Lucinda Williams: "Are You Alright" Video
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Chromeo, Oakley Hall, 'House M.D.' soundtrack
For their picks this week, the Download Music crew gives the lowdown on new albums from electro-clash group Chromeo and indie/alt-country band Oakley Hall, plus a new 'House M.D.' soundtrack featuring songs by Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Massive Attack, and more.
Motion City Soundtrack: "Everything Is Alright"
The way it works, everyone likes the first record better. You're a music fan, presumably, so you probably understand the idea here that, when placed in historical context, a band's initial statement to the world is often seen as its most lasting. Motion City Soundtrack began in Minneapolis in 1999. Two years ago, they released their first album, I Am The Movie, crawled inside a van for seemingly the end of eternity and shot a video with their friends back home for "The Future Freaks Me Out," a loud and instantly enjoyable anthem that has become such an undeniable apex at the band's live shows that it is no longer sung by singer/guitarist Justin Pierre as much as it is sung back at him. But as ubiquitous as it became, the song perfectly captured Motion City's allure. Irresistible and unhinged, "The Future Freaks Me Out" was a reference point for what was to come with Commit This To Memory, ironic considering they wrote the song in mere hours and it almost didn't even make it onto their debut. "Two weeks before we went in, [guitarist Joshua Cain] played the part and I sang those words and that's what came out," Pierre says now in amazement. "It was completely random. But that's how we work. It's funny when there's talk about how this record could 'make or break us.'" He laughs. "This band has always gone on its gut instinct."
The Rapture: "Woo Alright, Yeah Uh-Hu"
"Pieces of the People We Love is a fiercely honed album of impassioned wailing; sharp, needling guitars; and herky-jerky beats-the sound of an accomplished band perfecting their craft and engadging their detractors by ignoring them." - New York Magazine "The Rapture have a time-tested prescription for making the white boys dance: jagged guitar, stealth sax, and bass lines so heavy they aid digestion." Details "You can effin? dance to The Rapture. But you can also dig their whole album front-to-back, which is the best reason for highest praises." URB
The Constantines: "Nightime/Anytime, It's Alright"
When the Constantines headlined the Sub Pop showcase at the 2004 SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas; the band's show concluded with them standing on the speaker stacks clapping and keeping time for the audience as the room sang the band's recent set closer (Lou Reed's "Temporary Thing") back at them. This scene lasted a full five minutes, five minutes of finale without the band playing a single note and thus the increasingly impatient promoters, fearful of running over their strict Texan curfew, couldn't even unplug the band to get them off the stage. But then the purpose of the stage is constantly called into question at Constantines shows. Bryan and Steve will regularly move their mic stands into the crowd and Doug frequently hands out percussion to the faithful gathered together near the band. The greatest rock and roll is always transformative, a concept that the Constantines grasped from their inception and one which was so readily on display at this show. The boundary between band and crowd is blurred; inhibitions are lost, along with voices, and ultimately you feel more alive than you did before the band took the stage, before you stopped noticing the stage.
The Download Music crew highlights its favorite songs and albums from the past year, including releases from Kanye West, Spoon, and Lee Hazlewood. Visit our Best of 2007 page.
The song is from Tunstall's upcoming 2007 album "Drastic Fantastic."
Check out J*Davey's latest video from their double album, "The Beauty in Distortion/The Land of the Lost"
Vampire Weekend: "Mansard Roof"
The name of this band is Vampire Weekend. They are specialists in the following styles: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "Upper West Side Soweto", "Campus", and "Oxford Comma Riddim." Vampire Weekend are Ezra Koenig (vocals / guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards / vocals), Chris Baio (bass) and Christopher Tomson (drums). They live in New York and met while studying at Columbia University, forming the band in the spring of 2006. In June 2007 the New York Times wrote that "Even without an album, Vampire Weekend have made one of the most impressive debuts of the year." In January 2008 XL Recordings will release Vampire Weekend's first full-length. Their first single "Mansard Roof" will be in shops on October 22, 2007. (October 23 in the US)
Dean & Britta: "Words You Used to Say"
Featuring ex-Luna members Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, the song is from their 2007 album "Back Numbers."
Daft Punk: "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
The first single from the album will be a live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" from Daft Punk's 2001 album Discovery, accompanied with a video directed by Olivier Gondry (older brother to acclaimed film director Michel) that features live footage shot by fans. The video will be included on the enhanced cd. The album version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is currently enjoying a second life and a surge in digital sales thanks to being sampled by rapper Kanye West on his current Top 5 hit "Stronger". The Daft Punk robots, in their signature retro-futuristic robot gear, also appear in West's "Stronger" video.
