Die Antwoord - Evil Boy

For those of you out of the loop on this, I'm truly sorry I'm the one to bring this to your attention. It's taken me quite a few go's to really get what the hell these guys are all about so bare with me. Being from South Africa, these guys had epic proportions of hype in the UK early this year. I suppose with the Grime scene what it is over there, it's not that big of a surprise that a sound like this trashy hip hop was so big early on. So somehow with only a self released EP in 2009, they made it onto the Coachella bill in April. Naturally, with a spot there the bloggeratizi & who's-who of LA media were all over these guys. I wouldn't be surprised to see 2010 year end lists galore showing these guys as one of THE MOST hyped bands on the Internet. To put it lightly Die Antwoord is f**king weird...yes, that is lightly which has definitely added to the attention.

Don't expect to fully understand any of their songs, interviews, or blog posts as most of it is in Afrikaans. And even when they are speaking English its so full of African slang you'd be hard pressed to really get it. I watched my first Die Antwoord videos with 2 S.Africans who were literally crying on the floor laughing while I just stared in disgust at how disturbing it all was. I was forwarded this video this morning from the same friends and am still staring in disgust. The difference is now I'm starting to drink the kool-aid. It's got the whole reggaeton, MIA (Mad Decent) vibe going, it's totally trashy and not trying to be anything but that. I could continue, but really, you should just watch this. Good luck.


EVIL BOY (official) from Die Antwoord on Vimeo.

The Arch Cupcake - "Rubix Dude"

Yet another reason why I love KEXP, John in the Morning, and my iPhone. During my drive into work this week I heard this track in the background during one of John and Cheryl's many plea's for donations during their Fall Membership Drive. I emailed from my iPhone app about the track and John answered me immediately...damn near mid sentence. I LOVE YOU KEXP!!

If you like - DJ Shadow - dig this.

Best of La Blogotheque

This website is a little hard to navigate if you're not familiar with it so I'm gonna post some highlights because it's that big of deal. If you wanna get heavy into it go here to peruse all the 'Take Away Shows'.

Grizzly Bear was the first video I ever found on La Blogotheque. I was doing Sasquatch Prep (circa 2009?). I immediately sent it to my brother in an email stating nothing but the sentence "Now THIS is f**king talent". This video and their set at Sasquatch has spawned a pretty intense obsession with all things Grizzly Bear.



Pheonix has a pretty epic video on here that's too good not to show even though I've retired this song/album for fear of over playing. It's pretty amazing that in such a massive tourist destination, in their OWN town, with a camera crew in tow, that so little people stop and take notice. Though, it IS Paris after all.


Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

The Walkmen - (Other vids from La Blogotheque)

Sometimes, on a Monday morning you are mad at the world to be awake and going to work. And sometimes on a Monday morning, you turn on a video so goddamn beautiful that you're pretty sure you have the best life ever. And sometimes, both of those emotions happen in a 5 minute period. I've never been a Walkmen fan and not really sure why, though a friend and fellow muzo like myself, has been a SUPERFAN of theirs for years now. The day I stumbled across this video I emailed her to two separate email accounts (work and fb) with only these words. "Getting involved, Katie...GETTING INVOLVED" I strongly advise playing this next Monday.

The Morning Benders - Virgins (for La Blogotheque)

For those of you who don't frequent the La Blogotheque site, I strongly encourage you put it into your rotation. I have found that these videos are nothing but the highest caliber of artists putting on one helluva show. The films put together are stunningly shot, artistic without being pretentious, and downright awe inspiring. This weeks video features a new track from Cali indie pop band, The Morning Benders, is yet another solid from La Blogotheque, and a surprise to yours truly since I hadn't heard they were putting out a new album yet. They'll be in Seattle on Monday 10/18 if you want to see them for yourself.

Mark McGuire - Brain Storm (For Erin)

Mark McGuire, one third of Emeralds, also has a solo project. I've heard one or two tracks on KEXP randomly. I really like he's equally focused on the guitar as they creepy, ethereal electronics underneath. Should be a good show tonight.

Emeralds - Now You See Me

Emeralds is opening tonight at Chop Suey for Caribou. Super spacey, almost anthemy at times....definitely a journey.