Yo Gabba Gabba releases ‘Awesome’ comp
My kid is too young to appreciate Yo Gabba Gabba but, based on the musicial guests the show draws, I think it will be dad-approved viewing in the near future. And the little dude already likes music. Yo Gabba Gabba: Music Is Awesome Volume 2 leads a thin release schedule Tuesday.
The latest compilation features MGMT, the Tings Tings, Apples in Stereo, Hot Hot Heat, Datarock, Weezer and others.
Check out the Ting Tings singing the song Happy Birthday here. The Yo Gabba Gabba remix below isn’t on the album.
No Age makes a rock album
There’s already a lot of chatter about the new No Age album, Everything In Between, a month before its release. Leaked recently, Everything In Between, is the most straightforward rock album No Age has made, and it’s the most accessible.
That’s not a bad thing. After a couple of listens, I really like this album and I’m a huge fan of Weirdo Rippers. I like to see bands stretch and try new things. While new for the L.A. duo, the songs have a familiar ring from a historical standpoint. Fever Dreaming sounds like a classic punk song (with a No Age twist), while the first single, Glitter, has a ’90s-era Sonic Youth feel. Valley Hump Crash doesn’t sound anything like a No Age song with its upbeat indie tempo.
We were already seeing the band’s progression with the 2008 release Nouns. Everything In Between (out Sept. 28) just takes it a little farther.
No Age opens shows for Pavement in Chicago and Milwaukee in a couple of weeks.
Stooges show moved to smaller venue
The Stooges show scheduled for Sunday moves from the Aragon to the smaller Riviera, signaling ticket sales are lower than expected, Greg Kot reports. Maybe this reunion is beginning to run its course. Iggy Pop launched his reunited Stooges, adding Minutemen bassist Mike Watt, back in 2003. The band’s performance was the highlight of the 2007 Lollapalooza. But you can only go so far with a group that’s far more popular today than when it performed in the 1970s.
This tour is without original guitarist Ron Asheton, who died early last year. James Williamson, who played guitar on the classic stooges album Raw Power, replaces him. No official reason was given for the change in venue this weekend, Kot reports.
Best bet: Hollows at the Hideout
Two overwhelming trends in indie music this year: The ’60s girl group sound and ’60s-era garage. Chicago’s Hollows have a foot in both genres but are more in the latter camp. This mostly girls group plays Hideout Thursday. Tyler Jon Tyler and the Half Rats open.
Best bet: Casiokids, Light Pollution at Schubas
There’s an interesting pairing at Schubas Wednesday night. Electro-pop Norwegians Casiokids headline a show opened by Chicago’s Light Pollution, which is more of an atmospheric psych band that sometimes sounds like Grizzly Bear.
Ruiners serve up a taste of Detroit sleaze
The Motor City produced a number of scuzzy, super-nasty rock ‘n’ roll bands over the last few decades. The Ruiners try to uphold that tradition with their album Happy Birthday Bitch on the venerable Chicago-based Pravda Records (out Tuesday).
I’m not in love with every song on the album but there’s definitely some fun stuff here.
New video: Arcade Fire’s ‘Ready to Start’
This new video for Arcade Fire’s Ready to Start is pretty epic.
Best bet: Screaming Females at Schubas
Screaming Females started out playing basements around New Brunswick, New Jersey, several years ago, but toured like crazy to get wider recognition. It’s good stuff. Check the band out at an all-ages show at Schubas Saturday night.
Bring the noise: Neon Marshmallow fest debuts
Noise is sort of the underground of underground music. Usually relegated to a small section of any indie record store, a mishmash of artists are thrown in a single bin titled “noise/ambient/experimental.” Live shows usually take place in hole-in-the-wall venues before small crowds.
As the four-day Neon Marshmallow festival beginning tonight at the Viaduct Theater shows, noise is a hard category to define. The inaugural event features music that ranges from the harsh sounds of Japan’s Government Alpha to the breezy songs of Ducktails (a side project of Real Estate’s Matt Mondanile). There are artists from all over the world (more than 90 of them altogether) but some Chicago acts will be playing as well. Locals Tiger Hatchery close out the fest on Sunday.
New music: Sex Beet releases ‘Stay’
The garagey U.K. band Sex Beet just released the single Stay, a really catchy little surf-rock song.
Check out the video the band created for a previous release, She Don’t Surf.
Massive Attack plays internet station KCRW
Massive Attack recently played KCRW. It was the first time these guy ever played on U.S. radio, according to the folks at the internet station. Here are a couple of clips, both songs from this year’s awesome Heligoland.
By the way, the station is in the midst of a fund-raising drive.
Lolla starts off strong thanks to Mavis, Strokes
There were a number of really strong sets the first day of Lollapalooza, and I didn’t even see Lady Gaga’s performance (which reportedly sucked).
The 71-year-old Mavis Staples smoked, introducing some new songs and closing her set with her classic I’ll Take You There. As I suspected, Jeff Tweedy, who produced her upcoming album, joined Staples on stage for a couple of songs.
The slightly younger Jimmy Cliff, 62, also sounded great, playing a high-energy show just before the headliners. I also caught strong sets by the Walkmen, Drive-By Truckers, Devo, Dirty Projectors and the Black Keys.
Trying to stage a comeback, the Strokes needed to give the performance of their career. They didn’t disappoint, opening with a raging version of New York City Cops. It was an interesting choice for an opener. The band removed the song from the U.S. version of its 2001 debut, Is This It, out of respect for the cops on the scene after the September 11 attacks.
New release: Arcade Fire’s ‘The Suburbs’
Arcade Fire’s new album, The Suburbs, is finally out Tuesday. After the band’s two classics, Funeral and Neon Bible, there are very high expectations for this one. A few of the songs already trickled out but, as Win Butler would say: you have to listen to the entire album before passing judgment.
The band headlines Lollapalooza on Sunday, a bright spot in a largely ho-hum lineup of headliners.
