Reader, I have some rough news—we’ll be skipping Music Monday this week. I know—GASP! HORROR! No, we’ve been out of state for some lovely friends’ lovely wedding and are just getting back, so you’ll have to make due with the sweet tunes of Chad Valley this week. Plus, we gave you like a bazillion bands to listen to the prior week for CMJ. …plus we’re kinda sick of music after about 72 combined hours of listening to every song ever four times each during our car ride. So, instead, we’re giving Vegetarian Awareness Month (October), World Vegan Day (Nov1), and the start of World Vegan Month (we haver a month!!!) a little love with an infographic created by…somewhat surprisingly…RetailMeNot. Check it out. It even mentions MooShoes! 



Vegetarian Diet source: RetailMeNot.com

Chad Valley • Shell Suite
Well, Reader, it was a helluva CMJ week. Whereas we didn’t get to see everyone we wanted to see, we saw a lot of great music last week. And—you know what?—we learned a few things along the way. Let me tell you what I mean, list-style, brah!

1. We Are Augustines drink whiskey for breakfast. And we firmly stand by the assertion that they’re going to be burning up the indie scene before we know it. See ’em as soon as they get back from across the pond.

2. Orlando Higginbottom of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs needs a damn roadie. And is likely better suited to 3AM pulsing two-hour sets than rushed through, technically fraught 15 minute ones. Pretty bicthin’ dinosaur suit though.

3. Keegan DeWitt will smash your microphone. I mean, he’s a dick, right? Also, turns out he reads this shit, soooooooooo…hey, Keegan!

4. Canadians still rule. Not only were we blown away by Purity Ring‘s electrically shamanistic set, but fellow Canadians and friends, Born Gold—formerly Gobble Gobble—put on what was easily the craziest show we’ve seen in our lives. “Wait, why do they hockey masks and shovels?” Oh, we found out. We found out. Someones seriously going to lose an eye at one of their shows.

5. Watching a show in a shoe store is about what you’d expect. Brightly lit. Poorly mic-ed. Oddly awkward. Full of people buying shoes.

6. Never pay for a show CMJ week. Seriously. The one we bought tickets for months in advance kind of blew. And we went to one million amazing free shows where bands were just playing their hearts out. Best.

7. Don’t EVER rely on the weekend G train. Especially when you’re trying to get to Williamsburg in time to see Purity Ring. G TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNN!!!!

8. Go see Chad Valley. We didn’t. We regret it. These brits play some seriously chilled out, beautiful electr-o-pop that woulda’ been pretty nice to see live. Check out this week’s Song of the Week—”Shell Suite”—to see what we mean. And like their Facebook page for a free download of their R+B edits, which is pretty smooth. Especially the Alicia Keys one. Scroll down a bit to check out our CMJ picks if you missed them.

20 Hz from Semiconductor on Vimeo.
I seriously understand this not at all. But I absolutely love it. Especially in full-screen mode with the audio pumped up. From the creator:
20 Hz observes a geo-magnetic storm occurring in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Working with data collected from the CARISMA radio array and interpreted as audio, we hear tweeting and rumbles caused by incoming solar wind, captured at the frequency of 20 Hertz. Generated directly by the sound, tangible and sculptural forms emerge suggestive of scientific visualisations. As different frequencies interact both visually and aurally, complex patterns emerge to create interference phenomena that probe the limits of our perception.

Today’s Journal is brought to you first by Occupy Design, a project created by San Francisco-based designer, Jake Levitas.

As they state, Occupy Design creates “freely available visual tools around a common graphic language to unite the 99%. The project places an emphasis on producing infographics and icons to improve the communication of the movement’s messages and the data surrounding them across the world.” We love it when design gets active.

Plus check that logo, man. Tight.

Levitas and company also provide an Occupy Design Toolkit for designers who want to get involved.  Now if only we knew some designers.

Wait.

In concert with that theme, below is this week’s New Yorker cover, “Fighting Back,” by cartoonist Barry Blitt.

Ha. Classic Blitt.

Reader, as you may well know, the College Music Journal—or CMJ as the cool, acronym-loving kids call it—Music Marathon is upon us. And, being the diligent independent music-lovers that we are, we have our CMJ dance card filled up, as it were. We don’t have the wherewithal to go on and on about all of many talented bands playing NYC this week—we’ll leave that to the good people at Oh My Rockness—but we have put together the top ten bands we’re dying to catch at these musical 26 miles and 385 yards. Here they are, along with some of our favorite ditties by said awesome bands!Hah. Ditties.

Purity Ring • Ungirthed Despite the similar name, this band sounds nothing like The Promise Ring. Like, nothing. Canadians Megan James and Corin Roddick, who make up Purity Ring, create glitchy, spastically, creepily beautiful music. And I hear they put on quite a show. Catch them at the Mercury Lounge Friday night  or opening for Neon Indian at Webster Hall…Friday night. I have no idea which set they’ll play earlier, but word on the street is they’ll be setting up one or two more shows before the week’s out.  Now the real question—Would you rather see a Purity Ring/Braids bill or a Promise Ring/Braid bill. Must. Not. Finger point. Edit/10.19.11: Just announced—Paino’s just announced a free Saturday afternoon show with Purity Ring + We Are Scientists, among others. Edit/10.20.11: Purity Ring will also be playing the 1:45PM slot in the front room at Brooklyn Vegan’s Saturday party.

Born Gold • Wrinklecarver Oddly enough, Corin Roddick of Purity Ring used to be a member of another band we totally have to see—Born Gold. Formerly named Gobble Gobble, as you can see from our August write-up, we obviously publicly shamed them into changing their name (that same day, no less). Again, these guys are all about the glitch, but with a lot more…testosterone. At least Gobble Gobble was. We’re interested to see if the name change has led to a quiet evolution in the maturity of the band…or if they still throw mini shirtless sweat-soaked raves at their live shows. Only one way to find out! They’ll be playing a free show with the superb Active Child Friday night at Glasslands and then again with the awesomely smoothed out hippie jam band, Delicate Steve Saturday night at Cameo Gallery. Edit/10.20.11: Born Gold will also be playing the 3:00PM slot in the back room at Brooklyn Vegan’s Saturday party.

Keegan DeWitt • Thunder Clatter Despite the fact that Keegan DeWitt is a total dick, the dude can write some hypnotically intoxicating pop music. In fact, it’s because he writes these songs that I seriously cannot stop listening to that I loathe him so. He is like my aural crack dealer. It must stop. It cannot stop. I plan to heckle him loudly at the Canal Room Wednesday night. For free!

We Are Augustines • Chapel Song We first heard Brooklyn’s We Are Augustines this past July and haven’t been able to stop listening since. Their temperamental, emotional music and driving rhythms set a stirring base for vocalist, Bill McCarthy’s, rough, impassioned singing. Can’t wait to catch them at one of their many shows this week. They’ll be headlining at Bowery Wednesday after playing a free show with old-school indie darlings Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Ace Hotel that same day. Then they’ve got free shows at the Living Room Friday evening, at Spike Hill in Brooklyn later that night where they’ll open up for Norwegian synth-posters, Casiokids, and they’ll be playing a TBA time during the afternoon Saturday at Brooklyn Vegan‘s CMJ party at Public Assembly. We’ll update when we hear back on that one, but stay tuned to the less vegan Brooklyn Vegan if we’re not quick enough for ya. Edit/10.20.11: WaA will be playing the 1:25PM slot in the back room at Brooklyn Vegan’s Saturday party. Along with, like, half the bands listed here, it turns out.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs • Garden By all accounts, Orlando Higginbottom is a weird dude. Yes, maybe it’s all simply a ploy to have people write things like ‘Orlando Higginbottom is a weird dude’ and have us all listen to his music, but that doesn’t bother me as I 100% love listening to his music. The oddly named, usually oddly hatted fellow performs under an even more odd moniker—Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs—which weaves tapestries of electro-pop brilliancy that borders on House but is constantly reeled in by Higginbottom’s unsettling deadpan singing. Also, he looks like he’s twelve. We’ll be making sure his hand’s stamped with X’s at Santos Party House Friday, where he plays with about a billion other bands, and at Cameo Gallery Saturday. Edit/10.20.11: TEED will also be playing the 4:30PM slot in the back room at Brooklyn Vegan’s Saturday party.

Gotye • Eyes Wide Open We made a brief mention of Australian artist, Gotye, this past August when we were blown away by his duet with Kimbra (bottom of that blog page). Since then, we’ve been checking the guy out and have very much enjoyed not only listing to his most recent release but also delving into the accomplished musician’s back catalogue. So we were excited to see that he’s traversed the globe to play a free show at smartlounge Thursday, the aforementioned Santos Friday, and opening for Givers and Free Energy—both of whom we love—at Brooklyn Bowl Saturday.

Class Actress • Love Me Like You Used To Brooklyn’s Elizabeth Harper—AKA, Class Actress—releases her debut full-length this week and, from what we’ve heard of it, it’s gonna be hit, we tell ya! A HIT! You can listen to the whole thing and order it over at Insound and she’ll be opening a sold-out show for masters of minimal pop hook, Metronomy at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (RIP, Northsix). Which means we’d advise either hitting up her free show Tuesday night with Cloud Nothings at Public Assembly (RIP, former industrial space) or…eh…at the Union Square Puma Store Thursday afternoon? Maybe there’ll be swag….

Headless Horseman • SH8KR The Brooklyn-via-Allentown duo that makes up Headless Horseman creates bizarre, dreamy, lo-fi music that has a weird way of hooking you with least little musical movement. They’re also contenders for this year’s not-so-coveted Play One Thousand Shows in The Span of Five Days award, won by Oberhofer last year. We’re not even going to bother listing them all—Oh My Rockness once again has you covered.

Wise Blood • Loud Mouths We’re kinda stumped when it comes to trying to describe the music of Wise Blood‘s Chris Laufman. Maybe like if Eminem got really whacked out on shrooms and was convinced he could only rap in whispers lest the electro-demons would eat out his eyes? Something like that. Honestly, you’ve just gotta listen to the stuff, but, love it or hate, you can’t argue against it’s uniqueness. Wise Blood sounds new. And we’re psyched to see what new looks like live. Wise Blood plays with the aforementioned Headless Horsman Tuesday at Cameo, Thursday evening at (le) poisson rouge, then later that same night at the fire-hazaard-y Cake Shop with Brooklyn’s terribly named Cheeseburger, Friday at Piano’s, and then free show at Glasslands Saturday. That last one’s got a free open vodka bar from 8-9, just to make the weird-hop weirder. And more crowded.

Twin Shadow • Changes Finally, Brooklyn’s own Twin Shadow blends the smooth funk of Prince with Bowie’s 80’s-mod croon and rock sensibility. Can’t lose, right? Right. He just released a new single via 4AD Records, which you can listen to above, and will be playing two free shows this week—the first, Wednesday at Santo’s Party House; the second, a Saturday night party at The Standard New York. Also, not to brag, but we totally called Twin Shadow’s awesomeness last July. Just sayin’. We deserve some Puma swag for that or something. Edit/10.20.11: Oh My Rockness just announced another free Twin Shadow show at Converse Rubber Tracks in Williamsburg Thursday night.

That’s it, Reader! If, by chance, you totally hated all those bands, we encourage you to check out Oh My Rockness’ very thorough and very well-updated CMJ list. And yes. We totally want to marry Oh My Rockness. Now get out there and dance!

Okay, we know, reader, we know—how is it possible to have any sort of socially aware, ethically conscious blog and not be posting something relevant to the Occupy movement, which— though it first may have seemed like another loud, confused, disorganized political version of Lollapalooza—now looks to be something a good bit more significant than I think any of us thought it would be.

True, hard to ignore, but we want to talk about something else really quickly, before the warm weather’s gone for aught eleven. All summer, we’ve been noticing these signs popping up on the chain link fencing of the many, many vacant lots of Brooklyn.

Maybe you’ve seen them yourselves, with a map of Brooklyn printed onto newsprint and the words “THERE ARE 596 ACRES OF VACANT PUBLIC LAND IN BROOKLYN” scrawled across the artwork.

The posters—designed by the talented Gowanus-based artist, Julia Samuels—act as both an awakening and a call to action. When you live in New York, you take for granted the fact that there are hundreds of vacant lots that we all walk or bike or drive by every day. Most of us don’t give them a second thought.

Think of the posters as a portal to that second thought.

Think of them also as an entry point to the activism of the organization behind the posters, 596 Acres, a “public education project aimed at making communities aware of the land resources around them.”

As 596 puts it—”With the goal of a food sovereign New York City in mind, 596 Acres is helping neighbors form connections to the vacant lots in their lives—from the smallest (throwing a seedbomb) to the largest (hosting a public meeting with the head of a City Agency that owns a vacant lot that was promised to the community as a park). Thanks to the Center for the Study of Brooklyn, we have learned that many of these lots are actually publicly owned and are developing a platform for negotiating interim and long term community uses for this warehoused public space. 596 acres is how much vacant public land existed in Brooklyn alone as of April 2010. If even a small portion of that was committed to neighborhood food production, we would have an abundance of fresh seasonal vegetables to eat! And think of all the grassy parks we could have! And composting sites! And whatever else Brooklynites and their neighbors know they need.”making communities aware of the land resources around them.”

Some of you may know that I used to work for a NYC public land organization, so this is an issue I’m both familiar with and excited to get behind. I also know it’s a long and storied battle in NYC and one that not new to the city or its long-time residents. But it’s heartening to see this issue spark up again with a whole new demographic of activists. Web-savy ones too—the group’s homepage features an interactive map that shows vacant lots, lots being organized around, and community gardens. It also provides pop-up street views of the areas, location details, and gives users easy-to-use organizing tools specific to lots near them.

I know. Where was this article at the beginning of the summer, when we can enjoy things like gardens and parks. Think of it this way—if you use the coming dreadful, rainy, snowy, death’s-grip months of winter to organize around a space, maybe you can have it ready for renovation by spring! And all that work will take your mind off how very, very shitty winter is in New York.

Picture above taken at the lot a block southwest of our studio…which we just signed up to organize around. Awesome basil, here we come!

As you can see from the photo below, the lot’s also been tagged by another public space group, Insert _______ Here, an interactive climate art project for re-imagining communities. I mean, youths are great and all, but basil, man. Basil.

We’ll work it out come summer. Now everyone back to protesting.

Phantogram • Don’t Move

There are some weeks where we honestly get to Monday and we’re like, “Meh. Guess we’ve gotta post some music.” Just because we’re not feeling any of the new stuff we’ve been hearing lately, or we’re just overworked with the non-blog, paying stuff, or we’ve just got a serious case of the Mondays. And, whereas, yes, those latter two are kinda true today (Seriously? No one else works on Columbus Day now? When did that happen?), we are seriously feeling this new Phantogram song. Like, deep down, my friend.

We first heard the upstate New York band last Winter and, while we were really, really into their breed shoegazing electro-nouveau-brood-o, this new single from their forthcoming “mini-LP” (think that’s an EP) just gets right into our blood flow and makes us want to dance. In a very “No, no, I’m not dancing,” leaning up against the wall, pretending not to care sort of way.

According to Josh Carter, the beardier of the two founding members, the new release, out November 1st, “is kind of an extension of the whole process of making and touring behind Eyelid Movies [their debut], and it feels in a lot of ways like the completion of what we were doing with the songs on that album.  The two [records] really go together in our minds. Nightlife couldn’t have been written anywhere other than in clubs and hotel rooms during this experience we’ve been having for the last year or two.”

Well we just hope there’s more like this to come. Keep it up beardy and not beardy. Added bonus—here’s “When I’m Small”, a track from their 2010 debut, Eyelid Movies.

Photo by Doron Gild.

Florence + the Machine • Shake It Out

Ah. You know what? It’s really comforting to see that, after all the success won and accolades attributed to her, all very much due her, Florence Welch—AKA, Florence + the Machine—has not gotten lazy. She still delivers beautiful, soaring, dynamic, dramatic pop that’s really, really hard not to like. And to top it all off, by all accounts, she appears to absolutely love what she’s doing. Even if you can’t hear that in her vibrantly powerful voice, you can see it in her live shows and it’s undeniable. It’s also simply refreshing—seeing absolutely no airs being put on, just watching an artist love performing for her fans. That shit’s tight, man.

Reader, we’re going reach far back into the archives here to the summer of 2009, when we first wrote about Ms. Welch and her emotive, operatic music. It was way back when we still wrote reviews and the LA indie record label IAMSOUND was kind enough to send us Florence’s debut EP. Right, back when people still used to send CDs as well. We were pretty hooked right away, as you can tell by the four out of five caws. …did we mention we don’t do reviews any more?

Anyway,going off the couple tracks we’ve heard from it, we do not expect Florence’s sophomoric release, Ceremonials, to disappoint. It’s spooky release date is October 31, but you can hear “Shake It Out” now as this week’s Song of the Week. You can also pre-order the album in all it’s various forms on Ms. Welch’s site. And check out the appropriately theatrical video for the song below.

Keegan DeWitt is a dick. I’m sorry, but he is. Not because the guy stole my sandwich or was talking smack about me on the internet (ahem). No, Keegan DeWitt is a dick in the same way that, say, Ghandi was a dick. He’s one of those guys who just makes you feel intensely bad about your life. Like you don’t do nearly enough with your days on this fine earth, and the things you actually bother to do are kind of shit.

DeWitt—an Oregon native who now lives in both Brooklyn and Nashville, just to maximize the effective creative jealousy nation-wide—is an accomplished film composer, having scored multiple New York Times Critic’s Picks, IFC features, and SXSW selections; an independent film and off-braodway actor who studied under such luminaries as David Mamet and Phillip Seymour Hoffman; he DJs and releases underground mixes under the name “Wild Cub”; and, to make ends meet upon first moving to New York, he helped to open various high-falutin’ restauranteurs and hoteliers open various high-falutin’ restaurants and hotels. You know. Instead of selling old CDs or something.

To top it all off, he can write a mind-numbingly beautiful pop song. JACKASS! Seriously though, having first heard this week’s Song of the Week—”Colour”—last week, I was floored. And then I listened to an older single. Again, floored. Another—floored.

The dude’s. A. Dick.

Don’t believe me? Check out “Colour” and see what I mean. You will totally hate him too. And we highly recommend giving August’s “Thunder Clatter” a listen too. So good. ARG!

New York bikers should absolutely love this video, created by Casey Neistat of HBO’s Neistat Brothers. Passed on by our friend, talented photographer, and avid biker, David Goldman.