Author: You Hear That?!?

White Laces

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The music gods giveth, and the music gods taketh away. I learned this lesson the hard way on May 11, 2008, when my friend Coyle and I, Radiohead tickets in hand, inched northward on I-95 towards Nissan Pavilion in a driving rain and an astounding amount of traffic, only to watch the entire duration of the show tick by on the cruel, green-blue-numbered digital clock that was built into the dash of Coyle’s Jeep Grand Cherokee by Satan himself. Turns out, the rain had washed away one of the venue’s main entrances, and along with it, my dreams of seeing Radiohead for the first time. I still haven’t seen them. Le sigh. I don’t know exactly why the music gods punished me that day (My closet top-40 habit? Accepting requests for “Freebird?” Downloading mp3s with Kazaa in college?), but I do know why they were pissed at me this past Sunday — waiting until the last minute to print my RVA Music Fest tickets. As I scrambled to find a working printer, I had flashbacks of that May evening, not just because I was running late, but because I was filled with excitement as I rushed to see another band for the first time: White Laces. Thankfully, there was no Radiohead repeat. The music gods were in a giving mood, and I made it in time to see the last three songs, which were worthy of every bit of the anticipation. Not only did I get to experience how sublimely weighty “Sick of Summer” feels in person (this song has a transfixing gravity to it — the drums and bass had me mesmerized all the way through to the final explosive moments), I also got to hear a really cool, winding, stopping, starting new tune that I learned will be included on a 7” single the band is recording this weekend at Mystic Fortress studio in Roanoke. I can’t wait to hear that one again, and I can’t wait for the 10” record coming out in mid-November that will feature one of my favorite White Laces tunes of all, “Hands In Mexico.” Check out the song’s delectably sinister video above, listen to “Sick of Summer” below, grab their self-titled EP here, and learn from my mistake — never wait until the last minute to print your tickets. The music gods don’t like it, and printers are pure, unadulterated evil.

White Laces — “Sick of Summer“

Black Girls

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Black Girls

Gregg Gillis said it best. Near the end of his set, the most high-profile performer of the night pointed out*, while standing atop his Panasonic Toughbook’s necessarily sturdy table, that he’s been to tons of festivals, but it was special to see so much of Richmond in the inaugural RVA Music Fest. RVA Magazine did a truly great job organizing, as Sunday was an outstanding snapshot of some of Richmond’s best musicians, and I felt really lucky to be there. One of the bands that reinforced that feeling most was Black Girls. I think everyone’s experienced this moment — you’re at a show, and a performance so totally and completely fills the space around you that the room/theater/amphitheater you’re in feels tiny in comparison to the size of the moment you’re in. Black Girls set up shop in exactly that type of moment on Sunday, giving an amazing show that preceded Stage Two’s headlining act, No BS! Brass Band. In a chaotic festival setting, where people had only moments ago been milling around, snagging (delicious) tacos from Nate’s Taco Truck, Black Girls seemed totally in control, belting out danceable, falsetto-fueled rock and soul songs with a captivating swagger that emanated from every corner of the band. Plus, I got my wish and members of No BS! joined them onstage for closing song “Broadway,” a tune that joyously melds the two bands’ upbeat personalities. Check out the studio version of their collaboration below, pick up Black Girls’ self-titled album here, and the vinyl-inclined can grab the two bands’ split 7″ here.

Black Girls — “Broadway“

*I’m paraphrasing here. By this point, dancing had supplanted any sort of note taking, mental or otherwise. Though no direct quotes are available, we can safely assume that I yelled “Oh shit!” when “Thriller” kicked in. UPDATE — Who needs a memory when you have YouTube? Here’s the clip.

RVA Music Fest!

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The inaugural RVA Music Fest is upon us, and I’m DEFCON 6 excited. Sure, the Girl Talk show will be a fun, sweaty mess, but the majority of my excitement stems from the fact that the festival promises to be a real celebration of the talented musicians that call Richmond home. I have to confess, when I started writing You Hear That in March, I didn’t realize how much I’d enjoy learning about Richmond’s home-grown bands. In the months since, my eyes have been opened by some amazing and creative groups, many of which are playing this weekend. Plans for Saturday have not crystallized yet, but here’s my Sunday game plan. Step 1: White Laces (Sunday @ 4:40 pm on Stage One). I loved their self-titled EP, and their new track “Hands In Mexico” totally blows my mind. Fingers crossed that they crank it up to Lynchburg volume. Step 2: Black Girls (Sunday @ 6:50 pm on Stage Two). I jumped on the Black Girls bandwagon when I heard their swinging tune “Broadway,” and fell for them even more when I found the live version of “South Carolina” that they recorded during hurricane Irene. Maybe if I’m good they’ll do a song with… Step 3: No BS! Brass Band (Sunday @ 7:40 pm on Stage Two). Unlike White Laces and Black Girls, I have seen No BS a few times, and each show has left me with a huge smile on my face. They’re a true Richmond treasure, so don’t miss this one (even if it means skipping out on some of Best Coast). Lastly… Step 4: Girl Talk (Sunday @ 8:45 pm on Stage One) — the aforementioned fun, sweaty mess. I can’t wait. Make your own game plan by checking out some sample songs below, getting your tickets here, and following this link for all the info you’ll need to attend. See you there!

PJ Harvey

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You know what’s crazy to think about? England. And not just because the Prime Minister’s Questions is a real thing. What’s crazy is how so many of the most important bands are English. It’s bonkers. The Beatles. Led Zeppelin. The Rolling Stones. The Who. Radiohead. Or as I like to call them, Beatledzeppelingstondiwhohead. I could list many more, but you get the idea. Moral of the story? We must keep an eye/ear on them Brits. A great way to do so is The Mercury Prize. It’s given out to the best British album of the year, and I found out about it when Thom Yorke’s Eraser was nominated a few years back. The award show itself is amazing — this year’s included performances by nominees James Blake, Elbow, Metronomy, Ghostpoet and a wild one by winner (for the second time — she won in 2001, as well) PJ Harvey. If you like autoharp and antlers made out of feathers, this is your JAM. Given that I’m just starting to listen to her music, this fragile yet forceful rendition of “The Words That Maketh Murder” is quite the captivating introduction, and I’m excited to learn more about why some of my favorite musicians were so congratulatory in the wake of the ceremony (Jason Isbell tweeted his approval by saying “Screw you to the world for not already giving her EVERY prize we have”). Check out the video of her performance above, listen below and buy her Mercury Prize winning album Let England Shake here.

PJ Harvey — “The Words That Maketh Murder“

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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I’ve been doing some serious unplugging lately. Between the 4-day, post-Irene power outage and this past weekend’s trip to Chincoteague Island, which has a very high pony-to-Wi-Fi ratio, I’ve been forced to pause, ignore Twitter and reconnect with old musical friends. This was especially important when the power was out, and I needed something that would be comforting in the midst of a crazy storm and its aftermath (for me, “unplugging” still involves listening to music with a battery-operated iPhone speaker dock. I seem to have some technology addiction issues). Where did I turn? The O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, for one. More specifically, the 10th anniversary deluxe edition, which just happened to be my last iTunes purchase before things went crazy. Lighting candles and listening to old favorites like “Down to the River to Pray” and “Po Lazarus,” plus the 14 new tracks that didn’t make the original edition, felt less like weathering a power outage and more like stepping into a time machine with Alison Krauss, Norman Blake and Gillian Welch, bound for Depression-era Mississippi. After a while, Irene-era Richmond didn’t seem so scary. Take a listen below to one of the newly released tracks — the Cox Family’s rendition of “Keep On the Sunny Side,” and buy the deluxe version of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack here.

The Cox Family — “Keep On the Sunny Side”

Kanye West

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The lights are back on at You Hear That headquarters, and I couldn’t be more excited, relieved and guilty at the same time, since so much of Richmond is still without power. With this ambivalent joyfulness in mind, I can think of no better day to observe Kanye West’s obsession with lights. It’s no secret that Kayne is both fascinated and tortured by fame, and lights embody the disorienting scrutiny under which he lives. His last three albums have included songs with “lights” in the title — Graduation’s “Flashing Lights,” 808s & Heartbreak’s “Street Lights,” and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s  “All of the Lights” — but the most recent example goes the farthest in establishing a relationship between lights and the pitfalls of fame. “All of the Lights” paints a terrifying picture of light, with a frantic chorus and Rihanna ratcheting up the intensity. It’s clearly evidence of a person in distress, but it’s also an astoundingly good song. It’s hard to know what do to with that as a listener, but that’s what makes Kanye so brilliant — when he releases an album, you’re not just hearing songs, you’re hearing how Kanye is doing. Join him on his emotional roller coaster by listening to “All of the Lights” below and buying My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy here.

Death Cab For Cutie

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It’s been almost 3 days with no power, thanks to hurricane Irene. Without evening interweb time, You Hear That is a boat without oars, so there’s only one thing left to do: quick-post a song about darkness! Here’s my all-time favorite darkness-related tune, Death Cab For Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” Sure the void he’s talking about is actually death, and the darkness I’m experiencing is just a neighborhood without electricity (except for the a-holes next door with a generator. Richmond Playlist — you know what I’m talking about), but when you’re creeping up on 72 hours without power, you’re allowed to be a little melodramatic. Check out the video for “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” above and download the album, Plans, here.

Read It Later Roulette

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I’m on earthquake watch tonight. The biggun happened on Tuesday afternoon, but I slept through both of the subsequent early-morning aftershocks. As I try to stay awake long enough for tonight’s edition, I thought I’d try something totally new — Read It Later roulette. If you don’t use Read It Later (or something like it), it’s an incredibly useful and simple tool (it’s a plugin for many browsers, my iPhone Twitter client uses it as well) that lets you add links to one central list for future perusal. It’s great for when you don’t have time to freely surf the world wide web of information by day, and great for keeping up with music news. Without further ado, let’s play! The following are links I stumbled across at some point today:

Apparently, Kate Miller-Heidke, whose song “Are You Fucking Kidding Me” still has me rotflmao-ing, once sang in an opera about Jerry Springer, which she calls “sheer brilliance” (the opera, not Springer). I think she’s brilliant, and I’m excited she’s recording an album in October! Read an interview with KMH at the Village Voice.

I hope Pearl Jam plans to update the liner notes for their next best-of album, given that the true spelling of some key lyrics to “Alive” have been unearthed. Thank to you Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr for documenting this important archival discovery on their Twitter feed.

St. Vincent released the video for new song “Cruel,” in which she has the worst kids and husband ever. Let’s find Annie Clark a better family, because she seems like a nice lady to me. And if anyone can think of what commercial(s) the husband is from, PLEASE leave a comment. It’s bugging the hell out of me.

Kanye performed a 20-minute version of “Runaway” in Portland, and Rolling Stone posted a fan video. Just when I was ready to cry senseless self-indulgence, he brings the free-form epic to a close by pointing out that he “had the nerve to play you this song.” That is why Kayne is the best. Never ever change, Yeezy.

Lastly, music blogs asploded (and I nearly spat out my lunch) last Wednesday when James Blake cryptically announced a collabo with Bon Iver. The gorgeous tune is called “Fall Creek Boys Choir” and it just made it’s way online. I would like to place an order for an entire album of that. Kthx.

So, still no aftershocks, but I’m going to bed. I need my sleep — hurricane watch is on tap for tomorrow…

 

The Weeknd

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Thursday

Given its title, I couldn’t resist spending today’s post on The Weeknd’s amazing new mixtape, Thursday. While a few other blogs could very well be doing the same thing today, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say few of them can claim the following fun fact: The very first You Hear That post was about The Weeknd’s first mixtape, House of Balloons. It’s true — hearing that album made me get off my blogger laurels and start writing about music. Clearly House of Balloons struck some inspirational chord for me, but when I stop to think about it, that connection is somewhat bizarre. The dark vignettes that Abel Tesfaye’s songs sketch are genuinely creepy to me, and R&B has never been my wheelhouse. So why am I drawn to his music? What does it meeeean?!? I think the connection may stem from the fact that The Weeknd’s creepiness seems profoundly honest to me. So many artists glorify the drug-addled club scene, but songs like “Life of the Party” make it sound as scary as it probably is in real life. Can you imagine listening to these songs while performing the acts they describe? Wouldn’t that be wildly depressing? I don’t mean to suggest he makes public service announcements, just that he’s the documentarian of something that people normally write fiction about. To me, that’s fascinating, and I can see why Drake was so quick to jump on Tesfaye’s bandwagon. Check out “Life of the Party” below, along with the rest of Thursday, and download the whole thing for free here.

Marnie Stern

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Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern. Where have you been all my life? Listening to the first moments of guitar-ninja Marnie Stern’s most recent album was like eating deep fried Oreos for the first time — “Holy bejeezus! How have I not gorged myself on these before?!?” — and I have Pitchfork’s new “Over/Under” series to thank for the revelation. I’d never heard of Stern, and watched her episode completely on a whim (OK, so the series’ name made me think it was about gambling, and the thought of Pitchfork employees gambling was amusing to me for some reason. As in, what would hipsters gamble on? Please leave any theories you may have in the comments below). Turns out, “Over/Under” asks famous musicians to decide if random things, like “Guitar Center Sales Dudes” and the TV show Lost, are overrated or underrated. After hearing her thoughts on Lost’s disappointing finale, penis size and Ryan Gosling, I headed to Spotify to give her self-titled album a try. Cue the deep fried Oreos. The opening seconds of “For Ash” were so explosive and chaotic and pleasing, and my mind immediately started soaking in the sound like a happy, overstimulated sponge. Stern’s music combines the technically-demanding practice of guitar tapping with constantly shifting rhythms to create colorful and exhilarating songs that transcend their technicality and make you want to scream “This is crazy and I love it!” See what I mean by trying out “For Ash” below, her episode of “Over/Under” here, and if you like what you hear, grab her eponymous album from iTunes here.