Music

If you haven’t yet seen Willow Smith’s (spawn of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett) music video debut of  ”Whip My Hair” it’s shot up on YouTube faster than you can say Justin Bieber. Which all makes sense, considering the two tweenie music sensations share not only a love for hair, but director Ray Kay as well. The Norwegian native turned City of Angels resident sports a long resume of clips including Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Cheryl Cole and Sean Paul, but lately, his work has been with the younger set including Bieber’s saccharine “Baby” single and now Willow’s 8 million+ video. On his new starlet, Kay says, Continue…

For those fans of The Postal Service, the man behind the floaty synth base melodies and otherworldly sound is the one to watch this winter. Dntel aka the LA-based Jimmy Tamborello aka James Figurine is back with two Sub Pop records to hit shelves Dec. 7. The double dose (aptly named After Parties 1 and 2 for you night owls) is only out on 12″ and digital audio files (sayonara CDs). More importantly the discs tackle a more experimental go. For those fans of Tamborello’s super popular collaborations – notably there are plenty of reissued group effort tracks interspersed throughout – get set for an about face: all of the eight new tracks are going after a more instrumental sound and without a collaborator in sight. Continue…

Graphic designer, model and all around creative Jannike Viveka Olofsson isn’t one to rest her artsy spirit on posing for the cameras. The Stockholm native takes us on a raucous inside look at her inner circle – think rabble rousing by the stylish downtown sort. As the 24-year old describes it, she has “a weakness for singing whiskey voices, men’s perfume on her wrists, computer games, rock n’ roll, tattoos, roller coasters, dark-haired men, clothing and photography.”

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I caught up with Christian Letts, the lead guitarist of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, this past Saturday where the band was performing at the DeLuna Festival in Pensacola, Fla. Along on explaining the 10-piece band’s positive mantra, Christian chats what the crew is up to next and shares an anecdote on what made his mother proud. Continue…

Call it our Mad Men predilection, but we’re having a moment with the late ’50s/early ’60s. Enter San Francisco native Kelley Stoltz, who’s been getting his inspiration straight from the source; the neo-Beatle has just released his latest LP To Dreamers on Sub Pop and true to the moniker, there’s the heavy-on-the-chords riffs that seem a straight shot back to history. It might be the charming retro feel – the single “I Don’t Get That” available for free download sports a Beatles meets Beach Boys chorus singing style – but there’s some serious guitar work layered in there too. We can see why Stoltz fandom hasn’t reached the same fervor as say Miike Snow and Ra Ra Riot, but this CD has a solid backbone built on a different sound. Pop it on while cruising down PCH on a perfectly sunny day and you’ll see what I mean. Continue…

I stand corrected. Vampire Weekend isn’t just a great band that eloquently combines clever lyrics with melodies infused with an essence of a 1980s summer. Oh no, this popular indie-rock band knows how to perform and hypnotize the crowd with the perfect blend of vintage sounds and African inspired beats. While the big music city performances (such a NYC, LA and Seattle  tickets) get the attention, last Monday night in Orlando, Fl., Vampire Weekend took to the stage and gave a wickedly delightful performance for hundreds of concertgoers at the Hard Rock Live in Universal Studios. Continue…

Our musical taste usually veers towards indie darlings, but when talent comes knocking, it can come from any genre. Meet the derty South’s latest star J. Cole. The 24-year old rapper blew onto the scene with this gorgeous, one full-length shot music video on YouTube for his single “Who Dat.” Six million plus hits later and a christening by Jay-Z later (he was the first artist signed to Jay Z’s Roc Nation label), we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Continue…

Does it come as any surprise that Swedish threesome Miike Snow can turn an ordinary night into an all-out audible assault? Comprising singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wyatt and producer duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg (also known as Bloodshy & Avant), that’s just what these men did last Wednesday evening. Miike Snow was in New York last week as part of a mini American tour. The short stint includes 11 stops so far and they kicked it off at Terminal 5, complete with antlers and all. (They have this fixation with jackalopes, in case you’re a latecomer.) Yes, the equipment came bedecked with elaborate headgear. Continue…

Last week at Terminal 5, self-promotion proved the last thing on the minds of Canadian band Dragonette. Try as I might, getting Martina Sorbara (singer-songwriter), Dan Kurtz (bassist & producer) and Joel Stouffer (drummer) to talk about their talent was tough. Tangents ran rampant, dragging us in unprecedented directions, far away from my collection of questions and initial interests. Be that as it may, our 30-minute conversation ended up being the best part of my day. Hell, my whole week. The couple (Kurtz and Sorbara), who live in the UK, and Joel, who still lives in their hometown of Toronto, were eerily easy to speak to – no nerves, no ego, no nothing. They had me laughing harder than I’ve ever laughed during an interview. Continue…

Inflected with a grunge-y tone Atlantic/Pacific wins over all those with a penchant for Pearl Jam and Nirvana but sans the ’90s angst. The band is the newest effort from Garrett Klahn, formerly the singer of Texas Is the Reason that bit the dust back in 1997, and it looks like Klahn has mellowed some. Atlantic/Pacific’s title track for their debut album is the moody romance-driven “Meet Your New Love” with swooning guitars and intimate vocals made for the early morning hours after a raucous night out. Get your free music download of the new track before the album drops on No Sleep Records October 26. Continue…