It's almost impossible to
dissect this track without discussing its near exclusion from the Catching
Fire soundtrack. Originally entitled "Dying is Easy", the
label balked at the National's morose title, conveniently forgetting their
source material, as frontman Matt Berninger pointed out "it's about
killing kids; I don't know how an album can be darker than that?" However,
the frightening Darwinism on display in the series is easily outshone (or more
appropriately overshadowed) by much of the band's maudlin output. One of the
"bounciest" numbers on this year's Trouble
Will Find Mefound Berninger attempting to dull his pain any way he
could and evincing suicide. Child-killing is cringe-worthy, but such bleak
existentialism is soul crushing.
Renamed "Lean", the
Brooklyn by-way-of Cincinnati band's contribution remains sullen. A skeletal
guitar figure trudges in from the cold, as Berninger ruminates about the
oncoming end of the world. In the opening couplet he's not seeking a friend for
a last hurrah; he's hailing humanity’s dying gasps. "Love will lead us all
to smithereens" he sings in a graveyard baritone, before a pedal steel
crosses over into a skyward chorus. Much of Trouble Will Find Me
concerned resignation and the original title (retained here in the chorus)
continues the weary theme. The leaden basslines and trilling string sections attempt
takeoff, but Berninger halts any departure. "I'm gonna let it in," he
half-whispers under a hail of thundering drum fills in the bridge. The easiest
thing to do when you've got nothing left is to open up. The Hunger Games: Catching
Fire soundtrack drops
November 22 through Lionsgate/Republic.
Kanye West engagements with the media haven't always seen the greatest results from his paparazzi skirmishes to diatribes masking as blog posts, but he was able to set some of that contention aside when he said down for a four-part interview with the BBC Radio's Zane Lowe. In part 1 of the illuminating interview (out now), West discusses his duty to go against the grain of radio and "f*** s*** up". Yeezy also finds time to state his intentions for Yeezus, what Michael Jackson's success means to his own career, reterms his infamous "rants" as motivational speeches, abd proclaims rap "the new rock and roll". The monster's come alive again and you can check him out below.
Look for parts 2-4 to appear throughout the rest of week and catch Kanye West on tour with Kendrick Lamar starting in October.
Chance the Rapper announces North American Tour
Chicago spitballer Chance the Rapper's ecstatic Acid Rap mixtape remains one of the most dizzying releases of the 2013 and now Chance is taking that potent high-octane concoction out on the road. Out on the "Social Experiment Tour" Chance will be accompanied by fellow Chi-town natives DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn. Check out the concert dates below (tickets go on sale tomorrow), which Chance says he's "changing the rules for". And while you wait, listen to his head-spinning verse on James Blake's "Life Round Here" remix.
Tour Dates:
10/25 Champaign, IL - University of Illinois 10/26 Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar 10/27 Washington, DC -The Fillmore 10/29-30 New York, NY - SOB's 11/3 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soda 11/4 Toronto, Ontario - The Danforth Music Hall 11/7 Buffalo, NY - TBA 11/8 Oxford, OH - Brick Street Bar 11/10 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall 11/12 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre and Cafe 11/14 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre 11/17 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey 11/19 Tempe, AZ - Club Red * 11/20 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater * 11/22 Dallas, TX - Tree's * 11/23 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live * 11/25 Atlanta, GA - The Loft @ Center Stage * 11/26 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom * 11/29 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre * 12/03 Oberlin, OH - TBA 12/4 Indianapolis, IN - TBA 12/5 Columbia, MO - TBA 12/7 Miami, FL - TBA
"Life Round" (Remix) ft. Chance the Rapper
The National wrote a song for the Hunger Games
Taking a page from Coldplay, the National recently announced in NME that the band penned a track for the forthcoming Catching Fire soundtrack. The still unheard "Lean" was originally entitled "Dying Is Easy", but as frontman Matt Berninger told NME, "the song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for the Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because it's about killing kids, I don't know how a song can be darker than that?"
There's no official tracklist yet, but look for Coldplay's "Atlas" to make an appearance along with "Lean", and check out the tie-loosening video for Trouble Will Find Me highlight "Graceless" below. Also the band's Dessner brothers have begun recruiting the likes of Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, and Kurt Vile for a Red Hot charity album covering the Grateful Dead.
Check back tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).
The song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for The Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because It's about killing kids, I don’t know how a song can be darker than that? Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/the-national/72808#cXeAumdCAxW90XSk.99
The song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for The Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because It's about killing kids, I don’t know how a song can be darker than that? Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/the-national/72808#cXeAumdCAxW90XSk.99
The song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for The Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because It's about killing kids, I don’t know how a song can be darker than that? Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/the-national/72808#cXeAumdCAxW90XSk.99
In 2010 Wu-Tang masterming the RZA and Yoko Ono took to the stage in Los Angeles to play chess and do duets in what is easily one of the most unexpected collaborative efforts ever. Now that piece of "performance-art" will be permanently emblazoned on a 10'' single commemorating the event. The record will feature live recordings of the lurching fertilization cycle saga "Seed of Joy/Life Is A Struggle" backed by Yoko Ono's Plastic Band's "Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City". Reportedly this is round one in a series of collaborative releases from Ono, so I can only imagine the artists we've yet to hear team-up with Yoko.
"Seed of Joy/Life Is A Struggle"
Coldplay contributes to Catching Fire
Catching Fire is bound to see one of the biggest releases of 2013, so it's only appropriate that one of the biggest bands in music (whatever that designation means circa 2013 is up for debate) Coldplay is contributing to the mammoth undertaking. "Atlas" is Chris Martin and company's first new music since 2011's kaleidoscopic "concept-album" Mylo Xyloto. The song begins grounded by Martin's restrained piano and muted vocals before breaking free and ascending for the heavens in typical Coldplay fashion. In other words, it'll sound great during a cinematic experience.
Catching Fire hits theaters November 22, so look for the soundtrack to hit shelves around the same time.
Arcade Fire...The Plot Thickens
Arcade Fire continues to borrow further down the rabbit hole as the October 29 crawls closer. Wednesday, the blog was reporting the band was definitely doing something at 9pm on September 9 and now it appears their plan is to release a new single entitled "Reflektor" accompanied by a video directed by Anton Corbijn. But that's not all. Arcade Fire Tube is indicating plans to release a "Reflektor" 12'' with the above artwork (a possible callback to the Stones Some Girls) in select record stores throughout the U.S. on September 9. Pictures of a tracklist on the back of the release have also been circulating, and are yet to be confirmed.
And if all that weren't enough to satiate your appetite, the Canadian septet is believed to have played a secret show at a small salsa club in Montreal on Wednesday. No video/pictures of the set have circulated, though Montreal blog The Main is reporting the band debuted a bevy of new tempo shifting songs that: "Imagine the Talking Heads’ "Once in a Lifetime", but if David Bowie had written it while on vacation." Again much of this is still conjecture at this point, but come Monday a part of this ever-growing mystery will be solved.
Reflektor trailer
Jay Z and Kanye West hit the road
In support of their respective new albums, Jay Z (it doesn't get any easier typing that without the hyphen) and Kanye West will be trekking across North American for much of the rest of 2013. Kanye's maiden Yeezusvoyage sets sail on October 19 with Kendrick Lamar while Hov' embarks on the Magna Carter World Tour beginning November 30. Tickets for Jay's shows go on sale September 12, just one day before little brother Kanye's. Check out the tour dates for each artist below, as well as the phenomenal "Holy Grail" video and a taste of what Kanye's latest live show could like in a performance from this year's NY Governor's Ball.
Jay Z tour dates:
11-30 St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center 12-1 Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena 12-2 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center 12-6 Anaheim, CA - Honda Center 12-7 San Diego, CA - Valley View Casino Center 12-9 Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center 12-10 Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center 12-11 San Jose, CA - SAP Center at San Jose 12-13 Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center 12-18 Oklahoma City, OK - Chesapeake Energy Arena 12-19 Houston, TX - Toyota Center 12-20 San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center 12-21 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center 12-27 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena 12-28 Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena
1-2 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - BB&T Center
1-4 Charlotte, NC - Time Warner Cable Arena
1-5 Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum Complex
1-8 Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
1-9 Chicago, IL - United Center
1-10 Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
1-12 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
1-13 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
1-16 Washington, DC - Verizon Center
1-17 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
1-18 Boston, MA - TD Garden
1-19 Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
1-21 Pittsburgh, PA - CONSOL Energy Center
1-22 Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
1-24 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
1-27 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
1-29 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
1-30 Buffalo, NY - First Niagara Center
1-31 State College, PA - Bryce Jordan Center
Holy Grail ft. Justin Timberlake
Kanye West tour dates:
10-19 Seattle, WA - KeyArena # 10-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena # 10-22 San Jose, CA - SAP Center # 10-23 Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena # 10-25 Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena 10-26 Los Angeles, CA - STAPLES Center # 11-1 Salt Lake City, UT - EnergySolutions Arena # 11-3 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center # 11-5 Minneapolis, MN - Target Center # 11-7 Chicago, IL - United Center # 11-10 Detroit, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills # 11-12 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre # 11-14 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre # 11-16 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center 11-17 Boston, MA - TD Garden # 11-19 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center 11-21 Washington, DC - Verizon Center # 11-23 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden 11-29 Miami, FL - AmericanAirlines Arena # 11-30 Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Times Forum 12-1 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena # 12-6 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center # 12-7 Houston, TX - Toyota Center #
Check back in Monday for more of the newest in new(s).
