punk music, seeing as "Paper Planes" samples The Clash's "Straight to Hell", but this song has a completely new vibe. If the CBGB era and modern music production had a prodigal superbaby, this would be it. I love it. You should love it too.

M.I.A. - "Born Free"

I Wish My Best Friend Was You, Kate.

The day has finally arrived... Kate Nash's new album, My Best Friend is You, was released today and I am so content right now words cannot even explain. This has been a long awaited event for me, as Made of Bricks was released in late 2007. I have to admit I was slightly concerned about the direction the album was going to go in because it appeared as if she was trying a bit too hard to be experimental and purposefully weird, but I am pleasantly surprised to see that she's the same old Kate. I've heard her perform "Don't You Share The Guilt?" and "I Hate Seagulls" in the past, so I am biased when I say that I'm really drawn to them; however, songs like "Paris" and "Later On" completely bring me back to first learning to drive and listening to Kate in the car, a feeling I will always love. In my opinion, she is the most personable and down-to-earth artists I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and seeing live, and it completely translates into her lyrics and melodies. The album is entirely worth buying, check it out.

Florence + The Machine @ Terminal 5 NY, 4/9/10

Well, needless to say if you have read my blog before you know where this is going but I saw Florence + The Machine for the second time on Friday, and I was absolutely blown away yet again. Flo never ceases to amaze me with how easily her incredible voice just seems to come our of her... she is ridiculously talented and has such a stage presence that, I must say, has improved a lot since October. She has become much more dynamic with her audience and seems to absolutely hold nothing back when she performs; that, and the combination of the incredible stage aesthetics (lighting, floral decor, and her signature wallpaperesque backdrop) and her amazing outfit made for one unbelievable experience. I am so lucky that I get to see her again next week at Coachella, she is easily in my top 5 favorite musicians of all time and, in my opinion, endlessly inspiring. Here are some of my pictures from the show:

Best Coast = The Eames Era?

After seeing Best Coast perform at Wesleyan on Thursday and finding their sound oddly familiar, yet not being able to put my finger on it, I finally realized who they remind me of. I'm not sure if The Eames Era is a name that would be familiar to many, but this group, probably known best for their songs "Washed Out" and "Could Be Anything", has been around for quite sometime and has made quite an impression on me...all I have to say is, if they aren't one of Best Coast's influences, they definitely should be. Best Coast, in my opinion, has a bit of a rougher sound and isn't as musically sophisticated as The Eames Era; though they don't stand on the same level to me, the lead singer's voice and melodies bare similar likeable qualities, and I am excited to listen to this band more and hear them evolve as musicians. Listen to Best Coast's "Make You Mine" and The Eames Era's "Listen for the Sun", and feel free to tell me if i'm just making this up.

Something Old, Something New

About a week or two ago, Inara George and Greg Kurstin, the duo better known as The Bird and the Bee, officially released their third full length album, entitled “Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates”. I may be biased because I have gotten to know Inara over the past year or so and they are easily one of my favorite groups, but for me the album was exactly what I was expecting and then some. I had first learned they were working on the cover album in February of last year when I heard them play “I Can’t Go For That” live on several occasions, and absolutely fell in love with what they had done with the song. The album, like this song, still retains the lyrical and compositional dignity that makes Hall & Oates great, however Greg does such an incredible job adding modern musical elements and reinventing each track that they have truly made the works their own; not to mention the endearingly sweet yet fearless vocals Inara always provides that draw me to love her voice so much. If you love Hall & Oates like I do or have heard any music by The Bird and the Bee in the past, I highly recommend looking into this fantastic cover album, especially “I Can’t Go For That”, “Rich Girl”, and “Heard It On The Radio”.

Can Someone Please Give The Members of Noah and the Whale a Hug?

I recently bought Noah and the Whale’s latest album, The First Days of Spring, wholeheartedly expecting whimsical and charmingly light music based off of the title and the incredibly beautiful photographs that comprise the record’s album artwork. The music itself absolutely did not disappoint; I have always thought they had an incredible sound and that Charlie Fink had quite an endearing voice. But for the love of God I have never heard so many songs in a row about someone with a broken heart trying to talk himself through a seemingly horrid breakup with a girl who, like Beyoncé, is irreplaceable. “You can give up anything when you’re following you’re heart… I thought I believed in love but I never see it through”… “I’m a fox trapped in the headlights, oh and I’m waiting for the tires to spin over me”…buddy, pull yourself together. I guess I should have expected some of their classic pessimism, as I long ago took quite a liking to that undeniably relatable cynicism found in such songs as “Shape of My Heart”. But this poor boy/the whole group/whoever wrote the lyrics, despite having undeniable talent, really needs some Prozac.

Regardless, I really do love “ Blue Skies”, “First Days of Spring”, and the incredibly innovative “Love of an Orchestra”. I don’t know if I would recommend buying the whole album as I did, but definitely give those songs a listen…misery loves company, after all.

The band also decided to create an accompanying mini-film for the album, which is absolutely gorgeous and well done despite how tragically forlorn the entire video is. It does, however, include Daisy Lowe and a God-impersonator dancing around in a turtleneck, so it’s worth watching.

The Stars Have Aligned...

And now my life is complete, because Mumford & Sons have covered Vampire Weekend's "Cousins", and it is just one of the best things I've ever heard. It has the distinct Mumford & Sons feel and they have done something completely different with the song, but now I can't decide if I prefer the original to this or not. Listen to the MP3 here:

Mumford & Sons- "Cousins"

What do Vampire Weekend, Joe Jonas, and Jake Gyllenhaal have in common?

Apparently, this video. Vampire Weekend recently released the video for their second single off of Contra, "Giving Up The Gun", which is easily one of my favorite songs of 2010 so far... the video is quite funny and really cute. Not sure why they chose those two to be in it, but you know when you're Vampire Weekend i guess you can do whatever the fuck you want.

Watch the video here: