The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Early 2010

Acrylics - "All of the Fire"

Right as 2009 wound down, the last new jingle I heard that I responded to was this local act that I thought was a pure Deli Magazine discovery but turned out was a Stereogum-prepped hit-to-be (ain't that a modern music phrasing). Reminds me of Fleetwood Mac but likable. There's also this band out there from Los Angeles called Music Go Music who sound like Abba. What is going on?

The Bravery - "Slow Poison"

Big cheese mainstream modern pop-rock...in a good way. I would never sell this to your grandkids as gold but it sure beats the heck out of whatever else is really popular these days. Who is that anyway? What's her name? The blond girl with the grammys that Kanye hated on? Whoseits...

Basia Bulat - Heart of My Own

The LP is not dead! Basia Bulat has constructed another, maybe even stronger, full length album of songs for a winter's night. Particularly listen to "The Shore". Good lord.

Dawes - "When My Time Comes"

The full album listening is hours away but it can no longer wait. The word must be spread - with harmonies as pristine as some thing in nature to fulfill this analogy, and with more than a friendly helping of inspiration from the likes of The Band, here are Dawes and one of those laid back but effervescently powerful numbers. You'd so expect them to be another beard-and-plaid band but they ain't. How about that?

Editors - "Papillon"

Everyone I hear or read in regards to the new Editors record say they sound very different. I don't hear the difference. In fact I continue to hear the band that does Interpol better than Interpol. They put out something good each time, and they do it again with, at the very least, this Factory Records tribute which should not be confused with the Airborne Toxic Event song of the same name.

Hot Chip - One Life Stand

See? Again. Rumors of the album's demise were exaggerated - though not greatly and admittedly eventually will be true...maybe. The resilient boys in the Hot Chip will not give up on the ol' complete documentation of efforts and why should they? Clubbing, by all accounts, would be a dead art form if not for these Brits. The title track alone is enough to merit the love.

The Low Anthem - "Charlie Darwin"

It took a better part of a year to finally give a solid listen to just this one song after hearing show after show via the interweb of this very stark, crisp band. By the end of the year I'll have the whole record down (it took 8 months to finally listen to the entire Fanfarlo record and that turned out delayed gangbusters). As deeply intellectual and heartfelt without pretension as it can get.

Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Higher Than the Stars"

Not quite ready for another album, the Pains couldn't let this one wait or slip by. A good old fashioned single! It still remains to be seen if this band is a continuous sound or a more varied enterprise but this indicates some consistency and that's very fine for them.

Patrick Thomas - Build Me A City

After catching this chap at Rockwood, I was mightily impressed. The record is fine, especially something called "Spring Street Baby" which is like Randy Newman down in the Big Easy on a Saturday Night.

Willowz - "Destruction"

I've seen Willowz twice. I saw the goods but I was underwhelmed. Something wasn't gelling. Lo and behold, some years on, they are still going. And not only are they going, they have ARRIVED. "Destruction" is a no-fooling-around rock song, just a few minutes in the mess o' glory. Good work kids. You won me.

Yeasayer - "Ambling Alp"

Didn't loathe that first Yeasayer album but I wasn't exactly all over it like the vast majority of the Indie rock world. They were the thinking man's answer to Vampire Weekend (bill buddies once upon a time FYI) but that didn't necessarily mean they were better. Well hold the phone Charlie. Check this out. While large chunks of the accompanying album leave much to be desired, take this song, wrap it up, and send it to everyone you know because already I can't see a better song coming out this year. This is something else. What a wallop. It sounds like the best of their Brooklyn cohorts in MGMT, with whiffs of the Flaming Lips and the previous album's sound to boot. Just a perfect song. Stick up for yourself, son!

Honorable Mentions:

ALO - "Man of the World"
Cute Lepers - "Smart Accessories"
Lightspeed Champion - "Marlene"
Two Door Cinema Club - "Eat That Up, It's Good for You"

A Record Setting Friday? (With Bookends)

Friday April 11 has to be one of the most packed non-festival days in NYC recent rock history. And it is bookended by some pretty impressive shows on either side of it.

Tonight, Thursday, April 10:

Gnarls Barkley @ Highline Ballroom

M.O.T.O. @ Knitting Factory

David Dondero & The Entire State of Florida @ Knitting Factory

Friday, April 11:

The Dirtbombs; Kelley Stoltz; Care Bears on Fire @ Bowery Ballroom

Pissed Jeans @ Knitting Factory

Nada Surf @ Terminal 5

The Sadies @ Luna Lounge

The Nouvelas @ Maxwell's

Man Man; Yeasayer @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple

David Dondero & The Entire State of Florida @ Union Hall

Ambulance Ltd @ Mercury Lounge

NYC Smoke @ Lucky Cat

Disco Biscuits @ Nokia Theater

Saturday, April 12:

Hot Chip @ Terminal 5

The Giraffes; Wormburner @ Mercury Lounge

Disco Biscuits @ Nokia Theater

A Big Weekend for Brooklyn

The NY Times profiled a bunch of bands and the scene in general, but...does Vampire Weekend really qualify as a Brooklyn band? At least some of the members moved to the borough but does that really count? They were based out of Columbia before hitting it big.

Whether they are from Brooklyn or not, VW were on SNL this weekend, another notch in their unbelievably rapid fire ascent.

The Reign of Brooklyn

Again borrowing from Stereogum and again MTV profiles music: It's just about official now that Brooklyn not just dominates over Manhattan but exists as an independent, unjoined entity.

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Brooklyn - and by Brooklyn this means only Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and now parts of Bushwick - is self-sustaining. Bands reside, record, and perform all in Brooklyn and now there are a host of different sized venues (from the holes-in-the-wall that Todd P cultivates to the Luna Lounge and Music Hall) for these bands to scale the ladder of.

This is all a bit confusing as it didn't seem that there would be any reason to disassociate Hipsterville East - Williamsburg - from Hipsterville West - The LES. One would truly have to be in the know, in the "scene" to distinguish a happening, creative flourish of activity in Brooklyn from one not happening in Manhattan. But in a way, it does make sense. The garage rock scene did die off - all the "the" bands seem to have disappeared, moved on, or changed their game. And while the Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, Pianos, Cake Shop, and Arlene's Grocery all pack in a ton of excellent and creative acts - there is a sense of being stifled in the LES. If anything, it's a product of rent and migration. As more and more artists moved to Brooklyn as a means of survival, they turned Brooklyn into the self-sustaining city it is today. Why trek across the packed L train or pay expensive cab fares over the bridge when you can set up shop a few blocks away in a loft?

A few observations on the piece:
-The dismissal of not having Brooklyn roots was sort of obnoxious. It is doubtful that there is some backlash against these bands for not being made up of born-and-bred Brooklynites. Rock n' roll has never been organic to Brooklyn. It has been to Queens for some reason, but not Brooklyn. Brooklyn natives used to be pop singers and now they're mostly rappers. So relax. Fuggedaboutit!
-While Todd P is mostly correct in that none of these bands sound the same, most - at least those profiled on MTV - all seem to be inspired by the DIY-keep-it-dissonant ethic of the No Wave movement that were headlined once by Sonic Youth, again by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and will be headlined again by one of these bands. It all does sort of blend together after a bit.
-Kyp Malone may be seen all over Williamsburg but you know - you can see him all over Chelsea too. So there.

As all things of this nature go, there is always instant nostalgia for a few years before. All these come-and-gone live spaces longed for and remembered by a dwindling few as new blood comes to roost in the new hot spots. It's happened to Manhattan neighborhoods over and over and it will happen again in Brooklyn. As Zebulon has replaced Tonic, something in the next few years will probably replace Zebulon. And in 10-15 years, people in Sheepshead Bay, Canarsie, and Coney Island will talk about the old days of Yeasayer and MGMT at a Todd P party on Bushwick Ave (or something to that effect).
Of course by that time, Brooklyn may very well just be independent from Manhattan altogether (let's face it, it isn't just the hipsters that don't need Manhattan to survive...all the new immigrant communities all over the borough seem to be doing just fine) and we'll all be distracted by the Mayoral election contest between the incumbent old fogey Bruce Rattner and the insurgent relative youngster Elwood Pennypacker, whose coalition of Carribean, Russian, Chinese, and Hipsters, combined with a surprise endoresment from former President Bloomberg, could deliver City Hall at Erasmus to the upstart. Plus, the TV on the Radio reunion show at the Brooklyn Dodgers first game back home since '57 will be all the rage. You never know...