Bonus round! Read the whole thing here (West Coast Sound, LA Weekly)
THIS JUST IN: Leimert Park nu-funk pharaoh Dâm-Funk has leaked, via Twitter, an unreleased epic titled “The Lone L.A. Funksta”… Hard to believe the prolific fella has any extra material considering he’s released five mini albums this year, and yet, “Funksta” isn’t just a free song — it’s 12 minutes of free song. Perfect for Friday-night boulevard cruising.
Hello. Here’s some news.
Earlier this week, Kill Rock Stars announced that it’d acquired the rights to Elliott Smith’s first and last records — 1994’s Roman Candle, originally on Cavity Search, and 2004’s posthumous ANTI- release, From A Basement On A Hill — and that reissues are scheduled for April 6, 2010… [The label also] releas[ed] a free MP3 of a heretofore unheard Smith track… “Cecilia/Amanda”… But despite the usual tendency of the blogosphere to swallow whole all things downloadable and gratis, at least one writer has taken issue with the track.
Read on here, on West Coast Sound (via LA Weekly).
A short list of recommended L.A.-area shows for the coming week (plus videos for instant gratification). Click “details” for descriptions.
Something less, erm, bawdy from the L.A. music universe.
Friends Of Friends — friends of ours responsible for a growing crop of exciting releases — has just announced its signing of L.A./S.F. beat music artist, Shlohmo, a.k.a. 19-year-old Henry Laufer, a former intern at Dubab. […] Shlohmo’s glitchy, bass-heavy soundscapes are already drawing comparisons to the output of Flying Lotus and Nosaj Thing, both of whom are part of the Alpha Pup family, so dude should fit right in.
Read more, and download an MP3, here, via LA Weekly.
The latest installment of INCHES is now live on West Coast Sound (via LA Weekly). Click here to read about new vinyl from Long Beach folk-pop crew Avi Buffalo, New Wave revisionists Psychic Powers, scuzz-surf garage “group” Nerve City, and Stones Throw beat etherealist Koushik. Free MP3s and glorious photos accompany each, of course. Dig in!
Avi Buffalo, "What's In It For?"
As readers of pop culture journalism are well aware (and perhaps lamenting), the dawn of a new decade means twice the list-making. If culture can’t be quantified, well, I’m out of a job. Thus, its in the spirit of thankfulness, nostalgia and horizon-gazing that I offer to you, dear overstretched reader, the “Artists Of The Decade” as determined by myself and the good editors of Poptimist. Read it online (page 34), or pick one up ’round the streets of L.A. Huzzah!
Poptimist, Issue 2
More news from moi on West Coast Sound. Ramping up the sensationalism for kicks (and hits).
Admirers of the male figure (beardy Americana variety) take note: indie alt-country band Or, The Whale has just released a video for “Rusty Gold,” and it features a fella fitting that description wearing nothing more than the scruff on his chin.
Read on to watch the video and download the song.
A newsworthy bit, courtesy of LA Weekly‘s West Coast Sound.
“…What is news, however, is that said feature-length adv– err, documentary, Blood Into Wine, seems to feature appearances from Tim & Eric, Milla Jovovich, and Patton Oswalt. While there was no sign in the previously released preview clip of any sort of cheekiness, a brand new trailer plants tongue firmly therein, kicking off with an uncredited Bob Odinkirk playing the role of an unhinged viticulturist instructing the audience to “Suck off the tool” — a line one has to assume Keenan’s delivered scores of times before considering the hearsay on his backstage fellatio fests…”
Side note: I actually once dated a girl who was summoned to Keenan’s post-show den of d***-suck. She politely declined, of course.
Quick bloggy bits* from around the L.A. underground (and up).
(all stories via West Coast Sound, via LA Weekly)
*If you like it, then you better put a tweet on it.
Everyone’s gotta have a list, right? Well, we critics for The A.V. Club were given the opportunity to write on any of our personal favorites that didn’t make the publication’s official countdown. Despite the presence of Fall Out Boy on said countdown, it was assembled democratically, with each critic having received 100 points to distribute as she/he saw fit on up to 15 records (with no more than 15 points for any single album).
The individual ballots have been published, and this link goes directly to mine, which includes writeups on game-changers like Neon Indian and Fool’s Gold, overlooked moments of greatness from DM Stith, Wallpaper, and Themselves, quieter things like Tiny Vipers, and creepy stuff like Fever Ray (plus a few others).
DM Stith, 'Heavy Ghost'
Chris Writes Things 