Category Archives: music

2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: 2011

November 30, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

The holiday season is finally upon us and with it comes the 2011 edition of (31) Days of Good!

For those of you unfamiliar with (31) Days, it’s an annual trip down memory lane and look back at my favorite tunes of the year. There really isn’t a particular order or rank for the songs, I simply pick my favorites and hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Some days will feature a handful of picks, some days might only feature one or two, and like previous years, my good friend and frequent collaborator, Brendan (35mmBeats) will be offering up his favorite tunes of the year as well.

I’m positive some tracks will go overlooked and you probably won’t agree with all of my picks, but you’ll still get a hefty dosage of fantastic music all month long…and since 2011 was such a good year for music lovers, you’re in for a real treat.

It all kicks off tomorrow (12/1), bright and early. See you then.

p.s. tune in Dec. 15th for my top 10 favorite albums of 2011

2011, music, new music

[hot off the press] Y LUV//Keep It Rollin

November 29, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Today the tastemaker indie/electronic blog (and one of my personal favorites) Earmilk premiered the brand new single from Y LUV, “Keep It Rollin’.” More electronic-leaning that most of their previous tracks, Y LUV mixes their usual genre-crossing with a party vibe that’s bound to get you moving. To listen, download, and read more about the song, head to earmilk.com.

“Keep It Rollin'” is the second of two new singles from Y LUV this November. The first, “Earthquakes,” premiered earlier this month on the blog Blahblahblahscience. These singles follow their celebrated EP, How Chill Can You Let Go, released earlier this year.

With both singles, Y LUV creates indie-pop fused with an amalgamation of psychedelic rock, spine-chilling harmonies, explosive beats and aggressive guitar riffs, conjuring comparisons from Bloc Party and The Killers to Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys. As you can see with the diversity of these two tracks, they shine when drawing upon a vast array of inspirations and not limiting themselves to a specific genre, while still producing a cohesive sound. [source: planetary group]

If any of you LA locals want to catch ’em live, you’re in luck, Y LUV will perform on December 7th at Silverlake Lounge.

♪ Y LUV – Earthquakes

More Y LUV:
iluvyluv.com
facebook
bandcamp

2011, live music, music

[on the road] Light FM

November 29, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

LA’s own Light FM will be bringing their energetic synth-rock to the Silverlake Lounge for a December residency starting on Monday, December 15th. These are free shows, so no excuses!

This indie-rock quartet recently wrapped a tour opening for Smashing Pumpkins in promotion of their latest full-length album Buzz Kill City, which was released this past October through Moonboot Records. In addition, the group performed at KROQ’s Lobsterfest 2011 and headlined shows at Subterranean in Chicago, Hollywood’s The Roxy Theater and San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill.

Front-man Josiah Mazzaschi relocated from Chicago to Los Angeles several years ago, founding his own studio The Cave and working as a studio engineer and producer with artists such as Built to Spill, William Reid (Jesus and Mary Chain), Rilo Kiley, and Money Mark. Upon releasing their breakthrough album Let There Be Light FM, the group has also performed with The National, Ra Ra Riot, Earlimart, Billy Corgan, and Grandaddy. Now they’re back in their hometown of Los Angeles to play a Monday-night residency and we hope you’ll come out and join us at the Silverlake Lounge for a string of impressive (free) shows. [source: planetary group]

♪ Light FM – For Better or Worse

More Light FM:
website
facebook
twitter

2011, music, new music

[new music roundup] 11.29.11

November 29, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Between my 4 year wedding anniversary, the Thanksgiving holiday, prepping this year’s (31) Days of Good, and a fantasy football playoff-push, I haven’t had much time to work on this week’s new music roundup. Honestly though, I haven’t come across many interesting brand new releases. But like I said earlier, I haven’t really put in a proper search and my email is way backed up. However, there are a handful of interesting reissues, remasters, compilations, etc. being released this week. So without further ado, a few of my favorite new releases this week…

Adele//Live At the Royal Albert Hall

Gorillaz//The Singles Collection: 2001 – 2011

Various Artists//The Inbetweeners: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (features exclusive new music by Mike Skinner aka The Streets).

2011, music, new music

New Music Roundup: 11.22.11

November 22, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

A few of my favorite new releases this week…

The Antlers//(together) EP

For fans of: Bon Iver, Girls, Youth Lagoon, The xx
Key tracks: VCR (The xx cover), I Don’t Want Love (Peter’s Version), Rolled Together (feat. Neon Indian), Parenthesis (PVT Remix)

Death Cab For Cutie//Keys & Codes Remix EP

For fans of: The Postal Service, Dntel, Passion Pit, RAC
Key tracks: Some Boys (Rac Maury Remix), Codes and Keys (Yeasayer Remix), Unlocked And Open (Cut Copy Remix)

Sea Lions//Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask

For fans of: Sweater Girls, Catwalk, The Andersen, The Specific Heats
Key tracks: Grown Up, I Should Be Sleeping, I Loved her So Much, A Song for You

SUNBEARS!//You Will Live Forever

For fans of: Apartment, Saint Motel, Starfucker, Mindil Beach Markets
Key tracks: Give Love a Try, They Think They’re Soooo Philosophical, Together Forever, The Uncertainty Paradigm

Ty Segall//Singles 2007-2010

For fans of: Thee Oh Sees, Epsilons, Charlie & The Moonhearts, Jacuzzi Boys
Key tracks: Caesar, (…and then) Judy Walked In, My Sunshine, Standing At The Station