FRICTION NYC

Gorillaz Takeover the Guardian

Virtual music crock potters Gorillaz takeover the UK’s Guardian as only the likes of U2’s marketing team could have conjured up. Their new album Plastic Beach, one of 2010 most anticipated albums, is streaming now in its entirety on the site. Former Blur frontman and Britpop king Damon Albarn as well as comic-book artist Jamie Hewlett continue their own bizarre journey into hip-hop, electronic/traditional orchestration and dub, all categorized as alternative rock since their first Gorillaz release in 2001.

What first stands out is the diverse ‘featuring’ collaborations with the likes of Mos Def, Lou Reed, Mark E. Smith, De La Soul and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music. Their knack seems to be that there’s something here for everyone. Bobby Womack standouts on ‘Stylo’ and ‘Cloud of Unknowing’, how great would it have been to have Snoop Dogg on these tracks, but this would have been too easy for Gorillaz. The synthy chill-wavesque ‘On Melancholy Hill’ might as well be the breezy hit of the summer. Our only complaint is that Lou Reed falls flat and seems like an out of touch grandfather on ‘Some Kind of Nature’, which would have been better served with the likes of Lee Renaldo. We’re curious as to how they bring it all together live as this year’s headliner at Coachella. One thing is for sure, Snoop Dogg will be there as a collaborator on ‘Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach’.

On first listen this is the sort of album you would play at your own party after all the pesky party crashers have left and only the cool kids are left. Time to get the party started by busting out the top shelf stuff you’ve been hiding and wait for the sun to rise.

Stream the whole album now with no strings attached on the UK’s Guardian

FRICTION NYC presents: Pretty & Nice, Fugitive Souls, The Valley Arena | 8.01.09 @ littlefield

Get Hype!!! FRICTION is back from a break with a night at new performance and art space littlefield in Brooklyn. Headlining this month’s post mid-summer classic are NYC’s The Forms with Special Guests. On the bill are Boston’s Pretty & Nice who bring their form of frenetic and danceable form of pop and punk. Just added are Fugitive Souls with their dark, guitar-based angst mixed with electronic flourishes. All the way from Long Beach, melodic post-punkers The Valley Arena open up this as usual exciting night.

Advanced tickets are available at littlefield website. Doors open at 8 PM, flyer, mp3’s, and more below.

…Pretty & Nice re-imagine the playfully manic, barbed-wire sounds of Devo, XTC, and This Year’s Model-era Elvis Costello. Their approach is so guileless and giddy, you’ll get drunk on that spazzy, sneering sound all over again. Though the rousing, delightfully messy songs on their sophomore album are neither pretty nor nice, they do show off some masterfully economical riffs and herky-jerky (if not outright dance-y) rhythms. …swells with energy and amphetamine-addled pop hooks, making it hard to ignore and near impossible not to like. [Pitchfork]
[MP3]: Pretty & Nice “Tora Tora Tora”

 

Brooklyn’s Fugitive Souls are here to serenade you with the dark, romantic melodies on this week’s free download, “Hang On”, off their debut EP, Strangers. Singer, Mark Allen, formerly of the The Shapes, delivers an intimate, yet powerful performance akin to Muse’s Matt Bellamy. Beautiful piano chords punctuate Allen’s vocals while disco rhythms beat across the drummer’s hi-hat…[Our Stage]
[MP3]: Fugitive Souls “A Secret Weighs A Ton”

 

Long Beach’s Valley Arena deliver a dynamic, well-crafted modern rock album—I guess you could say that their sound has evolved and grown up, but they bring enough of their old building blocks to the studio to have assemble something mostly new, yet hazily familiar. They’re able to strike that delicate balance of their noisier/more frenetic elements with newly focused song structure that lends itself well to their individual playing styles. The real brilliance on this record is found in the guitar/bass tones… [L.A. Record]
[MP3]: The Valley Arena “Grayscale”

 

**FREE** CMJ Afterparty w/ Crystal Antlers, Best Fwends, & Ninjasonik | Tonight! @ Cake Shop

FRICTION NYC and FUCK YEAH FEST bring a little bit of the right coast, left coast, and in between to the Cake Shop for this CMJ Afterparty TONIGHT! Austin, Texas’ BEST FWENDS, along with Long Beach, California’s CRYSTAL ANTLERS, and Brooklyn’s very own NINJASONIK get hype for CMJ. Best Fwends gets shit moving at 1AM. No RSVP bullshit — just show up and GET HYPE! Free PBR while it lasts!

I didn’t even write any of this people, I put in something else earlier. Justin changed my shit up, another case of not being able to delegate and being controllingly anal. -Nghia

“BEST FWENDS’ music is a big attention-deficit-disordered smash-up of punk, early Beastie Boys and unrefined 8-bit sounds. It’s a kindred sound to those of British bands like Gay Against You and Applicants: frantic, but rooted in pop and/or rock. It’s trashy, cheap, headachy noise, but noise that a lot of love has clearly been put into.”
[MP3]: “Orange Marker”

“Existing at the cross-section of so many styles, CRYSTAL ANTLERS debut EP (Touch & Go) finds the band at a more important nexus of potential and realization. In person, Crystal Antlers look like outcasts from six different bands, and at various points on this record, they sound like it, too: Merging psych, garage, lo-fi, prog, and countless other influences, the group easily maintains consistency despite a complete inability to be pinned to any specific movement or trend.” [Pitchfork, Best New Music]
[MP3]: “A Thousand Eyes”

“Looking for a good time? You might want to call NINJASONIK. These Brooklyn art-hop pranksters combine spiky beats with rhymes about grabbing asses and the skinny jeans they wear…Mostly, though, people have been talking about these foul mouthed Ninjas for their debauchery fueled live shows, which has seen plenty of crowd diving and drunken punk rock antics…Whoa! Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” [Brooklyn Radio]
[MP3]: “Tight Pants”

Native Korean Rock & the Fishnets | Union Pool 7.21.08

Native Korean Rock & the Fishnets, the second show of the nite.

What one BV commenter said:

One of those moments in your life you will never forget! The songs couldn’t have been more beautiful and sincere. The MySpace demos are really the most basic rough draft of what was heard…

Flickr

Yeah!!!

Animals of Iraq

Since we’re all celebrating Independence Day today, it’s time we took a moment to remember the men, women…and animals in Iraq. Bust out your crayons and markers kids, Williamsburg illustrator Nick Manske recently published his Animals of Iraq coloring book. The book juxtaposes the innocence of a children’s coloring book, destructive scenes of war and cute indigenous Iraqi animals in their natural habitats. Who knew hedgehogs even lived in Iraq.

Buy it for your coffee table, which is where I have my copy (yeah there’s beer spilled all over it). When I have a copy of this book laying around, nothing screams ‘OMG, Nghia I never knew you were on such a sensitive tip with cute furry animals and were so knowledgeable and cared so much about the War, politics, the environment and all that stuff. You’re so deep can I sleep with you?’. Then I put on some Usher then I’m like ‘Yeah, I like to be on top the world’s issues and stuff, that’s like one of my interest in life. Take off your bra, I’ll show you my Purple Heart later’. I once showed this book to Crystal Castles and they went ga-ga wild over it, they were really impressed and even smiled.

You too can impress people, get your copy now.

[MP3]: Lissy Trullie “Self Taught Learner”

Sam Sparro!

When I first heard Aussie/LA/Londoner Sam Sparro a month ago, I immediately thought he was of black descent considering his booming soulful voice. I was wrong, this white boy can sing! Already a huge music chart climber in the UK, Sparro isn’t just a singer but a musician that writes, performs, produces and arranges all of his own material.

You may think why does the world need another Calvin Harris or Mika who likes to dabble in RnB and electro? I don’t know but his voice is easier on the ears than those other two guys. His self-titled was just released in the US yesterday. The song ‘Hot Mess’ stands out to me because you definitely hear some Prince and Gap Band. If you wanna hear the where is he now D’Angelo check out ‘Cottonmouth’. My real attraction to this album is it harkens the now cheesy mid-90’s acts that I loved like SWV, Jodeci and Blackstreet with the artificial sounding instrumentals (keyboards, synthesizers and beats). Throw in some English flavor from acts like Black Box and KLF and you have a description of this soulful-electro album.

You can buy it on Itunes right now.

[MP3]: Sam Sparro “Hot Mess”

Check out the Falco looking video for “Black and Gold”. Yeah he’s out of the closet.

The End is Near

Oh brother. Justin will probably get one of these so it can go along with his U2 Ipod, he loves Joy Division (he has a framed photo of Ian Curtis next to his bed). New Order was always the better band anyways. To me Joy Division is as overrated as Radiohead. I can’t lie though, I wouldn’t mind seeing the documentary to see what all the hype is about.

I’ll also take one of these Zunes if Microcock wants to give me one for free.

Here’s what the press release had to say:

REDMOND, Wash. — June 4, 2008 — Today Microsoft Corp. announced that a limited-edition Zune digital media player designed by Peter Saville will be made available to commemorate the DVD release of “Joy Division,” the critically acclaimed documentary. The film will come pre-loaded on a custom black Zune 80 player that is etched with an adaptation of Saville’s iconic artwork from Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures” album. Five hundred limited- edition players will be available for purchase June 17 for $399.99 through http://www.zune.net and http://www.zuneoriginals.net. In addition, Zune Marketplace will feature exclusive outtakes from the DVD.

“Joy Division” chronicles the story of the seminal post-punk band via firsthand accounts from the surviving band members and those who worked closely with them during their brief but highly influential existence.

“Partnering with Zune gives us a unique platform to tell the story of an iconic band and present something special to their fans,” said Tom Atencio, the film’s co-producer. “It also opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities regarding innovative promotion and distribution methods for independent films.”

The DVD release of “Joy Division” is also set for a June 17 release through Genius Products and The Weinstein Company, and has been widely praised for highlighting the enduring influence of the Manchester quartet while poignantly conveying the story of their brief career. The film was directed by Grant Gee, director of “Meeting People Is Easy” and “Demon Days.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to create a customized product in conjunction with an important project like the ‘Joy Division’ film,” said Richard Winn, director of Entertainment Development for Zune. “Building innovative consumer experiences around music and providing a platform to showcase the work of artists is what Zune is all about.”

“We are happy to be involved in this innovative alliance with Zune, and we’re honored that Zune chose our film ‘Joy Division’ for its limited-edition player,” said Barry Gordon, executive vice president of Home Entertainment at The Weinstein Company.

[MP3]: Low  ”Transmission”
A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division, Virgin; 1995