Tag: Thom Yorke

The Best of Coachella 2012 Weekend Two: Thom Yorke, Wallpaper, St. Vincent, Feist, David Guetta, Girl Talk, Miike Snow, Explosions in the Sky

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Another thing that made Coachella 2012 so unforgettable was the fact that we experienced it twice. Our comrade in arms Christopher R. Weingarten did a helluva job summing up the weirdness of all that (read “Why the Hell Did We Go to Coachella Weekend Two?” via SPIN) while we here at Aural Standards took the chance to see just about everything we’d missed on the first run. Below are are four favorite sets from each day. Below you’ll find a list of what we covered with excerpted bits. Click on the DAY to read full reviews at SPIN.

FRIDAY
1. Wallpaper:  when he clapped, they clapped; when he bounced, they leapt…
2. Gary Clark Jr:  Black Keys could’ve learned a thing or two about the blues…
3. Explosions in the Sky:  floating in on a pillow of harmonic resonance…
4. Ximena Sariñana:  her powerful voice and innate charm won us over…

SATURDAY
1. St. Vincent:  jagged blasts of guitar like vines of cherry bombs blowing…
2. Feist: the hulking, honking horns added a marching band-sized heft…
3. David Guetta:  even 50 feet back from the tent’s edge, it was a furnace…
4. Miike Snow:  Lykke Li coaxed the ancient viking vibes out of the music…

SUNDAY
1. Growlers: putting it down for the wastetoids, beach bums and shitheads…
2. Modeselektor & Thom Yorke: he bopped and jittered to the hyper beat…
3. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80: unceasing rhythms flagrantly defying the heat…
4. Girl Talk: taking breaks only to dance, head-bang or hype his loyal crowd…

Check out our coverage of Weekend One, plus other weirdness here.

News: M.I.A. + Yorke Guest with Major Lazer, De La Rocha Mystery Shows, Best Coast + Kid Cudi

Major Lazer gets collaborative.

Quick bloggy bits from around the L.A. underground (and up). Share ’em.

  1. FEATURED: M.I.A., Yorke, and More on Major Lazer EP*
  2. De La Rocha’s One Day as a Lion Plays Mystery L.A. Shows
  3. MP3: Dâm-Funk Goes Gangsta with Compton’s MC Eiht
  4. Watch: Best Coast, Cudi, Vampire Weekend’s Batmanglij
  5. Free Download: Calexico’s ‘Live in Nuremberg’ LP

(all stories via West Coast Sound, via L.A. Weekly)

* M.I.A. guests with Diplo, her one-time lover and longtime producer, on his’ new EP as Major Lazer, while Thom Yorke remixes “Jump Up.”

LA Weekly Cover: Flying Lotus’ Cosmic Drama

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Steven Ellison, a.k.a. Flying Lotus (Star Foreman)

The story is pretty thorough, so I’ll keep the introduction brief. I had the pleasure of profiling Steven Ellison, a.k.a. Flying Lotus, for the new issue of LA Weekly, on stands today. Ellison was kind enough to invite me into his home on two occasions, to share some very “special” snacks with me, and to more-or-less grant me unlimited access to his personal Rolodex. Cameos come from an international cast — Mary Anne Hobbs, Ravi Coltrane, the Gaslamp Killer, Daddy Kev, a man named Thundercat — but this is, at its core, an L.A. story. So if you live in that fair city, pick up a hard copy to read. If not, click here to dive in.

COACHELLA 2010: Reporting from Day Three

Julian Casablancas sings the Strokes, shot by Erik Voake

For Day Three of Coachella, Spin gave me a mission of breadth over depth. Holding down Sunday’s “Best and Worst Moments” roundup, I weighed in on the following: Julian Casablancas “covering” the Strokes; Phoenix’s unexpected bid for the main stage; Little Boots playing a laser harp; Thome Yorke and Flea dancing their asses off; Rusko destroying the delicate parts of the inner ear; and Deerhunter improvising a Coachella theme song.

Plus: Sunny Day Real Estate confirms its emo status, and the cast of Yo Gabba Gabba! joins King Khan and the Shrines on stage! Read it all here.

COACHELLA 2010: The Belated Preview

Charlotte Gainsbourg, shot by Andrew Herrold for Spin

So, I sorta spaced on this. On Thursday, LA Weekly released its annual Coachella issue and yours truly was all up in that ish. (Sorry, the long weekend has taken it’s toll on my creative juices.) While I realize the timeliness of this is a bit… untimely, since the focus is on L.A. artists, I’d like to get the word out.

Herein, you’ll find lots of good text on good performers from good writers like Jeff Weiss, Drew Tewksbury, Wendy Gilmartin and Daiana Feuer. I wrote on DJ Lance Rock, Devo, Edward Sharpe, the Glitch Mob, Mayer Hawthorne, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julian Casablancas, and Thom Yorke. Dig it.

Live In LA: Radiohead Perform Haiti Benefit

And then there was this. On Thursday, the news traveled like wildfire across the dry digi-field that is the interwebs: greatest band in the world (why not?) Radiohead was to throw an impromptu Oxfam benefit raising money for Haiti’s recovery at a 1300-person theater in L.A. As one reporter pointed out, the band typically sells out multiple nights at the Hollywood Bowl, capacity 18,000. Covering for Spin, I bumped into Britt Daniel (Spoon) and Eric Wareheim (Tim & Eric) in line outside of the Fonda, but neither that nor a face-to-face with J. Timberlake (also in attendance) could have been more thrilling than hearing nearly half of OK Computer performed live. Read about it.

Thommy and Jonny, shot by Tim Norris

*The photo comes courtesy of LA Weekly shutterbug Timothy Norris. Music editor Randall Roberts wrote a great review of the show as well, which you should read, here.