JayeL Audio

If you’re rolling through Washington state on Memorial Day weekend, you might want to add Sasquatch Music Festival to your itinerary.  The lineup falls somewhere between Coachella and Bonnaroo for me.  Less hippie bands and superstar headliners (Jane’s Addiction and NIN just aren’t me) and more blog friendly favorites (Passion Pit, Chromeo, Ra Ra Riot, School of Seven Bells) and Sub Pop artists (The Dutchess and Duke, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper).  Some might scoff at the notion of Kings of Leon headling a fest, but if they ever attain the attention here that they do overseas, look out.

When: May 23-25 aka Memorial Day weekend

Where: The Gorge in Quincy, Washington

Headliners: Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper & Restless 7

Other Highlights: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Erykah Badu, The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Santigold, Of Montreal, Explosions In The Sky, Peter Bjorn John, M83, Girl Talk, The Walkmen, Chromeo, Blitzen Trapper, St. Vincent, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, The Knux, The Submarines, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, Dent May & His Magnificent Ukelele, Zach Galafinakis, Demetri Martin, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Good Job (full lineup here)

Tickets: On sale 2/28.  3 day passes are $154.50 and 1 day passes are $56.50 for a limited time (increases on 3/2 and 5/11).  Camping is also available with prices soon.

Why it will work: The fact that it takes place on Memorial Day weekend is a huge plus for fans.  They don’t have to take off a day of work and if a plane ticket is out of the question, an extra day off allows for easy driving.  I’ve always wondered why planners don’t make their fests part of holiday weekends.  At least Rothbury got the memo.

If this wasn’t across the country for me, it would be my pick of the season so far. Its also the only festival I know that has a mascot. awesome.

Kings of Leon – King of Rodeo

The Walkmen – Louisiana

The Submarines – You, Me and the Bourgeoisie

St. Vincent – Now Now

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head – Iceage Babeland

The recent DVD release of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist made me realize how I overlooked the soundtrack this fall.  I remember being intrigued by early viewings of the track list and “Ottoman” added to the Vampire Weekend buzz bandwagon, but by October the album (and movie) was lost in the 4Q shuffle. Luckily, my recent travels allowed me to catch up on a great deal of music.

The soundtrack to Nick & Norah is everything you would expect it to be, catchy indie pop by a who’s who of up and coming bands.  However, it succeeds where  many soundtracks fail: crafting an album that flows thru multiple listens, rather than a few hits amid album leftovers.  In fact many tracks (The Submarines, Shout Out Louds, We Are Scientists) do appear on the bands’ proper albums, but fit so well with the arrangement, their almost better suited here.  Songs like “Lover” by Devandra Banhart and Army Navy‘s contribution, “Silvery Sleds”, had me second-guessing my negative 1st impression of the bands.  And Band of Horses further prove why their 1st album (Everything All the Time), shouldn’t be overlooked on “Our Swords”.

We Are Scientists – After Hours

The Dead ’60′s – Riot Radio

Buy the soundtrack to Nick &  Norah’s Infinite Playlist here

Being that this was the 1st soundtrack since Garden State to reach multiple listens for me, it made me reminisce about other classic soundtracks.  I’d have to include at least Footloose, Above the Rim, and Friday somewher in the top 20. Bad Boys anyone?

What are your top 5 favorite soundtracks???  1st 5 to post get a date with this guy….click it

I’ve been out of town most of this week (for work) and will be out all weekend (for fun).  I hope to make up for the lack of activity next week with a new edition of “Mashed Up”, a soundtrack post and more.

Here’s a few tracks to tide you over for the long weekend.

Architecture in Helsinki – That Beep

Loney, Dear – Airport Surroundings

Adele – Melt My Heart To Stone ft Big Pooh (Kickdrums remix)

Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele – Meet Me In The Garden

Ra Ra Riot – Ghost Under Rocks (Passion Pit remix)

Lonely Island – I’m On A Boat ft T-Pain

“Poseidon – Look At Me” – Hilarious.

This may seem like sacrilege to some, but one of my favorite ’80′s jams is being reworked for Starbucks on the Sweethearts compilation.  AC Newman of The New Pornographers’ fame, put an acoustic spin on new waver band, A-Ha’s “Take One Me”.  The tempo is slowed down to a crawl and the classic keyboard work is almost entirely gone on AC’s version.  Its a clever re-imagination though.  The cover isn’t as flashy and glamorous without the retro feel, but serves its purpose.  Which do you prefer?

AC Newman – Take On Me (a-ha Cover)

a-ha – Take On Me

Below is one of my favorite Family Guy moments that incorporates the classic, “Take on Me” video.

I have to say, I like where this Passion Pit full length is going.  As mentioned on the clip below, they incorporate a 46 member children’s choir from Staten Island, PS 22 Chorus.  The choir will appear on 3 tracks from the band’s forth coming album debut.  Go here to see the PS 22 do a mean rendition of Pharrell, Santogold and Julian Casablancas’ collabo, “My Drive Thru”.

A release date has yet to be scheduled, but you can purchase Passion Pit’s debut EP, Chunk of Change here.  I did.

Passion Pit – Better Things

Pharrell, Santogold, Julian Casablancas – My Drive Thru

Today’s date is February 7th… and its 65 degree F in Atlanta, GA.  I went on a cross country run without a need for a winter hat or sweatshirt.  It certainly beats the monotony of a treadmill.  Reason #9,031 to move to the South.

After I got back, I realized how the number of remixes by Discotech are amassing on my iPod.  The trio of DJs/producers (Danny Daze, Joe Maz and Gigamesh) add the right amount of vocal effects, synthesizer and bass to create remixes that equal, if not surpass, the original tracks.  They don’t discriminate on music genres worth of remixes either.  ’80s (The Police, AC/DC, Paula Abdul), Rap (Kanye West, T.I., Beastie Boys) and Dance (Donna Summer, Robyn) all get makeovers worthy of every club DJ’s playlist.

The Police – Roxanne (DiscoTech remix)

T.I. – Whatever You Like (DiscoTech remix)

Kanye West – Homecoming (DiscoTech remix)

Purchase more DiscoTech remixes here.

In related music fest news, the Langerado Music Festival that was to take place March 6-8 has been cancelled.  The Miami, FL based fest has been around for 5 years, but couldn’t proceed due to “sluggish ticket sales.”  This was a relatively surprising announcement, considering the fantastic line-up that included many indie/pop favorites (Death Cab, Snoop Dogg, Modest Mouse, Girl Talk, Chromeo, Dashboard Confessional, Ryan Adams, Black Kids, etc).

However, it didn’t draw huge, nostalgic headliners like Bruce Springsteen, The Cure, Paul McCartney and Beastie Boys.  The fact that Miami isn’t the easiest “drive-to” destination for most of the country likely played a factor as well.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to attend, and unfortunately, many music fans were feeling similar economic effects.  As loyal as indie music fans are, I would assume most can only go to 1 festival per year.

It will be interesting to see how other festivals combat rough, recession times.  Big destinations like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits might have a loyal enough fan base to withstand down years, but what about relative newcomers?  The new hippie-fest, Rothbury, is still scheduled to take place, but only after securing a court sanctioned lease to play on the bankrupt resort, in Western MI.  Will Michigan’s well known problems be more of a hinderance?  Last summer’s Detroit Electronic Music Festival had its biggest year since 2004 even though the Michigan economy dipped.  What about Pitchfork, All Points West, and Summer Camp?  With the explosion of weekend music fests the past few summers, its hard to believe all will survive.

Girl Talk – Live at All Points West

Explosions in the Sky – Live from Lollapalooza

Festival season continues to build with the announcement of the line-up for the world’s biggest hippie music retreat, Bonnaroo.  However, this year seems to be less hippie-centric than year’s past.  Sure, 2 nights of Phish are things tie-dye aficionados dream of, but the Boss and Beasties aren’t exactly the kings of psychedelics.  Then again, Bonnaroo hasn’t had a LSD-tinged line-up that past few years anyways (Kanye West, Metallica, The Police).

When: June 11-14

Where: Manchester, TN

Headliners: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish (2 shows), Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Elvis Costello

Other highlights: Erykah Badu, Ben Harper, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Andrew Bird, MGMT, The Decemberists, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Rodrigo y Gabriela, of Montreal, Animal Collective, Gomez, Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Citizen Cope, the Ting Tings, Okkervil River, St. Vincent, Zac Brown Band, Raphael Saadiq, People Under the Stairs, Cherryholmes, Yeasayer, Todd Snider, the Knux and A. A. Bondy.

Essentially, its like taking a quick glance at my playlists from the past 2 years.  Must sees would be plenty, but certainly include Beastie Boys, Ben Harper, The Decemberists, Rodrigo y Gabriela, of Montreal, Santogold, Ting Tings and Snoop Dogg (he puts on a better show than you would think). I’d probably have to see all the hype behind Animal Collective also.

It looks slightly more enticing,but definitely more affordable than Coachella.  Tickets are around $250 (start at $224) after numerous fees and go on sale Saturday, Feb. 7th.  A payment plan is also available if you necessary.  Your 4-day ticket also includes parking and camping.

(music links come later here, drop.io isn’t working right now, so Sendspace will have to do)

Ben Harper – Burn One Down (live)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps

Bon Iver – Blood Bank

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Diablo Rojo

Of Montreal – Gallery Piece

Depending on the caliber of music released daily, I’m hoping to get these out more often, but 2 in less than 1 month (not counting Narks and Mashed Up 3 soon) will have to do for now.  This edition showcases a couple of D-I-Y artists (Marc with a C, Kyle Andrews), a rising Detroit electro star (Deastro) that this guy mentions every other post, ’60′s inspired pop (The School, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour) and some alt country that seems fitting for winter months (Neko Case, Blitzen Trapper, Or the Whale).

Thanks to Eat This City, Largehearted Boy, the Cold Cut and Yellow Stereo.

Please submit all comments, critiques and thoughts below.

JayeL Audio – 2-2-09 http://www.sendspace.com/file/0anvoq
1. Marc With A C – Maryanne With The Shaky Hands
2. Neko Case – People Got A Lot Of Nerve
3. Deastro – Parallelogram
4. Kyle Andrews – Sushi
5. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – The Sun Ain’t Shining No More
6. N.A.S.A. – Gifted ft Kanye West, Santogold, Lykki Li
7. Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele – You Can’t Force A Dance Party
8. Miami Horror – Don’t Be On With Her
9. New Villager – Rich Doors
10. Blitzen Trapper – Furr
11. Cut Off Your Hands – Turn Cold
12. Or, the Whale – Call And Response
13. The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound
14. Nickel Eye – Brandy Of The Damned
15. Peter Bjorn and John – Lay It Down
16. The School – Let It Slip
17. An Horse – Camp Out
18. Coconut Records – Microphone
19. Tom Thumb – Every Bodega
20. Illinois – Headphones
21. Too Many Fish – Subway Girl
22. The Decemberists – The Rake Song
23. Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls
24. School of Seven Bells – Connjur

Recently, I stated that the only artists that should be allowed to use Auto-Tune were Mr. West, T-Pain and Lil’ Wayne.  Based on the early results from Weezy’s upcoming rock album, Rebirth, I may have misspoke.

I was fine with Dwayne’s use of music technology on tracks like “Swagger Like Us” and Gorilla Zoe’s “Lost”, but that was when he was rapping.  I applaud his decision to try something new (similar to 808′s and Heartbreak) and give singing a go, but he is no Kanye.   Auto-Tune is used to “correct pitch” and apparently Wayne needs more help than others.  Whereas the tool complements Kanye West, it makes Wayne almost intelligible.

The first 2 leaks from Rebrith further drive home the fact that Wayne’s singing career is a work in progress at best.  “Prom Queen” is essentially a Gremlin-sounding disaster.  The 2nd early offering, “Hot Revolver” is much improved than an early mixtape version of the track, but mostly due to an appearance by Kevin Rudolf.  Wayne starts by borrowing a line from Green Day’s “Basket Case”, while drifting into outer space crooning.  Rudolf infuses some ’80′s inspired energy on the chorus, but is really the only memorable part of the track.  On the positive side, I actually think the track sounds very much like “Your Love” by the Outfield.

You be the judge.

Lil’ Wayne – Hot Revolver ft Kevin Rudolf

The Outfield – Your Love

Look for Rebirth on April 7th, if your so inclined.