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Tour De Vaap

“A compilation of music from 417”

Monthly Archives: September 2011

30/09/11 Adele – Someone Like You (video)

Adele just released the music video to her song “Someone Like You” off of her second album 21.  It’s a simple black and white video, nothing too fancy going on, but it creates the perfect gloomy atmosphere for this song.  Check it out.

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27/09/11 Real Estate – Green Aisles

Looks like Real Estate are back to making more jangly pysch-rock again on their new record Days, set for release on Domino Records on October 18th.  The first single, “Green Aisles” was released a few days ago and I just can’t stop listening.  Rarely does a song meld lyrics and music so well.  The layers of hazy guitar seem to emphasize the drunken trek through that foggy night with only a quiet steady drumbeat to keep the singer from collapsing on his quest to find his love.  And the soothing vocals seem to assure the listener that the trip is worthwhile and that, as the seasons change from summer to winter, everything will still be alright.  Maybe I’m getting a little too excited about this song or maybe I just feel a strong connection to the lyrics due to my age, but I think it’s more than that.  Either way, I cannot wait for the album to come out and, until then, you can find me blasting “Green Aisles” from my speakers, just letting the sound wash over me.

-M. Kauf

Real Estate – Green Aisles:

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26/09/11 Psychic City – YACHT

L.Jones recently showed me this eclectic song by an equally curious band/belief system/business named YACHT (Young Americans Challenging High Technology). I can’t really say I know what this means, but you can find out for yourself at their website. But I do know that I’ve been digging this funky track and reading on how “YACHT is and always will be what YACHT is when YACHT is standing before you.” Psychic City is off the groups 2009 album See Mysterious Lights, enjoy.

Psychic City – YACHT

22/09/11 Farewell R.E.M

I just found out that R.E.M. has decided to break up.  After 30 years of making some amazing music, it’s over.  I was a sad a shocked to hear this, but I think these guys will still go on to do some great things (and hopefully a few reunion tours down the road) and they leave behind an amazing legacy.  This one’s for you guys.

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21/09/11 Cowboy and Indian – Troubled Tracks

Here’s another great track for the fall.  ”Troubled” by the group Cowboy and Indian is a mellow folk song filled with haunting harmonies and blues tendencies and the closest thing you’re gonna get to an uplifting blues-folk song.  The melding of electric guitar and acoustic fingerpicking is seamless and the harmonica almost reminds me of an early Bob Dylan lick.  I couldn’t find out too much about this band other than the fact that they played at Austin City Limits this year.  Enjoy and check out more songs on their website.

-M. Kauf

Cowboy and Indian – Troubled Tracks

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19/09/11 Roadside Graves – Why You Been Gone So Long

There’s a chill in the air, and while it’s not quite fall, my music tastes are already shifting towards the folkier ballads that I always seem to enjoy around the crisp air and the changing leaves.  ”Why You Been Gone So Long” the Roadside Graves cover of the Mickey Newbury song from Aquarium Drunkard’s Lagniappe Sessions fits right into this category.  Follow this link for a listen and get ready for autumn.  Also, check out their latest album We Can Take Care of Ourselves.

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19/09/11 She’s Not There – The Zombies

Well no one told me about her the way she lied
Well no one told me about her how many people cried
But it’s too late to say you’re sorry
How would I know why should I care
Please don’t bother tryin’ to find her
She’s not there

“She’s Not There,” the debut single by The Zombies that launched them to stardom, is an undoubtedly smooth 1960′s hit that I just can’t stop playing. It pretty much speaks for itself, so I’ll keep it brief.

13/09/11 Blind Pilot – We Are The Tide (Album)

Blind Pilot’s first album has and always will have a special place in my music collection.  In the short time since M. Hoff expanded my knowledge of Blind Pilot from a few songs to the entire 3 Rounds and a Sound, that album has easily become one of the top played albums on my iTunes and every song has a place in one playlist or another.  It is a warm, quiet and very emotional album of simple instrumentation and honest lyrics and  I can’t get enough of it.  Therefore, I can’t even describe how excited I was when I heard that Blind Pilot was finally coming out a second album We Are The Tide.

After hearing the album, my first thought was, “This is different.”  The songs are no longer composed of simply an acoustic guitar, quiet drums and a mournful horn section and the band is now made up of more than the two founding members Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski.  For their second album, We Are The Tide, Blind Pilot has expanded into a full fledged band complete with slide guitars, piano, accordion and  female backing vocals to name a few of the new additions.  And with more instruments comes more room to expand sound and style and Blind Pilot have taken full advantage of that by moving from indie folk to genres like rock, country and pop.  The first song, “Half Moon” is a great example of this as a full band performs with a strong drumbeat, violins and a whole chorus of voices creating a sort of pop country song with a Blind Pilot twist.  ”Get it Out” could almost be a Jack Johnson song up until the last minute when it the band breaks out into the anthemic repetition of the words “I never wanna call it off.”  But this is not to say that Blind Pilot has forgotten their roots.  Songs like “White Apple” and “New York” retain some of the mellower/folkier side of Blind Pilot and “The Colored Night” could easily be on the first album if it wasn’t for the electric guitar.

So is We Are The Tide as good as the first Blind Pilot album that came out all the way back in 2008?  It’s hard to say.  The band has certainly evolved in sound, style and precision with the addition of new members and a more succinct album production.  I think that, in some ways, this takes away from the comforting sound of the first album.  On 3 Round and a Sound Blind Pilot could have been playing in your bedroom, but We Are The Tide clearly feels like listening to an album.  With this new album Blind Pilot has certainly evolved; whether it’s for the best or not is for you to decide.

You can stream their new album, which came out today, on NPR.

-M. Kauf

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12/09/11 Live From TA 26 – Gold’N'Lung


Gold’N'Lung, a senior at Vassar, released his set from a party on Saturday. A continuous and smooth mix of house, electro, and trance, Live From TA 26 is sure to rock any dance party or extremely upbeat study session. Gold’N'Lung DJs school events pretty frequently, so if you like what you hear check him out at the next Mug Night or on facebook.

-MHoff

Live From TA 26 9/11/11

11/09/11 Foster The People ft. Kendrick Lamar – Pumped Up Kicks (DJ Reflex Remix)

Over the summer, Foster the People’s hipster jam, “Pumped Up Kids”, exploded onto the mainstream scene, kinda making everyone rethink what the word “indie” really means anymore. But anyways, with any great success comes plenty of remixes, in today’s internet age. This time, it’s a remix by DJ Reflex, who hooked with the up and coming rapper, Kendrick Lamar, for a few fun light verses. While I don’t think Kendrick is taking himself very seriously on this track, it’s an enjoyable and easy to listen to remix that doesn’t take away from the original song. If you haven’t heard Kendrick Lamar‘s name before, check out his songs “HiiiPower” and “Ronald Reagan Era” off his new album, Section 80. Enjoy.  - D. Gold

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