Forest Fire

A post from two musings:

1. Skyped with an ex-pat bestie yesterday - whenever I talk to her, (by that meaning I try not to look at myself in the small corner screen and wince over my flourescent-washed complexion. C'mon, you do it, too.), I consider the finger on the collective cultural pulse. What the Old Country thinks of the music scene of the New Country.
2. Mood rings came up in a morning conversation - makes me nostalgic for lost pieces of 7th grade jewelry and aura readings.

And so, "Fortune Teller" comes off the '08 album "Survival" that the French music review La Blogotechque rated above "For Emma, Forever Ago" and "Fleet Foxes." A Brooklyn quartet favoring lo-fi garage ramshackle ramblings, the instrumentation makes me think dissonance and dark burning embers. Recorded mostly live in less than five takes between Brooklyn and Portland, the nonchalant approach may be a shoulder shrug as to why they haven't broken through like better bearded, tightly produced counterparts. The tracks are a little looser, the mortar between shellacked not so thick.
Not that I don't dig it! Clearly, I do. And if the French like you, hell, who cares? They don't like much of anyone.

Forest Fire // Fortune Teller

KiD CuDi

Scott Ramon Segring Mescudi
Kid Cudi. Kid Cuddy. King Cuddler. Maybe?

This Ohio-originated, Brooklyn-based rapper has been on the tip of many a tongue as of late and is pretty deserving of it. Yeah, that means I'm a little late to add my thumbs up to the roster, what of it?

For those who are equally belated, you may internally muse..
"hmm, well then...this kinda sounds like Kanye?"

Not that surprising - Kanye signed CuDi to GOOD MUSIC at the ripe old age of 20, which explains easy album cameos by fellow label artists such as Common. He certainly has the this/side/of/left/hip-hop appeal as his mentor - but CuDi isn't making a jackass of himself yet, just good music.

Hip-hop may not have oft appearances on ES, but one of my favored tracks features MGMT and Ratatat which should keep any irate calls from mckay at bay. Fingers crossed.

KiD CuDi // Pursuit of Happiness (f. MGMT and Ratatat)

XX

Warm, dark, lascivious, and un petit diret du noir - this London teenage quartet's skeletal electro pop manages to have layers with minimal instrumentation. It may take a few listens but the breathy exchange of male and female vocals, dark romanticism and fluidity will catch you up to leave you hovering on the thermals. If the music doesn't get your attention, the NKOTB haircut will. What number razor is that, anyway?

"I don't have to leave anymore
what I have is right here.
Spend my nights and days before
searching the world for what's right here"

Next week it's thrasher aorta thrumming tracks ONLY, scout's honor. xx chirgo

XX // Islands

Monsters of Folk

Cream. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Traveling Wilburys. The Highwaymen. Velvet Revolver. Tinted Windows. (even Taylor Hanson gets a fist bump on this blog)

Better than that last bite of Thanksgiving dinner, supergroups are a heady blend of performers who've already made a name for themselves as legal pundits or geography bee champs. In this recent wave of rocker emulsion, I've been looking out for the Monsters of Folk album since early summer. Conor Oberest (Bright Eyes), M.Ward (She & Him), Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket) and producer/engineer Mike Mogis - these fellas have joined each other on and offstage, share recipes and have weekly get-togethers for MNF. Total bros.

Scheduling a late autumn trip around the world, for each M.O.F. ticket sold a $1 will go to local non-profits. Karma & jams, as dear to me as pb&j. Word on the street is they'll be switching instruments and trading roles throughout each show in the spirit of their laidback collaboration. I'm sure they won't mind me stepping in for a little triangle jangle and a recorder solo.

Will they be a success or a novelty? Take a listen and decide for yourself - I like you more when you have an opinion.

M.O.F. // Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
M.O.F. // Temazcal

Grizzled Again

We’re barely into the third week of the semester and already there’s a substitute? Bullocks! Unheard of!

Well sorry kiddos, you’re just going to have to accept it and carryon with the mundane of day to day. Truth is – your music sage is on hiatus. A walkabout, roaming the wilderness and tracing his songlines while having out of body’s in new dimensions.

Or something like that.
I’ll pick up some slack until he returns to his earthbound vessel for good.

Behold – the liberation of Grizzly Bear’s newest video. Another wonder of stop motion animation directed by Sean Pecknold aka Grandchildren aka Robin Pecknold’s of Fleet Foxes fame brother. Not for those feint of heart (the humor just gets lamer in Mckay’s absence) the masked fencer has an out of body experience of his own to the lyrics of one of the best breakup songs ever written.

Grizzly Bear // While You Wait For The Others