Balam Acab

I feel like it's getting harder and harder to describe music these days. If you asked me a year ago what "downtempo dubstep" is I would have probably just nodded my head (because I know everything) and swiftly changed the subject. I still don't know what downtempo dubstep is, or what genre this kind of music falls into, but either way, I like this. Similar to local SF scary Halloween band OoOoO and Salem, Balam Acab is making dark music sound good again. Listen to this track, and wait for the bass + melody to start:

Balam Acab - Big Boy

Mathemagic

Toronto duo Mathemagic is making really beautiful music. In the same vein as the fuzzy, warm, synthy beachpop sounds of Washed Out, Small Black, and Memoryhouse, I wouldn't be surprised if these guys start to get big in the near future. Check out the two tracks below and keep on the lookout for their upcoming 5 song EP. Recommend listening to the beach with a blanket and a fatty.

Mathemagic - High

Mathemagic - Breaststroke

Billy the Kid (Film)

I first heard about the crazy good documentary Billy the Kid while reading Miranda July's blog (Yea, I read Miranda July's blog. WHAT!! YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT!!??). She had listed it as her favorite film of 2007, and it pretty much became mine too. It's about a kid in with an ineffable learning disability, dealing with the trials and tribulations of growing up in what some might call the "trailer trash" zones of Maine. It is pure movie magic, go see it.

Terribly Happy (Film)

Holy ball sack this movie is good. It's difficult to describe the plot to Terribly Happy while still doing it justice, but on the outside, it's about a Danish Marshall with a checkered past sent to patrol a small, seemingly safe village, who soon discovers its inhabitants have an extraordinarily twisted, dark and disturbing way of life. You could also say it's a psychological thriller about the universal human nature of corruption and secrecy. Or that if you took the plot to Hot Fuzz, mixed in some Coen Brothers and a little David Lynch, threw in some obscure Danish Westerns and a dash of Stephen King, mix them all up in a blender, and...argh! See, I knew I shouldn't have tried to describe the plot. Just go watch it, it's playing in select theaters now.

Restless People

Don't know much about Restless People besides that they're another up and coming Brooklyn band and the guys from Tanlines (pretty much my favorite band these days) and Professor Murder are in it. Sounds kind of like some tropical Phil Collins shit. Check the song below:

Restless People: Days of our Lives (Light in Mix)

Memory Cassette

Memory Cassette (aka Memory Tapes aka Weird Tapes) had a flurry of EPs that came out last year, and I really wasn't sold on them when I first heard them. They kept changing their band's name and had a bunch of EPs that had some of the same songs on them, which in and of itself was enough to derail my delicate attention span. But recently they started playing randomly on my itunes, and in this era of download-the-fuck-out-of-everything-and-ditch-it-if-doesn't-grab-you-immediately, I feel like I've discovered a lost, sunken treasure from wayyyyy back in June 2009. Maybe it's the cold weather-rainy days-being sick combination that is ideal for listening to this band, but I've been playing them like a broken record for weeks straight now. Check out these tunes, I think the first one is some kind of Stevie Nicks cover. Also, they're playing at bottom of the hill next Saturday, Feb 27.

Memory Cassette - Last One Awake (Friend Version)

Memory Cassette - Asleep at a Party

Bronson (Film)

No, this is not a film about that "tough guy" from Death Wish. It's about Britain's most famous prisoner Charles Bronson, real name Mickey Peterson. Originally sentenced to jail for 7 years for robbing like $40 from a post office, he's now been in prison for 34 years (30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement) for basically beating the shit out of everyone, sparking massive riots, and taking prison guards hostage. This movie is way more artsy and theatrical than you'd think, Tom Hardy is incredible, and some guy had it right when he said this is "a clockwork orange for the 21st century." Bronson is out on DVD now, highly recommended.

Primary 1

I'm stoked to have recently found out about London's Primary 1, who has produced Phoenix, Cut Copy, and the new Rapture album, and his first LP will be dropping this Fall. If you like really good bands like Metronomy, you're guaranteed to like this dude. You can download a 15 track collection compiled of demos and earlier work of Primary 1 right here.

Primary 1 is so slick that I'm posting 3 of his songs:

Primary 1 - Foaming (White Room Version 05)

Primary 1 - The Blues (feat. Nina Persson)

Primary 1 - Enough

Moon (Film)

I've never been a big science fiction fan. I've always hated Star Trek, could care less about Battlestar Galactica, and secretly resented my Dad for being such an Isaac Asimov nerdbot throughout my childhood. With that said, I think Moon may be the best science fiction movie I've ever seen. It is a total mindfuck, and has made me a bit more open-minded towards the genre. PS if the Oscars weren't decided purely by politics, money, and people that still believe Hollywood blockbusters are the best movies, guys like Sam Rockwell and Tom Hardy (who I'll write a blog about soon) would be at the top of the list for best actor.

Small Black

Somehow a lot of people still haven't heard of the Brooklyn based duo Small Black. I'm not really in the mood to try to describe what they sound like, but they're playing in San Francisco on March 28 with Washed Out and you better believe I already have my tickets for that.

Here's the vid and downloadable song below it:



Small Black - Despicable Dogs

Swansea Love Story (Film)

Really interesting and insightful new documentary about young British junkies just posted by the people over at VBS. Here's part one of the six part series:

Google Shuts Down MP3 Blogs

I read on Pitchfork today that Google owned Blogger (AKA the site you're on right now) is shutting popular MP3 blogs that post songs for "violating terms of service," which basically just means they're cracking down on sites like this one. Luckily I have like no readers, so the chances of them ever shutting me down are less than zero! In your face Google!

Anvil (Film)

The opening sequence in Anvil shows how in 1984 they toured with sweet metal-hair bands like Scorpions, White Snake, and Bon Jovi, and they were the one band of the group that's never quite been able to make it. They've been around forever and are still trying to make it (they just played a show at the Fillmore), and I think you should watch this radical and heartbreaking documentary about them. It's now available on DVD and Netflix.

Lemonade

Check the new track below from SF to NY transplants Lemonade. It's another blissed-out tropical-steel drums-dancy-irie Jamaican wonder from them, though in all it's goodness, I DON'T recommend you go to their myspace and listen to their other track to be released off their new Pure Moods EP. It's called "Underwater Sonics" and it sucks because I hate when the lead singer starts to sound a bit too much like this guy from Korn. Anyway, listen to this track below, not that other new one on their Myspace, mkay?

Lemonade - Lifted

Die Antwoord

These South African geniuses have already been blogged about quite a bit, but if you haven't heard of Die Antwoord yet, I suggest you get on this bandwagon immediately by clicking on the video below. I pray every night before I go to sleep that they will stop in San Francisco on their U.S. tour.




Die Antwoord - Enter the Ninja

Fever Ray

I kind of mentioned it below, but this is just another example of why those damn Swedes are light years ahead of us 'MerKans. Yes, Fever Ray is my hero.