From the moment I first heard the single "Crystalized" by the XX, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of the album. That song just got deep down inside of me. It is such a fantastic song and is the kind of song that really affects you emotionally. It made me cry I think the first time I heard it, and yet I keep going back to it and can't get it out of my head. It is like the best day of your life that is now only a memory. It becomes tinged with sadness since you know you will never experience that day again and it will only be a memory. I love being nostalgic and I often put experiences too quickly into my memory. Sometimes I make them into memories as they are still happening. When I am having a really great day or experiencing a really magical part of life, I immediately start thinking about how I will remember this moment before it is even over. I know that we often make our memories better than the actual event so I try to reflect on the moment as it is happening to make sure my memory is more accurate. I don't know if all this makes sense, but I am basically comparing this song, this band and this whole album to the greatest memories of the greatest experiences that you have in your life. They are fantastic memories but also have a hint of sadness and tragedy because they are just memories.

The new self titled album by the XX is as good as the single. There is not a bad song on the album. It is actually a pretty simple album. There is really not a lot of stuff going on here. The songs are structured simply and most have male and female vocals trading back and forth. It just comes together beautifully somehow. I have always loved R&B and the darker side of New Wave music, but rarely do the two genres meet. They often couldn't be more different. But XX manages to somehow combine the genres into one magical style of music. I would never call the XX a Goth band but they might appeal to fans of Goth music. They will for sure appeal to anybody who likes Dark Wave or Dream Pop. Fans of Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins, Piano Magic, & For Against will not be disappointed. The music often sounds like The Cure or Joy Division. Maybe like Blonde Redhead's version of Joy Division. But the songs also have the feeling of a really good R&B ballad. Imagine R. Kelly or Aaliyah singing along to a Joy Division song. They totally make it work and I totally have fallen in love with this band. But beware! These songs are not going to make you get up and dance. I doubt they will put a smile on your face. The album is on the dark side. XX is made up of four friends from South West London who are all in their very early 20s, but they seem to have already experienced the whole range of emotions that most of us will ever go through. The album is released on the label Young Turks which has quietly been putting out albums and singles for the last couple of years. This might be the best record it has put out so far.

1) Cage Depart From Me (Def Jux)

2) Alchemist Chemical Warfare (KOCH)

3) J-Dilla Dillanthology 2: Dilla's Remixes for Various Artists Remixes (Rapster)

4) Chali 2na Fish Outta Water (Decon)

5) Notes To Self A Shot In The Dark (BBE)

Single of the week: 

Kid Cudi "Make Her Say" (Universal/Motown)

Thanks to Luis (as seen in YouTube clip above), the hip-hop buyer at Amoeba Music, San Francisco, for this week's top five best selling new hip-hop CDs, plus the single of the week. Cage, this week's number one, even surpasses his last innovative outing Hell's Winter from four years ago. This new Def Jux album is bound to break the gifted New York progressive rap artist onto the mainstream. Just check out the video below for the new Cage album track "I Never Knew You." The song and accompanying video (directed by Shia Labeouf) have the same power and engaging urgency that Nirvana's breakout single/video "Smells Like Teen Spirit" did back in the early nineties. Coincidentally, Cage's notoriously troubled past, including mental health problems and drug abuse, draw some parallels to Kurt Cobain. Although thankfully it seems that Cage has gotten his shit together as far as the hard drugs are concerned, so hopefully he can stay mentally healthy & focused on his art and continue to make great albums like Depart From Me.

127 Bands, 5 Stages, 3 Days and 1 Mean Sunburn.

"Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival - April 17-19th, 2009 or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Find 30 Reasons To Love a Weekend in the Desert."

- By Scott Butterworth


Day #8 - Artist #8 - Band of Horses:

Sub Pop, the Seattle record label that threw kindling on the spark of Grunge music with early signings of Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney in the late 1980s, deserves their own stage at this year's Coachella festival. With appearances from four of their artists, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Blitzen Trapper, and No Age, toting some of the "buzzworthy-ist" albums of the past year, Sub Pop is still staying relevant in the indie rock world with 20+ years under their belt.

Among those in the Sub Pop fraternity, Band of Horses has the largest font size on this year's Coachella lineup. The Seattle-based band were first discovered and signed by Sub Pop while opening for future label-mate Iron & Wine during local area shows. Band of Horses released their debut album Everything All The Time in 2006 and grabbed attention with the standout track "The Funeral." They followed that up quickly with Cease to Begin in 2007. Again the band gained critical attention from songs "Is There a Ghost" and "No One's Gonna Love You," finding its way to many year-end "Best of 2007" lists. This is the kind of band you can gain "indie-cred" from by introducing to your guy friends, and get just as many "sensitive-guy points" for putting it on a mixtape to impress that certain girl.

Sometimes I forget that bands still make videos. Back before I had MTV I was obsessed with videos and watched them whenever I got a chance. It was hard to find videos and you had to watch late night TV or be one of the lucky people with cable. It is now so easy to watch videos, but for some reason I watch them rarely. MTV doesn't really play videos anymore, but they are now so easily accessible on your phone and computer through YouTube. It is almost too easy. Maybe it is not as fun because it is so easy. Every once in a while I remember how easy it is and I easily spend hours catching up and watching videos. The next couple of weeks have some very exciting new releases. These last couple of weeks are also not so bad. New albums by Bonnie Prince Billy and Cursive and White Lies and Wavves and Tim Hecker. I also really like the new Handsome Furs. This blog is extremely short so you can spend some time watching some videos.

Here are some songs from the last couple of weeks of albums

Handsome Furs "I'm Confused" from the new album Face Control OUT NOW...



White Lies "Farewell to the Fairground" from the album To Lose My Life OUT NOW...



Cursive "Dorothy At Forty" from the album Mama I'm Swollen OUT NOW...