This weekend, the increasingly-sociable David Berman and company roll into town for a series of shows at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (Saturday) and Bowery Ballroom (Sunday). Yeah Silver Jews! We cannot wait; it’s been too long since we last saw them slay Webster Hall on St. Patrick’s Day a few years back. And with considerable amounts of touring and live shows logged since then, we anticipate Berman to be at the very peak of his game in front of an adoring New York crowd. So we’re sending you into the weekend with a series of videos to get you in the proper mood, all of which are culled from 2005’s outstanding Tanglewood Numbers - except for the final video, which is a trailer for the forthcoming documentary about the Silver Jews’ trip to Israel. Expect a review of at least one of the two shows early next week. Read more…
Today for your viewing pleasure, a handful of new and newish videos from Mute Records, including selections from their newest signings XX Teens (think Jonathan Richman on amphetamines), Hercules and Love Affair (this one looks like one of those old Lexus commercials), I’m From Barcelona (our former Band of the Weeker makes himself at home in the elevator), M83 (80s nostalgia alert in the best way imaginable), and Goldfrapp (”Caravan Girl” = “Cinnamon Girl” circa 2008?). Have a look see… Read more…
Submit for your approval the compelling phenomenon of the “rock frontman”, a figure indigenous to well-lit, amplified environments ranging in size from coliseums to cramped cellar bars. No two strut, howl, sweat, preen, shake or rock in precisely the same way, and for that reason it’s worth taking a closer look at three specimens who happened to have just released new music videos this week. The Hetfield, the Followill, the Leithauser, all remarkably distinct portraits of the frontman….one growls and hisses in the desert, one writhes in a well lit dungeon-like environment, and one croons in creepy clown-face, but yet all prevail in rock….
Read more…
This past Thursday night saw the final stop on Radiohead’s 2008 North American Tour. For this final show the band decided to webcast the show. If, like me, you were watching something else that night, here is a chance to catch a bit of what you missed - seven videos from the encore of their show in Santa Barbara.
ABOVE: “Cymbal Rush”
ABOVE: “Paranoid Android”
ABOVE: “Go Slowly”
ABOVE: “Everything in Its Right Place”
ABOVE: “Videotape”
ABOVE: “Lucky”
ABOVE: “Idioteque”
One of our very first Band of the Week selections was Screaming Tea Party, the masterful UK-based purveyors of the whole loud/soft and violent/gentle dynamic that we’ve grown to love so much. And yet, we haven’t heard much from them lately, most obviously because they still have yet to play any shows in the US. They have, however, just released a fantastic new video for “I’d Rather Be Stuck On The Stair Rail” and also were the subject of a recent short documentary “In The City”. Have a look and listen at both below. Read more…
In case you weren’t keeping track, Sam Champion is set to release their sophomore album Heavenly Bender this coming Tuesday, September 2nd. Hot dog! And for those who second Tom Petty’s assertion that the waiting is in fact the hardest part, take solace in the fact that you can now pre-order the album over at Amie Street for only three dollars. In the meantime, check out the following pair of amazingly surreal promotional videos the band recently cooked up:
above: Part 1
above: Part 2
Word on the street is that we can expect two more of these videos in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
What’s hot right now? Leather jackets, fur skirts, the DNC 2k8, fantasy football drafts, St. Germain, Michelle Obama, Madonna’s outfits, pumping your own yogurt at 16 Handles, Tropic Thunder, the Jonas Brothers, etc. etc. ad infinitum… it’s tough to keep up with it all sometimes. We sure can’t. However, one thing that we’ve got covered is the question of ‘what’s hot?’ in the world of music videos. Check them out below. Read more…
The Secret Life of Sofia have been named Jezebel Music’s Featured Artist for the month of August. They ran a great piece on the band - which you can read HERE - and also had them post up campfire style on a Brooklyn rooftop and perform an acoustic version of “Outside” from their excellent new album Seven Summits. After that, they throw some questions back and forth and bust out some Beatles a capella, check it out!
Buy Seven Summits on Insound.
The interview with this week’s Band of the Week, The Laughing, ended up mentioning a wide variety of bands. Below you’ll find videos from some of them.
ABOVE: “Young Men Dead” by Black Angels
ABOVE: “Firecracker” by Voxtrot
ABOVE: “More Than This” by Roxy Music
ABOVE: “2080″ by Yeasayer
ABOVE: “Time To Pretend” by MGMT
ABOVE: “Cadillac” by Gang Of Four
Friends of EAR FARM Goes Cube just recently appeared on the television show Fearless Music and played one of their new, “titled”, songs called “Clenching Jaws”. Check out the performance below. And, watch out for another performance from the band this Saturday 8/23 at 12:30am on Fearless Music where they’ll be playing another new song.
Simple as that, some videos for your enjoyment from artists releasing new albums this week. And judging from this selection alone, it’s been a particularly eclectic week for new releases. Of course, with albums from the Walkmen, Ra Ra Riot, Fiery Furnaces, the Toadies, and loads of others also joining these on store shelves this week, it’s also been a particularly awesome week. Enjoy the newness… Read more…
Last Sunday night, Bell (this time just Olga on keys, vocals, keytar, etc. and Jason on drums and sound effects) wowed an enthusiastic audience at the intimate Monkeytown in Brooklyn with a little bit of The Go-Go’s, a killer new song, and a slight reshaping of the Bell sound. Musically, it was one heck of a fun time. Visually, the abstracted slow motion Olympic footage added quite a bit to the overall experience. Check out the video below.
Jerry Wexler, who died on Friday, was instrumental in signing or producing some of the greatest artists of our time. Rolling Stone dubs him “The Man Who Invented Rhythm & Blues”. The Guardian recently called him “The Godfather of Soul”. Here at Ear Farm, however, we’d like to remember the music legend with help from a few of his acts.
Aretha Franklin – ” I Say A Little Prayer”
Ray Charles – “Hit The Road Jack”
Dusty Springfield – “Losing You”
Another day, another batch of new videos. In this rotation, a band that EF has long been a fan of (Bowerbirds), a band that we’ve recently gotten to know - and that you now know a bit more about thanks to Leo’s great guest piece on Wednesday - (Spanish Prisoners), and a band that we need to get to know much better judging by this excellent (and brand new) single (The Subjects). So there you have it, watch and get to know all three for yourselves, you won’t be disappointed. Read more…
EAR FARM favorites Takka Takka have just released a new video for their standout song “Silence”. The song is great, the album it’s from, Migration is fantastic, and the video? Well, what can I say? It’s a real treat. Check it out below.
above: “Silence” by Takka Takka [MP3]
