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Neogaf Rock/Indie/Alt Music Thread (RockGAF?)

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That's a pretty awesome line-up LA Gaf!
I've been the last two years, and I'm going this year as well. My friends and I have made it a tradition. MBV (I was front and center!!!) last year and now Slowdive. The shoegaze revival has been long overdue.

I fucking love FYF. It has such a genuine vibe. They moved the location this year, though. The last one was a park in the middle of Chinatown, but I have no idea how the new one is.
 

Linius

Member
Well the top of the post says LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, I guess that's the location then? :p

Also that Slowdive footage sounds great. Can't wait.

And the last festival I'm going to at the end of august announced Mac DeMarco today. So after missing him numerous times I should now be able to finally catch him live. Unless they schedule him on the same time slot as Arctic Monkeys... :p
 
I meant how, not where. :p

I missed him last year at FYF due to scheduling constraints, but I won't make that mistake this time. Love me some Mac. He actually did a signing too. I met Paul Banks of Interpol two years ago there during a signing.

Also, I doubt they would schedule Mac Demarco and Arctic Monkeys at the same time at any festival. AM is headliner big these days!
 

Linius

Member
I meant how, not where. :p

I missed him last year at FYF due to scheduling constraints, but I won't make that mistake this time. Love me some Mac. He actually did a signing too. I met Paul Banks of Interpol two years ago there during a signing.

Also, I doubt they would schedule Mac Demarco and Arctic Monkeys at the same time at any festival. AM is headliner big these days!

Yeah, AM is a headliner there. Mac is the second to last act at a smaller stage. But at this moment there's no info on what times these stages start and end. But I think it will work out. Probably have to hurry my ass over to the main stage afterwards.

Always nice to meet some artists at signings. Usually I skip them though because there are already too many bands playing I want to see.
 
this Mac DeMarco "Still Together" performance is so great:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdLY6GRF6X0

if anyone was curious, his previous project was called Makeout Videotape:
http://makeoutvideotape.bandcamp.com/

Going to see him tonight, gonna be great!

His Makeout Videotape stuff is all a bit unpolished, understandably.

Anyone here into Courtney Barnett? There's only about 4 songs off her first album I really like but she's definitely promising. She's got a bit of a weird lyrical style, just kinda rambling on about kinda mundane shit but it works for me.
 

Linius

Member
I love her debut LP. My post about it didn't catch much wind so I guess it's just you and me :p

Gonna see her next month at a festival.
 

Jitters

Member
Man, if Swans weren't so ludicrously arty they would be such a better band. Thematically the album is great, and when they are making songs, they are on point, but then they make us sit through their meandering sounds. Gross. Thats always been my problem with them.
 

Jitters

Member
I play the shit out of their songs that are good post punk songs. When they start with the 32:00 crescendo-core crap, I'm out.





The new tune yards album is twee as fuuuuuuuck.
 

Jitters

Member
Its bloody phenomenal!

Glad to see her getting the recognition she deserves, she is magnificent!

I agree, I was just pointing out the obvious. That, EMA, and Wussy have been my favorite of the recent releases.

On paper, an act like EMA sounds terrible, a poetry nerd making arty rock with noise influence, but I'll be damned if it isn't very listenable. Loved Past Life Martyred Saints too.
 

faridmon

Member
I agree, I was just pointing out the obvious. That, EMA, and Wussy have been my favorite of the recent releases.

On paper, an act like EMA sounds terrible, a poetry nerd making arty rock with noise influence, but I'll be damned if it isn't very listenable. Loved Past Life Martyred Saints too.

Oh, I was agreeing with you. We all British speaking people always happen to be misunderstood ;p

The moment you make anything experimental, yes, on paper, it sounds very undeseribale to listen. But the likes of Merill Garbus, can wave a catchy tunes that sounds very authentic and pleasurable.

Also, is it weird to think of her as a good substitute for the old Architecture in Helsiki music?
 

Pacbois

Member
Just checked my concert planning :

Last tuesday : Cloud Nothings (really good show)
Sunday : Neutral Milk Hotel (with Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier opening)
June 3 : Arcade Fire
June 7 : Slowdive + Loop + Hookworms
June 8 : Jagwar Ma + Nisennenmondai
and maybe June 9 : The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Wow. Not bad.
 

Linius

Member
Just checked my concert planning :

Last tuesday : Cloud Nothings (really good show)
Sunday : Neutral Milk Hotel (with Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier opening)
June 3 : Arcade Fire
June 7 : Slowdive + Loop + Hookworms
June 8 : Jagwar Ma + Nisennenmondai
and maybe June 9 : The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Wow. Not bad.

I saw that one come by at a Dutch music forum, that's an amazing combo of names.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Firstly I'll be checking out two rather short sessions of 30 minutes each from together PANGEA and Black Lips. And then the real fun begins with Hallo Venray, The War on Drugs and Neutral Milk Hotel.

And for anyone not Dutch (supposing Dutch people know them), make sure to check the Hallo Venray record from this year. It's so great but I don't think they've ever been across the border.

Hallo Venray - Two Feet

Hallo Venray - Controversy

Hallo Venray - Bob Dylan Lyrics

Hallo Venray - Buildings (Live at Record Store Day, sound quality so-so)
 

faridmon

Member
Just checked my concert planning :

Last tuesday : Cloud Nothings (really good show)
Sunday : Neutral Milk Hotel (with Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier opening)
June 3 : Arcade Fire
June 7 : Slowdive + Loop + Hookworms
June 8 : Jagwar Ma + Nisennenmondai
and maybe June 9 : The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Wow. Not bad.

Holy shit, what a combination! I bet big time you are going to enjoy that show a lot.

Jagwar ma came to my city two ago, too bad, I planned to go to another 5 shows and didn't have money left. Hopefully, I'll see the dude next time!
 

Linius

Member
So I finally saw Neutral Milk Hotel yesterday and they rocked my world. The crowd was going nuts to every up tempo song. At least in the front, I have no clue what happened in the rest of the venue but I had a blast. Jeff doing Oh Comely alone was magic. Also worth noting the bands was just so in it, they looked like a bunch of mates having fun to fall in cliches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EPZQunlky0

While watching some NMH vids I stumbled upon this (fairly old) cover of Two Headed Boy by The Swell Season (Glen Hansard). It's pretty damn impressive :D

Earlier on yesterday I saw a short session (for TV) of Hiss Golden Messenger. Just him and his guitar in front of maybe 40 people but it was stunning.
 

Pacbois

Member
Holy shit, what a combination! I bet big time you are going to enjoy that show a lot.

Jagwar ma came to my city two ago, too bad, I planned to go to another 5 shows and didn't have money left. Hopefully, I'll see the dude next time!

And it's a free outdoor show, even better :D

I saw them at Pitchfork Paris last year, they were a great surprise, the crowd went wild.
 
So I finally saw Neutral Milk Hotel yesterday and they rocked my world. The crowd was going nuts to every up tempo song. At least in the front, I have no clue what happened in the rest of the venue but I had a blast. Jeff doing Oh Comely alone was magic. Also worth noting the bands was just so in it, they looked like a bunch of mates having fun to fall in cliches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EPZQunlky0

Amazing to hear. They're coming to Ottawa in September and even though I got a pass day 1 I've heard mixed reviews of some recent shows.
 

Linius

Member
Amazing to hear. They're coming to Ottawa in September and even though I got a pass day 1 I've heard mixed reviews of some recent shows.

For what it's worth, on a Dutch forum all the guys were (including journos) amazed by NMH last night :D

I wonder what Danielsan thought of it, he was there too yesterday.

And I booked my ticket to Jabberwocky in august so I can experience it all again. Later next week they will play Primavera btw, I suppose it will be streamed. Or at least some high quality footage shot for TV will surface.
 

Pacbois

Member
So yeah Neutral Milk Hotel are really amazing live. Really surprised by how good they sound, the energy on stage, and how greatful Jeff is to the audience. I was a bit surprised by how they played most of the "hits" in the first 30 minutes, but that's probably because they really play for them, not for the money or any other bad reasons. If you can see them, go for it !

And I booked my ticket to Jabberwocky in august so I can experience it all again. Later next week they will play Primavera btw, I suppose it will be streamed. Or at least some high quality footage shot for TV will surface.

The Jabberwocky line-up is soooooooooo good. I wish I could go, tickets are cheap but London is freaking expensive and I'm not sure if I'll be able to go. I doubt they're is going to be streams or pro footage. The band staff really insisted on people not taking pictures of the show and I guess Jeff is really camera-shy.
 
The band staff really insisted on people not taking pictures of the show and I guess Jeff is really camera-shy.

I actually kind of appreciate this since it stops me from watching them on every festival stream possible beforehand.

On the other hand if I didn't have the chance to see them I'd be pretty pissed.

edit: Apparently Sun Kil Moon got added FolkFest.

2616476-0323795029-tumbl.gif
 

Cosmic Bus

pristine morning snow
Is there anything that sounds kinda noisy/faintly experimental like Black Dice or maybe Fuck Buttons but with female vocals?
 

big ander

Member
Is there anything that sounds kinda noisy/faintly experimental like Black Dice or maybe Fuck Buttons but with female vocals?

Well I don't know that she's that similar to Fuck Buttons/Black Dice, but Foie Gras is a decent solo project from SF, quiet drone with gentle vocals on some tracks (screaming on others).
 

Danielsan

Member
For what it's worth, on a Dutch forum all the guys were (including journos) amazed by NMH last night :D

I wonder what Danielsan thought of it, he was there too yesterday.

And I booked my ticket to Jabberwocky in august so I can experience it all again. Later next week they will play Primavera btw, I suppose it will be streamed. Or at least some high quality footage shot for TV will surface.
I ended up only seeing The War on Drugs (in hindsight I regret not going to Future Islands). The lady friend and I were pretty tired. We wanted to see S. Carrey after The War On Drugs finished, but apparently it was already full. Neither of us care much for Neutral Milk's albums (not for a lack of trying either) so jumping back in a ridiculously long line after initially leaving the concert hall didn't seem worth the hassle to either of us.

Glad to hear it lived up to your expectations though!
 

vatstep

This poster pulses with an appeal so broad the typical restraints of our societies fall by the wayside.
The new Parquet Courts is predictably great.
 

Linius

Member
I ended up only seeing The War on Drugs (in hindsight I regret not going to Future Islands). The lady friend and I were pretty tired. We wanted to see S. Carrey after The War On Drugs finished, but apparently it was already full. Neither of us care much for Neutral Milk's albums (not for a lack of trying either) so jumping back in a ridiculously long line after initially leaving the concert hall didn't seem worth the hassle to either of us.

Glad to hear it lived up to year expectations though!

Ah, I didn't know you weren't into them :p
 

overcast

Member
The past week I have discovered The Unicorns, "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone".

Pretty damn great. Completely "indie rock" but with a unique sound, fun vibe and chip tune presence.

What do you guys think of it?
 
The past week I have discovered The Unicorns, "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone".

Pretty damn great. Completely "indie rock" but with a unique sound, fun vibe and chip tune presence.

What do you guys think of it?

Love the album, great college nostalgia vibes. Arcade Fire opened for them 10 years ago, lol.

Nick's albums as Islands are mostly great to good.
 

big ander

Member
So I finally saw Neutral Milk Hotel yesterday and they rocked my world. The crowd was going nuts to every up tempo song. At least in the front, I have no clue what happened in the rest of the venue but I had a blast. Jeff doing Oh Comely alone was magic. Also worth noting the bands was just so in it, they looked like a bunch of mates having fun to fall in cliches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EPZQunlky0

While watching some NMH vids I stumbled upon this (fairly old) cover of Two Headed Boy by The Swell Season (Glen Hansard). It's pretty damn impressive :D

Earlier on yesterday I saw a short session (for TV) of Hiss Golden Messenger. Just him and his guitar in front of maybe 40 people but it was stunning.
Looking forward to getting to see them. and I love that Swell Season cover. I wish AV Undercover would put out a comp or something of their covers, but I don't think they were ever recorded other than straight to video so the quality would be shitty. Anyway I feel like people fell off the Swell Season after a while, but I liked Strict Joy a lot and Glen Hansard's solo album was good stuff. Fingers crossed they'll get back together despite their pasts and make a 3rd record.
The new album by The Orwells is pretty great. It's currently on Spotify a week early.

Let It Burn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xedqAS4qVe4
Thanks for the heads up. Definitely getting around to this...after Parquet Courts
 

Linius

Member
The new album by The Orwells is pretty great. It's currently on Spotify a week early.

Let It Burn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xedqAS4qVe4

Awesome, was looking forward to this one.

The new Parquet Courts is predictably great.

Was also very much looking forward to this one :D

No problem. I plan on checking that out next. NPR has a lot of great First Listens this week:

Parquet Courts
Hamilton Leithauser(Lead singer of The Walkmen)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Joe Henry

http://www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen

We're also getting a solo effort from Peter Matthew Bauer from The Walkmen soon. Releasing in june.

Looking forward to getting to see them. and I love that Swell Season cover. I wish AV Undercover would put out a comp or something of their covers, but I don't think they were ever recorded other than straight to video so the quality would be shitty. Anyway I feel like people fell off the Swell Season after a while, but I liked Strict Joy a lot and Glen Hansard's solo album was good stuff. Fingers crossed they'll get back together despite their pasts and make a 3rd record.

Have you also listened to his former band The Frames? Some great albums there if you haven't.
 

overcast

Member
I think out of all the albums I've discovered (that I previously missed) this year, Destroyer's Streethawk: A Seduction is my favorite. Unbelievably good album.
 

big ander

Member
Have you also listened to his former band The Frames? Some great albums there if you haven't.

Just The Cost, the one that shares a lot of a tracks with The Swell Season. Been meaning to go through the rest, think a friend told me Fitzcarraldo was great.
 

Pacbois

Member
Tonight's Channel 1 schedule is just crazy, I'll probably spend my entire evening/part of my night watching it.

I also wish I was there, but then I saw the clusterfuck schedule and then realised that I'm seeing most of the bands I was interested to in other fests/shows. Apparently it's still a great festival but it just became too big and less enjoyable.

I wish I could go to OFF! in Poland, seems like a great alternative to Primavera line-up wise.
 

Linius

Member
Yeah OFF is pretty great, just a bit smaller and no big names like Arcade Fire, The National and that sorta thing.

I'm thinking about doing Primavera, Best Kept Secret (The Netherlands) and Jabberwocky next year. That cover both the may/june and july/august touring schedules and it covers big and small names. I think if I combine those three festivals with a decent amount of seperate gigs I could see 90% of what's touring from the things I like. Plus I have a weekend in London and a week in Barcelona which is fun.

In other news, Beck is coming to Amsterdam. I'll be finally seeing him live then :D
 
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