READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
Some folks have so much going on that a Day in the Life simply isn’t enough. I sat down with L.A. producer-on-the-rise Ricky Reed (Jason Derulo, Lunchmoney Lewis, Robin Thicke, Icona Pop) to trace an entire week’s worth of studio sessions, release parties, and — yep — grade-school plays.
Yes yes yes yes. A video that includes 3-D avatars having acrobatic sex. A song that includes the words “gotta get my brains outside of my face.” An interview that hinges upon terms like “vintage internet,” “sea punk” and “ayahuasca,” plus includes the following choice quote: “If you think you’ve seen the dark side of the internet, you haven’t seen shit until you’re on the porn message board circuit trying to figure out how to make 3-D figures fuck.” Loyal readers know Aural Standards has been backing Wallpaper since the VERY BEGINNING, so we’re pumped to have this up on the SPIN homepage right now. #tehinternetz
This is NOT the video in question, but also involves creative use of upchuck:
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.
$5 worth of fun. Straight up.
I’ve thrown my lot in with the inimitable eagle-eyed talent-scouting genius Jesse Miller (also known, when not in character, as the extraordinary comedic force Andre Hyland). “Miller” hosts a hilarious monthly talk show at The Improv in Hollywood featuring comics, actors and writers. Starting with this Friday’s gig, I’ll be booking a musical guest for each show, and we’re kicking things off with flashy dance destroyer Wallpaper., whose #STUPiDFACEDD EP is currently making the rounds. Here’s LAist’s take on The Jesse Miller Talk Show, and here’s what you’d be missing … if you were stupid(facedd) enough to miss it:
White boy wasted.
Due to WordPress-derived technical difficulties, I can’t actually embed the video on Aural Standards, but it’s worth a click or two to watch. Dig in!
Give us one more button, Ricky. Let's see that chest mane, mane.
Party jam of the year, bar none, even if it hasn’t had the opportunity to soundtrack many parties yet. (The free song dropped earlier this month, and Four Loko references aren’t really the stuff of holiday galas.) That didn’t stop me from spilling some ink on it though, via my ballot for The A.V. Club’s year-end music coverage. You can click here and scroll down to “My Effing Jam,” or just listen, read and download below:
In honor of the seven-night, 14-band spectacular going down at the Downtown Independent in honor of The Scenesters screening, we’ve got an album’s worth of songs for you — one from every artist on the bill.
Tickets here. Or, pay $15 at the venue to come back all week.
DOWNLOAD: The Scenesters Run L.A., the Album [zip file]
Or, here: via Mediafire.
Stream the entire thing after the jump.
Wallpaper's a junkie for your love.
Short, but sweet:
Download this track now. Don’t even stream it first — there’s no need. It’ll live in your headphones for weeks, and (it hopes) eventually worm its way onto that springtime barbecue jam playlist you’re so diligently developing. For the uninitiated, Donwill is an excellent rapper from the East Coast/Midwest trio Tanya Morgan, and the Park are a badass group of Bay Area dudes who lend their riddim section to all kinds of great acts. And if you read this blog, you should already know who Wallpaper is.
We hear Questlove is a fan.
Howdy folks. The movie that I handled music supervision for a couple of years back is making its return to Los Angeles and guess what — you can watch it for FREE. The Scenesters, a noir mockumentary set in Silver Lake, is playing on Friday, March 19, at 3 p.m. at The Directors Guild Of America (7920 Sunset Blvd., 90046). Again, admission is absolutely free. Just RSVP by emailing mattg@dga.org or calling (310) 289-2033.
This Friday at 10 a.m., and next Tuesday at 8 p.m., The Scenesters will be screening at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. For those who don’t know, Slamdance is the scrappy, indier cousin to Sundance, which happens concurrently in the same city. And for those (perhaps same people, perhaps others) who don’t know, yours truly was the music director for the film. Here’s a trailer. More info on the festival screening here.
Chris Writes Things 