All posts by Concrete Opinions

favorites, free music, kcrw, kexp, music

a few more of my favorite things…

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A couple weeks back, I shared with all of you some of my favorite remixes. More importantly, I also made a promise to continue sharing favorites of mine. I’m happy to announce, that I’m keeping that promise and this time, I’ve decided to share my favorite websites to find free and legal music.
Believe it or not, the world wide web is full of free and legal music, ripe for the picking, and if you know where to look, there’s plenty of good songs out there waiting to be added to your iPod. So without further ado, here are my favorite places to find free and legal music.
There’s many reasons why KCRW is the best radio station in LA (89.9 FM) and Today’s Top Tune is one of them. Today’s Top Tune is a free song a day, from KCRW’s all Music Channel, that represents a cross section of KCRW’s eclectic music format. Tracks selected are chosen from recent and upcoming releases as well as songs performed live on Morning Becomes Eclectic.
KEXP (Seattle’s 90.3 FM) has a pretty robust selection of free songs. Song of the Day is new music from independent artists delivered daily, Music that Matters features the world’s best independent artists delivered bi-weekly, and Live Performances features exclusive live sessions from KEXP delivered weekly.
Tip: on the KEXP homepage, the most recent songs from all three aforementioned links are available for download. Look for them on the right hand side of the page.
Launched in 2007, as a joint venture between Downtown Music LLC (Gnarls Barkley, Cold War Kids, Santigold) and online media pioneer Peter Rojas (Engadget, Gizmodo, Weblogs, Inc.), RCRD LBL delivers free curated MP3s on its website (and directly to you if you sign up for the newsletter) on a daily basis.
UO Music is part of the Urban Outfitters blog. Say what you want about Urban Outfitters, but you have to give them credit for the musical tastes. My favorite part of UO Music are the LSTN playlists, downloadable playlist with 20+ free tracks, but there’s also Music Mondays, five free songs every monday. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.
Lastly…your favorite band’s website
Musicians understand the idea of word of mouth better than most and the dawn of the digital age has made it that much easier to showcase their talents. Go to one your favorite bands websites and I bet they are giving away a song or two (especially if they are promoting a new album). For example, head on over to the xx’s website, and if you subscribe to the newsletter, you get Basic Space (Sampha Remix) for free.
Until next time…
music, new music

T.O.R.N.A.D.O. hits BBC Radio 1

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If you happened to tune in for the Zane Lowe show on BBC Radio 1 today (10/14), you were lucky enough to get the first taste of The Go! Team’s latest offering, T.O.R.N.A.D.O. If not, lucky for you Mr. Lowe put the track up on his blog. (listen to T.O.R.N.A.D.O. below)

The track is the one the band have been opening with over the last few gigs. Lead vocalist (and one of the coolest person’s in music), Ninja, describes the track as “it’s a little faster, it’s not actually our first single, which will be coming soon…it’s back to the noise, the chaos, the lo-fi, the horns – it’s kind of inspired by The Taking of Pelham 123, that kind of soundtrack – it’s got a bit of that inside it. It’s kind of introducing us back – we’ve been away for a little while – this is us comin’ back.”
She could have described it as sounding like cats in heat and I would still want to listen to it. Titled Rolling Blackouts and set to be released Jan 31st, the new album will also feature Bethany Cosetino (Best Coast) and Satomi Matsuzaki (Deerhoof). Needless to say, I’m super excited about The Go! Team’s new album.
If you’re not familiar with The Go! Team (you should be!) head on over to the band’s official website and give’m a listen.
The Go! Team – T.O.R.N.A.D.O.
new music

Dust Lane

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Yann Tiersen’s latest offering, Dust Lane, is out today!

Dust Lane is the sixth studio album by Tiersen. Two years in the making, produced by Tiersen and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83, Dave Gahan), Dust Lane is an album preoccupied with mortality.
During its recording, Tiersen lost his mother and a close friend, and the music within embodies what it is to be bereaved. It is also an album about life not as something lost, but something to be live. Tiersen describes the album as, “not such a sad thing, but a colourful thing – an experience sometimes painful, but also joyful”.
More about Yann Tiersen here.
You can purchase the album via MUTE or iTunes
live music

Arcade Fire – Shrine Auditorium, LA – 10.08.10

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One of the small pleasures in life is live music. There’s just something about the energy swirling around as you sing-a-long with one of your favorite bands and everyone around you is there for the same reason—love of music.

Describing Arcade Fire as energetic during the bands 2nd show in LA at the Shrine is an understatement. They had more energy than an iron man triathlete…and then some. To put it quite simply, the show was amazing. Arcade Fire has been on my bucket list of shows, pretty much from the first time I heard Wake Up, back when Funeral was first released. Needless to say, I enjoyed the show immensely and would see them again in a heartbeat. And if you get a chance to see them, definitely do!
Opener:
Colin Stetson, very cool solo saxophonist from NY. He has a really interesting sound. More about Colin here.
Set List:
Ready to Start
Keep the Car Running
No Cars Go
Haiti
Empty Room
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Modern Man
Rococo
In the Backseat
The Suburbs
Month of May
Rebellion (Lies)
We Used to Wait
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Encore:
Intervention
Wake Up
My Personal Favorites:
Ready to Start, Haiti, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), In the Backseat, Wake Up

Songs I wish they would have also played:
Crown of Love, Black Wave_Bad Vibrations, Half Light I, Half Light II (No Celebration), Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)

Videos From the Show: (much thanks to ConcertConfessions.com, kidnapstyles, and synthetikz for taking such great video and uploading it for all of us to enjoy!)





CMJ, hotel cafe, live music, music

Crayon Fields Kick Off 1st US Tour

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Australian euphoric pop quartet, Crayon Fields, are kicking off their first ever US tour tonight at Soda Bar in San Diego (the tour ends in LA at one of my favorite venues, Hotel Cafe, Oct 29th). They’ll be playing songs from their two full-length albums, All the Pleasures of the World and Animal Bells, as well as new material, up and down both coasts (plus a stop in NY for CMJ 2010). Along for the ride will be Air Waves, Karl Blau, Magic Bullets, and Reports. Check out the tour dates below.

If that’s not enough, the band has also made a free tour EP, Make Peace With Love, available on Bandcamp, with previously vinyl-only B-side How Loved You Are, a live version of Pleasures track Graceless, a remix of All the Pleasures of the World by Dan Block, and a surprise – a sultry cover of the Roxette classic, It Must Have Been Love. Grab the EP here.
MORE
Crayon Fields are featured on the Hype Machine radio show (October). Check that out here.
Crayon Fields played SXSW 2010 and KEXP has some videos from the performance here.
CRAYON FIELDS US TOUR DATES
Monday October 11
San Diego – Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd
with Heavy Hawaii, Scruffles and DJ Rchrd Oh

Wednesday October 13
Santa Barbara – Muddy Waters Cafe, 508 East Haley State
with the Spires and Watercolor Paintings

Thursday October 14
San Francisco – Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street
with Magic Bullets and Old Fashioned Way

Saturday October 16
Olympia – Northern, 321 4th Ave
with Karl Blau and Generifus

Sunday October 17
Portland – Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi
with Karl Blau and Archeology

Monday October 18
Seattle – Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave NW
< span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">with Karl Blau and Exohxo

Thursday October 21
New York – Glasslands Gallery, 289 Kent Ave Brooklyn
Chapter Music/Underwater Peoples CMJ showcase
with Fabulous Diamonds, Guy Blackman, Andrew Cedermark, Air Waves and La Big Vic

Friday October 22
New York – Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St
Windish Agency CMJ showcase
with Lower Dens, First Aid Kit, Sun Airway and Apache Beat


Sunday October 24
Washington DC – Black Cat Backstage, 1811 14th St
with Family Portrait

Tuesday October 26
Philadelphia – The Fire, 412 Girrard Avenue
with Air Waves

Wednesday October 27
Boston – TT The Bears, 10 Brookline St
with Air Waves and Reports

Friday October 29 8pm
Los Angeles – Hotel Cafe, 1623 N. Cahuenga Blvd